Potbelly — Restaurant in Canton Township

Let me start by saying I've been a customer for 5+ years and have visited multiple locations throughout Michigan. So when I visited the Canton location for at least my 10th time I was expecting to be serviced with my usual menu request. I typically order a Strawberry/Oreo Smoothie w/o milk because I am lactose intolerant. I can tolerate the frozen yogurt very well but not the whole cow's milk that is added in the smoothie to thin it out. I understand a thinning agent is needed because the smoothie will be very thick but I have not minded that for years - the thickness of my smoothie that is. So, I pull into the drive - thru, place my usual order then get told, not by 1 but 2 staff members that I can't get a Strawberry/Oreo Smoothie because the hardness and thickness of the frozen yogurt will "BREAK THE BLENDER!!!!" I stated that I have ordered this item from the Canton location multiple times among others and have never been denied service because the frozen yogurt will "BREAK THE BLENDER!!!" Needless to say I was sorely disappointed and quite agitated - as I was craving one of my most favorite Summer desserts from Potbelly. I left the drive-thru determined to get my favorite Summer treat. SOOO, I went to another Potbelly (extremely out of my way) in Livonia, to order and purchase my Strawberry/Oreo Smoothie. Well what do you know -- I went in, placed my order, paid for it and got my smoothie --- without any issue - what-so-ever!

SO why in the HELL did I had to drive 15-17 minutes east of the Canton Potbelly to get a $4.12 Strawberry/Oreo without milk when I should have been able to get it from there? You mean to tell me, that Potbelly is not capable of purchasing industrial strength blenders that won't break from frozen yogurt? Really? Are you "flipping" kidding me? If their machinery is that fragile then all of us Lactose intolerant customers are in trouble - especially when visiting the Canton, MI location. Maybe Potbelly should also invest in purchasing Lactose Free Milk that way customers can be serviced and workers won't say such foolery as "the thickness of the frozen yogurt will BREAK THE BLENDER!!!"

Anyway the only reason, this location is receiving 2 stars vs. 1 is because both of the individuals I interacted with were fairly polite and civil. Make no mistake about it, had either one of them given me a smidgen of attitude this would indeed be a 1...

First of all, I honestly believe Potbelly is the most underrated sandwich place. The food is amazing, the hot peppers are actually hot, the perks are great, and I am never disappointed. I also love that when you’re signed up for perks, you get a whole month for your birthday to redeem a free dessert, which includes a shake. The online ordering and drive thru pickup is so convenient. And I love this location. I’ve been ordering from here pretty often for a while and one of the workers drew smiley faces on our sandwich bags. Such a small thing, but I thought it was so cute and made me excited to eat. I don’t want to complain about this, because I work in food service and it’s so far from being a big deal, but if I had to complain about something it would be that they did not cut my sandwich in half this time. But it was made just the way I wanted it as always and still tastes amazing. I will keep coming back :) Would eat it every...

Admittedly I’m not super frequent at Potbelly and I also made a mistake and ordered for the wrong location to begin with. The first person who helped was very sweet and nice and explained to me how to cancel my order at the wrong location so I did so then reentered the line to reorder my food. A new employee (who I assumed to be the manager) then tried to help me and was extremely dismissive and quite rude. I used points to get a free sub on my order that I ordered wrong so I tried to explain that to her and she quite literally walked away from me in the middle of my sentence and did not return to help me. I didn’t even want a free item all I was going to ask was if my points would also be refunded and she seemed too preoccupied to worry about anything I had to say. So I was forced to go back to lunch $15 lighter...