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February 12, 2022

What would it take for you to give up Tim Hortons?

By now, we’ve all heard about Jimmy Craig, the New Brunswick man banned for life from Tim Hortons earlier this week.

For Canadians, such a sentence is severe to the highest degree. Like being forced to eat toe jam while listening to Lou Bega and watching reruns of The War at Home.

But look closely at Craig’s case and it’s as if he willingly coaxed his punishment.

According to the Star, the paramedic and volunteer fire fighter continually complained about “burnt coffee” for a full year.

While Craig maintained he did his protesting with respect, the local Tims store manager cited several times when the disgruntled customer was aggressive with store staff: “No matter what (we) did to make it right, he was unhappy.”

Still, Craig charged on (“All I did was point out a problem with the consistency of the product,” he told the Star) and filed verbal and written complaints before approaching the coffee shop’s corporate office.

And we know the rest. The manager met with Craig and banned him from the store under New Brunswick’s Trespass Act.

Now, even if you’re to give him all the latitude in the world, on some level you’d have to submit that Craig knowingly contributed to his own ban. Companies have been known to prohibit customers for far less offenses and – without commenting on whether it’s good business or not – it’s not uncommon for relentless complaints to come to such a resolution.

So it’s almost as if Craig chose his right to protest over his right to enjoy Tim Hortons, and that just gets the wheels spinning in my head. Is that worth it to you?

Tims, as we’ve said, is to Canadians as bad shirts are to Charlie Sheen. Someone’s really giving up the restaurant over a chance to whine about coffee?

I think it’s interesting to ask, then, what would it take for you to give up Tim Hortons? What would you need in return?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...

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