Subway — Restaurant in Toronto

Formal Complaint – Appalling Experience at Subway 3030 Don Mills Road

To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction and frustration regarding an extremely disappointing and unacceptable experience that my friends and I had at your Subway location at 3030 Don Mills Road on Tuesday night, July 8th.

We placed an online order through the Subway app for three footlong sandwiches, intending to take advantage of a promotion. However, from the moment the order process began to the time we received our food, the entire experience was nothing short of frustrating and disrespectful.

Firstly, the Subway app did not provide us with the option to select Hot Sauce or Sweet Onion Sauce, which are standard offerings. We were forced to choose substitutes. Furthermore, for every vegetable option, we selected "More" to ensure we received adequate portions. We are well aware that many store owners cut corners on online orders to save on supply costs, so we made the conscious decision to visit the store in person while placing the order online, just to observe the preparation and avoid being shortchanged.

When we arrived at the store, the employee—an Indian man named Jay, as he told us—began preparing our order. I politely asked to reduce the quantity of tomatoes in one of the sandwiches (not to add anything extra), and before I could even finish my sentence, he rudely interrupted me saying, "Sorry, I can’t modify anything." This was abrupt, dismissive, and entirely unnecessary. When I clarified that I only wanted less of an ingredient, he finally relented, but the attitude was already unacceptable. Regardless of company policy, basic customer courtesy and communication must always be upheld.

Secondly, we requested to swap the sauce we had selected (due to app limitations) with one that is equivalent in price—a very reasonable request. Again, the same rude response: "Sorry, we can’t make changes to online orders." No logic or explanation was given—just a robotic, unapologetic refusal to accommodate a very minor and fair request.

Thirdly, despite our selection of “more” vegetables in the app, Jay deliberately skimped on the vegetables, especially onions and cucumbers, to the point where the sandwiches looked underfilled and incomplete. When we politely pointed this out and asked for more, he became visibly irritated and refused to make any further modifications, reiterating the same excuse. This wasn’t a matter of policy—it was a blatant act of withholding ingredients we had clearly selected and paid for.

Let me be clear: nowhere in Subway’s policies or ordering terms does it state that an online order gives staff the right to completely ignore reasonable customer input, especially when we are physically present and simply requesting the food to be made as per the original instructions. The employee’s rude behavior, dismissive attitude, and obvious cost-cutting tactics were appalling. The sandwiches were bland and poorly made, which clearly reflected his unwillingness to put even basic effort or care into the preparation.

This kind of experience is completely unacceptable. If your franchise owners and employees are so concerned about saving a few vegetables, perhaps they are in the wrong business. Running a food service establishment requires integrity, customer service, and consistency—none of which were demonstrated here. As a long-time customer, I am shocked and angry at how poorly we were treated. This incident has left a bitter taste, both literally and figuratively. I demand that Subway’s regional management or head office look into this matter seriously. We expect a formal apology, and more importantly, action taken against this location and its staff for their unacceptable conduct. Unless addressed properly, I will have no choice but to escalate this complaint to Subway Headquarters, Consumer Protection Ontario, and post this experience on all major review platforms to ensure that other customers are not subjected to the same treatment. Avoid...

It is highly unprofessional that instead of addressing my concerns properly, your response contains false accusations, dismissive language, and condescending remarks, which only further highlight the lack of professionalism demonstrated during my visit. Failure to Clearly Communicate Store Policies If your location has a unique policy requiring payment before order preparation after 11 PM, it should be clearly communicated upfront rather than enforced without explanation. I complied without argument, even specifying that I wanted chimichurri sauce, an extra-charge item, so that I could be billed accurately. Despite this, I was never given a proper bill at that time. Your claim that I argued about payment is completely false—if you have video evidence, you should review it instead of making misleading statements. Unprofessional and Condescending Language Your response included an unnecessary and dismissive comment stating that because my family owns Subway, I should “check with my family” regarding portion control. This is rude, condescending, and entirely unprofessional. Regardless of my background, I was entitled to fair and standard service as per Subway’s corporate policies. A professional response would have clarified the policy in a respectful manner rather than making personal remarks that serve no purpose other than to dismiss customer concerns. Gaslighting and Misrepresentation of the Situation Your claim that staff were “trying to make me comfortable” is gaslighting—I was not seeking comfort; I was requesting proper service. Additionally, your comment telling me to “check my facts before using sensitive words” is an unprofessional attempt to undermine a legitimate concern rather than addressing it professionally. Handling customer complaints requires accountability, not dismissive remarks or condescending language. Inappropriate Handling of Racial Profiling Concern Your response stated: “If a brown boy asks you a question, how is that racial profiling? Kid who works behind the counter himself is an immigrant. Please think before you write something like this.”

This response is deeply unprofessional and dismissive of a valid concern. Making assumptions based on appearance, background, or perceived status is inappropriate in any professional setting. The fact that the employee is also an immigrant does not negate the issue—the concern is that a question unrelated to the transaction was asked based purely on an assumption about my appearance, which is not acceptable customer service practice. Instead of recognizing how such interactions can create discomfort for customers, your response minimizes the concern and deflects responsibility, which is not the appropriate way to handle feedback. False Claims About the Sandwich Preparation Your response states that the staff did not put only three leaves of spinach at first, but then dismissively adds, “but it’s okay, get your point.” This is completely false—the staff did start with three leaves and only reluctantly added a small amount more after multiple requests. The dismissive tone in your response further demonstrates a refusal to take accountability.

If you have video evidence, I encourage you to review it carefully rather than making misleading statements. Instead of gaslighting, dismissing concerns, and making condescending remarks, a professional approach would have been to acknowledge the issue, clarify policies properly, and handle the concern respectfully.

Due to the lack of professionalism, false accusations, and dismissive handling of valid concerns, I will be escalating this matter to Subway’s corporate office for review. Customers deserve transparent policies, professional communication, and a respectful experience—none of which were provided in this...

Came into the store first thing was the employee on their phone and it wasn’t like they saw me and proceeded to put their phone away. They saw me still proceeded to talk on the phone with their gloves on their gloves on phone in hand proceeded to still talk on the phone and proceeded to end their conversation before acknowledging me. Then I wanted to ask the employee about a coupon that I had the employee proceeds to dismiss me. I’m asking questions about a specific coupon and before I could even get a word out, he’s dismissing me and telling me that the coupon is not part of that store, which is a dumb rule because for every other fast food chain, their coupon works at all participating Canadian stores that’s not like they selectively pick out each coupon all coupons are usually accepted at all stores at any other food chain so the fact that they’re selectively picking out coupons that they want to use at their store is terrible. Couldn’t use a coupon. OK fine but I could use one of my other coupons so I wanted to know more knowledge about the coupon I couldn’t use and how to use it at another store because I still wanted to use it. Tried asking the employee how to use the other coupon Because I still wanted to use it and even though I couldn’t use that at his store, I still wanted to use it in general. I just wanted to understand more about how the app works and about how the rewards program works. I wanted to know a little bit more so that I could use the coupon at a different store he dismissed me again. Told me that because the coupon doesn’t work at that specific store he can’t help me and he can’t show me how the app works. The worst customer service I’ve ever received at a subway. To top it all off the food was terrible. Hardly toasted hardly any portions I had to ask for a little bit more tomatoes because there was so little on the sandwich I had to ask for more of the portions because he was giving me so little his attitude was terrible. I understand you don’t take the coupon at your subway. It’s a dumb rule but fine but if I’m asking you how your own reward system works and how I can use a coupon at another store you should be able to have that knowledge regardless. When a customer comes into your store, your first priority should be the customer not your phone call and make it worse. You didn’t change your gloves. You had the phone on with the glove gloves that you still proceeded to make my sandwich with...