Tim Hortons app error with Roll Up The Rim prize

TORONTO –

Some Tim Hortons customers who were told they won $10,000 in the coffee chain’s popular Roll Up To Win contest are now being notified that the prize message is crashing.

The coffee and donut chain said Wednesday that a “small subset” of players were incorrectly notified within hours of Monday, the first day of the contest, that they had won the company’s jackpot drawing, a daily prize of $10,000 that was to be awarded. per person per day.

The company added that it has offered a $50 gift card as compensation to players who received the incorrect prize notification and is in the process of contacting the fraudulent winners to “express our regret for the disappointment caused by this error.”

Moncton paramedic Luke Masse was among those who thought they had won a big prize just for reporting the technical issue.

She has yet to be offered a $50 gift card as an apology and doesn’t think it’s a fair offer.

“A company like Tim Hortons is recognized as a national brand that people love and cherish. Everybody waits for it every year, Roll up the Rim To Win … and then on day one it happens,” he said.

“It kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak, bust or not, it shows that I won and I’d like them to respect that.”

Mase, who said he would go to Tim’s for coffee most of his days at work, thought he had won a $10,000 American Express prepaid card on Monday when he logged into the app to reach out to his healthcare provider base.

Tim Hortons’ annual spring prize contest, once called Roll up the Rim To Win, is going all-digital in 2021, replacing printed messages under coffee frames with scanning a loyalty card or app.

Customers now scan the Tim Hortons app on their smartphone at the time of purchase to receive a “roller” that can reveal a prize such as a “free doughnut,” or scan a loyalty card and later log into the contest’s website to view the rolls and prizes for: they have earned.

After Massey’s winner’s notification appeared, the app froze, but not before he managed to take a screenshot, which he sent to his wife, saying: “How’s your Monday morning going? Here’s mine.”

His colleagues were equally excited.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, I think I’m going to win,’ and then I showed them the message and they said, “Holy, I think you did!”

Mase contacted the Tim Hortons where he bought his coffee that day, which directed him to a customer service number where someone told me, “it was a technical glitch and there’s nothing you can do.”

He’s disappointed by the response and admits it may affect how often he visits.

“Tim Horton’s is my coffee. It’s my go-to place for coffee, especially when I’m working, but I haven’t been since Monday to be honest,” he said.

“Would I go again? Maybe. How much time is left? I have no idea.”

The technical glitch with Masse comes after Tim Hortons settled last year with multiple class-action lawsuits that alleged the restaurant’s mobile app violated customer privacy.

As a consolation, the restaurant offered free coffee and donuts to affected users.

— With files from Brett Bundale in Halifax

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 8, 2023.