Reader Nora placed an order via the internet with Quiznos and paid with a credit card. But when Nora’s husband arrived at the store, he was told that their store didn’t accept online orders. They had already paid online but Quiznos didn’t seem to care. Her letter, inside…

Here is my recent experience with Quiznos. Beware of their online ordering option. My husband and I are fed up and not going back any time soon, if at all.

My husband and I have partaken in the Subway “$5 foot long” sale enough times now that if I never see black olives again on a sub, it will be too soon. So we were pleased to see that our favorite sandwich chain, Quiznos, was offering a similar deal. Last Thursday night (May 8) we decided to have Quiznos for dinner. My husband agreed to go pick up the food and bring it home, so I logged onto the Quiznos web site to look at the menu. While there, I discovered that they now offer online ordering. How convenient, I thought. We could place our order and pay online, so all hubby would have to do it run in and out to pick up the toasty deliciousness. I was so very wrong.

We created an account on the site, selected our local Quiznos, placed the order (one sandwich, two “sammies” and a bag of chips totaling a whopping $11.99) and paid with hubby’s credit card. The transaction went through and a message said that a confirmation email would be sent to his email address within a few minutes. At no point did the web site indicate that our local Quiznos (#6112 in Milwaukee, WI) could not accept online orders.

When my husband arrived at the store 15 minutes later and said he was picking up an online order, the two staff informed him that their location did not accept online orders. He calmly explained that he had been able to place the order online and had already paid with a credit card, so they would either need to give him his food or provide a refund. The two staff members continued to claim ignorance and offered absolutely no solutions, even after my husband pulled up the confirmation email on his iPhone (the iPhone to the rescue again!). He even confirmed that it was the correct location. My husband is normally very reserved, but at this point he raised his voice and said, “You need to step up and provide me with some customer service!”

The “manager on duty” called the franchise owner, who eventually got on the phone with my husband and continued the argument that they did not accept online orders! Finally, after my husband agreed to email the confirmation to the franchise owner, he gave the go ahead to let the staff make our food.

This was a totally unacceptable way for the Quiznos staff to handle the situation. The employees should have made my husband our order as soon as he provided proof of the online transaction, and just figured it out later. The owner should be aware of programs offered by the corporate website, and it would be his responsibility to opt out if he wished; clearly he did not.

In the past, we ordered from that particular Quiznos a couple times a month. My friends and I always called it the “goon squad” because of the inept staff, but we kept going back because the sandwiches are so darn tasty. After this experience we will not be going back to that location ever again. Not only are we fed up with the lack of decent customer service, my husband was treated like a liar, all for just $12.

I haven’t been able to find a corporate email address for Quiznos. The web site offers a tool for complaining to the individual store, but I’m not sure if that will help since the owner wasn’t very helpful in the first place. Any recommendations from Consumerist or your readers would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Nora
Milwaukee, WI

Congrats on making Quiznos see it your way, and nice use of the iPhone! We are baffled as to why their web site would accept online orders for a store that doesn’t take them. Quiznos’ web site has a customer service link, as you already mentioned, to enter complaints. This would be a good place to start. The site also contains the corporate office’s address and phone number which is 720-359-3300. A tactful phone call and a nicely written letter may convince Quiznos to straighten up their act.

(Photo: Getty)

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