Well… Not so much rage as disappointment. But Tim Horton’s is in hot water again, over its ‘Roll Up The Rim’ contest, which has suffered glitches in the past. This time, Tim’s rolled out erroneous prize notifications again…
What’s going on?
Horton’s has poured hot water on the hopes of a number of folks who were recently informed the had won a big prize in the 2024 ‘Roll Up The Rim’ contest. In fact, they thought they had won a really great prize, when they received an initial e-mail from the company (pictured, left). It said they were getting a bass boat and trailer combo worth nearly $60,000 bucks.
Who wouldn’t be ecstatic – even if they aren’t fishing types?
But their ecstasy turned to agony when Horton’s sent a follow-up message saying the first one was in error.
Ontario resident Shawn Baxter told CTV News, he was over the moon when he got his first e-mail: “I was definitely excited and my wife was on her way out the door and I called her back,” he said. “I was in a bit of shock. We verified the email address and it looked legit. It had listed everything that I won over the past contest… They all matched.”
Then, another e-mail arrived, sewing disappointment – and in some cases animosity – among its recipients.
‘Technical errors’
“We’re reaching out to let you know that technical errors may have resulted in incorrect information about rolls or prizes being included in your Roll Up to Win recap email which you received today,” the company stated.
“Unfortunately, some prizes that you did not win may have been included in the recap email you received. If this was the case, today’s email does not mean that you won those prizes.”
Oops! BIG oops…
The message further explained that any prize actually won would have been revealed clearly and instantly revealed when a customer rolled up the rim. Any large prize – like the boat – would be subject to ‘further verification’.
Not good enough…
Baxter said a mere explanation was not sufficient compensation for the shock he and his wife suffered from the mix-up.
“You know, you go to a store and they post the wrong price. They take care of that, and honour that price,” he said. […] “I’d like to see something from them, of course. Ideally the boat, but I doubt that’s going to happen.”
Not the first time, either
A similar incident occurred in March, 2023. That time, some customers were erroneously informed they had won the daily grand prize draw, worth $10,000. Horton’s offered each disappointed contest entrant a $50 gift card to help soften the blow
At the time of writing, Horton;s had not yet said what, if anything, it would offer in compensation to the folks who were told in error they’d won the boat package…
My take
I heartily concur with Baxter – at least on a conceptual level. Tim’s really does have a responsibility to own its mistake, and compensate folks who were erroneously informed they had won the boat. But what kind of compensation and how much is entirely a matter for conjecture at this point. We’ll see what they come up with as an ‘opening offer’.
Meanwhile, other disappointed non-winners are already talking about waging a class action war on Tim’s over the glitch. We’ll follow this story with great interest… And report subsequent developments as they occur.
~ Maggie J.