Revised Research Proposal – Implementation of Additional Tim Horton’s Locations Campus-Wide

To:  Dr. Erika Patterson, ENGL 301 Instructor

From: Varneega Theva, ENGL 301 Student

Date: March 4, 2022

Subject: Implementation of Additional Tim Horton’s Locations Campus-Wide

 

Audience Description

The intended audience for this formal report would be Colin Moore, the director of Food Services at UBC, as he oversees and approve all major food related decisions.

Introduction

There is no doubt that Tim Horton’s is a popular choice for many students at UBC thanks to its affordability, quality and variety of food and drinks. Students looking to take a quick break and grab a coffee or snack often head to the nearest location, which is only one of three at the Vancouver campus. With a population of more than 65,000 students in addition to faculty and staff members, it’s clear why this could pose as an issue.

Statement of Problem

As a loyal Tim Horton’s customer myself, I notice that most students in these long lineups are often only desperately trying to refuel on hot drinks or light snacks that require little to no preparation in making. Instead, students typically wait in line for periods of 20 to 30 minutes for a task that would’ve only taken a minute or two if they were able to prepare it themselves. This results in a heavy traffic of students during peak hours, that could be absolved through a relatively simple solution.

Proposed Plan

A solution to this issue that is commonly used at McMaster University are small self-serve kiosks that are dispersed across campus at various locations for convenience. These kiosks have 2 employees each who primarily work at the cash registers and regularly refill the coffee and tea pots on the burner when they are running low. This means students have the ability to walk in, pour themselves a drink or grab a to-go snack and be out within minutes. This is an incredibly resourceful idea that students have echoed at McMaster University and believe it could have the same effects for staff and students here at UBC. The following are ideas that could be used for the successful implementation of this:

1. More employees working during peak hours
2. Kiosks placed strategically across campus according to the traffic of these locations
3. Adding to-go snacks and foods to these kiosks

Scope

To assess the feasibility of adding self-serve kiosks to the Vancouver campus at UBC, I plan to pursue the following five areas of inquiry:

1. What are the peak hours of this restaurant on campus currently?
2. How many locations should be added?
3. What are the potential locations?
4. How many workers should there be?
5. What are the costs associated with this?

The survey will primarily be focused around gathering data on how often and where students buy a drink, what their input is on the pricing and what factors are considered to be the most important when purchasing a hot beverage on campus.

Methods

My primary data sources will include consultations with Colin Moore, the director of Food Services at UBC. Observations will be recorded and used to quantitatively measure the traffic of each of the current location on campus to determine peak and non-peak hours.  A survey will be conducted with a sample size of about a hundred students to investigate how useful this might be.

Secondary sources will include peer-reviewed publications that explore customer satisfaction of self-serve concepts in the food industry.

Qualifications

Due to having completed a first degree at McMaster University where the implementation of this idea proves useful, I can speak to the benefits of this from a student’s perspective. I also had the opportunity to speak to Food Services last semester through my part-time work position on campus, which gives the added benefit of the director being receptive to the idea of conducting an interview.

Conclusions

It’s clear that many students find Tim Horton’s to be a popular and affordable option. However, due to the lack of locations on campus, students are stuck in long lineups amidst their busy days. Through this investigation, it will be determined whether students would be interested in the addition of self-serve kiosks and how feasible this would be. With approval, I aim to begin this research right away.