Firehouse Subs Arcadia Plaza — Restaurant in Phoenix

: Disappointing Experience at Firehouse subs on 28th street and Indian School Rd. In Phoenix, Arizona

Dear Firehouse Administrator

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to you as a long-standing patron of Firehouse Subs who has always held your establishment in high regard. However, my recent experience compels me to share some concerns.

I have visited your restaurant numerous times and have consistently enjoyed the food and service. This time, unfortunately, the experience was markedly different. We ordered through the online app for convenience. Upon pickup, I noticed a certain level of disorganization among the staff, which was somewhat disconcerting.

The real issue arose when we reached home, a 20-minute drive away, and discovered that two out of our three sandwiches were incorrect, with all the toppings being wrong as well. Additionally, our order was missing two beverages and a bag of chips. Given the situation, I called the restaurant to express my disappointment and to seek a resolution.

This is where my experience took a turn for the worse. The on-duty manager, Serena, was, to put it mildly, unprofessional and offensive. Her approach was aggressive, defensive, and she continuously justified the errors without showing any willingness to listen or empathize. When I requested a refund, Serena insisted that I return to the restaurant in person. I explained the impracticality of this demand, considering the distance, but was met with further hostility. Serena raised her voice, spoke over me, and demanded that I listen to her, showcasing a concerning need for validation over customer service.

As a customer, it's disheartening to witness such a lack of professionalism and emotional intelligence, especially from a managerial position. This experience has not only left a bad taste in my mouth but also significantly tarnished my perception of your establishment.

I believe in constructive feedback and hope this incident will be an opportunity for staff training and improvement in customer service. I regret to inform you that I will be sharing this experience in my online reviews, focusing not only on the quality of the food but also on the customer service, particularly highlighting my interaction with Serena.

I trust you will take this feedback seriously and take necessary steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated. Your restaurant has always been a favorite, and I would like to see it regain the high standard it previously upheld. Until that is the case, we will not be returning to the restaurant, nor recommending a return visit to anybody...

I don’t understand how someone could mistake a turkey sandwich for a meatball marinara. The manager on 6/5 was trying his hardest to compensate for the long wait and lack of supplies but somehow this place has 4.4 stars. The lady behind the counter was to busy complimenting a guy on how he smelled good vs paying attention to her job. I knew this place was starting to slip but damn how far it’s fallen. Used to be a go to spot but now subpar is to high of a label for this place. After they got a new crew the quality has dropped I dunno if they just don’t care anymore or they are that hard to train. Will no longer even think about coming back to this place.

Edit as of 7/24:If I could give 0 stars I would, walked in for an order pickup and was greeted with “if your here for pickup it’ll be where you were just looking if it’s not there then let me know” then when I tried to get the side for my order they were out. Okay no big deal they allowed me to substitute it for something else. Before I left the restaurant I looked at my sandwich and saw that they had placed the wrong peppers on the sandwich. I let them gentleman know because the lady with the attitude had walked away from the counter thankfully. He starts remaking it and by this point the lady working this shift on 7/24 at around 6:45-7:00 unfortunately walked back and tried to give me the right peppers in a cup to try to “remedy” her mistake. When she did this I looked right past her to the friendly gentleman remaking the sandwich for me and said are you remaking it? He said yes it’s almost done. At this point I told him to just give me the remade one. At this point the lady rolls her eyes at me because I refused to take her “remedy” and then I can only assume started talking badly about me to the gentleman remaking the sandwich. Me and my fiancé tried this place not to long ago and even then her same attitude destroyed this place for me. She needs...

The manager McKenzie happened to be working both times this week when I made an order through my Uber eats app and had the worst customer service I’ve experienced with her smiling and laughing in my face. The first time I ordered the deal Uber eats was offering of buy a sub get one free to be delivered. I ordered two and was supposed to get two free. Instead I was told after waiting over an hour and a half that someone already picked it up and I ended up having to buy dinner elsewhere after nearly 2 hours waiting. The manager assured me they checked for each pickup to confirm the correct order was picked up… Fast forward a couple days and my little ones still want subs since we didn’t get to enjoy the ones we originally ordered the two days prior. I decided to give them another chance since the deal was still going on but this time I went to pickup my order myself so there should be no issues.. well GO FIGURE! I show up, walk in and am hardly even acknowledged. They quickly rushed me over to the pickup rack (in the front of the store outside of their counter space) without checking/confirming any order details and to my surprise, my order was GONE!! Again!! The lack of organization for pick up orders is a disgrace and shame on you for laughing in my face, treating me like I was the one who messed up and not owning up to your negligence of your pickup process. As if I’m the one inconveniencing you guys to simply do your job, especially after you guys are the ones that messed up my order twice in a row in a matter of days. I have never had these issues with any other firehouse I’ve visited from any other city but this one. I’ll be calling corporate to file an official complaint on this location asap!

Like the others here who warned you, if you’re in this area you will be so much better off getting a fresh sandwich...