Danielle V.
Yelp
I have now used Potbelly twice for work. The first time, I was happy and very satisfied with their performance. The second time left a bad taste in my mouth and a question as to whether I would ever be back.
I called them just before noon on a Thursday and had a pretty hefty request. I needed over 30 boxed lunches. I recognize that's a lot to ask, especially last minute and right before (or even in the middle of) lunch rush, but the nice gentleman on the phone said it would be no problem. It would take around 45 minutes. Great! So we moved forward.
An hour later, I call to check on the status and was told that the sandwiches were about to go in the oven and it would be about another 30 minutes. Fine. I could hold the hungry staff off for another 30 minutes.
35 minutes later, I call to talk to the manager who said the nice gentleman had just left with our order. Great. In the meantime, I gave a little piece of my mind (in a very gentle and professional way, I might add) to the manager and her response was less than satisfying. There was barely any sympathy, understanding, and ZERO ownership. She just continuously defended herself in that they should have never taken the order to begin with (agreed) and she's not sure why the person took the order and how they require notice for boxed lunches, yada yada yada. When I realized I was going to get nowhere with my complaint, I ended the call and at that point got a half-hearted, "I'm sorry."
I wish business owners and management understood that sometimes it's not the damage that loses business, but the damage control (or lack there of) that loses business.