Potbelly — Restaurant in Maryland

Popped into Potbelly on Dobbin Road in Columbia recently for a bite to eat and thought I’d share some of my thoughts on the experience. The famous fast casual sandwich establishment from Chicago is one of many you’ll find within the area, and it certainly can hold its own with the competition, but there are definitely some flaws to go with it. First off parking and location here is ABYSMAL. A small and compact lot that is only accessible from a busy intersection and then having to go around behind the store to get to the front. Just what the heck is this? PAN’S LABYRINTH?!?! Upon entry, I really appreciated the large in-store menu displays here at Potbelly. Easy to navigate and easy to read, it saves a lot of time for decision making and eliminates the chaos of reading off a phone menu. The rest of the store layout is rather bizarre. Customers walk to the back of the store to order and then move down the line back to the front of the store to pay. I guess it’s nice to have a moving line, but it certainly creates a lot of chaos with the narrow area of the store. The whole place is decorated with all sorts of random knick knacks and colors. I’m sure this is a nod to the design of the original Chicago store, but the chain restaurant reproduction is just lackluster and forced, not a big fan here. My least favorite part of the whole store is all these silly “pop ups” for add-on items like hot peppers and chips, all of which are additional costs to your meal. I can’t stand in-store advertising like this that makes me feel more like I’m playing an iPhone game than I am ordering a sandwich. Now let’s talk about the food. I ordered the turkey club on whole grain with the works and I have to say, it was pretty solid. The bread had a nice toasty crunch on the outside and was fluffy and warm on the inside. Turkey was fresh, cheese was melty, and the bacon was a nice accompaniment. My biggest complain was that the vegetables just didn’t tast that fresh. Lettuce and tomato were soggy and bland and didn’t provide that fresh crunch I was looking for. Sandwich was nice and big and went well with my chips so I’ll give it a thumbs up! Overall decent experience here at Potbelly. Even though my meal was quite adequate, there’s quite a few things about Potbelly that keep it from getting an edge on their competitors. May be a while before I return, but I can at least say I enjoyed the experience!

-Mugsy McDonald, contributor for the...

This is one of the worst and most strange restaurant experiences I've had in awhile; and I seriously question if there was any training given to the two employees I interacted with.

This review is in reference to the 2 employees that were serving me and the other person in my party; and their complete lack of customer service. No issues with the food at all - food was good. The service made this place most unwelcoming; and clearing they did not want us in there.

Went to potbellies on 1/3/21 around 530 pm. We were the only two patrons inside and it was clear that the two employees were working hard on take-away orders - no issues there. We waited for awhile to place our order when the 1st employee eventually stared at me but didn't say anything. He had headphones in so I wasn't sure if he could hear me but assumed his staring meant it was my time to speak so I placed an order.

He made no verbal response and started making it. Without any words or even non-verbal cues, he went back to making other take-away sandwiches. After he made several more takeaway orders - he then again stared at me - this time considerably longer. I stared back at him not knowing what he wanted since I had already ordered and the other person in my party had not. For some reason he chose to ignore her.

He looked annoyed with me for not responding to his staring, and then finally asked "Is that it?". That was the entirety of his customer service.

Onto the 'toppings' area where the other employee also had headphones in - so again cannot tell if she can hear us. After giving her the toppings, she barked the word "Louder" and motioned to talk between the protective 'Covid Glass'. Her lack customer-service was in-line with her coworker. Maybe if she didn't have headphones in; she could have heard us.

There clearly needs to be additional training for both of the 2 employees in regards to dealing with customers because the non-verbal staring and then complete ignoring made this place feel very unwelcoming. Again - we were the only 2 patrons inside at the time and the shop was open for 3+ more hours so excuses of 'overwhelmed by customers' and 'ready to clock-out' don't seem like reasonable.

I won't be going to this Potbellies anytime soon due to their behavior - but it is not reflective of other Potbellies where I have had much more 'normal'...

I walked in for the first time one day to try a sub there with my wife. We came in around 5-6pm a day in March 2017 and immediately took notice to the cleanliness of the entire store. I'm reasonable when it comes to some disorganization, however this was filth. I mean greasy finger smears and bits of meat all over the stainless steel hood that covered the meats they put on the sandwiches. The handle was dirty and as they put their gloves on to help you, they lift the hood with that handle while wearing the gloves they will make your sandwich with. Awful hygiene! YUK! Then looking around more I took notice to poorly kept floors AND more prep areas that had pieces of meat near the hinges of other stainless doors. I was slowly becoming ill thinking I'm going to get sick from eating here! Crumbs all over the tables, floor and a dirty drink area with a lot of trash (straw papers etc) sitting around. I even had to wipe off my own table. I almost gave up the order entirely but I was short on time and had to eat. No choice! I even bought a bag of their oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that were not so great AND most were broken or stuck together at the bottom of the bag. Another $7.00 down the drain. Just an overall bad experience, even the young girl that worked there who makes your sandwich didn't seem to care much for a smile. A tiny bit disrespectful and didn't really look like she liked her job. So, I am accurate when I reflect a single star here. Never checked the bathrooms though. Prob good I didn't. Anyway, there are other sub shops around that toast their subs and are much cleaner and happier to help. I wouldn't waste time or money here. ##### A QUICK NOTE: Food poisoning is a horrible thing to endure (vomiting, dangerous cramps, dry heaves and often blood in stool) and can be deadly! I once had it from a poorly prepared egg salad sandwich from Taney Town Deli and was in the hospital for a day. PLEASE choose your places wisely...