Quiznos

I am sitting here reading the Sunday paper and received some great offers for savings at Quiznos for their new Toasty Torpedo. I would love to go check this new sandwich out, but I have vowed to never go back to Quiznos again for reasons I will mention shortly. If you have been reading this blog for some time, you know that Quiznos will now join Wendy's on my list of restaurants I will never visit again.

1. Location Size - I have only visited one Quiznos location that has enough seating inside.

That is the location in Lake Mary. There is another one in Sanford connected to a Tuffy's Auto Shop that is so small that the UPS driver that comes in every day puts his little machine on a table to reserve it for himself even before he has ordered his sandwich. I have been tempted to just sit down at his table while he is still in line. He can start acting like a civilized human being and waiting for a table like the rest of us. That's what brown can do for me. They usually have long lines and there is hardly ever enough room for everyone to sit down and have lunch. And if you know me, I am not going to be eating outside.

2. Indifferent Employees - Quiznos has got to be the leaders in the hiring of "I don't give a shit" employees in the fast food industry. I have never received as much as a smile or a "How may I help you" from any of them. They just stare at you and wait for your order. What a bunch of social inept losers.

3. Hand Written Signs - All of the locations in our area have the hand written signs on the front door and at the order counter that read, "Coupons are not accepted at this store." WTF is that? Corporate runs a promotion for savings on sandwiches to drive traffic to their locations and then the stores decide they are not going to honor the coupon offers. I cannot remember the actual particulars, but this came to a head a couple of months ago when they ran a huge promotion for a free sandwich and many of their stores across the country refused to honor the promotion. As a marketing person, I can only guess how frustrating it must be heading up their marketing and have to deal with those franchisees.

4. Prices - I have purchased my last $8.00 sandwich from Quiznos. Their items are way too expensive for the quality of the sandwich you get. There are plenty of other shops that offer better sandwiches for less. The only thing that made a trip to Quiznos worth while was when you could use a coupon for a savings. However, that isn't the case anymore. (See number 3 above) Subway must be killing them with the "$5.00 footlong" promotion they are running. I wouldn't really know, because I won't eat at Subway either. I'll reserve my comments for them in a later post.

Now you may love Quiznos and continue to frequent the establishment, but these are just my feelings. I am just sick and tired of a place that acts like they really don't care that you have chosen them for your lunch or dinner, refuses to honor their own coupons and then charges you maximum price for a mediocre sandwich. I am sure you know what I think they can do with their new "Toasty Torpedo".

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Longhorn Steakhouse

Well, today was interesting. I found out this morning that my services were no longer needed at JumpTV. It came as somewhat of a surprise, but I also have been expecting it for some time. We were purchased by a new company last summer and there were some duplication of efforts that were taking place and they finally made the decision to save some money. I cannot say that I blame them. I wish them the best and will try to move on to bigger and better things!

Upon hearing the news, I did what every foodie would do. I called up the members of the lunch bunch and asked, "Where are we going for this last lunch?" I am really going to miss dining with these guys on a daily basis. It doesn't matter where we go, there is always some kind of funny anecdote that comes from our lunches. I sincerely hope the guys keep things going as I believe it is healthy for everybody to take some time out of their hectic day to spend some time with friends breaking bread over a good meal.

We decided to take it to the Longhorn Steakhouse. All of the guys rode with John and I took my car separately, because I was heading home straight from the restaurant. I get there and the guys have a table and have already ordered drinks. It seems the strawberry-limeade was the drink of choice by everyone with water for Trey. The waitress asks me what I want and I grab some sack and say, "Bud bottle please." This chick screams out, "SERIOUSLY?" As if I have some kind of drinking problem. She scared the crap out of us. We gave her a hard time about it, but she said she really thought I was just kidding and that is what surprised her so much.

I ordered the shaved prime rib sandwich and let her know I was SERIOUS about my order, Nick got a burger, John went with his usual chicken sandwich, Trey got chicken with a bunch of vegetables on the side and Whitmer went off the board for the pork chop. Huge move for lunch. I actually wish I could have been in the office to see him work it the rest of the afternoon.

All of the food showed-up in a timely manner and was hot, freshly prepared and satisfactory all around. Everyone was happy with their orders. The shaved prime rib sandwich is a great sandwich. It is thinly sliced beef with fried onions on a nice, soft roll with a side of horseradish sauce. The horseradish sauce is just spicy enough to give the sandwich a great added kick. The fries were hot and crispy and my first Bud was nice and cold. I cannot say as much for the second one as it must have just been put in the cooler. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as we worked our way through each of our dishes.

I wanted to take the time to write this last JumpTV lunch entry to let everyone know what I great time I have had dining with these guys. I will truly miss seeing each and everyone of them on a daily basis. Good food is one thing, but it is nothing if you don't have anyone to share it with. I started this blog after receiving so much pressure from Nick who was probably tired about hearing about all of my bad experiences. From the sameness of the $5.00 menu at Bennigan's, to the tepid clam chowder I seemed to get constantly at the Ale House, it has all been good. The only thing missing today was the call from JY to find out where we were and what John could bring him back for lunch.

The one good thing that may come from my termination today is I very well may lose some weight while eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches until I get a new job. If you see me outside a nice restaurant in the central Florida area with a tin cup in my hand spare a brotha a dime! LOL

I am going to do something I don't believe I have ever done on this blog, but I give our lunch today at Longhorn Steakhouse five Stiffy's. Yes, the food was good, but the company was outstanding! If you are a person that eats your sandwich at your desk, I implore you to get out from time-to-time and grab a bite with a friend. There's nothing better than good friends and good food.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry