Tim Hortons Tribulations at Ottawa Airport

On an early morning last week saw myself on an early flight to Vancouver. After clearing security with minimum time to spare and no breakfast as of yet, the Tim Hortons (2nd floor beyond security in domestic departures of the Ottawa International Airport at 1000 Airport Parkway, Ottawa)

I waited in the lengthy line at this Tim Hortons storefront off the main hallway leading the airport gates.  The line at times never seemed to move.  Quite a few people nervously looked at their watches or phones to see if they should stay in the line or run for their flight without one last Timmies fix.  I stayed in line patiently but quite frankly the two cashiers seemed overwhelmed while the single employee at the sandwich counter was fantastic in keeping her orders moving.  Add in the odd customer who gets to the front of the line to ask six different questions of the cashier before ordering and whole families ordering their breakfast meals things were slow to a crawl.  To make matters worse there was only one single employee at each of the two cashes meaning they were also preparing the drinks, donuts and muffins preventing other orders from being taken.  Not sure why this occurred as at other Tim Hortons locations normally when there is usually two employees per cash during busy morning rushes. But eventually things progressed and I was able to order.

The Order: 1 Medium Black Coffee and 1 Cinnamon Raisen Bagel, toasted with Cream Cheese

After picking up my coffee at the cash and being impressed with the speed the bagel was prepared at the sandwich counter, I was off to my gate with little time to spare.   Thank goodness you're allowed to bring food and coffee onto the plane purchased post security checks.

The bagel was still warm and similar to what I get elsewhere.  To be fair it is hard to screw it up as Tim Hortons ships everything in and the preparation really comes down to cutting the bagel, toasting it in the automated conveyor belt toaster.

The coffee was also as expected corporate quality that any Canadian would appreciate.  But again, nothing special cause it really is pour the coffee grounds into the machine's filter, etc. and change the pot every 20 minutes.

Overall, this Tim Hortons could do well as it is highly visible right after security. The promise of success is even better as there is a captive audience of airport passengers who now have time to wait for their flight with possibly a drink and something to eat.  Sadly, though Tim Hortons' fails by not adequately staffing this location to keep the line moving in an adequate fashion. If there were just a couple more employees many more customers would instead be enjoying a fine cup of coffee instead of leaving in disgust sans le java to barely make their flight.