Single mom of 4 fired from Timmies after giving a baby a Timbit

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

By JENNIFER O'BRIEN, Sun  May 8, 2008




Single mom of 4 fired by doughnut giant for giving regular customer's baby a 16 cents Timbit
 
A single mother of four fired yesterday for giving a Timbit to a baby has been rehired by Tim Hortons.

Nicole Lilliman, canned for offering a free blob of dough to the child of a regular customer earlier this week, has been offered a job at another store by the company.

A press release sent out this morning blamed an overzealous manager for firing the 27-year-old employee who has worked at Tim Hortons for three years.

"Unfortunately the action of the manager of this location was not appropriate, nor grounds for dismissal," said the release. "With an apology from management, Ms. Lilliman has been rehired by the franchisee."

Until the details are worked out, Lilliman will be compensated for her lost time, she said.

 

"I'm going to feel awkward, but I'm happy I have a job again," said Lilliman. "Yesterday, was hell. When I told my daughter I lost my job she started crying. She's only six, and she doesn't know, she said 'we won't have any food any more.'"


Ya, think?  A little overzealous manager?   I can go through the drive-thru and they GIVE my DOG a Timbit, but heaven forbid a crying baby.   Hello?! It's not like it's Coke's secret recipe. It's a FRIGGIN' Timbit!! :brickwall:

 

[geo]

... You will find overzealous managers everywhere.
Considering that these are franchises - owned by people and not owned by the Tim Horton corporation, policies are drafted and applied by the owners.... if the owner says no, don't do it - then you are really pushing buttons if you go against what you were told not to do.

I agree that this should have been treated on a much lower level BUT, as an employee, she should be doing exactly what the owners have told her to do...

 

[Celticgirl]

That manager must have rocks in his/her head.  :  At the local Timmie's here, if my daughter is with me (usually in her booster as I go through the drive-thru), she almost always gets a free timbit. In fact, she usually gets two or three in a little bag! That's just good customer service, if you ask me. The really funny thing is that my daughter doesn't even like doughnuts. They still get eaten, though. ;D

 

[NL_engineer]

She was also reinstated shortly after it hit the press ;D  I think there may be a manager heading to the EI office over this  ;D

 

[Harley Sailor]

How do we know it was a single case.  Maybe she has been doing it for a while and has already been spoken to.  You know she will never say anything.  It may have been the last straw and the only reason she got her job back was to keep the whole story out of the press.

 

[NL_engineer]

Well she got her job back when Sr management woke up and seen the headlines this morning (or checked there blackberry's)  ;D

 

[MedTechStudent]

A guy I worked with at Tim Hortons way back in the day was fired for giving a Boston Cream Donut to his friend.

He should go ask for oh lets say 3 years of pay compensated 

 

[PMedMoe]

But you notice how the media gets the "sympathy" angle?  Single mother of four.  Should that even matter?  What if it was a high school kid?  Or a married woman (or man)? 
If it was a one time thing, it's a bit of an overreaction.

 

[1feral1]

Timbits?  Ha, I have never heard of one, or had one for that matter. Looks like I will have to try some when I get to Saskatchewan come August.

 

[karl28]

Wesley Down Under 

          Your gonna like the little things but there addictive LOL 

 

[1feral1]

Ya, and the Army Fat Police want me to drop 8kg in the next 90 days.

I will save myself a few timbits for sure.

 

[Celticgirl]

But you notice how the media gets the "sympathy" angle?  Single mother of four.  Should that even matter?  What if it was a high school kid?  Or a married woman (or man)?   
If it was a one time thing, it's a bit of an overreaction.

As a single parent, I think it should and does matter. A high school kid has his parents to fall back on. A married person has a spouse to fall back on (assuming that spouse has a job also). I'll tell you something else - it is not possible to sustain four children on McD's wages, so that woman must also be collecting some social assistance. Kudos to her for not sitting home and collecting it, but going out every day to a job so that her kids can learn from her positive example.

 

[1feral1]

As a single parent, I think it should and does matter. A high school kid has his parents to fall back on. A married person has a spouse to fall back on (assuming that spouse has a job also). I'll tell you something else - it is not possible to sustain four children on McD's wages, so that woman must also be collecting some social assistance. Kudos to her for not sitting home and collecting it, but going out every day to a job so that her kids can learn from her positive example.

Well said CG

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I've seen tons of this type of complaint come through the office. When delved into, and all the facts from both sides are laid bare, quite often the termination of employment is just a culmination of a lot of other events and contraventions. Not all, but enough to take this one with a grain of salt.

There is a good possibility she would have lost her wrongful dismissal complaint, which is why it may have been tried in the media. However, even if they'd won, TH took the high road and ate the PC media hype. If this has been the case, and she is a chronic offender of the company policy, you can rest assured it will be dealt with a little better next time.

I won't render judgement one way or the other, the pertinent info just isn't available to make an informed decision, and I'm not easily swayed by sob stories.

Let's not lose sight of the original subject and derail this with pseudo social commentary on the neglected masses of society.

 

[PMedMoe]

As a single parent, I think it should and does matter. A high school kid has his parents to fall back on. A married person has a spouse to fall back on (assuming that spouse has a job also). I'll tell you something else - it is not possible to sustain four children on McD's wages, so that woman must also be collecting some social assistance. Kudos to her for not sitting home and collecting it, but going out every day to a job so that her kids can learn from her positive example.

I don't deny any of that at all, but it certainly makes for a less "sensational" news story.  In those cases, it probably wouldn't have even made the paper.
What if the high school kid no longer lives at home?  Or the married person's spouse is unable to work and getting a measly disability check?  How do we know she's not making loads of alimony and child support and is working just to keep busy or current in the job market?  We don't get the full story, only what they want us to hear.
Before anyone starts booing and hissing, I have also been a single parent, once on the verge of collecting Welfare myself.

 

[MamaBear]

The story is pretty vague as to why management freaked out.  I could understand the concern if the employee handed a timbit to a kid WITHOUT a parent's approval.  Considering the seriousness of allergies today, especially peanuts, handing food to a kid without a parent saying yay or nay is dangerous.  But other than that, I can't imagine why they would have issues. 

 

[Corey Darling]

Thats incredible.

My GF used to work for timmies, they give free timbits to drive through customers if you say its for your dog.

 

[Koenigsegg]

They used to give Timbits out to dogs, but ended that for the most part due to "sanitary" issues.  It was one, Timbit.  and who is to say that the womans intention in the first place was not to pay for it the one Timbit out of her own pocket?  I'm not saying she was going to, and if she was, I'm sure she would have spoken up.  But I still don't see the big deal.  My dog still gets the odd free Timbit, and the employees that do it are still working there.

*Edit* Haha, I was beaten.

 

[Yrys]

  It was one, Timbit.  and who is to say that the womans intention in the first place was not to pay for it the one Timbit out of her own pocket?

She did, on CTV news tonight, she said that next time she would pay herself.

The story also said that the regular customer was one of her friend. And that she had talk to the management for
some others employees.

In French, newspaper article said that she was hired by another Tim Hortons (not the one that fired her). So she probably
lost any benefit of being woth them for 3 years (numbers of hours/week, numbers of vacations weeks/years, etc).

 

[Harley Sailor]

Thats incredible.

My GF used to work for timmies, they give free timbits to drive through customers if you say its for your dog.

I tried that one time.  I asked for a timbit for my dog. When they handed it to me I gave it to my girlfriend. It took a second before the staff caught on. I heard about that for weeks.