Sunday, January 24, 2010

Tim Hortons around Cloverdale

It wasn't all that long ago when Cloverdale residents had to drive 10 or 15 minutes to reach the nearest Tim Hortons. Through the nineties the closest Tim Hortons were located in Fleetwood on the Fraser Highway and about 156 Street (still open) and in Langley on the Fraser Highway, about a half block east of the Langley Bypass, next to the Husky gas station. That one closed down about 5 years ago.

In the past few years Tim Hortons are sprouting up everywhere. There are 2 in Cloverdale within a 5 minute drive of each other. And a third one could be in the running too if you count the one on Highway 10 near 152 Street.

I'm not a coffee drinker. Kerry loves Tim Hortons coffee so he stops in almost daily. Of course if I'm along, and often one will be near a job site, I may join him and have a Boston cream donut or sometimes a bottle of green tea citrus iced tea or a mocha if its a cold day. We often enjoy soup for lunch at Tim Hortons. I've been to the Tim Hortons around Cloverdale many times and consider myself to be a pretty good judge of the service, so here's a little run down.

The Tim Hortons on Highway 10 just east of 177B Street, next to Lordco, has a drive thru in addition to walking in the restaurant. The drive thru is usually faster. Overall fairly quick service inside the restaurant too.

Tim Hortons in Clover Crossing Mall on 64th Avenue just east of 176th Street can get busy both in the restaurant and the drive thru. The drive thru is usually faster even if there are lots of cars in the line up. Sometimes inside the restaurant one staff is handling a cash register and all the rest of the staff are rushing to serve the drive thru customers. Generally during busy times there are 2 cashiers helping walk in customers. I find the staff at this Tim Hortons usually more friendly and energetic than in any of the other restaurants.

Tim Hortons on Highway 10 and 152 Street is one of the slowest restaurants I've been to. Both in the drive through and inside the restaurant. I don't know what it is with the staff here because I've been here on different days and different times but they are so slow.

Tim Hortons on Fraser Highway and 166th Street, in front of the Super 8 Motel, across from Rona. Without a doubt this is the worst Tim Hortons in the area. The staff at Highway 10 and 152 Street move lickety split compared to these people. And yes, I've been here different times of the day and different days of the week. It is the worst, both drive through and walk in. If you walk in to this restaurant and see one person in line, you can expect a good 10 minutes wait to be served. Forget the drive thru if there are more than 3 cars. You'll be waiting 20 minutes. I was there about a year ago and the parking lot was in icy, trecherous condition. Inside the restaurant, during the 10 minutes or so I waited for the one cashier to finish the customer ahead of me, I watched several male staff chatting, including one who appeared to be a supervisor. Surely one of them could have gone outside with a bucket of ice melt or sand or whatever the restaurant uses to make the lot and sidewalks less slippy. This was really bad. I complained to Tim Hortons. They said the manager would be in contact with me. A year later and I'm still waiting. Definitely pass this one by. Go a little further up Fraser Highway for better service.

Tim Hortons on Fraser Highway and 156 Street. This oldie but goodie is still standing. No drive thru service, which possibly is the reason why the staff can serve customers quickly.

Tim Hortons on Fraser Highway near 188th Street. This is a newer Tim Hortons in the Clayton Heights area and has a drive thru. I find service quick and pleasant either inside or in the drive thru.

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