Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW) at the Verge of Losing US Customers amid Deal with Tim Hortons Inc. (USA) (THI)

Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) customers have filled up the Florida based fast food chain’s Facebook page denouncing it for its merger talks with the Canadian fast food chain Tim Hortons Inc. (USA) (NYSE:THI) which is most renouned for its coffee and doughnuts. Bloomberg‘s Scarlet Fu reported on this customer backlash.

Fu cited a research by the international internet based market research firm, YouGov, in order to see where Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW)’s ratings are headed in terms of customer satisfaction. YouGov calls its unit of estimation ‘buzz score’.  A sharp dip in Burger King’s graphical representation of the ‘buzz score’ during the month of September was more than obvious.

While Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW)’s ‘buzz score’ line turned south, Tim Hortons Inc. (USA) (NYSE:THI) on the contrary experienced a slight pickup during September. This was not very surprising, as Fu pointed out that Tim Hortons only has 850 restaurants in the US and those are mostly located in states near the border with Canada. This is of course because the fast food chain is based in Canada and as Fu indicated that a lot of US citizens don’t even know what Tim Hortons is?

However, that can’t be said of the customers who have been protesting against the merger between Burger King Worldwide Inc (NYSE:BKW) and Tim Hortons Inc. (USA) (NYSE:THI) which has been seen as a tax inversion deal. Customers of the fast food chain do not want their Florida based company to pay their tax dollars to the Canadian government instead of keeping the money within US.

It is interesting to note the customer awareness and the national pride that people have exhibited here. They have not let their taste buds dictate what they hold dear. Instead, they have taken the matter in their own hands and as a sign of protest hit the company where it hurts the most, the sales.

Disclosure: none