Timmies gets a virus

The employees of Tim Hortons are having a miserable time:

An association representing Tim Hortons franchisees is threatening legal action if parent company Restaurant Brands International refuses to meet with store owners to fix a computer virus that recently knocked out cash registers at an unconfirmed number of locations, inflaming an already-tense relationship between head office and frontline workers.

I went to a local shop last month. There was just one guy placing his order in front of me. I thought, "Great, this should be fast."

It took nearly 10 minutes for his order to go through. He had a coupon which the cashier couldn't input correctly. She got her supervisor who was also stumped. Finally, they brought out a folder which detailed the complex procedure of entering the discount code.

"Damn."

Plus, the atmosphere in the place was that of a morgue. The employees looked very depressed.

Some store owners have complained of draconian cost cutting by the company’s new owners, resulting in lower-quality products, a damaged brand and weaker profits.

After months of recriminations and multiple lawsuits, the situation reached a boiling point last month when some franchisees scaled back benefits and cut paid breaks for store staff in response to Ontario’s minimum wage increases.

The franchisees accused Restaurant Brands of refusing to raise menu prices to offset the added labour costs. In response, RBI said the reduced perks were the work of a “rogue group”.

What a clusterfuck.