Do employees really talk like that, or is she exaggerating? Sounds like The Sub Nazi. You come back, one year.

@Ash78: Slow day at Jalop, huh Ash? Who needs trillionaire hostile take-overs when we have SUB-NAZI over here!

The varying levels of quality between different Subway franchises are pretty striking. One store will be trashed and staffed with stoned Juggalos who can barely operate the register, and the store two blocks away will be sparkling clean and staffed with people who can handle 5 orders at once while bantering with the customers.

That's also the nice thing about Subway: Even if the store you're in treats you like shit, you can just go to the next one, which is invariably less than 5 miles away.

perhaps the machine costs too much to fix and rather than fixing it for thousands they would just say no gift cards.

how about you pay cash for you damn sub, or debt card?

why does everybody need gift cards? they obviously suck.

this is a non issue.

and that's another thing...

WHO EATS AT SUBWAY?

it's friggin government meat and cheese, tastes like cardboard and no matter where you go. I've been to a subways clean and dirty in at least 5 different states. And their breads are always stale.

go to a local deli support your community.

I wonder if this particular Subway is still selling gift cards that they are unwilling to honor.

@Skankingmike: If they're going to offer gift cards, they need to accept them. Don't be an idiot.

@maxforrest32: Slow day at Jalop, huh Ash

Mustang refreshes and DOTS pickups can only keep me so occupied...

This is a re-occuring issue found all over NYC-specifically in Manhattan. Its really rediculous. Tje majority of subways don't take gift, credit, or debit cards. Luckily, the one by shea stadium and the one on chambers does.

Also, yes they talk like that.... they rush you.... if it werent for 5$ footlong I would never go there do to the bad attitude. Subway nazi all the way

I lost faith in Subway ever since they got rid of their stamp program. That was the only thing keeping me from leaving them.

Oh well, I've only had one Subway sandwich in 5 years only because my friends dragged me there.

@Skankingmike: Ah, the "support your local XXX" comment. Useful.

Here is the telephone number for this store:

(212) 383-7930

Tell them about your disgust and tie their line up...Fight back!

@Skankingmike: Ok, I suppose you've seen ONE Subway in your life. Since it's a franchise, some Subways are great, and some are disgusting.

The best Subway I've went, bread was cooked only when you ordered it. It took an extra 10 min to get your sub, but it was heavenly taste and worse every waiting minute.

(Either you didn't get your coffee yet, or you're a troll. I hope it's a coffee....)

@Skankingmike: And what do you do when there is NO local equivalent of Subway in the neighborhood?

@Skankingmike: How about Subway gives the customer what was paid for to begin with? Do you think gift cards just fall out of the sky?

Target and Walmart gift cards are one thing. McDonalds and Subway gift cards??? WHY?!

Same thing happened to me because my sister-in-law gave me the card for Christmas. Apparently every Subway on the Upper East Side of Manhattan has a system unable to take gift cards, or they said my card was messed up. I sent it to my mom in LA because I too tried the customer service route with no results, a voila! She got three free sandwiches. I think it's Manhattan thing...

@Ash78: I seem to be noticing something amiss with Jalop lately...I wish I knew what it was.

I've had a similar issue at the Leetsdale, PA Subway. I went to pay using a gift card that I had found in the bottom of my junk drawer. I called the 1-800 # to see if it had anything left on it and used the # and pin from the card. The automated line told me that I had $5 available on the card, perfect for $4.29 footlong day. I handed the card to the cashier and he swiped it (so I made it further than the submitter), but then he hands me back the card (my meal was over $5 with drink). I said that he can keep it since it's empty and he told me that he couldn't take it. I asked why and he said because it couldn't scan, and someone must've sold me a bad card. I asked why he couldn't just use the numbers/pin on the card to manually enter it (since the automated phone girl can understand my numbers) and he said that it's impossible to enter gift cards manually, then he just stood there awkwardly until I gave him my cash to pay for it. I tried reaching someone there, but I would get the "Can you hold a second?" line, followed by someone forgetting to get back to me. Needless to say, I haven't been back.

I'll admit, I didn't pursue it much beyond that since it's only $5, but it just smacks of laziness/ineptness on their part, or at worst (if he was telling the truth), a terrible, terrible idea.

@Victo: You write letters to the editor of your local paper and favorite angsty e-zine, outcrying the social injustice and wrongness of the world. Perhaps you break into Subway late at night, stealing sandwich wrappers that you will later wrap yourself, setting yourself ablaze to bring attention to your cause. If you are really dedicated, you will run for office on the Hungry People for Local Subway Equivalent platform. Because it's really that important!

That doesn't really surprise me...I've worked on Subway's computers before, and the system they have to use isn't operator friendly to setup. There aren't any incentives from main HQ for them to get it running...the software to run it doesn't come with their POS and it takes at least a week to get it

@Skankingmike: if they're going to offer gift cards maybe, just maybe, they should have a way for the cardholder to redeem the cardy goodness? wake up on the wrong side of the world this morning?

i called to complain about a subway in orlando (obt/sand lake) that had continually escalating poor service, culminating in one lunchtime trip when they had - are you ready? - no BREAD. subway, lunchtime, packed house, no bread. they didn't so much as put a sign on the door, just let the people walk in to tell them the bad news and that they could have a wrap or a salad.

anywho, i got a couple of calls from subway corporate as well as a call from the owner of that and at least one other subway (orange and sand lake, much better!) and got the general feeling that they all cared about what i had to say. nobody offered any freebies but it was a positive cs experience.

In Canada, Subway used to have stamps (1 for 6", 2 for 12") that they gave away with every sub (you had to ask the cashier for them, however). Save 8, and you get a free sub. Then it became 10, then 12. They took away the promo years ago, and promised to replace it with something else.

The only thing Subway customers received in lieu of a new promotion were higher prices.

Just go to a hole in the wall deli; they are much better.

=)

I had a similar problem in Medford, MA. Seemed like it'd been down a while based on their reactions. I didn't make a fuss because I was hungry, but I will next time if it still isn't working.

@Superawesomerad: Sure they do.. and just call the cops on them to make them!

@raisitup: see above.

@Victo: i don't know make yourself a sandwich at home? or eat McDonald's really though are there area's where a Subway would be and not a deli or sandwich shop?

Also, no if you read my comment rather than immediately claiming I'm a troll or something about coffee, I've been to multiple and they taste horrible even the "best ones" still have to buy their meat from corporate (other wise their not subway now are they?).

I have hundreds of mom and pop places by me, maybe I'm spoiled but eating REAL sandwich meat vs. subway is quite a difference in flavor. If you don't have a local Italian deli or Jewish then i just don't' know what to tell you.

And if bread takes 10 mins to cook.. how good can that be? on average the cook time of rolls is around 15 - 20 minutes so baked fresh is highly unlikely. but people love different things. All I'm saying is Subway has horrible meat.

personally everything is crap compared to a good slice of Prosciutto or Pancetta with some Provolone.

@linus:

OMG YES! how about we all stop buying these stupid cards and start, i don't' know giving money again.

Why must people give gift cards what if i don't want to use your 20 dollar card on subway, what if i want 20 bucks for gas or a new DVD or CD? I guess i could sell it on Ebay. Maybe somebody will give me 23 dollars for it perhaps Vivto will.

C'mon people....SOMEONE spent the money at SUBWAY to BUY a gift card. Obviously, she should be able to use it. Clearly this particular Store had a machine that was going to cost them to fix. So, they take the chance that people will have the 5 bucks or so to PAY for the sandwich.

Whether or not you like Subway is NOT The point. I think she should escalate this because Subway HAS the money already!!

@Skankingmike: dude. i've got no interest in debating subway quality - personally, i can't stand subway and will walk out of my way for any other NYC deli sandwich. I also think gift cards are stupid, but the kids seem to love 'em and it seems they are here to stay. that being the state of affairs, you must admit that if a company is going to sell a gift card, the only value of which is its alleged ability to be redeemed for product at a future date, said company damn well better be able to redeem these cards in a reasonably consistent way. Otherwise, the sale of the gift card starts to seem a little fraudulent. And that, no matter what your feelings are about bread and 'why don't people just pay cash', is shitty corporate/franchise behavior.

@Skankingmike:

I think consumerist needs a worst comment of the day (and perhaps a best comment) and Skankingmike should get the first worst comment.

I also nominate him for the ban hammer.

The online comment submittal hasn't been useful to me at all. When my debit card was charged twice, I sent a message through because it was late at night. I got the same generic response, but after that nothing for a few days. It was only $6, and I was curious to see how long this would take. I emailed again. Few more days go by, nothing. Then I sent 10 consecutive emails. Nothing. Finally I sent a written letter to the store and copied corporate (they're franchises, you know), and that got a response.

Yes, obviously, I should have just driven up there. I'm not complaining at all as I chose to go the long way out of pure boredom. Just saying, it will take more than an email submitted through the site.

A girl I work with has been trying to use her gift card since Christmas at 3 different locations and has not been able to. Their customer service is a joke.

@hoebgyn: @

I think the article about Sharper Images Gift cards should be a good indication why they really don't have to accept them. And if you don't like it your only recourse is court.

href="#c6100845">Tmoney02: because i think subway is horrible? and people shouldn't use gift cards? ok... whatever, i thought consumerist was all about not using gift cards but maybe all those posts about gift cards was trying to tell me to buy them.... curious....

@Skankingmike: Bitching about the quality of the food, the relative merits of gift cards, the proximity of other restaurants, the time it takes to bake the bread, etc., is an exercise in irrelevance. The complaint was that Subway wouldn't accept one of their own gift cards and were rude about it to boot.

You're either a troll or an idiot. Which is it?

P.S. Believe it or not, not everyone lives in a big city with a wealth of other options. In my old town in Maine, Subway was literally the only option (other than the deli counter at the gas station) if you wanted to eat out.

Do you really expect some teenager earning minimum wage at a fast food place to give a shit about the gift card machine? I'd have hung up on that call too.

I like Panera Bread and Quizno's better, but sometimes, Subway is all there is if you want a good sandwich. Especially in the area I work in. I have started being careful with which Subways I go to. One near my house made me sick once or twice, so I stopped. The one near work isn't too bad, but I still feel like I'm flipping a coin whenever I go there. The chicken isn't bad, but I try to avoid the roast beef.

Gas station Subways? Avoid. And yeah, fix the gift card machine. Or give them the value of the gift card back, or something.

@wallapuctus: He's getting paid to give a shit. If he thinks he's too good for Subway, he can drag his ass elsewhere.

...at least they were polite about it.

Seriously, WTF has happened to customer service?!?!?!

@JollyJumjuck: @easy2panic:
[www.mysubwaycard.com]

To the people that have a good deli near them, congratulations! When I lived in Atlanta there was this hole in the wall place that was heaven on bread. Of course, when I moved and got a job, there was two things within walking distance, subway, and A&W. And when you have a half hour for lunch, even with a car, getting somewhere else is cutting it close.

@Skankingmike: For one thing, according to the letter, this was actually a *gift*.

Second, Subway did away with those stamps they used to have a *long* time ago. They finally replaced them - with a gift/loyalty card.

If this store can't accept your gift card as payment, then it also isn't giving you credit towards getting a free sub, drink, chips, whatever every now and then. If Subway weren't offering the loyalty rewards, no big deal. But if I can get those credits at the store 3 blocks away, why should I hand over money to this store and get slightly less value for my money?

Why would the company allow one store/franchise to stop participating in what's supposed to be a national program?

But also, given that they use the same swipe-slot for both the reward cards and debit/credit cards, how can it accept a visa/mastercard but not a gift card? Either they're going cash-only, or it's a software problem, or they're lying because they don't want to honor the rewards program. . . .

My WallyWorld gift cards always work. Never hear complaints about WallyWorld gift cards not working.

I wonder if this (non-working Subway giftcards) is one of those corporate conspiracies to keep consumer's money.

I had a manager at the Denton, TX Subway tell me to "get the f*** out" when I complained about something. Even after contacting HQ, no response to me or to the BBB. They really don't care...

@Skankingmike:

WHO EATS AT SUBWAY?

Good question. Let's see ....

I've been to a subways clean and dirty in at least 5 different states.

I guess the answer is: you.

The one near my work is broken all the time, too. Pretty shady.

If anyone was interested, the reason Subway meats seem to be sub-par compared to other cold-cuts is that all of the processed cold-cuts that would otherwise be made of beef or pork (bologna, salami, pepperoni, processed ham, etc.) are made of turkey. I don't know if this is because of lower costs or lower fat content. I would guess lower cost.

If anyone is interested, the reason the meats at Subway seem to taste slightly off is that all of the processed cold cuts (Bologna, Salami, Pepperoni, Ham, etc.) are made of turkey. I don't know if this is due to lower costs or lower fat content, but I would guess costs.

sorry for the double, it looked like it didn't take.

@Skankingmike: I happen to find Subway very tasty...

@Skankingmike:

Hey you fistula of a troll: go away. The issue is twenty dollars, not your opinion of gift cards.