It's my impression that the management has changed somewhat recently, and the overall experience is much, much better. Did I mention there's falafel?
Consider that it's on a college campus. You can imagine the kind of self-entitled idiocy the staff here has to deal with on a daily basis. Still, everyone is friendly without exception, and the people at the register are generous with coupons and offers.
I'm there a lot, several times a week, and no one ever forgets utensils, napkins, and salad dressing, or to offer me a cookie :)
One thing I'm not crazy about, and I believe it's Subway-wide, is the "chopped" salad practice, with the plastic bowl and the mashing of the food. The good news is that salad is even more easily not chopped.
This is by far and away the worst Subway location ever.
The service is always slow, it is always difficult to communicate with the ladies behind the counter. This Subway is ALWAYS running out of basic stuff like spinach.
Therefore, I present to you the complaint letter I sent to Subway HQ over a year ago regarding this location:
February 9, 2011
Subway Franchise World Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford CT 06461-3059
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a longtime happy patron of Subway. I frequent Subways not only because of their delicious sandwiches and expanding vegetarian options, but also because of their speedy, reliable service. I am a poor college student, and this particular combination of features makes Subway an attractive option for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner.
Typically, I do not file complaints after only one poor experience; however, the experience I had at your Chicago, IL location near Loyola University Chicago on Sheridan Road was so preposterous, I cannot help but be blunt in expressing my discontent.
What kind of backwards, nonsensical, and stupidly irrational Subway runs out of hot, caffeinated coffee in the city of Chicago on a college campus when the wind chill is nine below? I demand justice, Subway. This is ludicrous.
There are many service lapses that can occur in the restaurant industry that truly are faultless. This is not one of them. Hot, fast, delicious coffee should be a priority on a freezing cold day in a major metropolitan area. I should never--I repeat--never have to be late for class because Subway has to brew a brand new pot of caffeinated coffee; I would have preferred a full refund (which was not offered to me). Coffee is simple, basic, and I expect it to be reliable and hot. Yesterday, this was not the case.
Unfortunately, as a tired and poor college student, a steady supply of hot caffeinated liquids takes precedence over delicious sandwiches and vegetarian options. Have you ever tried to stay awake through "Modern American Federalism"? Perhaps if you had, you would have understood the gravity in Subway's lapse of coffee yesterday. If Subway is unable to guarantee fast, reliable service, I fear I will have to take my business to Starbucks--or worse, McDonalds.
Subway, I was truly distraught and dismayed by your terrible planning and whacked-out priorities yesterday. I can only hope that someday in the future I can walk into a Subway tired and unenthusiastic and exit that same Subway just a few minutes later with a steaming hot cup of Seattle's Best in hand.
Thank you for your time,
Katrina
Seriously as bad as it gets.
I picked egg and cheese, bacon sandwich from the menu. Pointing to it. That is what I want.
-No bacon?
I guess that is ok.
Ok its ready.
-How much? 4.99 for a 6 inch. why? Â that is not what is says on the board!
-Your register rings it as 4.99?
-But for a dollar more I can get a the larger foot long size. $4.99 is wrong. Look at the board! That is not the price that it says the board
-Oh talk to your manager when she gets back at 12
It is 9am you think I will be back to argue in 4 hours for 1 dollar?
Basically I refuse, refuse to ever eat as subway location.
This is not the first time that it has happened that they have overcharged me for a sandwich. On purpose or becuase they are clueless. I don;t know but it happens often and it is annoying.
I came out of that subway mad. Not the way that I wanted to start my morning.
Their employes are clueless, do not pay attention and are not trained properly to deal with problems.
There really is so little around here to choose from, that I'm grateful this shop is so easy access to mass transit. For example, I can make a quick stop in while on my way to somewhere else.
I stopped in for the first time - even though I've lived in the area for almost a year. My plan was to stop in and grab a quick bite before going downtown. I usually just get something downtown, but this time, I decided it would make more sense to get something earlier, since I hadn't had lunch.
This Subway is small, but has some nice seating, such as the overstuffed chairs with a table in between. Nice touch - and a bit unexpected, given that officially, Subway is a fast food joint.
I was expecting the place to be jammed with students - which is not a bad thing, but I thought it might be overcrowded. At around 5pmish - it was pretty empty. The staff was really, really nice -- cheerfully telling me about specials when I asked. I'd seen an ad that during this month of December, a $2 sandwich deal is being offered. I was a huge fan of the "daily special" which many of them have -- $2.99 for a sandwich that changes daily. The $5 footlong is still a great deal, but sometimes I don't care to take 1/2 sandwich with me  - since I can't finish one of those alone. So this new $2 deal really caught my eye. The selection includes the meatball sandwich, the cold cut number and the veggie, as I recall. So, something for everyone. That's a really great deal - I don't know about you, but I could not make myself a sandwich that cost that little -- especially with all of those wonderful veggies!
Thank you, Subway -- for making a really healthy alternative to the cheap little crappy, lifeless burgers -- that is affordable by everyone! At times like these, it really matters. Cheers to you!
I really wish the Subway at Loyola was better. This place is profit factory with people rolling through here non stop. I would hope they would have slightly fresher bread and ingredients.
Also the seating is worse than at average Subway, it is a little more crammed in and uncomfortable.
On the flipside, they do have quick service and manage to keep this one pretty clean. Also if you would like a crack head to sell you street wise that can be easily arranged.
SUMMARY: Ran out of wheat bread, didn't put napkins in my to-go bag :(
************
FULL REVIEW:
I literally just walked out of this Subway less than twenty minutes ago, so this review is as fresh as it gets.
Let me just start off by saying I am a Subway feen -- I eat at this franchise (not this particular store) about 2-3 times per week, and my order is standard one hundred percent of the time: a footlong oven roasted chicken breast with lettuce and shredded cheese on wheat, cucumbers on the side.
First, this place didn't have wheat bread....WHAT?! This is the second time I've ever been to this particular Subway store, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wheat bread is basically a Subway staple. Yeah, I'm like pretty upset because I had to order Italian instead. It better be awesome.
Second, the woman who rang up my order didn't seem very happy. Even worse, she didn't put napkins in my bag. For real? No Subway employee has ever done this to me. I'm like this restaurant's number one customer, come on now....
I'm shaking my head at you, Subway. *growl*
Not the greatest subway, but not the worst considering the location. Vegetables aren't always fresh and don't go at night. I was there at about 8:50 and the place closed at 10 but they were already putting things away so I couldn't get half the things I normally get on my sub. During the daytime the staff is pretty nice I think but the night staff is kinda lazy.
Review Source:Seriously an awful Subway. Â I decided to try out their breakfast menu (which is really horrible, I'm sure not a testament to this particular Subway but still) and didn't decide I wanted hashbrowns until I got up to the register. Â I was scoffed at, told that I should have ordered it before I got up there. Â I apologized and said I didn't know. Â Then I was told I should have known.
Whoa.
The women who were working there barely looked at me and didn't smile once. Â I thought all the reviews had to be melodramatic representations before I came in. Â No joke. Â That bad.
You would think that with it being a franchise, all Subway locations would be at least somewhat similar. However, this one just blows! The service is awful, the 'sandwich artists' are usually rude and super stingy with the toppings. For goodness' sake, if I get a 'veggie delight' I expect to have more than 4 pieces of shredded lettuce on it. Â If you really want Subway near this area then just go the extra block and visit the one on Granville, they'll treat you better.
Fun fact: I don't know if their ventilation system never works or if they're simply too cheap to install one, but you WILL smell like Subway bread for the rest of the day after stepping in here for more than few seconds.
Okay. I realize this is absolutely absurd. It's just Subway, whatevz, right? This place is right on Loyola's campus. So staff and students alike are stopping by regularly... but the quality of service has just continued to go downhill for me.
This may be insanely anal, but they never close the sandwiches when wrapping it up - so when you unwrap it to eat, everything they put in after lettuce is going to fall out if you aren't careful or try to close it yourself. The chicken breast meat has on occasion had a kind of cleaning-product like after taste for me. AND THEN once I had a chicken BLT one weekend and there was something totally wrong with the bacon that got me sick.
So if possible, avoid this location. There's one on Touhy and another on Clark where they know how to work the sandwiches. Or Jimmy John's down just before Granville. But it is right there at Loyola so it's not going to lose any business, but yeah. Lamezor.