ATTN:
I am completely fed up with Subway. Tonight was the last straw after years of frustrating experiences with this company.
I went to this location specifically because Subway was offering a Labour Day/weekend promotion: buy one Footlong and get the second 50% off through the Subway app. I already consider Subway extremely expensive at regular price, so I would NOT have gone there and purchased two Footlongs without the promotion.
The restaurant was advertised as open until 10:00 PM and was, in fact, still open. I tried to place my order before closing, only to discover that the Subway app apparently stops accepting orders from this location at 9:30 PM. So although the restaurant was still open and the promotion was still valid, the only ordering method that allowed me to use the promotion was no longer available.
I went inside and explained the situation. Instead of simply honouring the advertised promotion, I was essentially told that the app stops accepting orders at 9:30 and that the restaurant doesn’t control the app. I’ve heard variations of this kind of explanation from Subway before: the restaurant is a franchise, the app is something else, customer service is somewhere else, etc. As a customer, I shouldn’t have to figure out Subway’s corporate/franchise/app structure just to get an advertised price.
I ultimately paid $31.26 for TWO Footlong subs. $31.26. That is absolutely ridiculous to me, and it is particularly frustrating because I specifically went there because of the promotion and would not have purchased two Footlongs at regular price.
What makes tonight so aggravating is that this is NOT an isolated complaint for me. I’ve had numerous frustrating experiences with Subway over the years—far more than I’ve ever documented in reviews or complaints. I’ve stopped going to Subway on multiple occasions because of the pricing and customer-service issues, only to eventually give them another chance. When problems happen, getting anybody to actually take ownership of them seems nearly impossible. The store points toward the app or corporate, the app is a separate system, franchisees say certain things aren’t under their control, and customer service has repeatedly been incredibly frustrating and ineffective. The customer gets bounced around while nobody actually solves the problem.
I also want to be fair to the employee working tonight. My frustration is not about personally attacking an individual employee who apparently has limited authority over Subway’s systems or promotions. My problem is with Subway and the way this entire system is set up. If a Subway restaurant is open until 10:00 PM, why does its mobile ordering shut down at 9:30 without making that limitation abundantly clear to somebody trying to use a mobile-only promotion? And if a customer walks into the still-open restaurant and explains exactly what happened, why can’t the advertised promotion simply be honoured?
Subway charges premium prices for what is ultimately fast food. At those prices, expecting the company’s promotions, app, restaurants and customer service to actually work together is hardly unreasonable.
Tonight I spent $31.26 on a meal I specifically would not have purchased at that price. Instead of enjoying my dinner, I left angry and regretting that I didn’t simply stop the order and walk out when I realized they wouldn’t honour the promotion.
I’m supposed to call the manager tomorrow, and I will. I expect the promotional difference to be refunded. But regardless of whether the manager fixes tonight’s charge, Subway seriously needs to address the larger problem of customers being bounced between independently operated restaurants, the Subway app and corporate customer service whenever something goes wrong.
After years of giving Subway additional chances, I am tired of paying increasingly high prices while receiving this level of customer service. Tonight was the last straw.