Ode On A Traveler Mug

So yesterday, in my rush to get my son to school and get onto my Hamilton to Toronto commute, I left my traveler coffee mug on the kitchen counter. I didn't notice it until I was already on the road, and completely forgot about it until the end of a long day where it greeted me when I arrived.

Not once did it question why I had created it and left it there alone.
Not once was it angry at my human-ness.

My coffee mug, like a devoted canine companion, was there waiting for me with imagined puppy-dog eyes to look up at me as I finally returned from a day started without it.

And for that reason, I write this poem.

ODE ON A TRAVELER MUG

You noble, elegant and quiet vessel
Of infinite wakefulness
In those silent morning hours

You beautiful purveyor of AM bliss
Of inspiration, of energy
And of ritualized addiction

You friend of humanity
In your comforting, warming ways
You carry forth the essential 'lifeblood'
And allow it to travel, to move through space and time
Ever warm, ever present, ever within reach

Earlier that morning I brewed a special blend of black crushed beans
And poured it inside you with all the greatest intent
Of bringing you, and the treasure you carried inside you
With me on that day's quest into servitude

But, rushing, oblivious
Perhaps because of the fact I hadn't yet savoured
Even a single ounce of the fruit that you bore

I departed on my journey alone
I departed on my journey without you
And had all but forgot the grand designs
I held in my heart and mind for you

Finally, twelve hours hence
I returned home
Only to be greeted by your presence

Standing, patiently, lovingly, like a stoic sentinel
Like a beloved, cherished and faithful canine companion
Greeting me from where I left you alone and quietly waiting for me
On my morning breakfast counter

Can We Rrreduce, Rrreuse And Rrrecycle While Rrrolling Up The Rim?

I've long been a fan of Tim Hortons as well as their Rrroll Up The Rim To Win contest, which allows a coffee purchase to be turned into a chance to win some fun prizes.

But, as pointed out interestingly in a blog post I found from 2007 called Rrrollup the Rim - Making Litterers Out of Losers? is that simply adding to litter?  There was also an interesting article on Sympatico's website this morning by Daniela Syrovy and Greg Bolton that caught my eye that talks about the litter cups. As evidenced in the picture accompanying the article (of a cup with the winning piece torn out from it left abandoned in a snow covered street) it's the winners as much as the losers who are littering.

I don't think we should be blaming Tim Hortons for littering. People, as they are often not want to do, need to take responsibility for their own behaviour. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of the complete lack of respect, of the complete lack of responsibility the average person takes for their own behaviour. It's always People need to stop just throwing their crap everywhere and expecting someone else to pick it up, or someone else to take responsibility for it.


However, that being said, given how greedy and selfish our society has become, Tim Hortons could appeal to this narcissistic nature of people rather than try to appeal to whatever it is that causes the folks who do not litter to do the right thing.

Last year on this blog, I suggested a manner by which Tim Hortons could possibly work with someone on developing an app for smart phones that would allow people to use their reusable coffee container and not only get a discount on their coffee, but allow them to play the exciting contest.

Remember that right now, if you take your travel mug to Tim Hortons and order a coffee, you get the discount on your purchase, but then they also give you an empty cup so you don't miss your chance to win. Nice "customer benefit" gesture for Tim Hortons. But not so nice for the extra trash created, which undoes the "good" of the person bringing a reusable cup in the first place.

My suggestion was called Roll Up On Your RIM To Win and I still think it's possible, either for a company like RIM or someone else. (Ideally, the tie-in between the makers of Blackberry and Tim Hortons could be pretty huge -- even if Research in Motion were to create an app for iPhones and Adroids, the "name" of the app/promotion could still be Roll Up on Your RIM, giving Blackberry and other RIM offerings more exposure.....at least the way I look at it. I challenge you to try to find a Canadian out there who is NOT familiar with "RRROLL UP THE RIM."  Talk about a broad marketing campaign that is as Canadian as "apple pie" is American.

The basic premise is, Tim Hortons continues with their cups, but adds in a manner by which a person with a smartphone app and a reusable cup gets TWO entries into the contest instead of one, simply by opting for the "greener" non-litter choice.

I still think it's a good idea, and am hoping that someone who is a lot smarter than me takes the idea and makes it happen.  Seriously, go ahead, please just steal the idea, I'm never going to be able to do anything with it. Just make something like this happen. Please. I wonèt come after you claiming it was my idea in the first place (although attribution is always the right thing to do) -- I might, however, ask you to at least buy me a double-double at Timmies.

An Interesting Twist On No Drinks Allowed

Photo © 2010 Melissa Koehler Photograph

I've been a bookseller for long enough to remember a time when it was common to see "no drinks allowed" signs posted near the entrance to most bookstores.

Of course, that mentality changed a bit when the big box stores that included a Starbucks inside started to pop up in the mid 90's.  Given that, when these stores first sprung up, they were filled with tables, chairs and even armchairs and couches, the whole idea seemed to be: "C'mon into the bookstore, and hey, don't worry about bringing food or beverages inside - all of that is welcome. In fact, if you didn't bring any, there's a convenient place for you to buy some."

There was, perhaps, a bit of a backlash after the explosion of "coffee is welcome" into bookstores.  I mean, I've seen more than my fair share of customers putting their drink down the wrong way ON TOP of an expensive ART or PHOTOGRAPHY section of books. (Murphy's Law dictates they'd spill their latte down the most expensive books in the store rather than on a section of mass market paperbacks)

But now, it's just as likely you'll see a "no drinks allowed" sign as you'll see a bookstore with a coffee shop enclosed. (In Hamilton, you might see a "Yes, that includes Tim Hortons too" note added to the "no drinks allowed" since it's almost a requirement that you walk around with a cup of Tim's when you live in this fine city - I hope nobody catches me, because right now I'm walking around with a cup of coffee made inside my home . . . . I might get ousted if too many people find out)

But I still find it interesting to see a complete flip on the whole "coffee allowed in bookstores" issue.  On The New York Times blog, Nick Bilton writes about how books aren't allowed in a particular coffee shop in Manhattan.  (Okay, he's talking about e-books, they being a type of computer)  His article is entitled "No E-Books Allowed in This Establishment" and it certainly raises an interesting question -- if it's okay to sit in a coffee shop and read a book, why isn't a person allowed to sit and read an e-book?

Feel Like a SMUG of Coffee?

I was recently reading on ReadWriteWeb about a company called Smug Coffee that offers the world's first smart mug (or "smug"), that uses RFID to create an affordable way to encourage coffee shops and customers to use reusable mugs.

The Smug is, essentially, a gift card in the form of a travel mug.

Each Smug is embedded with an RFID tag (similar to the ones used in certain "touch and go" payment card systems) linked to a gift card account at your friendly neighbourhood coffee shop. Paying for your beverage is as simple as waving your Smug travel mug over a specified part of the counter near the cash register.

So, two nice issues are solved. One, having to carry around a gift card that's hidden somewhere in your wallet or purse. Two, it offers yet another good reason to use a reusable mug rather than the wasteful disposable coffee cups. And the more reasons we can offer people to reduse and reuse, the better.

On top of the environmentally friendly benefits, this technology allows a person to go online and set their "usual" drink, which would pop up on the barista's screen, to store their name for more personalised service, get a free coffee on their birthday, and allow for intelligent drink recommendations based on purchase history.  Given the gift-cardy nature of this, there's a nice way for someone to add money to another person's account. For example, a college student's parents can keep topping up their child's account, perhaps giving it a bit of a boost near mid-term and exam time. (Or instead of me complaining to my wife that I never have enough change or any cash in my wallet to buy a coffee, she can get me a Smug, load up my account and tell me to stop my whining)

Of course, nothing beats going to your actual friendly neighbourhood coffee shop where the people who work there actually know you, know your "usual" and know your name. There's no technology needed for that -- just excellent customer service skills. But leveraging the Smug technology at a coffee chain would allow a traveling customer the convenience and experience of buying a coffee at their community coffee shop nomatter where they roam.

Roll Up On Your RIM To Win

Every year during Tim Hortons' Roll up the Rim to Win contest I'm a little bit torn over the disposable cup.

Don't get me wrong -- I think the concept, the actual printing onto the previously "unused" area that gets rolled and hidden under the rim of the cup is absolute brilliance on behalf of Ron Buist, who was a long-time marketing director for Tim Hortons. I had the pleasure of listening to him talk at a Campus Stores Canada symposium a few years ago and read his book Tales from Under the Rim: The Marketing of Tim Hortons shortly after that and quite enjoyed both his talk and the book.

However, technology has advanced in such a way that I think Tim Hortons can continue the very successful marketing campaign, but offer a more environmentally friendly way of playing.

And no, it's not that I always have a reusable mug on me -- but I do like to keep one in the car when I'm going on long trips, and I also keep one at work. Tim Hortons does offer a discount on the purchase of a coffee when you bring in your own reusable mug -- but, the saving of 10 cents during the Roll Up The Rim To Win time of year hardly compares to the chance to win a prize (whether it's a free donut, coffee or perhaps a new car).

So, just like there's an incentive to bring in a reusable cup, perhaps there can be an incentive to use a smartphone application (or online entry) for the whole "Rim" promotion. And thus my riff on the "rim" of the cup with RIM as in Research in Motion, yet another hugely successful Canadian success story, the folks behind the Blackberry: Roll up on your RIM to Win!

Here's how I imagine my idea might work.

When customers purchase a coffee during the "RIM" promotional period, they either get the wonderful cup we all know and love, or they get the option to register a randomly generated code either immediately using an application on their smartphone, or, if they don't have a smartphone or the app installed, via an entry form on their website (similar perhaps to the way that iCoke points are entered for contest prizes)

Of course, in order to encourage people to continue using reusable cups during the promotion, there needs to be an incentive. Let's be honest here, most people quickly and easily default back to the "what's in it for me" mentality in much of their daily activities and routines. That's not to say that people don't try to do better, and don't think about consequences -- Earth Hour is quite successful every year; it generates a huge amount of awareness; yet, despite this, most of us go back to our regular wasteful habits almost immediately after that hour is over. Not because people are selfish and evil -- it's just human nature. We need continued reminders (like Earth Hour) to prompt us to be less wasteful, to reduce consumption of materials and resources.

Thus, any promotion that ties back to environmental benefits, such as less waste, needs to be as simple as possible, and needs to offer an added incentive. For doing it "the digital way" I think that people need to get more; thus, two chances to win rather than one is a pretty cost-effective way of giving them more.

So, if I buy a coffee and get my tradition rolling rim, I get a chance to win, just like it has always been? Cool.

But if I do the digital rim thing, I not only get a discount on my coffee purchase, but I get TWO chances to win? Where did you say I could install that free application?

Of course, the whole digital method of "rolling the rim" could be extended to all kinds of social media platforms and made into games and fun sharing (further pushing the environmental message in a fun and competitive way). There is already an application for smartphones like RimRoller in which users can enter their "stats" of wins and track a Win/Loss ratio that is sent out to Twitter. So why not offer something similar?

The idea is simple and I'm sure that, using technology that already exists within the Franchise, (whether it's related to their cash register system auto-generated a number or a number being printed to those little slips of paper that come out showing your remaining balance on your gift card) something can be developed where you either enter the code right into your smartphone application on the spot, perhaps texting the entry code to a particular number or entering it online later. (I like the instant entry option because it might be more exciting to win on the spot rather than finding out later at home, or forgetting to enter)

In any case, I'm sure there are some really smart people out there who could make the idea work.

In the meantime, I'll continue to feel guilty when I take a disposable cup during this promotion rather than my reusable one. (Of course, I'll do my best to remember to recycle or add the cup to my compostable waste. But reducing use is still better than recycling waste)

HNT - I'm On A Roll

It's "RRRoll up the rim to win" time again at Tim Hortons.

There are two seasons in Canada.

"Roll up the Rim" season at Timmy's and the rest of the year.

No seriously. Especially in Hamilton, you can tell it's that time of year not because of any television or radio ads or billboards or other signage. No, you can tell because the tell-tale cups are in everyone's hand no matter where you go. It's like judging what time of year it is by the Christmas lights going up on every second house in the neighbourhood.

Everywhere I went yesterday, every second hand is clutching, not a normal coloured Tim Hortons cup, but a specially designed cup that offers the chance to win. And the design of this cup is so distinct that you can spot one from at least a mile off.

I haven't seen a swearing in of new Canadians ceremony in a long time, but I'm beginning to suspect that instead of pinning a tiny Canadian flag pin on them, they should simply thrust a Tim Horton's cup into their hand. "There you go, sir, you're officially Canadian now. "

And I'm not kidding when I say that they're everywhere. For example, yesterday, during Ash Wednesday ceremonies, the priest was marking people's foreheads with black ashes in one hand and holding a Roll up the Rim cup in the other. I could have also sworn I saw a cup sitting on the desk beside Peter Mansbridge on The National last night. I think I even saw Steven Page, though walking in the other direction, and away from his former band mates, Barenaked Ladies, holding, yes, you guessed it, a Timmy's RRRoll up the rim cup in his hand. He might be turning his back on20 years of incredible success with BNL, but he won't give up his Tim Hortons coffee.

In any case, yesterday I forgot to bring coffee in to work with me, so I ended up buying a couple.

And with each double double, and eventual rrroll, I won a free cup.

Woo-hoo!

I'm on a roll. Or should I say RRRoll?

So, in honour of RRRoll up the Rim season here, I'm rrrolling up a picture of me from a few years back sitting with a coffee in hand for HNT. (For what it's worth, though it's not an official rrroll up the rim cup, that IS Tim Horton's coffee in the cup. We buy it for home brewing.)

Roll Up The Rim To Kill A Tree

Yesterday morning I took my environmentally friendly reusable coffee mug, the nice black one I'd gotten from the Dalhousie University bookstore back in November, up to the Tim Hortons in the student center of McMaster.

Pleased with myself that I'd remembered to retrieve the reusable cup -- not just because it would save me ten cents off the purchase of my coffee, but also knowing that I would not be contributing another coffee cup to environmental waste -- I got into line and noticed that it was Roll Up The Rim To Win time again at Tim Hortons.

I needn't explain this phenomenal to any Canadians out there -- at least not to any Canadians who haven't been living in a cave, or under a rock for the past twenty years -- but to my foreign readers, "Roll up the rim to win" is a campaign run by Tim Hortons where there are a number of big ticket and thousands of "free coffee" and "free donut" prizes and countless number of "PLEASE TRY AGAINS" hidden under the rim.

Of course, my selfish nature immediately took over. After all, I didn't want to miss out on a chance to win a new Toyota, expensive speedboat or one of thousands of reloadable gift cards.

So, I abandoned my environmentally friendly intension, and bought an extra large double double in one of the "Roll up the Rim" disposable coffee cups.

I didn't win. Neither did the environment.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm a HUGE fan of Tim Hortons. Given a choice, I'll pick their coffee over any other, hands down. (Like many other Canadians, I have a bizarre addiction to it) But I wish that they would come up with some sort of way for people to participate in their "Roll up the Rim to win" contest WITHOUT having to throw away an entire cup. Perhaps a really tiny tear open 100% recycleable card no bigger than a business card? I know, I know, it defeats the whole purpose and the catchy marketing phrase that rolls off the tongues of Canadians quite wonderfully. But you've got to think SOMETHING could be done to keep a fun contest AND reduce the waste.

For example, I'd love to see an ongoing year-round marketing campaign where people who buy a Timmies coffee using any sort of reusable coffee mug (saving Tim's money AND helping the enviroment) automatically get entered in a draw to win some fun prizes. Without wasting paper, it could be administered as simple as swiping one of the environmentally friendly "Quickpay" reloadable Tim Hortons gift cards that have replaced the paper gift certificates (especially since you can register your gift card online). Just a thought, and perhaps not the craziest idea that has been tossed out.

For fun (and with a note about reducing waste), I found the following video a web site entitled How To Roll Up The Rim and support the environment. It's cute and does pay attention to the "please don't litter" concept that I'm sad to see violated way too often by people far too intelligent and who should know better. They also link to Tree Canada where you can get more information about doing your part for the trees.