Subway

Only come at night! The black guy with dreads (sorry I don’t know his name) is A++++ can’t praise him enough! Friendly, makes a great sub! Never scrimps on toppings! Wish every subway was like this one!

I stopped by this morning to take advantage of the advertised «buy one 6-​inch sandwich and drink before 9 a.m. and get a 6-​inch free in October» deal. I usually don’t go to Subway because I hate the smell of the sourdough bread baking and I’ve eaten too many in undergrad.
When I walked in, the doorbell rang and I waited nearly a minute and a half in the empty restaurant until I yelled «HELLO!» A woman came out of the restroom, looking sheepish and smiling.
I asked about the promotion, and the employee said that I could get any 6-​inch sandwich.
I ordered the 6-​inch Black Forest & Ham with Egg and Jack Cheese on Flatbread and a 6-​inch Turkey & Ham SUB (for lunch) and coffee. The employee made the Flatbread sandwich and I paid for it while it was baking. After the sandwich was heated, she asked if I wanted toppings. I asked where the egg was. She replied that it didn’t come with the sandwich; it would be extra. I pointed to the menu and said it’s supposed to come with egg.” She said, «No, it doesn’t, but I will add it to it for no charge.»
She added the egg to ONE HALF OF THE FLATBREAD SANDWICH AND CUTS IT IN HALF. She said that the 3-​inch side is the FREE SANDWICH and the 3-​inch EGG WHITE SIDE IS THE SANDWICH I PAID FOR.
I don’t know if there was a language barrier (she was East Indian with a very heavy accent) or what, but the feeling that I was getting scammed and the stink of the baking bread spoiled my appetite. Oh yeah, it doesn’t sell coffee despite the fact that it had a huge red Seattle’s Best Coffee cup on all of the breakfast promos throughout the shop.
I gave the employee my credit card and told her to cancel the order and give me a refund; she looked puzzled. I repeated that I wanted my money back. She said that she couldn’t refund the charge. Before I said something really mean, I told her that I was leaving and that I would call my card’s issuer for a refund. She then apologized and gave me a cash refund. Two hours later, I still have no appetite.
I won’t ever go there again.

A Subway’s a Subway is a Subway — what sets it apart is the experience. You can go anywhere for a sub, but walk into a place like Jimmy John’s and you know why it’s more expensive than the Subway chain.
Nevertheless, a coupon I got at work brought me to this Subway location tonight, and I thought I’d give it another try. Hey, who can resist that delicious smell of baking bread? Well, I was reminded as soon as I walked in of the biggest reason I’m usually turned off of Subways in general: the franchise owners HATE accepting coupons and honoring corporate promotions. They make it KNOWN. At best, I’ve been given a sideways glance for asking about a promotion I saw on TV. At worst, they won’t honor a deal at all, and make you feel cheap.
My coupon was good for a full, free meal: sub, chips, drink. It clearly stated it a few times on the coupon. The man behind the counter insisted that’s not what the coupon said, and when he finally agreed to honor it, he gave me scowls, sighs, and a wordless exchange as he built my sandwich. Like I was trying to completely rob him blind. Like I’m sitting at home Photoshopping Subway coupons just to see if I can get away with it.
I’m just glad Subway builds your sandwich in front of your eyes, because it was to the point that I wouldn’t have trusted him to make it behind anything but see-​through glass.
The point of a coupon is to elicit customer loyalty, and trust me, after that, I’m not going back to that location. And given that this experience is hardly far from the Subway norm, I think I’ll stay clear of the chain altogether and pay full price at Jimmy John’s.
It still astonishes me how many restaurant owners completely defeat the whole purpose of offering a coupon in the first place by treating their customers like garbage. Subway, I stuck with you through your ill-​informed avocado-​offering phase, but this experience pretty much sealed the deal that I won’t be back.