Firehouse Subs Bryant — Restaurant in Bryant

I recently had a very disappointing experience at the Firehouse Subs location in Bryant, AR (3108 Horizon Drive #8). My friend and I placed a Grubhub order and went to the restaurant to pick it up. Unfortunately, the service we received was far from acceptable.

Upon entering the store, we waited to be acknowledged, and when a staff member named Kelly finally assisted us, her attitude was immediately hostile. Despite being polite, we were met with rudeness and frustration from Kelly, who seemed annoyed by our simple request to pick up our order. When we showed her the Grubhub app for confirmation, she repeatedly asked for more information without clarifying what she needed, which only added to the confusion.

The situation escalated when Kelly began making faces and stormed off to “cool down,” leaving us feeling as if we were being treated like criminals. To make matters worse, the General Manager, who was present, did nothing to deescalate the situation or assist us. The environment became so toxic that we decided to leave without even receiving the drinks and chips we had ordered.

We were also falsely accused of taking photographs of the staff, which was untrue and unnecessary. When we asked to speak with the manager, we were again met with hostility and a dismissive attitude.

As someone who frequently promotes Arkansas as a top destination for both residents and tourists, I was deeply concerned by this experience. The unprofessional and antagonistic behavior of both Kelly and the General Manager was shocking, and I cannot recommend this location to others. This experience has left me unwilling to return, and I will certainly be sharing it with friends, family, and colleagues.

After doing some research I found out that Kelly (lead) is the mother of the General Manager. Staff have reported that these outbursts are common and that its embarrassing and makes them feal uncomfortable. They also report that nothing ever happens because of their personal relationship.

Are there not protections for that within Human Resources in Firehouse Subs?

Upon reaching out to corporate and avoiding put this all over social media I was met with back-handed responses and nothing from management or the owners. I was not looking for a handout but more for an explanation on why the staff and general public have to put up with this. After speaking to several staff they all are uncomforatble with Kelly.

I do not reccomend this location at all. While I do enjoy Firehouse Subs and the other brands in the management company, this one should be avoided until...

Normally I have no issues with this location and the food is great. This time was different. I placed an online order and included a pic of that order. I ordered 3 Italian sandwiches. One was regular as it comes. One had added veggies including bell pepper and black olives and one had added veggies minus bell pepper and black olives. My kiddos love black olives and raw bell peppers and I do not. Not even a little bit. I wish I did but bleh and yuck. Get home and welp. Both of the customized sammiches were made exactly the same. Lots of those detested black olives and bell peppers ON BOTH SAMMICHES!! And yes, I know it’s sandwiches but I’m from Memphis and I say sammiches. Same as I apparently say warsh for wash. So I type phonetically so ppl can read in my Memphis accent mmkay?

So anyway, lemme continue. So I tried to call but it was 9:02 and apparently they skedaddle on outta there promptly at 9. I wish same efficiency, promptness and attention to minute details had been applied to my sammich because I could not and did not eat mine. There were way too many undesirable items to try and pluck them off plus they leave that weird gross black olive taste on everything.

Because I’m considered middle aged and I’m also a mom of kids ages 31 to 12, I feel the need to do this as a life lesson for the youngsters who probably made my sammich and failed to pay attention to details. Like failed to actually read the order slip and make 2 different customized sammiches rather than just do a quick glance over and assume that both were the same. This is a very important trait that needs to be improved on for life in the real world.

I am a big advocate of equipping our youngsters with the tools they will need to succeed in the harsh reality of the adult world especially nowadays. Paying attention to details is a very very very important skill and one that should already be acquired by the time someone is old enough to be working at a paying job. I know they would probably roll their eyes if they read this same as I probably did when I was their age but this is why I am now a wise woman who tries to bestow my hard earned wisdom onto younger people so that they can attain the great pinnacle of wisdom one day that I have acquired. 😎😆 said tongue in cheek of course but also...

Order taker was very friendly and put up with our customized sandwich request for our very pregnant wife. My sandwich was just a no bells and whistles BLT. They were training a new employee which we completely understand, everyone has got to learn. We patiently waited our turn and once it was up, the employees were very kind and apologized for the long wait.

We get back to our hotel, I get my partner set up in the bed with their sandwich, extra, extra pickles and salad. I get my husband set up with his sandwich, I get in my jammies and climb into the hotel bed anxious about my yummy sandwich. I get my pillows propped up, sit back and take a deep breath, open my sandwich container and see what I think was my sandwich. I lift it out and see it is pretty much just bread. I was very disappointed but we were all too tired to go back.

I understand training new employees can be trying, especially on a Friday night at 5:30. I really wished there was some quality control before mine was sent out. I ended up combining the bacon into just one half. It was good but NOT satisfying at all. I seriously considered running downstairs to BK and ordering a side of their bacon to add to my sandwich.

Some places are just hit and miss but let's be diligent while training to ensure...