Firehouse Subs Prattville — Restaurant in Prattville

Typically we really enjoy Firehouse and we're still fans of their sandwiches. Every now and then you'll get one that doesn't have much meat or cheese on it and someone kind of skimped on the ingredients, but on the whole we've usually had a good experience with the food and service.

Today at the location in Prattville right off I-65 we were really turned off by the staff complaining about how busy the day was and how "over it" they were. We understand it's a holiday weekend and along with us there's been a ton of people stopping and coming in to eat on their way home from the beach, but from the moment we walked in the door all the way through our meal and leaving 30 min later we heard more than one employee loudly venting behind the counter about what a busy day it'd been and how they couldn't wait to get off their shift, or even exclaiming, "I'm quitting! I just can't do this anymore. I'm done and ready to leave." Then, "Same here! I'm about ready to quit. This is just ridiculous."

I've worked in both the restaurant and retail industries before and I totally get it. There are days that are just crazy busy - like Saturdays, holidays, especially Christmas - when your shift is hectic and overwhelming from start to finish, so you're tired and maybe even frustrated/ irritated if you've had to deal with difficult customers, or a crisis such as a machine breaking, cash register or computer not working, phones or power behing down, etc. So i get it! It's not like I've never complained or vented to my fellow coworkers or even my boss while on the job before! However, I find it very inappropriate and unprofessional to do that in front of the customers. You wait until the store is empty or you're in the back such as in the breakroom and speak in a low voice that can't be heard out on the main floor. I don't want to hear about your rough work day while I'm eating just a few feet away from you and paying you for a service or product. This makes me want to go next door and give someone else my business where I won't feel awkward or guilty for being there.

Hopefully this was a one time event, and truly I feel for those employees who have had an extremely busy day. They really earned their pay and deserve a good long break at the end of it. We've never encountered this before at any of the other locations where we live or have visited and it won't keep us from coming back again. But I think staff needs to be reminded (here and at every chain restaurant or retail store) that doing this in front of your customers is not okay and most people will take that one bad experience and not give the place...

In my review of two years ago, I gave a glowing report of the food and service. This time I must report that if you order a sandwich with special instructions, for instance no condiments, lettuce, tomato, etc., beware. I ordered a medium, white bread sandwich for take out with JUST grilled chicken and cheddar cheese and that's all. I even said "plain, nothing but chicken, cheese and bread". When I arrived home, I discovered that my sandwich had mayo all over it. That meant I couldn't eat the sandwich. I called and reported the problem and they offered to remake the sandwich for me, but I declined the offer. They said they would write my name down and my next sandwich would be at no charge. The problem may lie in their ticketing system. Even though I clearly wanted nothing but grilled chicken and cheddar cheese on white bread (and those items WERE listed on my receipt), no where on the receipt did it show "plain", or "no lettuce, no tomato, no mayo, no mustard, etc."

If this was a one-time incident, I would just shrug it off and say "these things happen". The problem is, I've lost track of how many times this sort of thing has occurred at this Firehouse Subs. What really irks me is I REALLY like Firehouse Sub sandwiches. I prefer Firehouse over all the other sandwich shops (you know who they are). I don't want to "write off" Firehouse Subs, I want to keep going there. I just wish they would pay more attention to the customer's requests/special...

There are at least 4 young people working right now....there were 5 people ahead of me...I have been here at least 10-12 minutes, and the ONLY order to go out the door....is a Door Dash type pick up. People ahead of me are getting very anxious, as am I. This is insane. I'd say there isn't a worker here over 18/19 years old, and absolutely none of them have a clue as to what's going on. My receipt says my order was taken at 5:09, it's now 5:27. At 5:31 I FINALLY get my sandwich....loaded with mayo, after I specifically ordered it without mayo, and the Italian dressing on the side...So I ask for a refund.....granted. The management should be immediately fired. The odds working there are ill prepared, and ill trained. They have been thrown to the wolves with zero leadership. Franchise owner should be utterly embarrassed to own this establishment. Again, it isn't the kids fault, it's the management...who were obviously not present. Nearly a 30 minute wait, only to receive a sa dwich NOT as ordered. Shameful. I know someone will reach out and say how sorry they are for my experience, and how they strive for excellent customer experience...and how they value me as a customer. Well, save your time with all that....go get your restaurant in order...from management, down. This type of environment is what...