I stopped by this Firehouse Sub location on two occasions thus far, as it is fairly close to my place of residency.
It is still fairly new to Douglasville, GA in terms of how long they have been in operation, so there are going to be continual adjustments to be made. With that being said, I could be a snob and criticize the hell out of them, but as an educator, I believe in balance of "Grows and Glows," so let's begin with the Grows.
The number one thing that Firehouse Subs of Douglasville needs to Grow (or improve in), is their quality control in terms of the TIME an order is received and the time that the customer receives their food. For instance, I came in on a Friday afternoon (Memorial Day weekend of 2017) around 3:30 pm, and there were only a few other customers in the restaurant. After I placed my order, it took nearly 15 minutes or possibly more for my sub to be prepared and served! That is way too long for a sub establishment to be highly successful considering that they were SLOW. What would have happened if they got slammed with 30 orders?
Now, onto to the Glows! The establishment looked very clean and well kept. In addition, the multiple flatscreen TV's playing highlights of the NBA playoff games were a great distraction while waiting for my order. :-)
Although it took a while for my food to be served while they were slow, my sub tasted really good! I ordered the large (12") Firehouse Hero on toasted Wheat Bread (they do not have a multigrain option), which consisted of USDA Choice Roast Beef, smoked turkey breast, Virginia honey ham and melted provolone served "Fully Involved" (unless you specify otherwise). "Fully Involved" is Firehouse Sub lingo that basically translates to "loaded complete with mayo, deli mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion and a kosher dill pickle on the side."
The bread was toasted nicely (had a great crunch without being too hard) and the meats and provolone cheese were nice and warm. I definitely enjoyed my meal.
If you choose the combo (as I did), you get to pick your choice of potato chips on their display rack and a fountain drink (including sweet and unsweetened tea). Also, if you choose to dine in, they will give you a stand with a number and they will walk over to serve you wherever you choose to sit. This also includes their outdoor patio, which is a nice option on a beautiful day.
On my second visit, I chose to order the Firehouse Meatball Sub (12" on wheat) To-Go. I actually called in my order 30 minutes before they were scheduled to close at 10:00 pm on a weekday evening. I arrived within 7-8 minutes after I called, and when I got in, they mentioned that they are just working on my order. Again, I had to wait for another 8 minutes until my food was ready.
However, I really loved the durable container (see attached pics) that my meatball sub was placed in. It definitely prevented it from moving around while driving back home. It was also very warm and delicious, so once again no problem on the actual food, which to me is most important.
Overall, I would give them a 3 Star rating because of the time ratio of order received to order served. However, considering that they are still new, the staff was very friendly and greeted me immediately when I walked in (love the Chick-fil-A customer service model! lol), and for the main fact that the food was prepared with quality and tasted great...I am giving them 4 Stars.
However, I would like to see more efficiency in terms of the quality control process; meaning, having orders pushed out faster WITHOUT compromising on the food quality and presentation. If there are no improvements in the near future, I will definitely update my review to 3 stars.
Be GREAT in all you do! Thanks for reading and happy eating! read more