Jimmy Craig has been banned from the Tim Hortons restaurant in St. Andrews, N.B., for complaining about its decaffeinated coffee. A Tim Hortons spokesman said Craig became "increasingly aggressive with store staff." (CBC)

Tim Hortons is defending a store owner's decision to ban a customer who complained repeatedly about the taste of its decaffeinated coffee.

Jimmy Craig, a paramedic in the southwestern New Brunswick town of St. Andrews, said he's been barred from two Tim Hortons restaurants after he complained three times about the decaffeinated coffee tasting burnt.

David Morelli, director of public affairs for Tim Hortons, said the company's counter workers try to make sure every customer leaves satisfied.

'But at some point, we have to respectfully agree to disagree, and suggest we go our separate ways.' —Tim Hortons spokesman David Morelli

Morelli said the staff could not find a way to satisfy Craig's coffee complaints.

"In this particular case, we understand the customer had complained multiple times, and no matter what the staff did to make it right, he was unhappy," Morelli said.

"He became increasingly aggressive with store staff and was impacting their ability to serve other customers. Our staff work long and hard to please each customer every day. But at some point, we have to respectfully agree to disagree, and suggest we go our separate ways."

Craig is allowed to enter the Tim Hortons outlets in St. Andrews and nearby St. Stephen only if he is on the job as a paramedic. He has said he is seeking legal advice to reverse the ban.

Court case brewing?

Joel Hansen, a St. Stephen lawyer, said the store owner may be on shaky legal ground in barring Craig from his coffee shop.

Hansen, who is not working for Craig, said that under the provincial Trespass Act people can be banned from public spaces if they're deemed to be a nuisance. The lawyer said he's seen people banned for shoplifting or loitering, but not for complaining about coffee.

"There are obviously going to be cases where it's not so clear. And this may be one of those cases," Hansen said. "I mean, going in to complain, if this is the fact that a customer was complaining, and thereby inviting a ban for life — there seems to be an incongruity there that does not on the face of it seem just or fair."

Hansen said Craig may be able to ask a judge for an injunction allowing him to enter the coffee shops. However, Hansen also said he wouldn't recommend legal action, saying it just isn't worth going to court over coffee.