A woman recorded a Tim Hortons drive-thru worker refusing to let her buy coffee for an unhoused man.
The video was uploaded to the social media platform by @qu33n.status2.0 and amassed 2 million views in just 24 hours.
@qu33n.status2.0 @Tim Hortons If this is the way you treat your customers I’m done being one #timhortons #dobetter #fyp ♬ original sound – Qu33n.status
In the clip, the TikToker orders a coffee at the Tim Hortons drive-thru window. After the Tim Hortons worker asks if she would like anything else, the TikToker asks someone off-camera if he wants a coffee.
At this point, the worker on the drive-thru mic tells the customer they cannot serve “the man outside.” The customer clarifies the man didn’t ask her for anything and that she was simply buying coffee for her friend. Clearly this isn’t the first time this has happened because the customer also informs the worker that she’s been in touch with corporate, and “they actually informed me that I can buy a homeless man a coffee.”
She also informs the worker that she’s being recorded. “You’re not serving him. I’m in a vehicle, and I’m paying for two coffees,” the customer says, refusing to let Tim Hortons dictate whether or not she can buy coffee for an unhoused man.
Viewers weren’t shy about letting the TikToker know their thoughts in the comments.
While many agreed she did a nice thing by trying to buy the unhoused man a coffee, a number of users weren’t happy with the way she went about doing it. “Why bother saying who it’s for and causing an issue just buy the coffee and hand it to the man,” one user asked. Some even went as far as to call the woman a “Karen.” “Karen’s gonna Karen,” a user unsympathetically said.
When asked, “Why not just order two without making it obvious who ur buying for and avoid all this trouble,” the TikToker responded that it wasn’t a fair policy. “And allow them to keep refusing ppl based on their living situation,” she retorted.
The TikToker’s daughter also seems to have responded to comments criticizing her mother’s actions. The pinned comment on the video reads: “For the people who are defending Tim Hortons or blaming my mom for the way she asked him and ‘made a scene’ – she wen there the day before and tried to get him a coffee normally but once they found out who it was for, they went out of THEIR way to stop her from getting one for him so…”
Many users said the TikToker’s anger was misdirected. “Don’t get upset at her, she’s just doing what she’s told or she’ll probably get fired,” one person said. “Not the employees fault I would go yell at the manager,” another person added, suggesting the TikToker direct her energy toward a supervisor who might actually be able to change the policy.
Many also speculated why Tim Hortons refused to serve the man. “In my experience there’s a reason people get banned from Tim’s and it has to do with throwing coffee at employees…” one user said. “[They’re] probably not serving him cause he is bugging or harassing customers,” another person guessed.
The Daily Dot reached out to @qu33n.status2.0 via TikTok comment and to Tim Hortons via email.
