Restaurant tells sick customer to use payphone to call 911
Staff then barred medics from entering through an exit-only door
CBC News
ONTARIO — Tim Hortons has found itself in the midst of a controversy after a teen suffering from an asthma attack asked to use the phone to call for help, but was turned down.
It happened on Sunday when Brett Wolfe, 17, stopped at a Tim Hortons on Horton Street East and Wellington Street, in downtown London, Ont.
While inside, he started having breathing problems and asked to use the phone.
"They said, 'There's a payphone across the street.' Well, I said 'I need to call 911, I'm short of breath, I'm having an asthma attack' and they just ignored me."
Aldina King was with Wolfe when the attack happened.
She said it was clear her friend "needed hospital attention."
King said staff didn't act quickly.
"I didn't see any reaction, that's the funny thing about it, I didn't see any reaction. I sat there quietly dumbfounded."
A quick-thinking patron used a cellphone to call paramedics, but according to one report they weren't allowed to enter through an exit-only door.
Tim Hortons said the teen did ask to use the phone but didn't say he was in distress.
It was only when an employee went to get a manager that Wolfe indicated he was having trouble breathing.
A spokesperson said the manager knew paramedics had been called and that Wolfe walked outside on his own.
Tim Hortons said employees are encouraged to recognize signs of distress and call 911
In a statement sent to CBC News, the company said "our restaurants normally handle these unique situations right in the vast majority of cases. In this particular situation, this team member misjudged the circumstances."
It was also in a London, Ont., Tim Hortons that a cashier was fired five years ago when she gave a Timbit to a crying baby.
The cashier was later rehired.
Wolfe said he doesn't expect anything from the company, but he would like to see a change in attitude "and if something really does happen, they should let people call."
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Alan W. Rose Wednesday, March 06, 2013 1:19:35 PM This story is full of BS. They wouldn't let the Paramedics come in the OUT door but the patient had walked out on hs own? Why did the employee go to get the manager if there wasn't already a problem? Why is the writer quoting the restaurant like it's a speaking human being? 
Robert Kasper Thursday, March 07, 2013 4:14:35 PM Tim Hortons has great coffee but.... by their own admission poor judgement and a lack of training are the culprits. Asthma attacks can and do leave the patient with an inability to speak in complete sentences. Timmy Ho's needs to train staff in recongnition of a patron in distress.....a little sensitivity training wouldn't hurt either. 
Daryl R. Prindle Friday, March 08, 2013 6:23:07 AM These situations are quite common. Allot of businesses will go out of their way to avoid something that they believe might create a negative image and hurt their business. I have on more than one occasion been told that I need to park outback and or out of sight and that I would not be able to use the main or most appropriate entrance. Off course this has never stopped us from doing what we need to do. They will get over it. I have yet to see a customer who has been upset by allowing emergency services to do their job. They are quite understanding when these situations come up. I think the worst thing is when the manager or staff is standing over your shoulder telling you how to do your job and saying hurry up you need to get them out of here. We are trying to run a business hurry up. Defiantly a time to bite your tongue. 
Richard Cooper Saturday, March 09, 2013 12:32:37 PM What is this world coming to: a RN refusing to give CPR in a senior housing facility, Tim Horton's refusing to let a person in a life threatening situation call 911, dispatures refusing to transmit stalker calls (resulting in death) to police,... 
