Caution:  This post contains some pretty offensive material.

There’s a popular sandwich delivery franchise that spends millions each year trying to build a fun, friendly, customer-centric brand.  Unfortunately, this particular sub franchise chain and its franchise owners don’t monitor Facebook.  If they did, they’d see that some of their employees (even store managers) have been busy sabotaging their brand by communicating how stupid they think their customers are and how much they hate them.

In some cases, the employees publicly wish physical harm upon the patrons who pay their paychecks.

Have you had problems with employees or co-workers making damaging comments on Facebook?  How did you handle it?  Please share a comment below.

“[Company Name]’s customers are sometimes (usually) the dumbest people everrrrrr.”

The comments below are from an actual 87-entry discussion thread titled “[Company Name]’s customers are sometimes (usually) the dumbest people everrrrrr.”  The photos are from the same public forum.

A warning:  some of these comments are vulgar and pretty offensive (even with my asterisking).  Then again, that’s the point.

The employee photos are posted to the general group, but those in the photos are not necessarily the commenters.

Using his real name, one employee writes on the publicly viewable forum:

i hate when they watch you make the sandwich and when your done wrappiing it and you hand it to them they say i didnt want mayo or no tomato. its like f*ck you *sshole you just watched me make it.

i had one lady call me on the phone and be like how do i know what the sandwichs are? and i was like… are you serious open the f*cken wrapper and LOOK!!! or know what your ordering f*cking dumb*ss.

Another store employees writes:

since our store is right next to a panda express, we get the people that come in look around and just walk out… HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN!?!?! not only is there a huge f*cking neon sign on the goddamn window…. but everywhere you f*cking look there is [company name]!! we wear [company name]!!  shirt. YOU STUPID C*CK JUGGLING THUNDERC*NTS!!!! that goes to every customer thats ever been an idiot *sshole.

A store manager writes:

I had this one stupid b*tch come in one time ask for a sub with only cheese and lettuce on it. So i think to myself at first “what a f*cking waste of money”. So I ask her again” So all you what on it is just cheese and lettuce”. She says “yes”. So I make it. Then after she sits down and opens it, she comes back up and tells me that it is not what she order. She was wondering where all the meat was. Stupid f*cking bitch if you want f*cking meat then dont tell me you just want a sub with cheese and lettuce! F*CK!

One girl writes:

its not so much that people are dumb….. they are just complete imbeciles …..

We wish our customers would die!

A store manager in the Midwest writes:

F*CKING BASTARDS. I don’t think i have ever gone a whole day without dealing with at least a handfull of customers i wanted to stab in throat just for being a retard

A young girl employee wishes death by allergy on a customer:

He makes snide comments to his lady friend (who will definitely get aids from this frat f*ck), and then watches me wrap the sandwich.
boy: “Oh..Can you take those toms off?”
myself: “What?”
Boy: “Yeah, I’m allergic to them..”
“really? how tragic.”
“yeah, i’d have to go to the hospital.”
“and what a loss.. you think you’d remember you’re allergic to something before you HAVE IT ORDERED, but you know..”
and then they left. guess who kind of lost it? he should die.

people are just f*cking morons that eat at [Company Name].

A young male employee fantasizes a bit more violently:

Hi, can i have a slim one with lettuce?
Mam, we arn’t allowed to put anything on the slims but the meet and or cheese.
Lady: Ohh oky, i gotcha! Can i have tomatoes?
Me: Ma’am, we Can’t put that on there either..
Lady: Ohh, okay i understand..why don’t you put them on the “side” for me (winks)
Me: Takes out a shotgun and fucking kills her.

Forget the fact the company’s claim-to-fame is free fast delivery

Comments from delivery drivers and store employees include:

ITS 20 F*CKIN MINUTES! Christ, i have other deliveries. I get there as fast as i can. Do people that say that think i stop and f*ck around on the way there? If you want it faster, pick it the f*ck up, b*tch.

*ss hole makes me follow him out the building, all the way around to his car, and only gives me 9 bucks (tips me 1 f*cking dollar)

What I love is how many times you have to tell the idiots that we don’t have a computer to track addresses, so you need to give me your address every time.  The trick is for us to be smarter than the idiots that order from us.

i Hate the people who call in 1 or 2 sandwich orders for pickup. come on. it seriously takes 1 minute to make a sandwich. can’t you just f*cking come in?

Alienating customers by groups

…does anyone have a dillard’s by their store? we have one down the street and the employees come for their lunch hour every day and EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. is a b*tch.

The people who work at gene Juarez are the stupidest dumb c*nts you’ll ever have to deal with. unfortunately that’s on a daily basis also.

there is a 24-hour fitness ACROSS the street.  They order sandwiches to be delivered every F*CKING day.  they can’t walk across the street?

OK, the last one was funny, but still…

“wtf is this, subway? i think not.”

The sub franchise employees are outraged by customers making special requests.  A female team member writes:

i hate it when people ask for sh*t on their subs like pickles and swiss cheese and then they want ranch instead of mayo….

wtf is this, subway? i think not.

Another girl agrees:

i guess every [company name]’s customer is dyslexic …we had this one guy (maybe it was a woman, i can’t remember) who was begging for us to put tomato and lettuce on his slim. he was like “i’ll pay more for it, just put it on there” and i was like retard!!!!! if you want to pay more, GET THE FRIGGIN SUB! it’s like a dollar more, and already comes with all that sh*t…

“f*ck you fat lady”

A store delivery driver writes:

this huge lady pulls up and runs inside the store screaming “wheres your bathroom?!?!?!”, so we point her in the right direction…

we go knock on the door and she says “occupied” and comes out shortly after. she sneaks out the back door and leaves….

it took us 45 minutes to clean her sh*t up

wherever you are, f*ck you fat lady

Can you flash for food if you’re NOT ooglay?

A female store employee writes:

I had a girl come in and get pissy when I didn’t let her show tits-4-subs (she was ooglay) and so she was a drunken whore…
Crazy c*nt.

From the discussion “Favorite Firing Stories”

A female crew member recounts:

we had a driver spit in this b*tches food (she was rude to us, a b*tch and NEVER tipped once!) and told her “heres your sandwich b*tch i hope you choke on it.” squeezed when he handed it to her and walked out. she called back later cuz she ate half of it and then found a big wad of spit. needless to say he was fired but it was awsome. he was a good worker too it sucked.

Another female employee of a franchisee writes:

A few months ago, an amazing driver and a shitty *ssmanager were fired for smoking weed behind the store. Oh man. I joke about that to my manager all the time.

A male employee writes:

we had a driver get fired for droppin a baggy of coke on the floor right in front of our manager and then saying its not what it looks like, its some crushed up vicodin that im sellin to a buddy. Our manager checked the bathroom and found white residue on the sinks. awesome employee and a cool kid but seriously dont bring that sh*t to work.

If they forget the chips with your order, you might want to let it go.  A store employee in MI writes:

a guy got fired from our store [store location] for saying “F*ck you! im gonna haunt you for the rest of your life b*tch!” to a woman he was delivering to because she told him that he forgot the chips….she called our store afterward and told our manager what had happened, so she brough it up to the driver and he said, “f*ck this sh*t!” and left…haha what a crazy *ss night that was

Lawsuits waiting to happen

Facebook has got to be Disneyland for litigation attorneys putting together sexual harrassment, discrimination and related cases.

One employee writes of his co-worker “she is the only idiot working for us, nobody likes her and she is a gross bisexual”

Employees discuss perceived sexual advances by a female franchise owner toward a young male employee:

Male employee #1: she [franchise owner] was working and said she wants to go shopping with me for clothes sometime…shes taking interest in what i wear….i think she has a thing in me.  she is a total babe….not a fat slob…like u would THINK would own a fast food chain…not at all.  shes so classy
Male employee #2: Hit that shit!
Male employee #1: work in progress

Female employee: for sure! DO HER! thats like ultimante bragging rights (especially if shes older)

Welcome to the Age of Facebook

Every restaurant, foodservice or retail employee is going to vent about their customers sooner or later.  The problem is that now the venting isn’t going on in the backroom, it’s happening on Facebook for all – customers, prospective franchisees, lawyers, etc. – to see.  There’s the potential not only to damage the business and the brand, but the employment prospects of the employees who don’t realize they are revealing more about themselves than their customers.

This chain’s employees’ attitudes may or may not be worse than its competitors.  But here’s the most shocking thing to me:  this discussion and most of these comments have been publicly displayed on Facebook for three years. Has no franchise owner or home office employee searched the company name on Facebook in the past three years?

The lesson: If you own a business and you’re not familiar with Facebook, you better ask your kids for a quick lesson and start monitoring what’s being said about you and your business today… before real damage (or more damage) is done.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THIS – OR ANOTHER – FACEBOOK HORROR STORY?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Product discounting is one of the hottest topics in franchising.  Here’s why:  Franchisors make money off the gross sales of their franchisees, regardless of franchisee profitability.

Some franchisors make additional money marking up ingredients and food products to their franchisees.

Public franchisors benefit from higher sales – and stock prices – that are not tied to franchisee profitability.

SmartMoney.com surveyed franchisees from different franchise chains regarding the cost to them of some current and recent promotions. The Smart Money article points out that franchisees generally bear the brunt of a promotions’s cost, including the food, labor, rent and utilities, among other things.

Here’s the Smart Money finding for Subway’s $5 Footlongs sub campaign:

Subway

Promotion: $5 Footlongs – The chain offers any regular sub for $5. (Which subs getting this price tag will vary by store.)

What they normally charge: $5.89 (12-inch turkey sub)

Promotion Price: $5

Bottom line for restaurant: Profit of roughly $1.20 a sandwich

The $5 Footlong is a catchy marketing slogan but the discounting on the turkey sub isn’t as deep as some other big fast food promotions. For Subway operators you can still eke out a decent per item profit — and hope the diner is thirsty for a large, high-margin soda. To make the footlong turkey sub, the ingredients cost $1.65 at a New York location. Mack Bridenbaker, a Subway spokesman, declined to discuss the economics of hosting the company’s $5 footlong promotion.

RELATED POSTS:

SUBWAY: What Do Franchisees Make on $5 Footlongs?

LITTLE CAESARS: What Franchisees Make on a $5 Pizza

McDONALD’S: What Franchisees Make on a $1 Burger

BASKIN ROBBINS: Franchisees Lose $1.45 per Scoop on Promo

QUIZNOS: Franchisees Lost $2.25 per Sub on Giveaway

BURGER KING Franchisees Sue Over $1 Cheeseburgers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SUBWAY’S PROMOTIONS?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

The reason is simple:  Franchisors make money off the gross sales of their franchisees, regardless of franchisee profitability.  Some franchisors make additional money marking up ingredients and food products to their franchisees.  Public franchisors benefit from higher sales – and stock prices – that are not tied to franchisee profitability.

SmartMoney.com surveyed franchisees from different franchise chains regarding the cost to them of some current and recent promotions. The Smart Money article points out that franchisees generally bear the brunt of a promotions’s cost, including the food, labor, rent and utilities, among other things.

One of the most contentious examples was the Quiznos Million Sub Giveaway.  Here’s the Smart Money finding for Quiznos, which report a $2.25 loss per sandwich:

Quiznos

Promotion: Million Sub Giveaway – The first million people to register for Quiznos’s Q Club received a coupon good for any sandwich. (Certificates for this promotion expired by March 15, 2009.)

What some stores normally charge: $5.29 (one six-inch chicken sandwich)

Promotion Price: Free

Bottom line for restaurant: Loss of roughly $2.25 a sandwich

"The response to Quiznos’s Million Sub Giveaway was tremendous — with all one million free sub certificates requested within three days of the launch," says a Quiznos spokesperson. While Quiznos claims to have reimbursed franchise owners for food and paper costs, which amount to roughly $2.25 for, say, a chicken sandwich, other costs including rent, utilities and labor fell to individual franchisees — leaving some franchisees with an average loss of roughly $2.25 per sandwich, according to a franchisee in Maryland.

RELATED POSTS:

SUBWAY: What Do Franchisees Make on $5 Footlongs?

LITTLE CAESARS: What Franchisees Make on a $5 Pizza

McDONALD’S: What Franchisees Make on a $1 Burger

BASKIN ROBBINS: Franchisees Lose $1.45 per Scoop on Promo

QUIZNOS: Franchisees Lost $2.25 per Sub on Giveaway

BURGER KING Franchisees Sue Over $1 Cheeseburgers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF QUIZNOS PROMOTIONS?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

The “Our Restaurants” section of the passport restaurants inc. website states:

“New York NY Fresh Deli As one of America’s fastest growing franchised quick-casual sandwich restaurants, New York NY Fresh Deli was included in Entrepreneur Magazine’s May 2006 list of Top 50 New Franchises.  Currently, there are 29 franchised restaurants operating in 14 states.”

However, our recent post 15 Worst Franchises by SBA Loan Defaults listed the franchise concepts with the highest rate of SBA loan defaults for 2008.

The New York NY Fresh Deli franchise was listed as the 5th worst.  According to Katie Adams of Investopedia:

5. New York NY Fresh Deli

Perhaps it was the low single-site franchise fee ($17,500) that attracted new business owners, but it was low revenues that led to closed doors.

Thirty-one per cent defaulted on SBA loans in ‘08

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE NEW YORK NY FRESH DELI FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW.

Are you familiar with the Subway franchise opportunity?

Are Subway franchise owners happy?  Why or why not?

Please share your thoughts and opinions below.

*     *     *    *    *

In the 30 years since it launched its much-hyped Franchise 500, Entrepreneur magazine has named Subway the #1 franchise 16 times.

According to Entrepreneur’s Subway Hits the Spot, “…In late 2008, the company surpassed the 30,000-restaurant mark. It has 1,600 stores scheduled to open this year. Another 2,400 franchisees have bought in and are waiting in line to open. And it’s on pace to overtake the king of fast food, McDonald’s, in outlet numbers within five years.”  Despite a disastrous economy, Subway CEO Fred DeLuca says 2008 was Subway’s “best year ever.”

DeLuca claims their secret to success is the value Subway provides to their franchisees and the simplicity of the concept:

“We work hard to be extremely efficient,” he says. “We give great value for our franchisees: They can build a store for well under $200,000. And we have extremely simple operating systems. The preparation is mostly done in front of the customer. That simplicity is really what attracts our franchisees. You see it, and you can do it”.

Detractors claim that the hype has been bought and paid for, that the Subway franchisor is tyrannical and the system is designed primarily to make money for the franchisor at the expense of Subway franchisees.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  DO YOU OR HAVE YOU OWNED A SUBWAY FRANCHISE?  ARE SUBWAY FRANCHISEES HAPPY?  WHY OR WHY NOT?

logo:  Doctor’s Associates

What have we started?  Yesterday, we posted a story about the lawsuit filed by U.S. serviceman Leon Batie, Jr. against Subway for allegedly seizing his two Subway franchises and reselling them for (their) profit while Batie was busy fighting in Afghanistan.  A reader comment suggesting Subway spokesman Jared Fogle be detained at Gitmo until Batie’s issue is resolved.  That prompted a satirical article by Sean Kelly at Franchise Pick (SUBWAY: Send Jared to Gitmo!) with an invitation to sign a petition.

By this morning, a satirical press release was circulating on the Internet and, reportedly, aboard U.S. Navy ships at sea:

UNFORTUNATELY, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN WAS INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS. USE OF THE SUBWAY LOGO & TRADEMARKS IS FOR SATIRICAL PURPOSES ONLY.

SUBWAY® RESTAURANTS ANNOUNCES KIDNAPPING OF JARED
SUSPECTED RETAILIATION FOR UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF SOLDIER’S STORES WHILE DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN
(Milford, CT) June 25, 2009 — The SUBWAY® restaurant chain announced that its longtime spokesperson, Jared S. Fogle, 31, was kidnapped early this morning when two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters descended on his mansion in Indianapolis, Indiana and eight U.S. Army Rangers raided his home, nabbing the famous skinny man.

Also captured in the raid were Fogle’s famous size 60 pants, which sources say he now uses as a night time “blanky” for emotional comfort.

The motive behind Fogle’s capture was revealed when the U.S. Army General David Patraeus held a press conference to announce that Fogle was transferred to a military brig in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “Subway brought this action upon itself when it violated the rights of Lt. Col. Leon Batie, Jr., a former Subway franchisee who was deployed to Afghanistan when Subway unlawfully seized his two Subway stores,” said Patraeus. “We’re gonna keep him at Gitmo and make him eat Big Macs until certain demands are met and Subway makes it right.”

Subway’s egregious conduct against Batie was revealed by the Dallas Morning News and has since become an international story around the globe. According to the original article, one of Batie’s stores was sold through an insider deal to OPM Ventures, LP, owned by Subway executives Mark Holubec and Roger Dalton. The two work for the Dalton Gang, Subway’s Texas development agent. Their transaction ultimately yielded the two Subway executives more than $100,000 profit while leaving Batie with a six-figure mountain of debt.

Batie, an Army reservist, became a Subway franchisee in 2002 and bought a second store in 2003. He was living the American Dream and was in the process of opening a third store in March 2005 when he received his deployment orders for Operation Enduring Freedom. For the next year, Batie lived in a mud hut in Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery during combat. In March 2006, Batie was on two week R&R leave when he learned that Subway had terminated his store leases without a required court order.

The U.S. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act bars anyone from terminating an active-duty service member’s installment contract, including leases, without a court order. Ignoring federal laws, Subway unilaterally terminated Batie’s leases and seized his stores without obtaining court approval and without properly notifying Batie of its intentions.

“For Subway to take my businesses without ever notifying me was just wrong,” said Batie. “I want to make sure that if ever there’s another reservist that’s in a similar situation as mine, the franchisor … doesn’t trample over their rights.”

Subway received the Army’s demand this afternoon, which must be met before Jared and his pants are released. The demand includes a very large cash sum for Batie with an official apology from Subway, and a free “Five Dollar Footlong” for all active and retired members of the military. If Subway refuses to comply, the Army is threatening a call for global boycott of Subway and further kidnappings of Subway’s agents and executives.

To support Lt. Col. Batie, call and email Subway at the contacts provided at the top of this page and tell them they are wrong to trample on a soldier’s rights while he is fighting terrorists on foreign soil.

The satirical Press Release links back to the SUBWAY: Send Jared to Gitmo! post, where you can show your support for Reservist Batie by leaving a comment.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

What is the reason for their lawsuits? What are their allegations?

What do they hope to achieve?

We are looking for someone to write and submit a short summary to post here.

QUIZNOS Franchise Called “A Communistic Regime” August 18, 2009

The Fast Food Sex Fest Continues July 24, 2009

QUIZNOS: Indifferent to Franchisee Failure? June 21, 2009

QUIZNOS: Exec Explains Sub Giveaway Debacle. March 3, 2009

QUIZNOS SUB Rick Schaden Back as CEO. Reactions? February 24, 2009

Judge Hoffman’s Ruling Against Quiznos Franchising II LLC (PDF) January 1, 2009

QUIZNOS Franchisee Blasts HQ’s Coupons and Discounts December 27, 2008

Franchise Owner Claims It’s “Impossible to Make Money” With Quiznos December 27, 2008

QUIZNOS: Saratoga Franchisees Call it Quits September 8, 2008

QUIZNOS SUBS: PA Franchise Owners File Lawsuit July 27, 2008

Quiznos Franchisee Bankruptcy Filing June 9, 2008

Quiznos Lawsuit Resolved April 12, 2008

Share your summary, or other comments about the Quiznos franchise program, below.

Read the story here:  QUIZNOS: Quiznos Franchisees Celebrate Legal Victory

DISTRICT COURT, CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER,
STATE OF COLORADO
1437 Bannock Street
Denver, Colorado 80202

Case No. 06CV10765

QUIZNOS FRANCHISING II, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
ZIG ZAG RESTAURANT GROUP, LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

After a five-day bench trial that began December 8, 2008, District Court Judge Morris B. Hoffman delivered this ruling on December 31, 2008:

Judge Hoffman’s Ruling Against Quiznos Franchising II LLC (PDF)

orderaftertrial
What do you think? Share a comment below.

A Quiznos franchise owner posting as FQuiznos has voiced the frequent complaint of struggling Quizno operators:  That heavy discounting and couponing makes it impossible for Quiznos franchise owners to achieve or maintain profitability.  Quiznos franchise owners complain that this strategy is profitable for the franchisor – which makes money on marking up products sold to franchisees as well as royalties on gross sales – but devastating to its franchise owners.

On a Quiznos discussion post, FQuiznos wrote:

Quiznos wants to “increase franchise owner profitability” yet they keep mandating lower prices and mandating that we accept coupons on top of those prices as well. They lower retail prices and launch coupons at the same time. So a regular size prime rib which should sell at $8.49, now is at a regular price of $5.99. They launch a coupon for two dollars off and now you are selling a regular size prime rib sub for $3.99. Food costs remain the same so how is that going to increase franchise owner profitability. I think Quiznos just wants owners to close their doors, saves them the headache of dealing with failing stores and lawsuits. If they haven’t gotten this right in 27 years who says they will today.

FQuiznos maintains that Quiznos marketing department is so coupon-happy they’ve added coupon books as an actual product.  FQuiznos explains:

Customer Purchases the book for $20, we’re supposed to sell it to them.

Then the coupon contains $50 worth of coupons, $25 worth of $5 off any order of $5 or more. Then the other $25 of coupons are for catering.

Running promotions that raise top-line sales – the amount from which royalty payments are derived – at the expense of franchisee profitability is always a sure way to create franchise owner discontent.  After all, franchisees pay into advertising and marketing funds they expect to be used in their – not solely the franchisor’s – best interest.

What do you think?  Do Quiznos franchisees have a valid complaint?  Or is Quiznos advertising driving customers into their stores?  Share a comment below.

A Quiznos owner named “Martin Tate” left a comment on a Quiznos franchise post warning would-be franchisees that Quiznos stores are money-pits and almost certain to fail.

The commenter writes:

“…I must say, as a Quiznos owner, to anyone considering this, don’t do it. The business model makes it impossible to make money.

“I have been at it for 3 and 1/2 years. I am a successful multi unit manage in the retail finance busness, have turnaround managment experience and banking experience. I have analysed this thing upside down, sideways etc. It won’t make money unless you buy for cash and work 80+ hours 7 days a week yourself. Then you might make a small salary.

“The franchisees are closing everywhere and I have even challenged Mr. Deno and Mr. Brenneman to come and ride stores with me to talk to actual owners. No response to that one. I was very impressed when Mr. Brenneman took over. I thought there were changes coming. They sure did. Sales are down with no profits ever.

“I know how to run a business. That is always the Quiznos excuse. The franchisee screwed up, buy delivery, (I did, what a waste) or do local store marketing. (We did, and still do). I look forward this year to financial disaster, bankruptcy, losing my home and retirement and probably my wife due to Quiznos. Let me tell you. THEY DON’T CARE. There is a reason they are all closing and so many don’t make money.

“One last point. I have a CBD store. Up until the holidays when people aren’t working in the downtown area as much, my store LED the region is sales and customer service. If we were the only ones struggling or one of a few I would say it is us. When over half the chain is “financially distressed” maybe it is them.”

What do you think?  Are you familiar with the Quiznos franchise?  Is it truly that bad of an investment?  Share a comment below.