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It's that time of year again, yes it's "Roll up the Rim to Win" at Tim Hortons. For anyone who is unaware of this phenomenon, Tim Horton's is a Canadian coffee institution (I have no idea why, but I still buy it) and Roll up the Rim to Win is a marketing ploy to get us to buy more coffee. Every time we buy a coffee, we're essentially playing the lottery, to win anything from donuts to a BBQ or even a car. I believe that Americans are also subjected to this chaos, but I'm not sure how much Tim Hortons has infiltrated our southerly neighbours. In Canada, having a Tim Hortons is more important than having a hospital, police department, or grocery store.
Consumer marketing. It's everywhere. That's not my problem for once. The problem I have is that I and many others make a concerted effort to reduce garbage in landfills by bringing in our own travel mugs. This initiative totally dissuades anyone from doing any good. The other day, I brought in my mug, got it filled, but was given an empty cup anyway, to "roll up". I paused for a minute. Do I say, "nah, just keep the cup," thereby allowing the server to keep it for herself or give to the next guy for free and he/she happens to win the Rav4? I couldn't take that chance (I live in a capitalist society after all), so I took the cup, rolled up the rim, won a coffee, saved the rim and threw the rest of the cup out. That totally defeats the purpose of bringing in my own mug - now when I go for a coffee break at work, I don't bring my own mug. Tim Horton's you are undermining me!
The take-home message for Tim Hortons is that they should be environmentally responsible and devise a secondary way to roll up the rim for those who bring in their own mugs. A colleague at work suggested "spinning a wheel." I like that idea, or even providing a mini rim (the thing you keep anyway if you win) so that you don't end up throwing out the entire cup! Do it Tim Hortons, do the right thing.
