No sub for you! Troubles with Quiznos' free sandwich promotion, and now, a company response!
Are you having trouble redeeming your coupon for a free sub from Quiznos for its Million Sub promotion? A lot of people are. From our WalletPop readers not being able to print the coupon, to Consumerist, and Slickdeals.com.The complaint box is as stuffed as a 12-incher. The most common one is manager-made signs of refusal (often misspelled) being taped up at the counter. Other beefs include managers who restrict redeemers to the cheapest part of the menu, in contradiction of the coupon, which specifically gives customers two menus from which to choose. Still more complaints involve a bait-and-switch requiring the purchase of a drink and chips, too.
Changing the terms of an offer at the checkout counter is unethical to say the least, and possibly illegal, but apparently no one has given Quiznos managers, many of whom are already teetering on the brink in this economy, a crash course in law.
I used my Quiznos Million Sub Giveaway coupon Wednesday, before this story broke. My coupon warned that it would only be good "at participating locations," but I had no way of knowing which locations that might be. Trouble is, I live in Manhattan, U.S.A., where these so-called promotions are rarely honored. I'm often excluded from the deals granted to suburban Americans through national TV ads. The free Dr Pepper coupon (that promotion was a train wreck, too) I was sent this winter only guaranteed me a $1.59 bottle, when they typically cost $1.79 at the local drugstore, and the Value Menu at McDonald's is priced far over the 99¢ most of my fellow countrymen seem to pay.
Red flags were going up the minute Quiznos e-mailed me the weblink I needed to print my coupon. The company warned me that my coupon could only be printed once, which alarmed me. If my printer failed or jammed, I'd lose. Then I was also told that I had to use the coupon within five days, which meant that now I had to shuffle my lunch plans over the coming days to make it work. My printer, though, held up, and I decided to have lunch on Quiznos.
So, taking a risk, I walked into a location on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan and handed my coupon over. I got the free small sub with no questions asked. No I.D. was requested (one Quiznos was reported as recording customers' drivers license numbers upon redemption), and I was able to order off every menu the coupon said I could. The clerk even said, "Have a good day" at the end of the transaction. It was the antithesis of the complaints being registered across the country. (The soda machine was completely out of Dr Pepper, though. So I had a cup of irony with my Classic Club.)
There's no doubt that there's a big problem with these promotions. The phrase "at participating locations" is like the word "from" before the price. On ads and coupons, it gives vendors a loophole to escape through after they've scored the free publicity of the face value of their offer. I was in a spin from the start over whether my Quiznos would be one of the "participating" ones, which is more trouble than I think a customer should be put through.
So when I got home, I e-mailed the public relations representative from Quiznos' corporate office to ask how participation was determined. Do stores get to opt out in the middle of the process? Are they chosen by corporate? And how does a customer know in advance whether the location they're taking their coupon to will be "participating"? If it isn't, I'd be willing to bet most people would just buy the sub anyway, to avoid the hassle of turning around and leaving.
You won't be surprised to learn that Quiznos didn't get back to me. Maybe it'll get back to you.
But then again, the company is in a bit of a pinch, with the CEO resigning on Tuesday, and a huge price war going on with Subway, so maybe they have other fish to fry. Now the company's founder Rick Schaden will be coming back on board to try to rescue the company. Seems to me he's got his work cut out for him.
UPDATE: Representatives from Quiznos read this story and sent us the following statement, which got the name of the promotion wrong:
"The response to the Quiznos Millions [sic] Subs Giveaway has been nothing short of overwhelming. That's great, right? Right... but given that we have had over a million consumers respond in only three days, there are a handful of people who have reported some problem redeeming their free sandwich. If you're one of them, please let us know right away by emailing millionsubs@quiznos.com. We're working hard to address every issue very quickly.
And, if you weren't quite fast enough the first time around, there's still a chance to win a free-subs-for-a-year gift card through our Hometown Heroes promotion throughout the month of March. Check out www.millionsubs.com for details. "
Essentially, in addition to seizing this moment to send out an ad for a sweepstakes Quiznos wants you to tell on the managers who won't play ball. And yet locations are apparently permitted to opt out. Quiznos said there is no chain-wide requirement to participate, and the only way customers can know if their chosen location will take the coupon is to call ahead. Reading between the lines, you should only bother tattling on a store if it fiddles with the terms of the coupon, but not if it refuses it outright.
If you're one of the people who had trouble with the promotion (and by our count, there's way more than just "a handful," and customers aren't angry simply because they "weren't quite fast enough"), let us know if the company is responsive to your complaint.
SECOND UPDATE: I interviewed Quiznos' head of marketing about the promotion mess. Read her full explanation.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
2-26-2009 @ 10:48PM
Rich Piotrowski said...
There is a lot more to the Quiznos story then just this. All this free sub promo did was to make public, a battle between Quiznos and Quiznos Franchisees. What most people do not know is Quiznos doesn't really run any restaurants (well OK, they do own two, the other 4000 plus are owned by guys like me)
I'm a former Quiznos Franchisee and like most other Franchises in that system, I never made any profit owning it. I was also more outspoken then most owners and sued by Quiznos, which set out to shut down our restaurant. We counter sued them and we won, with the Judge finding they were unbelievable wrong in what they did to us. Our verdict, along with some other fun info about them is available here http://sqworl.com/?i=af2cde If you have the time and want to read an amazing story read the Judge's 36 page ruling on that link. In his ruling, Judge Hoffman used such words as "charade" to describe what they did to us. I guarantee you will never come across a Judge's order like this, about any other company anywhere! It really does tell the story of what this company is all about.
Being I am the only franchisee that beat them in court, I am the only franchisee that can publicly criticize them and what they do. What they do to Franchisees is as close to a scam as is possible. They stay on the line of just what is legal, using the law to protect them from what would otherwise be common law fraud. (how they do that is they hide behind the protection that the FTC gives them, to not reveal information).
As for this particular promo, the reason so many Franchisees are not honoring this coupon is that the company delayed this promo TWICE, as many of the Franchisees said they would not go along unless Quiznos Corporate (which makes about a hundred million a year selling food to its franchisees, and prohibits them from buying food from anyone else) paid for the food in this promotion. Late last week, Quiznos decided to roll it out anyhow saying no, franchisees would have to pay the entire cost. Every other system (such as Denny's Arby's etc) the cost of the promo was shared by both parties. In addition, most of those system sell food at cost to Franchisees. Like those other systems, Quiznos makes money by collecting a 7% royalty and 4% from franchisees which they say is for advertising. Unlike those other system however, on top of those fees, Quiznos makes that hundred million IN ADDITION by selling food to them. And you wonder why Franchisees are not honoring the coupon?
Oh, and in case you're curious, the answer is yes, we are in the process of writing a book about them as we are the only ones that can.
Reply
2-27-2009 @ 11:28AM
another owner said...
Thanks Rich,
I'm sure your happy with your big settlement and future rolayties from your book. Just think of us hard working FO's the next time your sipping martinis. You must feel wonderfull being the only one that can throw the rest of us under the bus. Some People just dont get it
2-27-2009 @ 9:41AM
Kimbo said...
Still - It is not the fault of the customer that there is problems in the company world!! Customers make or break you and you should treat them as such!!
2-27-2009 @ 10:31AM
Dan said...
I myself am an owner of a non-Quiznos franchise and have been seeing a lot of the behind the scenes costs coming back to kick us in the butts. You mentioned Quiznos initially was going to pick up the cost of the food, well seeing that the Q-Franchees are like myself and contracted to buy only from our headquarters, do you really think that you aren't eventually going to pay that money back to your headquarters if they provide the food to you? I say take their training and use the shop to build experience in the business to eventually own your own independent restaurant. That way you can sell your franchise off and have a background and experience in the restaurant industry to show for a small business loan.
2-27-2009 @ 11:30AM
Dottie said...
How about sharing with other owners just how you did succeed. After all, you are the only one who did and can speak about it? Spread the wealth around.
2-27-2009 @ 12:19PM
Niki said...
So what are we, the customer, supposed to do? Not eat there? That seems to be the only way to hurt them. The franchise fails, and then quiznos corporate fails... ...but that means that we'd be hurting the owners and employees in the process. I want to start telling everyone not to support these crooks, but how do I do so without hurting the owners/employees in the process?
2-27-2009 @ 10:36PM
NikNak said...
Thanks, Rich, for bringing this situation to light. I feel bad for the franchise owners who are getting screwed over by corporate. We breifly had a Quiznos in our small city in upstate New York, but it went belly up for exactly the reasons you cited. If anything good comes of this I hope its this... that it will make future investors think twice before purchasing a Quiznos franchise. And maybe all of the current frachise owners should band together and sue the hell out of Quiznos for what they are doing to them. I'm sure there must be a lawyer or two out there who would love to get in on a juicy class action suit.
2-26-2009 @ 8:20PM
Owner said...
You may or may not be interested to know that franchisees absorb the costs of these promotions. We are not consulted in advance and have been heavily couponed for the last 2 yrs. Our food costs go up our prices go down. While the behavior of some owners has been less then professional could you try to put yourself in their place. I myself work 7 days a week and live in a less than average home. Before you say "then you shouldn't have bought the franchise" Quiznos misrepresented the actual numbers and reality of their greed. We are regular folks just trying to make a living. We are not sooooo greeedy we will not accept coupons. We are struggling and cannot do this and stay in business. Why would our franchisor do this to us? Why would they hurt their brand in this way? They are smug and bullish and since they have gotten away with murder........ like most school yard bullies they will not stop until someone punches them back.
By the way the reason no one will return your calls is there is no one left at Quiznos head office. They are hoping to top up their coifers by making us give away free product that they will charge us full price on.
Reply
2-27-2009 @ 9:14AM
Suzanne said...
I get it and thats why at my local Quiznos, I've taken the time to get to know the owners. I guess some people can't be bothered to understand their local community. It sounds like your corporate HQ is throwing you guys under the bus.
2-27-2009 @ 9:42AM
Kimbo said...
If you knew how to use this marketing tool of coupons correctly and treat your customers correctly this could be a very profitable situation. One little sub is not going to be enough to fill anyone up, therefore they would buy more. I only went into Quizinos because of the coupon and the way I was treated will never ever step foot into another one!!! If owners today used customer service as a priority maybe you could afford to stay in business!!
2-27-2009 @ 10:01AM
Smarter than Kimbo said...
Kimbo,
It's not one free sub. It's a million subs. Plus the ones you can send to a friend.
Six months of BOGO's to boot.
I can understand being upset about not being able to use a coupon or in this case get a free sub when you were led to believe that you would. The point of the owner that replied was that it was not their fault that Headquarters went ahead and did this without consulting them and that they simply can't afford to do this and stay afloat.
When you grow up and move out of your parents house you might understand.
2-27-2009 @ 10:10AM
Doc said...
Quiznos lost me with the dead rat in costume commercials, so I wouldn't have tried to redeem a coupon. As for Subway, no. The "meat" is cut by a processor and frozen so what's on your sandwich is without both flavor and nutrition. Erbert and Gerberts and Blimpie are still cutting their own meat in the store at the time you order. Jimmy Johns also cuts their own meat but puts little of it on the sandwich. Try eating real food ... it's amazing.
2-27-2009 @ 11:46AM
Noel T said...
I say, F*** you. Quiznos wasted my time and my gas. F*** you. I'm not going to Quiznos anymore. How does it feel to screw over your customers and lose more business? Probably feels just as good as having to close down your store. Go to hell buddy.
2-27-2009 @ 1:34PM
Dorothy Tellez said...
I do understand. And unfortunatly the owners have to bite the bullet, not the company. Like this whole article is geared towards making people angry at the shop owners, not the franchise. This is media at its best. The big people sit in there Irovy towers, once again. And the regular guy gets his ass kicked. Welcome to America. If you readers fall for it shame on you!
2-27-2009 @ 1:42PM
wil said...
Things is tough all over. If Quiznos' franchisees cannot honor their contract with Quiznos-Corporate, what other 'compromises' are customers to expect? All quality downgrades, that's my experience, plus aggressive owners/managers replying to my queries about so-called 'specials.' In other words, breaking their contract with the customer.
2-27-2009 @ 1:44PM
the Doctor again said...
This is why God made lawyers!! If you're a franchisee and you're getting beat up by your own "host" then maybe it's time you see "Larry the Lawyer" and go after them to get them to do what I demanded when I was in the "franchisee" position -- I made it clear that ANY promotion was to be underwritten by the central office by either a certain reduction of their charges to me of my foods, etc -- at the current price, not one inflated to offset my coupon charges against them; and if not then they were breaching my contract and liable to me for costs of correction, including attorney fees. Check it out, it may get you out of that "less than average home".
2-27-2009 @ 8:35PM
tom said...
u people call processed meats food , wound not know a good sandwich if it was right in front of u. ever hear of this expression go to college next time and u will not have to make sandwiches for a living mooorrrrron
2-28-2009 @ 12:08AM
BowMarPizza said...
Owner:
I feel for you. I cannot relate to you on a franchise business level but can as a small business owner. My brother and I own a small pizza shop and it is tough to compete with the big guys such as Domino's and Papa Johns. With all the gimmicks and coupons and giveaways, they've programmed people to automatically "assume" there is alway's going to be a "special" or a coupon all the time. People call me and immediately ask what today's specials are. I have to respond by saying that I do not gimmick my menu. We have fair, honest pricing everyday. It sucks that you have to live by all the corporate crap, but on the upside you have awesome name recognition and national marketing campaigns that I just can't afford. Good luck with your business. Sorry you have to suffer the bullsh*t they throw at you.
2-28-2009 @ 1:03AM
Ray said...
I, too, was a Quiznos franchise owner. I had to declare chapter 13 bankruptcy long before the whole economy in the US tanked. It is shameful how the franchisees have been scammed. The franchisees were hard working people, not people who were trying to make a quick buck and turn the operation over. I think the health of many people in the franchise has been hurt by the stress of operating this business. I would bet that more than half of these business' have failed and even the so called successful ones are dying to get out of it. Oh well at least I am living and learning.
2-28-2009 @ 2:11AM
Mike said...
Owner,
I can really sympathize with your situation. Too many consumers out there do not realize that the vast majority of most "National Chain" stores are owned by small business owners, many of them families, who are just trying to live the American Dream by owning a small business.
Unfortunately, there is a heavy price tag that goes along with that "instant business via name recognition" and that is the heavily restricted contract you have to sign in order to GET the franchise in the first place.
There is one neat little ancillary benefit the corporation gets out of participators in this promotion.......you have to order MORE contractual product from the corporation. They really force your hand with these promotions because if you DON'T honor the promotions, you risk alienating your regular customers and we all know that it is the lifetime value of a customer that makes or breaks your "American Dream".
Hang in there my friend.....oh, I also think that "Subway" sucks.....I heard an employee got fired from the local Subway because he actually had the gall to put some MEAT in a steak sub!