Potbelly — Restaurant in Virginia

⭐ 1-Star Review — Potbelly Sandwich Shop (Dulles Airport, Concourse A)

In 53 years, I have never written a bad review. But I genuinely feel a moral and legal obligation to share this experience, because what happened was beyond unacceptable.

I approached the Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Dulles Airport (1 Saarinen) and immediately encountered what can only be described as the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. Three employees stood together talking and completely ignored me. I walked to what looked like the order area — no signage anywhere — past a young man who was the only one actually working.

When I finally asked for help, one of the employees snapped at me, in a harsh and dismissive tone, “Do you want to order? Then you need to go back there and order.” No greeting. No assistance. Just attitude.

I ordered the Avo Turkey. The key word here being “Avo.” They handed my sandwich off to the toppings employee, who then asked me what toppings I wanted, even though the ingredients were clearly stated on the menu. Then the same rude employee asked, “What did you get?” as if she had paid zero attention to the entire process.

That’s when it hit me — they were charging me for the avocado without putting any avocado on the sandwich. When I pointed it out, she begrudgingly unwrapped the sandwich and slapped some on, then reassembled it like she was angry I caught the mistake.

I’m sorry, but this felt like a slap in the face to me, to Potbelly Corporate, to their shareholders, to Dulles Airport, and honestly to the entire city of Washington, D.C.

This ruined my day and my 6-hour flight. It was like watching an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head — except those two would have provided far better customer service, and at least they’re entertaining.

Do better, Potbelly....

10 months ago I gave this place a 4/5. That original review is below the new one.

Today I had 5 hours in between my hotel checkout and my flight. I was starving, so I decided to go back to Potbelly’s because they had done me right before. This time, it was a much different experience. The food was still pretty good, but I asked the worker for “a little more onion” and she over doubled the amount of onions. Then, I had to wait 5+ minutes in order to pay for my damn sandwich. It was less than lukewarm by the time I got to eat it. There were two guys waiting before me that I’m pretty sure decided to say screw it and walked off without paying because they had been waiting so long. I don’t blame the staff, they’re probably understaffed.

Old: Almost got five guys but decided to try this instead. The food was definitely a 5/5, but a bit overpriced for my liking, which is why I am giving it a 4/5 overall. I got a big ring of fire and it was about $15 after tax. Would be more worth it if the big sandwich came with chips or something. The sandwich was great. I am pretty tolerant to spice, and it made my eyes water and nose run. After the spice started hitting me I realized the airport is probably not the kind of place you want to get very spicy food at lol, but the sandwich was great nonetheless and hit the spot. Staff were good but didn’t explain how the “process” works and it’s a bit different compared to normal sandwich joints so the...

I honestly can't believe how bad this place was. The staff were incredibly rude and had zero respect for customers. Especially that one employee who had facial hair with a beard and looked afghan or Indian who mentioned he was the boss there and that was his store. It felt like I was bothering them just by being there.

To make things worse, the food was awful. It tasted old, greasy, and barely cooked. I left feeling sick and completely disappointed during my whole entire flight. Tables to eat at were not clean at all and were very dirty, this place needs better workers this experience was a disaster.

There are plenty of better places to eat such as chick fil a right next to them and five guys right in front of them, if I could leave a zero star review I would. Please don’t waste your time...