by This week, I am devoting my column to sandwiches instead of sofas.
While I know that this is a departure for me, by allowing me to cast my bread upon the water literally, I can hopefully tell a story of how not to treat a customer.
Last week, Subway emailed me a notice that they were having a special — a footlong hero for $8.99.
Since it was almost time for lunch, and since I was hungry, I clicked on the site and attempted to order online.
For some reason, their site let me order my hero and fixings but would not process the order.
Since the store is only a few miles from my house, I jumped in the car and explained the situation to the girl behind the counter. She said she could only honor the special if it were ordered online.
After explaining that the site would not let me do it, she said I could order from my phone while at the store, but it would take some time.
By now, I was all about the principle of the issue, so I attempted to order in the store using my iPhone. Guess what? No service in the store.
At this point, hunger trumped principle and I gave up and ordered two footlongs at the regular price. That, and two bags of chips came to just under $30, which would have been just about half that had I been able to have taken advantage of the special.
After I got home, I was so ticked off that I wrote Subway a note about the incident and got what must have been a form letter that essentially said, “Thanks for letting us know. We will get back to you.”
Days later and crickets. So, I wrote again and got this as a response:
Hello Raymond –
Thank you for taking the time to provide your valuable feedback. We are always working to create incredible new products and improve upon the favorites that our fans love. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us and share your comments.
Please stay tuned to our website for the latest news, offers and menu items.
Thank you for choosing Subway.
Sincerely,
The Subway Guest Care Team
Absolutely no acknowledgment of my problem and no mention of any attempt to resolve my issue. They send me this and then they really think I now believe that my feedback was valuable?
Whether a consumer is buying a sofa, a bedroom suite or a sandwich from Subway, if there is an issue, he or she would like the courtesy of a sincere response, not a form letter that essentially says, “Go away.”
Luckily for me, my story has a happy ending. There is a Jersey Mike’s close by and I doubt that I will be Subwaying anytime soon.
