To: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor <erika.paterson@ubc.ca>
From: Justin Tang, ENGL 301 Student <jtang102@student.ubc.ca>
Date: February 21, 2023
Subject: The Feasibility of Implementing Express Lines at Tim Hortons that are located on UBC Vancouver Campus.
Introduction
UBC is home to many coffee shops such as Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Blue Chip Cafe… The coffee shops on campus fuel the immense consumption of coffee daily at UBC by students and staff. Tim Hortons has the most locations on campus at three, and is one of the more affordable options on having; thus making it them one of the most popular food places on campus. However, this also makes them notorious for having long wait times to order and get one’s food. Most customers order a coffee and a baked item, which can be fulfilled on the spot. However, the Tim Hortons on campus groups everyone into one line regardless of what you are ordering and how large your order is; fulfilling orders based on which order arrived first into their system.
Audience Description
Manger and Owners of all the Tim Hortons located on UBC Vancouver campus.
Statement of Problem*
Ordering a coffee and a snack between class should not take more than five minute total, accounting for lining up, ordering, and waiting for the food. Currently, all the Tim Hortons on campus have at least a 5+ minute wait time to order and then another 5+ minute wait time for order to be ready; these wait times can exceed 15+ minutes each during times of increased traffic when classes end and meal times. This results in students going to other places to buy their drinks that could be double Tim Horton’s price for the same size, as well as being located far away from their intended location.
Proposed Solution
One possible solution for long wait times is to implement an express line for people that are just ordering a coffee or a bakery item. The express line would only accept orders for drinks and bakery items with a limit of how many items one person is allowed to order. This would allow the main line to focus on food items that take longer to make such as sandwiches and wraps, and orders of large quantities such as 4+ coffees and food items. The Tim Hortons located on campus would be able to serve a large amount of people and keep customer satisfaction high for those that do not have the time to wait 20 minutes for a drink (Weng et al).
Scope
To assess the feasibility of implementing express lines at Tim Hortons that are located on UBC Vancouver campus, I plan to pursue five areas of inquiry:
- What are the most popular items ordered?
- What is the average amount of items per order?
- What is the average wait time from waiting to order to receiving one’s order?
- How many dedicated staff members would be needed to run an express line?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of an express line?
Methods
My primary data source will come from a survey with students of UBC to collect their opinions on an express line at the Tim Hortons. Another primary data source will include interviews from the management team of the Tim Hortons located on campus. Secondary sources will include publications that discusses the benefits and drawbacks to express lines.
My Qualifications
I am a third-year student in the BCS program at UBC and live on campus. I frequently make different purchases from just a coffee to food items through in-store purchases and online ordering from numerous coffee shops across campus, allowing me to have first-hand experience with the wait times and efficiency of service at different stores.
Conclusion
Tim Hortons on UBC campus would benefit from implementing an express lane. This would allow those that are buying certain items such as coffee and bakery items to avoid the long wait times. By accessing the five areas of inquiry mentioned earlier, I can determine the feasibility of implementing an express lane. With your approval, I will immediately begin research.
Citations
Weng, Shao Jen, et al. “Lining up for Quick Service—the Business Impact of Express Lines on Fast-Food Restaurant Operations.” Journal of Foodservice Business Research, vol. 20, no. 1, 2016, pp. 65–81., https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2016.1195217.
Hello Justin,
Thank you for posting your proposal for a formal report. I am a little worried if the scope of this investigation might be too small for a 12 – 15 page formal report. Perhaps you could expand your investigation to include some research into other practices at Tim Hortons that would benefit from improvements? Is Tim Hortons ecologically minded when it comes to take out materials? Do they recycle effectively? These are just ideas I am throwing out.
Please consider these ideas, in the meantime, you are approved to proceed. I look forward to learning more. One note – your surveys will be online. We need to ensure anonymity for the participants. Thanks.