The Quiznos one million “free” sub story continues. On March 2, 2009 I shared my frustrating Quiznos experience. Like many other consumers I printed a coupon from the Quiznos Web site for a “free” sub and attempted to redeem it at four (4) different Quiznos and was told at each location that they were not participating in the sub giveaway. The most frustrating was that only one (1) of the four (4) posted a sign that stated they were not participating.
When I read the article with a quote from the EVP of Marketing at Quiznos saying: ‘Given the current state of the economy, we believe we should all be responsible for looking at our part of the world to understand how we can make it better. And for Quiznos, that meant lowering our prices while maintaining the high quality standards we are known for, and providing an opportunity for a million people across the country to try our toasty subs for free.”
I received a comment from Tracey who said she is working with Quiznos and shared that the “free sub giveaway” was nothing short of overwhelming and that a “few” consumers were disappointed not receiving the sub and she provided a link to Quiznos and asked me to share my experience. I did contact Quiznos and shared my experience of trying to redeem the coupon at four (4) locations and that I was informed they were not participating in the giveaway. Almost immediately I received an e-mail apology from Quiznos and a request for my home address.
To my surprise I received in the mail 6 coupons redeemable at the Quiznos near my home that included:
2 coupons to buy one sub and get a second sub free
2 coupons for $2 off any delivery order
1 coupon for 2 regular subs, 2 chips and 2 drinks for $12
1 coupon for $10 off any order over $35
Only 2 of the coupons I received from Quiznos will get me anything “free” but only if I buy a sub will I get one free. My question to Quiznos is – why didn’t you just call it a buy one get one free promotion instead of saying that Quiznos is providing an opportunity for a million people across the country to try our toasty subs for FREE?
I must say again that in tough economic times – truth is best. I won’t be eating at Quiznos any time soon.