Tim Hortons Fires/Rehires Mother Over Free Timbit

[Teacher Mark 53]

May 08, 2008 04:30 AM

The Canadian Press

LONDON, Ont.–Giving a free Timbit to a baby has cost a single mother of four her job.

Nicole Lilliman, 27, was fired yesterday from her Tim Hortons job for giving one of the 16-cent blobs of fried dough to a tot.

"I have been fired for giving a baby a Timbit," Lilliman said yesterday.

"It was just out of my heart – she was pointing and going `ah, ah...' I should have gone to my purse and got the change, but it was busy."

Lilliman, who has worked at the store for three years, said she thought little of the incident since Timbits are often doled out to dogs and children.

She said the baby was about 11 months old, and she gave her the treat to quiet her, since her mom – a Tims' regular – had been ``having a bad day."

"I could see (the dismissal) if it was a sandwich or something," she said. "But it was a Timbit."

Three managers greeted her yesterday, saying she had been caught on video giving free food to a child.

"They said, `Remember, Monday you gave out a free Timbit,' " she said.

"I had to think, then I was like, `Oh yeah,' and I smiled because I thought I'd get a warning."

Instead, she was fired for theft.

Giving food away is against the rules, said Tim Hortons district manager Nicole Mitchell.

The Timbits given to pets, Mitchell added, are usually "day-old and recycled."

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/422864

UPDATE

May 08, 2008 02:17 PM

Curtis Rush

STAFF REPORTER

A day after she was fired for giving away a single Timbit to a child, a Tim Hortons employee in London, Ont., has her job back.

Nicole Lilliman, a single mother of four, has been rehired at another Tim Hortons restaurant after what the chain described as an “overreaction” by a manager.

Lilliman was fired yesterday after she was seen giving one of the small blobs of fried dough to a small child who came in with a regular customer on Monday.

The 27-year-old woman, who worked at the outlet for three years, said she didn’t see any harm in giving away the 16-cent treat, since Timbits are often doled out to children and dogs.

But a manager fired Lilliman after telling her that giving food away free was against the rules.

Hours later, Lilliman received a call offering her a job at another Tim Hortons store.

"She wasn't comfortable returning to the same location, so she has been rehired at another location but with the same franchise owner," said Tim Hortons spokesperson Rachel Douglas.

Douglas said Lilliman was very "gracious" in accepting the offer, and will be repaid for any loss in pay.

Tim Hortons does not have a corporate policy governing the giving away of doughnuts, Douglas said, adding that franchise owners are free to set their own policies.

"We're working with the store owner on this policy,” she said, calling Lilliman’s firing “an overreaction and not appropriate.”

At worst, she said Lilliman should have been warned about the owner's policy.

Douglas also said it's common for Timbits to be given away if they are day-olds.

"This incident was very disappointing for us," she said.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/422936

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Tim Horton's makes good Boston Creme doughnuts. The last time I was there a bit outside of Toronto, an employee asked me about my daughter.

"How old is she?"

"18 months."

"So like, how many years is that? 2?"

*#######?

"One and a half years..."

"Oh cool! I wish I had a kid, but I have to wait."

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Nicole Lilliman, a single mother of four, has been rehired at another Tim Hortons restaurant after what the chain described as an “overreaction” by a manager

That manager should be shot...then fired.