Jimmy John's has been a staple for my last-minute meals for a few years now. The food comes quick and is consistently of decent quality, regardless of the location I visit or delivery/pickup. When I drove by a side-street not more than two miles from my house and noticed a brand-new JJ's staring back at me, I was eager to order from them.
That moment came pretty quickly thereafter-- I ordered two Vito subs, after confirming they didn't have mayo on them: one with hot peppers, a pop, and chips, and the other sans tomatoes, no extras. Then, I said it again. ...and again. After the flustered employee on the line finally (and politely, I might add) finally got the order right, she gave me the total and bid me a good night-- and that they'd "be there soon."
With an explosive advertising claim that they're "freaky fast" and me living down the street,, I figured I'd only be waiting for a few minutes, but I'm not impatient. After checking my phone and noticing over twenty minutes had passed by, I scratched my head--we'd ordered before from other JJ's and gotten it in half the time, occasionally- but let it go on account of this location being brand-new.
39 minutes (according to my phone's callbook) had passed when my phone rang-- some kid asking me what my address was (without mentioning he worked for Jimmy John's, though I assumed as much). I'd apparently "given it to them wrong," despite the receptionist correctly reading it back to me, and he'd be there soon. Indeed, he arrived within five minutes, and though certainly not "freaky fast," it was Friday and they were new, so I didn't make much of it.
The sandwiches felt deliciously heavy as I handed my friend theirs while I unraveled mine. Upon first bite, I immediately tasted something curious, and my suspicions were right: there was mayo on the sandwiches. I realize some like it on their sandwiches, but the menu specifically says this sandwich doesn't have mayo, I've ordered it enough times from other JJ's to know it doesn't come with mayo, and I specifically ASKED if it had mayo before ordering, because I am that adverse to eating it.
A quick phone call clarified the confusion: the girl I had placed my order to, upon trying to decipher it three times, simply entered it as the italian night club, not the Vito, and neglected to realize one had mayo and the other didn't. A manager had answered the phone this time, and though he was argumentative and somewhat abrasive, he soon barked at someone to remake the sandwiches-- I didn't ask for this, but it was a kind gesture.
The delivery man pulled up once again and, as I handed him a small extra tip for his troubles, he informed me that he needed the other sandwiches back before he'd give me the new ones. Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue-- I realize people try to scam restaurants all the time-- but I was losing my patience after dealing with this particular JJ's incompetence for over an hour.
I asked him why we weren't getting a refund, considering the sandwiches we were charged for cost more than the ones we originally ordered (something I wasn't even going to mention, because I am rarely not confrontational or prone to complain). He said there was no difference in price, but we could call his manager if it "was such a big deal." After I handed him our first batch of sandwiches, he remarked "oh, there's a free cookie in the bag," smirked, and walked off to his car.
So, let's recap (tl;dr): the person at the phone was unable to handle a relatively simple order, asking me to repeat myself 3 times and then STILL messing it up; the delivery man was incomprehensibly slow, despite me being less than TWO MILES AWAY, and blatantly snide upon his second visit, despite me handing over an extra tip out of courtesy; and, finally, the manager was needlessly confrontational, despite his admittance that the person taking our order got it wrong, and didn't bother to refund the difference in price of our order, even though it was their mistake. Oh-- If you're the type to get fussy over the little things, know that the chips I ordered were the wrong flavor (how in the world "normal" is taken as "barbeque" I'll never understand) and that there was noticeably less meat on the second batch of sandwiches.
Regardless, it was an incessant, disappointing experience, and while I may sound excessively whiny, I feel it's important to recount the entire experience for others who consider ordering from here-- i.e., DON'T. This wasn't just one or two small issues, it was nearly every aspect of my entire order-- wouldn't a new business want to do better than this? You're not starving for local sub places, let alone JJ's, so take the extra five minute drive and find another sandwich shop-- let this place find the paltry customer base its inept service deserves. read more