Just a few moments ago (literally) I had a rather unpleasant experience at the subway restaurant in Johnston, RI.
I had gone there with a coupon for a “free sandwich,” the language upon which reads as follows:
“Buy any regular sandwich and any fountain drink & receive a second sandwich of equal or lesser price at No Charge.”
So I ordered 2 footlong subs, one of which was chicken salad. Upon presenting the coupon I was told that it couldn’t be used on chicken salad subs, at which point I read the coupon again to see if there was an error on my part.
In parenthesis I found the words, “excludes pastrami and philly cheesesteak.” I then handed the cashier the coupon to read for himself, explaining that nowhere on it did it exclude chicken salad. Also the term “regular sandwich” is ambiguous at best. A chicken salad sandwich could easily be considered a “regular sandwich” by any reasonable person, as they’re found at most (if not all) sandwich shops. I persisted with this argument but was met with the same result. The cashier insisted that he could not put the coupon through.
Throughout the ordeal, the store manager sat at one of the tables and never even glanced in my direction. I figured he’d at least step in and defuse the situation (seeing as I vented my frustration in the form of 4 letter words in an assertive tone) but I didn’t receive such courtesy.
Hunger prevailing, I took a deep breath, calmed myself, & bought the sandwiches. If it’s their intent to exclude certain sandwiches from any promotions, it should appear on the coupon itself in plain language.
Thanks for listening.
~Dino
I also recently went for a salad and sandwich, which I took home. The sandwich and of course the salad had lettuce and tomatoes. In the salad were bugs.
I immediately called the store and was told to call back and talk the manager; he was due to come in a few hours later. I reported them to the health department, but I also called corporate who stated that they would call the store. I informed the Subway, the corporate office and the health department that the salad was not washed properly and by the time the health department inspected, of course there were no bugs. I will never call again.
Neither the home office nor the Subway in Watchung, NJ was too interested. They never once offered to give me back my money, for the food that was immediately thrown into the garbage. I am out $10.36, which is not a lot of money, but I do not usually take a ten-dollar bill and rip it to shreds, which this amounts to.
Never will I eat in subway again.
Mary Ann L.,
New Jersey
It is 2008 and this problem is still occurring. I went to a Subway in Manhattan during there $5.00 for a regular footlong club. All of the prices for foot longs had been taken off the display menus. A large “$5” sign was on each of these menues. So, I ordered a Club Sandwich and was charged $2.00 more because it is not a “regular sandwich”. This is false advertising.
I think they play on the fact that the sandwich is ordered and prepared and that few people are going to refuse the purchase.