Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Quiznos 5 Dollar Subs: The Fine Print



Our team finally emerged from the test kitchens to visit Quizno's and get in on the five buck sub special that everyone has been talking about. Upon arriving at our local Quiznos we found the window ads and the menu regarding what was on the five dollar plan and what was not. Subway's special applies most of their menu, only one section was not included we believe.

After sorting thru the fine print, the real five dollar deal at Quiznos is extremely limited and only applies to one section of their menu called the "Deli Favorite Subs". These are basically boring standard sandwiches that have no frills or tasty sauces. The four in this category are: Turkey & Cheddar, Ham & Swiss, Beef & Cheddar and a Tuna Melt. The only extras/toppings the menu states are cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. All boring and uninspired.

When I go to a sandwich shop it is to get something out of the ordinary - like toasted chicken subs with bacon and chipotle sauce. Subway understood this and their five dollar deal is WAY more expansive in choices.

The actual deal at Quiznos should be called the 5-7-9 deal, as that is how they break it down once they get you inside the shop. Boring lame subs are 5 bucks, decent real subs (like chicken with bacon) are 7 bucks and the specialty subs (like prime rib) are 9 dollars.

The person who came in while we were ordering our 7 dolar subs was obviously having trouble figuring out what the 5 dollar deal was about. We watched him scan the menu, then the ad signs, and back to the menu. As soon as he realized the five dollar deal was really a 5-7-9 deal, he turned around and walked out. Even though the subs we got were very tasty, perhaps we should have done the same.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic investigative reporting by the FPT. Chalk one up for Subway.

Anonymous said...

The sub at Quizno's was tasty and they put other toppings on when requested. There seemed to be a little more beef on the sandwich as was the claim on the commercials. However, no specialty breads were available and the "make it a meal" price was also higher.

Anonymous said...

Sandwich Savvy… It’s not easy at the Quiz. For a treat, about every 7 to 10 days I enjoy a Subways sub. Their $5 large sub deal makes the treat even better. Then came the Quiz $5 TV ads. I’ll give them a try! Looks good on TV. -- I should have know walking in. At Subway there’s a 3 to 5 min wait to order. At the Quiz there were two people eating and no line. So I studied the menu & ordered a ft long Italian and med drink. Got to the register and handed the guy a $10. Got back a buck and 2 pennies. Trying to figure why a med drink cost 4 bucks I said “Isn’t this sub 5 bucks?” The guy said “The 5 dollar deal is for a deli sub”. Staring at the sub again I’m trying to figure out where in the heck the meat came from if not a deli. I uttered “I guess I’ve been ripped off”. The guy half smirked then smiled. So I’m eating and figured out the Quiz is to figure out the deal or get ripped off. Getting ready to leave for the last time I’ll ever visit the Quiz again, I hear the register guy smirk to another looser “The 5 dollar deal is for a deli sub”. I felt a little better someone besides me failed the Quiz!!

Anonymous said...

Thats not a great deal, But i will pay the 9.00 for my prime rib sub because i have been to subway many times and how can i put this? Well they just plain out SUCK. Subway has little to no flavor and you get more bread and lettus than meat. I like how they show this huge, monster sub in thier ads and menu but when you get your sub it looks like someone sat on it. One slice of meat and 10 lbs of lettus. Their steak subs suck, i could make a better one at home. so heres how it stacks up... Quiznos=1/big johns=2/tubbys=3/blimpe's=4/subway=0 so eat fresh lol.

Anonymous said...

Quiznos $5 subs are super lame man, I got the 5 meat combo sub thing and it really had just about 5 individual slices of meat and 1 slice of cheese.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I am eating a Quizno's sub right now. I went for the 5$ deal and couldn't find shit on their menu about what sandwiches were included. So I ordered the Traditional thinking surely this sandwich is of the 5$ variety. When I got the the counter it rang up at over 7$ with tax. I was so embarrassed I didn't even wanna ask what sandwiches were included in the deal. I found this thread amidst trying to find what sandwiches were really on this said 5$ menu......

Anonymous said...

I find your blog very interesting. At the present time, the whole world is all about the fast food restaurants. They do not have time for eating let alone waiting for the food to get ready. For sometimes McDonalds was considered to be the most popular in the US as well as in the whole world. It safe to say, that Quiznos does not leg behind. You may read customers’ reviews about the company at www.pissedconsumer.com.

Anonymous said...

hello my name is Michael Eat Brownies...and i LOVE all meat products....i went to quiznos and had the entire 5 dollar sub menu in one sitting! IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!! WHAT FAT BASTARD CANT AFFORD A 5 DOLLAR SANDWICH?

Anonymous said...

Add me to the list of people who are dissapointed by Quiznos misleading campaign of 5 dollar subs. If it makes anyone feel better, quiznos franchisees themselves get hugely ripped off by the company itself. Do a google search on 'quiznos franchise and litigation' and you'll learn that just about everyone who decided to buy a quiznos franchise is unhappy and feels ripped off by the parent companys high meat prices and cannibalistic franchising practices.

Anonymous said...

The problem with subway is that it sucks. There stuff never taste fresh but quiznos does. Subway may include more in their $5 deal but you arent getting more. Stay with quiznos.

Anonymous said...

Seeing the 5 meat $5 sub ad on tv, I decided I had to try this sub and see if it anything remotely close to what I saw on tv. Let me just say from the onset, I haven't found a sandwich, $5 or $9 at Quiznos that I've like. I think they are a total rip off. I do enjoy Subway. Early on, I thought all the extra veggies on the sandwich was an attempt to hide the lack of meat on their sandwiches. But now I find the veggies the most flavorful part of the sandwich. So back to Quiznos 5 meat sandwich, it is a total disappointment. It has less meat and cheese than a Subway sandwich. And very little veggies. The sandwich tastes good. But if you are looking for a sandwich even remotely representing what is shown in their ad.....forget it. I'm done with Quiznos......

Victor Caballero said...

Good stuff. Was getting ready to go have a Quiznos... guess not now. Thanks for the report.

Anonymous said...

The $5 Sub is creating havoc among the franchise owners, they lose money everytime one is sold. The only winner is Quiznos Corp. even though the franchise owner makes no profit on theses subs, Quiznos Corp still gets 7% Royalties, 5% advertising fee of the gross sales price. Go figure.

babywoods99 said...

i'll take the 9 dollar prime rib sub(tasty as hell) any day over subway's lame subs. Too bad there's no quiznos within 3 hours of my house.

Anonymous said...

SUBWAY!!!!!! Im with what one of the anonymous posters said.. I used to think all the extra veggies were to hide the lack of meat but now i realize how delicious and fresh it makes it.. especially if you add oil and vinegar. Im hooked on them! I go almost every day, for like the last month or two!! lol! i get the oven roasted chicken breast on italian herbs and cheese bread. The footlong! $5!! And it fills me up everytime. Its actually turns out to be a really big sandwhich, and the best part.. they arent that bad for you! Much better for you than ericks deli, togos and quiznos! cheaper and bigger! :) How can you go wrong?

Anonymous said...

(Canadian user)

I use to work at Subway...for 3 years. The subs that are offered at subway for 5$ are some of the worst subs on the menue.

Really, Subway has made many bad turns recently.

The first being them changing their steak sub, from shredded beef, to chunks, then really weird chunks.

Then,changing their daily deal subs, to not having them. They then brought them back, same subs, but different days.

Now, its the 5$ footlong. Lets look at the options...meatball...mmmm, meat that has been sitting in a hotwell all day. Pizza sub, mmmm pepperoni with that same sauce that is in the meatballs (called marinara sauce), Ham...wow...ham...cold cut trio (also know as super etc), again like a ham, nothing i can't make at home. Lastly Roast Beef, please, please, please don't ever get the roast beef from any subway. I worked at the highest volume subway in my region, and most people would push the roast beef to the extreme, well past the subway standards.

Now, I'm sure things aren't much different at quiznos, but I find it a tastier sub, and while many people complain about a lack of choices, all you have to do is ask. Which I find myself doing at a subway, and not only that, asking for them to take it easy on the toppings as they tend to put WAY too much on my subs.

Perhaps I'm sick of subway. But I doubt that as I still order from subway quite often. I just find subway advertises a product that just isn't a quality product They claim freshness, when most of the product is made at least a day in advance. Their subs are created on so called fresh bread, when they are kept in generally moldy cabinets. At least with quiznos, I would rather eat from a piece of bread, non-fresh in a plastic bag, but without mold.

Not to mention I've never tasted stale bread from quiznos, when every location of subway I've been to/worked at, the bread was usually stale or undercooked.

TomSawyer said...

I've never been shy about my feeling for Quiznos. The place is entirely overrated and overpriced.

Subway on the other hand, I will agree has gone downhill in recent years. Their aggressive expansion policy has reduced the quality of their product. Still, their $5 subs are not a bad deal.

Anonymous said...

subway is the McDonald's of the sub business. it may be cheap and convenient but after eating it you don't feel so good about 3 hours later. If you are looking for a quality sub for just a little more money that will leave you feeling satisfied go to Quiznos. Subway just doesnt cut it anymore.

Anonymous said...

Good stuff. I was just about to get one of these but now Im just going to get Subway. Thanks!