Quizno's, the #3 sandwich chain in the US, is reportedly for sale. Their maket value has been placed at around $2 billion. No official word from Denver-based, family-owned Quizno's, but it makes sense... they might be at the top of their game right now, making it a great time to cash out.
Maybe the new owners will rectify my nutrition info complaint: Quizno's, unlike #1 Subway and #2 Blimpie, does not post complete nutritional information for their sandwiches on their website. They only list data for their 3 'healthiest' sandwiches on their site.
106 comments:
Quiznos is a bad business to own, and it screws the franchise owners, the food is great, but it uskcs to own.
I work at a local Quiznos, our cheques have bounced more then once, the owner is never there, bad scene all around..
I think the owner is cutting his loss.
Take it from one who knows...This is the most horritic company to be involved with. They lie, cheat and steal. Corp keeps all the $$ and owners go bankrupt. Corporate could care less. Run don't walk if you are thinking of this franchise.
I was a franshise owner...and believe me when i say its the worst business to be in...
Quiznos corp will rob you blind...you pay 12% on roylity fee but they are so many hidden cost that you will go broke....
Horrible Horrible business....can't stand Walter and rob....bunch of crooks....
I lost 200g and finally sold my store for half that....
if you dont believe me....ask Walter when the next franshise meeting is and go there and speak to the franshisee.....you can look at people and see that there is no light at the end of the tunnel....
several owners have bankrupt in california, never ever own this corrupt, bad business, quiznos sucks, it's very very bad to own, almost every owner is loosing money, none making profit.......stupid quiznos corporate, they lie and will fool you.....specially their sales manager is a big lier, petree will lie too in her presos and sweet talks......they will trap innocent investors.
quiznos is a bad bad company and worst to own franchise. if you are serious about owning quiznos throw your money in trash that's how bad quiznos is. quiznos is the trash. quiznos will ruin you take away your money, rob you taking royalties. quiznos area supervisors are like terrors, they will threaten youu if you complain, forcing stores to close.....quiznos construction and sales managers are corrupt, they take bribes from contractors to screw up innocent owners later they won't even reply to your phone call. quinos is the worst worst company to own.
Quiznos is the worst restaurant, quiznos food smells, quiznos food is rotten, quiznos owners are bankrupt, quiznos corporate scares and terrorises franchise owners, quiznos franchise owners have no voice over their concerns. Quiznos area supervisors threaten owners to give their store RED if they ever complain about Quiznos kickbacks.
they are the devils, single word explains how bad they are to the owners who have spent their hard earned money owning this franchise. Prey God to save from these little devils. They are cancer who will eat your body slowly, you will keep on thinking body will recover from profit but it will never ever be profitable. They are chronic disease, stay away from their fungal food, bacteria infected food, save your life. Never dream about owning one, they will ruin your life.
All the horrible comments are true!!! I had the incredible nightmare experience to work at the corporate location and every comment posted about the corrupt and bad business Quiznos practices is true true true!!!! I was lucky to move on to another great company however the scars and bruises are still there from Q's bad business practices. Thankfully I moved on but not without loss as with many of the Franchise Owners. Be it financial loss or otherwise if you associate with Quiznos you will lose something of value.
I manage a succesful quiznos for about a year now and I dont belive the franchise is corrupt. A lot of the owners in this business have never manage a restaurant in there life before soo of course you will fail. Quiznos needs to be more selective to who they sell their franchise to, there has to be a proven track record that the individual can be succesful this is were quiznos has failed.
In response to 9/25 comment: To make a comment that Quiznos needs to be more selective only proves that Quiznos campaigned towards unsuspecting owners so they would not know the business enough to know they were being ripped off. Surely you are not an idiot however you must not be as smart either because you think you're not being ripped off by Quiznos.
I am looking to buy a re-sale quiznos franchsie.
I am having second doubts after reading this blog.
Can you give an example of how Quiznos Corp rip off their franchisees. What exatly do they do to be crooked.
Any help would mean much. It's ahrd earned money I am investing here.
Elizabeth
Mar 14, 2008 at 6:44 pm
PROSPECTIVE QUIZNOS BUYERS PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY. I have always prided myself in the fact that I try to make good decisions. Yet, the decision of my husband and myself to purchase a Quizno’s restaurant is one decision that has been anything but positive. Please take your time reading my story because it may help you to avoid making a terrible mistake. I am hoping that by sharing my experience the information may save your family, finances, sanity and future.
We transfered our Quiznos over 23 months ago. Our weekly labor ranges between 22% to 25% - the goal is 20%. Average food costs range between 30% to 33% the goal is 30%. Not only have we not made money, but we have lost over $45,000 in the last twelve months in addition to $34,000 during the first 11 months. Additionally, another Quiznos near my location is also showing similar dollar losses based upon information that the owner has shared. I realize that there are poor stores in the system. It is unrealistic to assume that every owner runs a great operation. However, our store has one of the highest customer approval ratings in the area. In addition, our location regularly appears on the top half of page two of the weekly blast fax. The blast fax is an intra-company sales reporting tool utilized by owners in order to compare their store statistics to a large grouping within a certain geographic region. It is of great concern that our business is making more than 2/3 of our geographic region and yet we are not even breaking even. One wonders how the stores that are producing less volume than ours manage to survive? The fact is that most do not for long. The owners eventually become disappointed with this company and are either forced to sell or walk away because they can not find a buyer. Despite working as an unpaid “volunteer” at our location for the past 22 months I have never sacrificed quality or service. We have never skimped on labor in order to squeeze more money out of the bottom line. Our store is meticulously clean and the employees are well trained. Yet, despite all of our efforts, we have lost a lot of money. Yes, we conduct local marketing weekly in addition to other strategies that the company suggests to increase revenue - but to no avail. There are a fortunate few that are doing well, however, this is a rare exception. I too have a friend that is profitable. Her location is in a busy commercial district with plenty of daytime professional traffic in addition to evening residents as well. She is one of the fortunate stores that appear regularly on the top of the first page of the blast fax. Yet, despite the fact that her store is one of the more frequented locations, she has remarked that because her business is one of the highest grossing stores in the region, she is frankly surprised that she is not making a greater profit. She, like I, works her business diligently both in front and behind the scenes. She is also one of the fortunate few.
In our case, the fact that the company put not one - but three - new Quiznos extremely close to our existing store has been but one of several factors for our lack of profit. Even our customers remark that they are surprised that the company places stores in such close proximity. Our restaurant, once grossed between $9,000 to $11,000 average per week before we bought it. The addition of the other stores dramatically cut into our customer base. Currently, a $9,000 week is the rare exception. After paying over $320,000 for this store, we expected to at least net $70,000 per year. We would settle for breaking even at this point. We still have customers that make the extra trip to patronize our store because we offer the best service and most pleasant environment of the other Quiznos in the immediate vicinity. Yet, that is not enough to help our bottom line.
We realized that we were not going to make money two months into our venture. We put our store on the market right away. Today, almost two years later, we have been forced due to financial constraints to give it away. Another owner has offered us $90,000 and we are finally getting out. He knows that he will make a profit because at $90,000 it is a positive net sum gain for him. A store can not even be constructed for $90,000. He has said that based upon our P&L and the price that he is paying, he will probably make about $30,000 - perhaps $35,000 per year at our location. The key to profitability according to our buyer, is owning several locations that can be purchased for very little and planning to make about $30 - $50K per location based upon the traffic flow of each individual store. THE KEY is to pay as low as possible for a store in order to squeeze out a small profit from each location.
One might ask why do so many franchisees fail to make a profit and so few do?
The Answers are:
1) The profitable stores are located in areas with significant traffic flow to offset the high costs associated with operating one of these stores.
2) Non profitable stores (poor operations excluded) have been canabalized by our very own franchisor. It is apparent that none of the company’s decision makers understand the franchisor’s own required reading of “Behind the Golden Arches, The Ray Croc Story”. If they understood the symbiotic relationship that exists between corporate and its franchisees, then they would realize that the franchisee is the life blood of the company and it is not in anyone’s best interest to undermine the very people that make the system operate.
3) A store’s location is not sufficient to produce the high traffic necessary to cover its numerous expenses.
4) In regard to expenses, the franchisor has a monopoly upon most services, food and equipment necessary for us to operate. There are simply too many hands in the till for profit to filter down to the bottom line - the franchisee. There is something very wrong when a person can go to their local Restaurant Depot and find the same exact product made by the same manufacturer, same weight and ingredients but pay half the price of the same item sold by our required distributor. Many of my fellow owners have found this to be true regarding food and equipment time and time again. Other franchises that have a “franchisee consortium” responsible for monitoring and regulating costs of the goods and services utilized by franchisees have not only a higher satisfaction rate but are profitable as well. - (Source QSR magazine.) Of course there are always problems even in the best of systems, yet the bottom line is profitability. No one buys a business because they “like” the product. Investors purchase businesses in order to make money. In addition, there is no transparency within the company despite the fact that our franchisee’s pay extremely high royalties. Where there are royalties there should be total transparency. These restaurants are a long shot in the very best case. Yes, there are those who will sing the praises of the franchisor, but the extreme and vast majority will say that it is simply not worth the time or investment.
5) The existing business model is fatally flawed and operates for the sole purpose of making money for corporate as well as their investors.
6) Many of us have paid too much for our stores.
7) The costs keep creeping back up from the reductions announced by last year’s new administration while the suggested retail prices have either fallen or remained the same.
Our broker has decided not to sell any future Quiznos until the company changes its entire business model. Ours will be the last that he will handle until the tide truly turns.
It has been predicted by the new administration that the future for Quiznos is “bright” and that eventually there will be more “positive” stories rather than negative ones such as ours. It is a known fact that there are at least 450 Quiznos for sale on a well known web based real estate site versus only 24 Subways. Why do you think that is the case? Stories just like ours have played out and are occurring every day. Of course, Subway has its share of difficulties as well, but one thing is undeniable, a Subway does not stay on the market very long before it sells, whereas it is almost impossible to sell a Quiznos - let alone give them away as lease assumption only. Someone must be making something worthwhile at our competitor’s stores otherwise they would not be in such high demand. It is widely viewed that the “happy” owners of the future will be the ones that are either the second or third generation franchisees. When those of us who have over paid and are not able to financially continue on at our Quizno’s “volunteer” jobs have either had enough and sold for pennies on the dollar or “gone dark” the next generation - the future “happy” ones - will take over what we have built with our blood, sweat, tears and cold hard cash.
So yes, the company is accurate on one point: There will eventually be many more positive stories about which the company will boast. Those stories will come from the new owners who have purchased the deal of a lifetime and will ultimately profit from our failed investments. At the price that most of us are either walking away from or giving them away for in order to extricate ourselves from this financial nightmare called Quiznos, the next owners will actually be able to make a living from one of these stores. It is called “churning” and I firmly believe that this is an integral strategy to the corporation’s plan to make their restaurants a worthwhile investment in the future. It is simply a matter of time before we all cry “uncle” and corporate knows it.
And yes, then the next generation will truly be “happy”. Please think carefully before you invest in ANY business. Perform due diligence, talk to other owners, read comments posted on the internet, read trade magazines - anything that will help you to make an informed and objective decision. I only wish that we had known about this web site as well as the many others that I have since found in our family’s nightmare odessy. Perhaps things would be different and life would actually be “normal”. This was a very costly lesson. Our lives, my children’s sense of security and future has been devastated by this experience. We are struggling just to survive at this point. I hope that you can learn from our mistake.
Thank you very much for your response. One day I will look back and I will still be thankful to you. You have been very generous in sharing your thoughts and experiences with Quiznos.
I wish you and your family good health and all the best in life!
Coming From a current owner, DO NOT BUY A QUIZNOS. It is not worth it. It is a failed business model that has caused my husband and I ENORMOUS headaches.
They are also "sue happy" so stay away. Please heed my advice!
i'm afraid to ask but what do you mean when you say"sue happy" i'm franchise owner thats running on empty
hi i am selling my quiznos but thisone is making money located in a very bussy shopping center in miami last year gross 645k...if interested please post your name and number and i will call you thank you
Why blame everybody and NOT blame yourselves owners? before you jump in and buy a quiznos store or any store ,you need to make sure that the location is great.. The owners should also get involve. Hand out coupons etc etc A Really good management plays a very crucial role in a successful business. Just dont go around blaming people because of the owner's inadequacy to keep the store running fyi.
What is sad is that a large majority of the problems could have been prevented - yes they experienced growth at rates that only a few franchises have ever seen - but basic considerations were ignored.
We looked into buying a Quiznos location 4 years ago. At that time, we were being told 300-400K. We have been small business owners for over 18 years, so we had a very good idea of what dedication would be involved to have a successful operation. I talked my husband out of it, although for the first 18 months, he would remind me of the investment opportunity we missed. Fast forward a couple of years, we have watched every local location struggle, majority have either changed owners or the owners have lost big money. Hindsight is 20/20 - we are so thankful we didn't buy a store. The store closest to us sold the second time around for 1/4 of what the first owner paid for it. With so many unhappy operators and a huge percentage of store for sale at bargain prices, anyone would be nuts to purchase without doing a ton of research. Something is wrong somewhere and it seems the finger is being pointed at the wrong party (franchise owners).
I am a current franchise owner also. I have done my due diligence and had talked with plenty of franchise owners prior to building out my store. The experiences of most franchise owners that I have talked to was extremely horrific and at the time sounded overly extraggerated to the worst degree. I had my doubts of what the franchise owner were telling me and decided to pursue what I thought would be a positive experience because I had my location picked out and ready to be built on. Up to now and it is now coming up 3 years since I had decided to put my trust in Quiznos and over 2 years since my store has been built. There is not one moment that I have not regretted my decision to open a Quiznos. What hurts the most is that I have not listen to the information that other franchise owners had given me 3 years ago. Take it from someone that has hit rock bottom and stay away and don't put yourself through hell. Don't waste your time, money, and youth.
I have owned a quiznos for 2 years.
Corp just takes are money. They discount the owners to BK.Then sell he store and start the circle all over again. If you want to go BK and work 6o hours a week then it is great.
i live in vancouver canada. i was a employee at a brand new quiznos that only opened about 6 months ago. i am friends with the buss. nextdoor and she told me not to tell but MY OWNER AT QUIZZIES IS GOING TO SELL!. they are cheep and lies lies. what will happen to us great employees if he does sell. will we be kept as employees to the new owners? help
The problem with Quiznos is a flaw is the business model. Considering most stores have a note, and $4000+ a month rents, and 12% royalty you will not make any $$$$ unless you doing $12000 a week. The company puts stores very close together which make it near impossible to do those kinds of sales. Any store doing $400,000 a year in sales is LOSING MONEY!
bull crap all you losers dont know how to manage a SUCCESSFUL business. put up the money, be outgoing, train your crew, hold them accountable, fast friendly service, and with luck a good location you got it made! bet all you losers tried to make money by cutting labor, putting less meat, clossing early, wich leeds to customer complaints and less customer count. all this loser restaurants have rude employees and dress inappropiatly, slow lines and dirty restaurants, customers are not going to come in and buy a $10.00 sandwich at a place like this. i have 15 years expirience managing mcdonalds now i have two succesful quiznos going on 2 years losers. labor 23% food 30% 10,000 a week, open from 9am to10pm and customers come in because i have presentable employees, fast service, big fat salads, fat sandwiches, and i NEVER RUN OUT OF PRODUCT!!!! losers. i do my own advertising at low cost or no cost, target clinics, schools, banks and gyms. this crowd have big discounts that generate more traffic equals full lobbie losers. easier said than done and im doin it, need advise just ask for all of you who are really trying to be succesfull with quiznos. need more winners to post comm. share ideas on success because all this losers are giving a bad rep to my buisness
Well. Guess you told me. I'm going to get some coupons and shut-up.
thank god, i was working on to buy a quiznos in new york ,after reading this blog i changed my mind , thanks to all of you
Hello, I am purchasing a quiznos for almost nothing(very little), just assuming the lease and the transfer fees. The place makes $275k. If I purchase this quiznos, Do you think I will make money, and is all the time and effort worth it? Or will I end up with a headache and an empty wallet? PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP...
if you mean that sales are 275k per year you wont even be able to pay your bills. if your rent is 2,000 per month or less you can breakeven around 375k per year. you payed too much
i have been a franchise owner for quiznos for 3 years. the first 6 mths i broke even and after that it has drained me of all my savings. I recommend to anyone that might even be a little interested in buying one. DON'T you will REGRET IT..Not only does it affect you it affects your family and friends. The last 2 years I have not even heard from corporate that used to help me in the beginning..they have better things to do now.
WOW, these posts deffinately opened my eyes. I am in the middle of purchasing a store up for resale but guess what as soon as I am done writing this blog, I will be picking my phone up and telling the owner SORRY NO DEAL!!
I didnt know quiznos was that bad. I live in Canada so I dont know if its the same as it is in the US or not. I believe most of these posts are from owners in the US? More comments from store owners in Ontario would be appreciated.
Quiznos in Canada are doing much better than the US restaurants because they are using a different method of advertising and prising. The US is going to start the same strategy in 2009, you have to find out break even dayly and compare to his dayly sales this is the only way you will know if is profitqable. The lease agreeament is also important to look at maybe you can get it reduced Quiznos has a team in Canada that can help you deal a lease. Dont base your desition on the experiences this loosers had base it on inteligence and knoledge of a business that you might posses.
Seller wants out and will sell store for 10,000.00. He only did 104k Jan-Jun 08' w/ a 4200.00/mnth lease for 10yrs w/ 3% increases yearly. At the end of June, he was -6,000.00. Owners were not on premises. The store is closing Dec 31st if I don't buy it. It sits right beside a Sonic which bothers me but there is another closed store in a great location on the other side of town. I'm considering offering him 5grand for the franchise and then moving it to the other closed store where I can renegotiate the lease. Store is newly built 06'. No other competitors close in the alternate location. What would you do beside buy a Subway because I cant afford one of those... :-)
Hi everyone. I am looking to buy Quiznos. If the store is producing avareage 35-38k a month with $2600 rent, how much profit should I expect? Or what is the break even point for this type of store with average rent around $2700 and producing 36-38k a month. Thanks for sharing your valuable information and experience.
I don't know if Quiznos is a good Franchise to buy...or not. However, based upon the inability of most of the disgruntled writers inability to construct a sentence or to express themselves coherently I doubt the veracity of their statements.
i am calculating these numbers. Labor costs being 4% higher than the model. Food cost at 1-2% higher. And about 4-8k in hidden expenses can turn a great looking break even into crap. 5% of 300k=15,000 add 5k in hidden costs.=20K..its easy to see how you can quickly go into the negative when your expecting to make 35K a year and suddenly your only making 12 or 0. 2700mo lease. 2700mo loan. 7000 mo labor (with all the hidden expenses) 7500mo food. 3000 to corp office. elec/gas 600mo. other costs 1600mo. ==25,100 or 312000yr
granted these are quick numbers but it looks possible to turn a profit, you just have to keep your thumb on the business daily.
I too am a former owner of a Quiznos franchise. I was duped into their scheme by a friend (I thought) that was a Quiznos area director and owner. I first knew we were in trouble before we even opened the doors. Quiznos tacked a 4% advertising fee, never before imposed on the already 6% franchise fee. Being already behind the 8 ball, a long list of problems with the company and area director soon cropped up. Every single time we had a problem Quiznos simply said let the AD take care of it, adding "thats what you pay him for". Unfortunatley he was always busy with his own store and just made silly useless suggestions to help remedy our problems. Then he did exactly what he promised he would never do. Under pressure from Quiznos to sell more stores (he claimed) he sold another franchise just 1.2 miles from ours, cutting our business by 25%. Both he and Quiznos said it would'nt impact our business because it was a different medical district they would be serving. All this knowing that I delivered to that area too. Over the coming months we went from a slight profit to barley breaking even. This along with the ever increasing food costs, later started to lead to losses. Like others, I also worked for free while my wife took a very meager salary while we both put in about 70 hours each per week. We ran as good a ship as we could and after one year we made a $12,000 profit for all our hard work. Enough was enough, and the following spring I was fortunate enough to unload the piece of crap for exactly what I had put into it. Thousands of wasted hours, worries, and even tears from my wife were finally over. That was the hardest lesson of my life, but from what I have read from others on here, I should be glad a hard lesson is all I got. By the way, over the last 7 years my store has had four new owners. I guess things never changed much with Quiznos.
Any one making money at Quiznos now,what are you doing and can you share your ideas.
I opened my first Quiznos in 1997. One of the first in the area. We started out doing gangbusters. I thought I was the smartest guy in the world. Bought the rights to 2 more stores and opened them. On my way to financial security. Early retirement, here I come. Then Quiznos decided that they needed to grow...and grow....and grow...and grow. The did and all at the existing stores expense. They didn't care where they put a store and how close it would be to an existing store (read the UFOC, there is no radius clause, they can build a store right next to yours if they choose). Soon all that growth turned to greed and they wanted to be the little company that could. Could make money overcharging you for food, construction, supplies, etc. I watched this corp go from a great concept to a greedy bunch of thugs that only cared for their own profits even if it came at the price of its franchisees (which it always did). I was lucky, I ended up owning and selling 4 stores and to this day I wake up every morning thanking God that I am out. To those that say that all the horror stories are overblown and all you have to do is run a good store...hogwash. I ran great stores, clean, courteous, followed all the rules. This is not a business that you can make money at unless you are one of the lucky few that is in a great, great location. Even with great sales, the margins are extremely thin. If you are thinking of buying one of these businesses...run, run as fast as you can in the other direction. Save your money, your sanity, your family, your future and in the case of one poor soul who lost it all....possibly your life. Yes, one franchisee was so despondent over his losses, he committed suicide (left a note explaining it all and blaming it on Quiznos). Heed this warning...great food...awful business. Good luck!
My, my. All this bad news! Scary. Can you make any money if the rent is $3000, the gross sales $380,000 to $400,000, food costs are 28% and the selling price is $135,000 for a delivery store (which includes transfer fees, inventory $6K, closing costs and everything)? It's well established in a business district with hospital and medical area near by. Looks like the catering is growing too, with large orders to drug rep's, large accounting firms and such. Only one other Q in town about 7 miles away.
I lost $130k from my Quiznos store and consider myslef lucky to have only lost that. Run from this company. They are crooks.
I was thinking to open one, after
reading all the blogs have made me
changed my mind. Thank you all.
I took over a store in 2007 and have made a good profit since. Work hard, smart and treat people right. The real payout comes in the long term investment. When real business people get real advice and look at the stores books you can tell if it is a good buy or not. It sounds like a lot of people are taking chances instead of doing their homewwork or wanting to work (not just being busy but being busy at the right things).
Hi my name is Emaad I owned store 626 Quiznos is a bad franchise. They are not interested in there frachiness making money fuck them. My family lost a lot of money and respect for me in my decisions fuck them. I say that with love and respect for myself. Store 626 I am planning on buying profitable businesses soon.
Thank You 818-620-3329
This is a great thread. I was considering one of these franchises because I ate there at least once a week during lunchtime. I think the food is great, not sure if it's all that healthy. After reading all the posts on this thread and other sites, opening a Quiznos is not an option for me. Thanks everyone for sharing their stories. The Quiznos closest to me closed down about 3 months ago. The store is gutted and still empty. I went by to take a look and the lighted sign is sitting inside the facility on the floor. This store was across the street from a high school. The next closest Quiznos is over 10 miles away.
We are also planning to sell a Quiznos store equipment at a very good deal for $30,000 (all the equipments). If anybody is interested, please reach me at 502-386-8202. ASAP.
Has anyone just dropped Quiznos and continued on with there own business? I know the contract states you cannot compete in the same location, but change up the menu and your not competing.
Where thining of buying a quiznos hes asking for 320000 dollars this in canada vancouver and he says hes making 10 thousand dollars weekly after paying his employees ... will i be making any profit??? and how can find out about these hidden costs
ten grand a week? what are the food costs, rent, insurance, labor costs? Plus quiznos royalties and advertising fees?
We are like so many others who also bought into this dream and lost a substantial portion of their life’s
savings.
Countless individuals and families have been destroyed. Even some lives have been lost
I have struggled hard and did the best I could to create a voice for the franchisees in the system and to
create a “support system” for the franchisees, which does not exist, and to fight the injustices of this
franchise system (Quiznos). I hope my efforts will not go wasted. I hope the government will look into the systematic deceitful
business practices of this franchisor. My struggle will continue after my sacrifice.
Some one must do something about what Quiznos is doing to the trapped franchisees. Everything they
do is in their own self interest, with utter disregard for the interests of the franchisees, to who they sold
the “dream” and put into business, only to screw them systematically from day one
The press and the media must bring out the atrocities Quiznos is carrying on with.
In this franchise system the Franchisor has all the rights and no duties or obligations, whereas it is just
the opposite for the Franchisee, which is the franchisee has no rights, no remedies, only obligations
I have not been able to think well, eat well, for the past one month
My health has been going down very fast
My mental capacity, to think, to work, and carry on my daily activities normally, is severely
diminished
I cannot survive like this much longer
Quiznos has killed me. Destroyed my life. Destroyed my family life for the past seven years
It has been a harrowing experience. We just could not get out of it. All doors were shut
Can some one stop this?
Can the government stop this Quiznos from destroying peoples lives? They have defrauded me and
they are defrauding people. See my law suit (complaint) how they defrauded me from the very
beginning, and then continued their systematic defrauding through out the period, until we left
They retaliated against me for trying to create a voice for the franchisees in the system
We were abused, we were manipulated, we were exploited,
I deeply regret getting in to Quiznos. I wish I had never heard of them
Can the media stop this?
CNN we need your help. Nancy Grace, please help! Glora Alred? Who else?
KTLA, LA Times, OC Register Please
How can a common individual like me and those like me in similar circumstances, there are thousands,
with limited resources get justice?
I believe there will be justice. But it will be too late for me.
There are a large and growing number of us who believe, unreservedly, that the handful of people who
own and/or otherwise control the Quiznos Corporation should spend the rest of their lives in prison.
The Quiznos Corporation is just one of the most egregious in what they do, but the entirety of
franchising in America is open to this kind of abuse. The IFA (International Franchise Association) is
the umbrella entity that, along with individual Franchisors, has enough money and power to buy the
legislation that protects the Franchisor, and exploits the Franchisee. Fair and just legislation, that
would level the playing field, never sees the light of day. Senators and Representatives, primarily
Republicans, continue to sell hard working Americans down the river. STAY FAR, FAR AWAY
FROM THE QUIZNOS CORPORATION. THEY ARE CRIMINAL IN WHAT THEY DO. And treat
any Franchise System with deep suspicion
Signed: Bob Baber
I agree 100 percent. They lie and are a bunch of thiefs. Stay open longer things will get better. Al the while putting more money just so they can take it out. The economy is bad! BULL. Food is supposed to be recesion proof. Everybody has to eat. Corporate sucks. They have a new president of operations starting 7/7/09 big deal damage has been done to long. 108 stores closed in 2008 and only 23 subways? Hum who runs a better ship?
I recently bought into Quiznos and I do not find them criminal. I also own other franchises and I know I pay a franchise fee for a reason. My corporate person is helpful and she visits regularly giving me ideas on how to save money. For those who buy a franchise and never show up to work it or hope that Quiznos will take care of it while you stay home, this will not happen. In most businesses, you must work hard to see the rewards. My market is doing well, sales are up and we are happy. If I had franchise owners by me like some of you, I would be depressed. Sell your business if you are not happy but be realistic about the sales price. I could only find a handful of Quiznos for sale and I feel I got a fair deal. Put some of this energy in running your Quiznos and you will be better off.
We too own Quiznos for the last three years. It has been and still is a nightmare. Before we bought the right, we did our due diligence, did all the research humanely possible, talked to existing owners at the time 5 years and half ago and it was all positive. since we purchased the rights Quzinos focused on growth at the franchise owners expense and sold so many rights. Opened stores at every block. Currently there are 5 Quiznos in 1.5 mile radius from ours and all but one are not breaking even. This is for a city of 140,000 population. When we protested the last store opened in less than one mile from ours, the area director told us the Starbucks does the same thing. Also VP of Quiznos area developments told us stop beating the drum the lease has already been signed we can't stop the new store from opening. What they don't realize is Starbucks is not a franchise. Quiznos doesn't care if the store fails because it doesn't affect their bottom. They will always find another fool to open a failed store as far as they get the transfer fee and weekly royalty. Many times customers order sandwich at the other store and come to pick it up at ours because of our close proximity. We did LSM, and every thing. When we first opened the store I quit my full time six digit figure salary to dedicate all my attention to this business. As of today I have been working for FREE and put in so much money to pay rent and the expenses. Plus all those sleepless nights, my kids and family suffered. Our plan was to open at least five of them in five years. Now we are stuck in here we signed a ten year lease and we can't get out. Even if we wanted to walk out, we have guaranteed the lease with our property. Any body has any clue if there is any legal action to be taken? The best advice for those who are thinking to buy Q is, if you can't learn from others mistake, you will never learn anything. Stay away. For those few that are blaming the franchise owners, you are either blinded by success and believe me you are less than 1% of Q. franchise owners or you are the crooks that sold the franchise to us in disguise. Not every owner is absentee. I am here seven days, lost 35 pounds the first six months working here and still living the nightmare.
I helped Bob to post his note left before he committed suicide before of Quiznos because Eating Tragedy.
We are like so many others who also bought into this dream and lost a substantial portion of their life’s
savings.
Countless individuals and families have been destroyed. Even some lives have been lost
I have struggled hard and did the best I could to create a voice for the franchisees in the system and to
create a “support system” for the franchisees, which does not exist, and to fight the injustices of this
franchise system (Quiznos). I hope my efforts will not go wasted. I hope the government will look into the systematic deceitful
business practices of this franchisor. My struggle will continue after my sacrifice.
Some one must do something about what Quiznos is doing to the trapped franchisees. Everything they
do is in their own self interest, with utter disregard for the interests of the franchisees, to who they sold
the “dream” and put into business, only to screw them systematically from day one
The press and the media must bring out the atrocities Quiznos is carrying on with.
In this franchise system the Franchisor has all the rights and no duties or obligations, whereas it is just
the opposite for the Franchisee, which is the franchisee has no rights, no remedies, only obligations
I have not been able to think well, eat well, for the past one month
My health has been going down very fast
My mental capacity, to think, to work, and carry on my daily activities normally, is severely
diminished
I cannot survive like this much longer
Quiznos has killed me. Destroyed my life. Destroyed my family life for the past seven years
It has been a harrowing experience. We just could not get out of it. All doors were shut
Can some one stop this?
Can the government stop this Quiznos from destroying peoples lives? They have defrauded me and
they are defrauding people. See my law suit (complaint) how they defrauded me from the very
beginning, and then continued their systematic defrauding through out the period, until we left
They retaliated against me for trying to create a voice for the franchisees in the system
We were abused, we were manipulated, we were exploited,
I deeply regret getting in to Quiznos. I wish I had never heard of them
Can the media stop this?
CNN we need your help. Nancy Grace, please help! Glora Alred? Who else?
KTLA, LA Times, OC Register Please
How can a common individual like me and those like me in similar circumstances, there are thousands,
with limited resources get justice?
I believe there will be justice. But it will be too late for me.
There are a large and growing number of us who believe, unreservedly, that the handful of people who
own and/or otherwise control the Quiznos Corporation should spend the rest of their lives in prison.
The Quiznos Corporation is just one of the most egregious in what they do, but the entirety of
franchising in America is open to this kind of abuse. The IFA (International Franchise Association) is
the umbrella entity that, along with individual Franchisors, has enough money and power to buy the
legislation that protects the Franchisor, and exploits the Franchisee. Fair and just legislation, that
would level the playing field, never sees the light of day. Senators and Representatives, primarily
Republicans, continue to sell hard working Americans down the river. STAY FAR, FAR AWAY
FROM THE QUIZNOS CORPORATION. THEY ARE CRIMINAL IN WHAT THEY DO. And treat
any Franchise System with deep suspicion
Signed: Bob Baber
hi guys
you just may have saved my life !!!
and my savings
thank you so so much
i am in toronto, ontario in canada
i am looking for a business and thought quiznos was the one for me
but after reading this i am lucky all i did was go out and just look at a few quiznos for sale in the gta (GREATER TORONTO AREA)
can anyone recommend a franchise that is not corrupt and so greedy they don't care about anyone - i have 2 small children and been in canada on 11 months and have 70k savings
i was actually seriously considering a quiznos franchise
i feel so naive but at least i haven't lost money thanks to all you guys - i feel so bad for the people who have been deceived by these monsters - just great that you are sharing so other honest families like myself will not fall into this trap
please can you guys recommend a good franchise to buy into here in the toronto area
thanks to you all
Hey all, I'm looking to purchase an established Quiznos only 1 1/2 yrs. old for $50K. If rent is $900, sales are $300K, food at 30%, labor at 23% Can I make a profit? Please serious inquiries. The store has potential.
i found out a quiznos store was for sale for a very cheap price, i called quiznos and got all the info together but then i stumbled onto this website . fastest business decision i ever made Thank you everyone. even the successful owners had something bad to say about quiznos.
Do yourself a favour and do not get into Quiznos business. I am an ex-owner in Canada. Quiznos makes every effort to steal from franchisees pocket through huge mark ups on supplies(food & paper). The business operation at the stores level is not streamlined and has major fundamental issues which does not let you grow and be efficient in running you business. Nobody at the head office cares about how terrible their processes are. They keep messing up without taking any responsibilities. As a result, all those issues are reflected on your bottom line. Call as many owners as you want in Canada and ask them how many times Quiznos has launched a marketing campaign and failed to provide enough inventory for the distributer in Canada (Neptune). All you get is a finger from your customers and Quiznos does not give a damn.
Quiznos is a cheap crook at the best. It ruins your life. Incompetent managers and decision makers are only after their own share of profit by trapping uninfomred investors. You'd better throw your money in trash than investing it in Quiznos.
I am so glad I was able to sell my store and get out of such stupid system.
Don't buy!
THANK YOU....Thank you for the comments and true feelings. I was very serious to buy a franchise with friends in a resort and live the dream. The best info. comes from the front line. Sorry to hear your horror losses and frustrations. God bless you guys who have really tried the efforts of ownership and saved future owners a disaster....M
Thanks for your info. You just save me from borrowing $28000 to buy a Quizno store. Thanks to all of you. You realy save me and my family. God bless all of you.
I was thinking about buying a store for 25k. the store is been open for 4 years. Makes about 15k to 16k a month.(did make around 20k last year) The rent is 3100. If I plan to work myself does anyone think I can make any money?
Quiznos is indentured servitude, nothing more. There is a case in Pennsylvania for a charge of Racketeering.
We own 2 stores. We need to pay a HUGE 'stupid tax'. We never dreamed that a company could be so ruthless and purposefully deviant. We will probably soon be bancrupt.
PLEASE PLEASE BEWARE!
Now they advertise own your own business be in business in less than 90 days, a proven success?
Now all of us wanting to sell ours stores because they put us all in BK cannot sell them they are worth nothing advertising own yours for as litle as 12,500.00 WTF
This people are criminals.
thinking of buying this quiznos in ramsey, nj for 70k...
are they definitely losing money?
insight is greatly appreciated... they will have to knock my socks off in order to get me to invest my money after reading this damning thread...
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=2940302
thanks much!!
Me and my husband purchased one Quiznos that has been top 2 in sales every month. After 7 months we have nothing left in savings - can't pay the rent and have borrowed over $300,000 for this store. Quiznos doesn't care about anything - they keep raising prices on food and supplies and reduce the prices for customers. If they really cared about our business - they would reduce the royalties, reduce food cost, help us make a profit. On top of everything else last September 09 they decided to make every quiznos remodel at a cost of $4000.00. Many stores have refused to remodel saying they can't even make a profit let alone come up with an extra $4,000. But, Quiznos Corporate doesn't care they are threatening to take further action if they don't do the remodeling. There are some Quiznos that want to purchase the materials and do the remodel themselves and quiznos says noooo you have to use our contractors. Obviously they are getting a kickback yet again at the franchisees expense.
PLEASE RUN AS FAST AWAY FROM PURCHASING ANY QUIZNOS BUSINESS.
Laura, MN
I am interested in buying a Quiznos store. I've tried as much research as I can and re-consider buying a Quiznos after reading the horrible stories above. I have also heard Quiznos has changed their management since 2009. I would very appreciate if anyone can give advices as I am still thinking the new Quiznos will improve.
Wow! I was thinking of jumping in but after reading all the comments I think Its best to just say NO. Quiznos is offering stores on their site for just $12,500.00 to start up and they provide the financing. At this low start up cost do you all still think it is a bad idea?
12,500 Down is a scam! What are you thinking? They just put some owner in bk and basically are stealing there equipment and re-selling for 12,500 down!!! Then there are financing in house 50,000
It costs these crooks nothing. They are picking up closed stores for ten grand or less. You will never make a dime. It will cost you everything and you will need to work 10 to 12 hours a dya 7 days a week...... Yea go for it.
Hi i have read all the comment posted on this post but i would still like to know couple of things about quiznos?If you know please answer honestly it would be appreciated deeply!
1.If the store is doing 225k annualy
how much would you pay for the
store?
2.What percentage of profit can you
make on 225k?
Dear Friends,
I am a franchise owner and I would like to share my experience to those who do not know the facts. In Quiznos’ business plan, they show you how to generate income. You will realize the truth after you face the facts.
Quiznos shows you plan based on $10,000 sales per week. If you work hard and make your sale, then they add more stores to make sure you do not exceed $8000. With $8000 gross, you barely make minimum wages.
There are two calculations (1) based on Net-2 or the gross and (2) based on Net 3 or actual money. If you take out promotions, employee meal, coupons, etc. then you get Net-3. There are numerous expenses that the Quiznos business plan hides. For example, the employer has to pay equal amount of social security contribution to the state.
Quiznos insists 4 people in shop all time but the labor should not be more than 20%. This is impossible. We worked 9.00 to 9.00 (actually 10.00) with two people throughout and four people during lunch time (11.30 to 2.30). Total came out to 32 man hours. With the minimum wage, it coasted us $232.00 + taxes = $236.5. If this has to be 20%, the sale should be $1182 per day or $8274 per week.
If the weekly gross is 8274 per week, you can run the business and take home minimum wage for the hours you put in. That is all. Do your math and don't believe what the Area Director (Quiznos rep) says.
Ask for the checking account to verify the expenses. Make sure you see actual figures paid for electricity, phone, internet, water, sewer charges, city tax, county tax, franchisee tax, work force tax, sales tax, cleaning services, music services, payroll fees (ADP), payroll tax, maintenance expenses, property tax, royalty (11% of Net3), food cost (30-35% of Net 2), uniforms, bank charges, security (alarm company fees), paper, pen, and other stationary purchase, etc.
Take your time to make the decision. If someone jumps ahead and gets it, he is the looser.
i am franchise owner and i am saying that quiznos is a bad business to own,so buyer bewere,do not buy,even
you get it for free,its sucks,
The schadens of this rotten company are going to get what is comming to them at the end of the road ...yes both you and your daddy....thiefs...oh ya this wonderfull den of thiefs also started a nother franchise called 123 fit..once again using the same great bussines model they used for quiznos..BUYER BEWARE....
thank you for sharing your experiences with everybody, I'm grateful to you, I was in the verge of buying a quiznos, i'm now heading for a subway, god bless you,
I am currently an owner and will be closing my store soon, and yes it is as bad as everyone says it is. Even the stores in our area with top sales are losing money. An example, I pay $3.87 for a bag of sugar from Quiznos required food company that costs $1.92 at wal-mart. It is so sad how much money people have lost. All of my savings and my kids college money is gone!
Why wont someone from SBA do something. They have to pay 85% of all these loans back to the banks when the stores go bankrupt. So doesnt that mean that a lot of tax-payer money is being lost here too.
I will be glad for this to be over soon, but unfortunately will be repaying mthe loan for the next several years and still my family will suffer.
To all these people thinking of buying a store for $12500, dont be stupid. I wish I had never gotten involved, worse mistake of my life.
If you own a Quiznos, read this
A meeting was held to discuss about the rights of the South Texas Quiznos franchise owners. The following were discussed and was approved by the members present. We are living in a country of freedom. We must be free from bondage.
1. Weekend opening must be optional: - The franchise owners should be allowed to decide whether their shop should be open during weekends or not.
a. Some of the meeting participants presented their past 8 week’s sales report. The analysis revealed that the franchise owner looses average $200.00 by opening in the weekend. This means he is suffering an annual loss of approximately $10,000.00 just by opening the store during weekends. Or in another words, closing these stores during the weekends is the same as increasing the weekly sale by 2000.00 (assuming a profit of 10% for sales above the break-even amount).
b. In addition to the financial part, good percentage of the participants expressed personal reasons such as family gathering, religious obligations, etc for weekend closing.
c. All agreed that Quiznos may suggest regulations for stores that are closed on weekends, to ensure that the food is fresh and hygienic but must leave it to the owner to chose.
2. All of the members agreed that the Local and National advertisement fee collected form franchise owners are not utilized appropriately. One of the members suggested that the fund should be allocated for local advertisement by the franchise owners. This suggestion was approved by all members present. The opinions are listed below.
a. Quiznos may continue taking the 4% (ad fee) from the franchise owners.
b. Franchise owners should be allowed to do local advertisements as required
c. Quiznos should pay half of the advertising expenses on a quarterly basis up to a maximum of the quarterly collected ad money to encourage the franchiser promote his business.
d. Advertising expenses can be cost of printing materials and coupons, ad in local television channels, ad in local news papers, etc.
3. All unanimously agreed that Quiznos is not helping the franchise owners to survive in this difficult economic situation. Instead, they are trying to squeeze money out of franchise owners by various programs. In order to change it to a win-win situation, the suggestions were:
a. Quiznos being a whole sale agent, uniforms such as Quiznos shirt, hat, etc. must be supplied to franchise owners at a cost lower than price of similar items in the market.
b. Cost of re-modeling or replacing furniture by the Quiznos-authorized agents should be less than the market price.
c. Some of the daily consumable items supplied from Q Commerce cost additional shipping charges to the franchise owners. Instead, consumable items such as disolvable cookie labels must be made available via Northstar.
4. Quiznos must provide financial grant or interest free loan to those franchise owners who cannot afford the new suggested cosmetic upgrade expenses (affordability can be decided by the sales figures downloaded or reported in the green book).
If you own or planning to buy a quiznos, then read this
A meeting was held to discuss about the rights of the South Texas Quiznos franchise owners. The following were discussed and was approved by the members present. We are living in a country of freedom. We must be free from bondages.
1. Weekend opening must be optional: - The franchise owners should be allowed to decide whether their shop should be open during weekends or not.
a. Some of the meeting participants presented their past 8 week’s sales report. The analysis revealed that the franchise owner looses average $200.00 by opening in the weekend. This means he is suffering an annual loss of approximately $10,000.00 just by opening the store during weekends. Or in another words, closing these stores during the weekends is the same as increasing the weekly sale by 2000.00 (assuming a profit of 10% for sales above the break-even amount).
b. In addition to the financial part, good percentage of the participants expressed personal reasons such as family gathering, religious obligations, etc for weekend closing.
c. All agreed that Quiznos may suggest regulations for stores that are closed on weekends, to ensure that the food is fresh and hygienic but must leave it to the owner to chose.
2. All of the members agreed that the Local and National advertisement fee collected form franchise owners are not utilized appropriately. One of the members suggested that the fund should be allocated for local advertisement by the franchise owners. This suggestion was approved by all members present. The opinions are listed below.
a. Quiznos may continue taking the 4% (ad fee) from the franchise owners.
b. Franchise owners should be allowed to do local advertisements as required
c. Quiznos should pay half of the advertising expenses on a quarterly basis up to a maximum of the quarterly collected ad money to encourage the franchiser promote his business.
d. Advertising expenses can be cost of printing materials and coupons, ad in local television channels, ad in local news papers, etc.
3. All unanimously agreed that Quiznos is not helping the franchise owners to survive in this difficult economic situation. Instead, they are trying to squeeze money out of franchise owners by various programs. In order to change it to a win-win situation, the suggestions were:
a. Quiznos being a whole sale agent, uniforms such as Quiznos shirt, hat, etc. must be supplied to franchise owners at a cost lower than price of similar items in the market.
b. Cost of re-modeling or replacing furniture by the Quiznos-authorized agents should be less than the market price.
c. Some of the daily consumable items supplied from Q Commerce cost additional shipping charges to the franchise owners. Instead, consumable items such as dissolvable cookie labels must be made available via Northstar.
4. Quiznos must provide financial grant or interest free loan to those franchise owners who cannot afford the new suggested cosmetic upgrade expenses (affordability can be decided by the sales figures downloaded or reported in the green book).
I owned 8 Subways for around ten years, and when I sold them (don’t ask me why) I was making around $500K per year. Those same stores today, nearly ten years later make around 800K per year.
Subways AUV’s (average unit volumes) are around $9,100.00 weekly. Food Cost is at 30% (actual) Labor 20% (actual). Now I am assuming a quality operator is running the store. At 1500sf and rent of $21.50 psf, plus triple net of $2.50 psf, rent would be $3,000 per month.
Taking these figures into consideration, the store would net a pre-tax income of around $94,000 per year. If the store were to sell, an expected purchase price would be about 3 to 4 times that figure, or 36.55 times weekly sales. If we use 3.5 times net profit the store would sell for approximately $329,000. Some owners would ask more, and anything less would be a solid buy. Believe me I know the numbers.
Conversely, let’s look at Quiznos. The Food Cost usually runs around *36% when all comparable line items are added in, such as; paper costs, waste, spoilage, comp food, promo food, & coupons (this will bring you to an apples to apples comparison with Subway’s food cost). Labor 23%, and at 1,800sf, and rent of $21.50 psf, plus triple net of $2.50 psf, rent would be $3,600 per month.
Taking these figures into consideration, the store would net a pre-tax income of around $63,000 per year. If the store were to sell, an expected purchase price would be about 3 to 4 times that figure, or 24.23 times weekly sales. If we use 3.5 times net profit the store would sell for approximately $220,500. HOWEVER, This needs to be balanced with all the risk factors that Quizno’s presents a franchisee –vs- the risk factors Subway presents a franchisee. A Quizno’s restaurant must surely take a hit here. So, what is a Quiznos really worth? I would suggest a 2.5 multiple of the ACCURATE annual cash flow number, minus a “risk factor” deduction based on a compilation of negatives listed in this blog of $ ___________. (this is where you have to access the risk of owning a Quizno’s, and translate that into a monetary deduction). If you have a stomach for risk, and the store is in good condition with current décor and equipment, I might suggest a 2.5 multiple of net sales, or in this scenario a price tag of $157,500 TOPS. Anything less than that is probably a deal, unless Quizno’s allows a new store to open in too close of a proximity to your store, after you purchase the store, whereby cannibalizing your sales and profit dollars. That is one of the risk factors you will have to calculate into your purchase price.
Note: These scenarios do not take a loan payment into consideration, but are based on a store with no debt. If you have debt, simply reduce the cash flow shown above with the amount of your annual debt service.
*Quizno’s has in the recent past, credited the owner with rebate that could lower the food cost by approximately 1.5%. The may bring this back for a period of time, but I would not count on it in my calculations. Quizno’s food cost is probably the single most negative factor on a stores inability to be profitable. For example at $9,100 per week in sales, Quizno’s would spend $28,392 more on food than a comparable Subway. That is a significant number.
Another large factor in profitability is the size of the stores. An average Subway is probably 1,350sf, where an average Quizno’s is probably around 1,850sf, which means the average Quizno’s would spend $12,000 a year more than a comparable Subway. When you add the extra cost of food cost with the extra cost of rent, you will see that a comparable Subway will cash flow $40,392 more than a Quiznos.
I have been looking at Quizno’s for possible investment, and these are my conclusions. I am still very tied to Subway’s numbers, and I am confident through my research, that the numbers represented for a Quiznos are correct as well.
Conclusion: I would ask this question to you – Are Subways really more expensive, or just more valuable? Best Wishes………………..
The reason every quiznos is a failure is Quiznos open too many store too close to each other vying for the same number of customers. So never ever think about buying a quiznos. All those who lost money should pool together and sue them for deceptive practices.
Anonymoous
I completely respect Bob who bravely killed himself and fighted for the struggled franchisees for a justice. For those who are still have fantasy about Quiznos and being trapped by their rip-off system, you should wake up and run away in full speed.
I was the lucky owner who sold my Quiznos store and recovered half of my investment years ago. Recently, I witness that at least 5 Quiznos Stores surrounding in my area are all out of business (total lost). Not a surprise that more stores will be gone due to the current economic condition/recession.
My honor and salute to Bob once again, your sacrifice should worth something.
God Bless Existing Franchisees
As a former owner of multiple units that took a $200,000 loss to get out I can only say run! PLEASE do not believe you will make any money even if you get the store for free. I spent 5 years trying to make it work, it will not. I have owned other businesses and have always been profitable in those. It is a shame that a sham company like this is able to exist, franchise law is written by attorneys hired by the franchisor, you do not have a prayer.
wow, we are opening one next week but did not paid so much for it and i hope if it dosnt work i can get out of it. my problem is they charge un realestic prices for grand opening and cost of some new items and as many of you said... but i understand many paid over 100 k or 200k thats not fun at all.
OMG!!!!!!! I own few 7-Elevens and I was thinking to put my money in into Quiznos (one of my friend was involving me into this) BUT after reading all these comments hellz naw never....I'd rather make a bank CD of this amount on my son's name and just forget about it, than to waste on this shitty business. If the entire corporate is CROOK i'd suggest others not to mess with that kind of company. Thanks for opening my eyes :D
Quiznos's strategy plays as a big sponge keeps sucking up all frachisee money with no shame until your money is well depleted. They created lots of insane compulsory programs reaping your money until your savings is completely depleted. They don't even care of your struggling and survival because they are trying to privatize all stores.
I purchased a Quizno's franchise in MN back in the first part of 2010. I finally got my store open back in June. Since then, there has just been hidden fee after hidden fee. I wasn't given any worthwhile or correct information before I signed the franchise agreement and paid the fee. Right after I did that, they told me that the rep who sold me the contract was no longer with the company?? (I am still trying to figure this out!!). I tried not to let it scare me as I got in to do a "re-open" of a previously closed store for the $12,500 franchise fee. I now see that the corporation just had a lease connection with the landlord of the building and that's more than likely why they threw me there. I am an owner who works hard open to close, 7 days a week. I have basically given up my life and everything that I had saved up to start my dream of owning a business. Needless to say, each of my employees has made more then me cause I haven't made a dime. I have expressed many concerns and ideas to Quiznos but there is no on there that will even speak to me any longer. What do you do then?? Quiznos pushes major coupons that basically force me to give away hundreds of dollars in free food everyday just to keep people coming in. The food prices are so high as it is that several of my transactions are costing me money. I want to get out of this so bad but I am scared to death to do it cause I will be left with nothing. I have always enjoyed a life where I had plenty of money to pay bills and live a decent life. I wasn't rich by any means but I was doing just fine. This will never be the case again after joining with this evil company!!
You Quiznos franchisees that are complaining should realize that this phenomenon is not isolated to quiznos, but to most franchises in general, especially the lower tiered franchises that nobody ever heard of. I was an owner of Manhattan Bagel franchise back in the late 90's and what the horror stories told here did was remind me of the exact position I was in when I was a franchisee.
If you are reading this and are a prospective franchisee for a quiznos subway, maggie moos ice cream, Cold stone Creamery etc etc you will never make any money if you make the store absentee. You MUST live in the store to achieve any potential of real profits. If you are not there I GUARANTEE money will either develp a pair of legs and walk out the register or "waste" will be rampant to severely affect your bottom line.
I'm here in Northern VA a suburb of Washinton DC and I know the local Quiz franchisee is taking a bath. His rent is 7800 per month and he's doing 450k a year. He runs the business with his fat lazy wife who does cashier only with ONE sandwich maker. Enough said. Taking 15 minutes to get 3 sandwiches just doesn't cut it. Its almost said to see when his kids work there on the weekends. It reminds me of when I was working 100 hours per week, (yes 100 hours per week) to compensate and cut corners so I could meet payroll and rent.
In the end I figures waking up at 3 and going home at 7 every day seven days a week and running to costco during non store hours to buy food stuff to save some bux was not the American dream I was seeking. I was able to sell my store because of its 5 star location and almost recoupe 60% of my investment. However, during those 4 years of suffering I finally accounted my time and money made and figured I made pretax around 4.35 cents an hour. LOL, folks I would have been better off working at McDonalds and investing my 300k into a municipal bond.
Its fun to look back at that time as a growing up period and every morning I thank the greater beings for allowing to make big money with a 40 hour week. I will NEVER get ripped off by franchising again.
Anyhow if you have any questions about franchising in general let me know and I'll be happy to look at your opporunity of interest.
Quiznos is a horrific business to own. I bought a resale 18 months ago and I have lost 75k so far. My lease expires in one month and i will walk away. They have nothing but corporate buffoons running this company.
Sounds like the bottom line on "Quiznos" is that it is lacking in Sooo many areas...my condolences to all of you that invested in this company...
For the past 7 years of operating a Quiznos, there has been alot of money made, but none to keep. Do not be fooled by this company. The business model in reality only allows you to keep 15% after it's all said and done..and that's if you work in your store 10 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. The avg. Quiznos makes 5,000/week...so you can do the math if you want to make a janitor's salary,...then this is for you! Corporate makes everything sound good on paper, but food and paper costs are 5-10% too high, discounts are 5-10% too high, and advertising sucks...The money is spent on cheap singing paper cats that run for 3 weeks out of a year, and printing free sub coupons....a good way to go out of business. Now more than ever, the customers associate coupons with Quiznos instead of the toasty, quality, sub it used to be. Corporate puts it's franchisees between a rock and a hard place by giving away too much food, in order to please customers that only want a good deal, not a good sandwich...the strategy is all wrong! Do not risk your hard earned money!
I can only echo what the others have stated. I bought my first Quiznos in the late 90's. I thought I was the smartest guy in the world. I was making enough money to buy a second one. WOW!!!....what a great business. As time went along I bought 2 more. As I was getting into my 4th store, GREED became the mantra at Quiznos Corp. They decided that it didn't matter if the franchisee made money as long as the franchisor did.....And they did!!!
They opened more and more stores closer and closer together....selling equipment and supplies to open the stores....bringing in the franchise fees left and right and overcharging for everything they sold us.
I tried to see the other side...I helped out by joining committees to liason between Quiznos Corp and the franchisees. I saw first hand in Denver the ineptitude of this company.
Luckily, I was able to sell all my stores before it got really bad. I thank God every day that I am out and would never ever encourage anyone to buy into this business at any price. The phrase "Buyer Beware" never meant as much as it does to a potential Quiznos Franchisee.
RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Dont WALKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
as fast as you can from this Ponzy Scheem. Quiznos is nothing more. just ask the owners in Oklahoma where all the stores are closing. RIP OFF even if you get it for 12500. you better have 4500 a month to dump in even with nothing taken out. I know because Ive been in for some time and I losing my shirt and everything else. I have a great location and store does great sales lined out the door and the only one who gets paid is Quiznos. RIP QUIZNOS
Does anyone have information on any past owner law suits we can become a part of?
I'm amazed to read the comments of those still asking if the 12.5k upfront is a wise investment. Nevermind the 12.5. You are personally signing on for minimum 5 yrs. So over that time, you will do nothing but pull money out of your pocket to make sure everyone else gets paid, except you.
I bought two stores many years ago, about two months after opening the first realized what a mess my family got into and never bothered with the second (thank heaven!!!)
I did 575k 1st year, which is exactly what my numbers on the proforma showed, yet still managed to have to pull 2k out of my pocket every month to keep my doors open. Near the end, I couldn't even give the store away. I walked. That was the best descision ever!!!!
If you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket - head to Vegas and bet it on black. At least there you've got 50% chance of winning. Which would mean about 47 - 49% better odds of coming out ahead.
If one person reading this comment is prevented from signing away your life, I am a better person for it.
I thank god and all of you, that i read this blog. They say if it looks to good run away, well im Running, $12,500 to start a franchise and the company will finance it all. sounds great SO RUN, Run FOREST RUN. I think ill go to Subway.
I would love to see Rick Schaden die slowly while all Quiznos owners watch him struggle.
Wow Thank you for all the comments on here! I became curious about owning a Quiznos when a few came up for sales in my area. Three stores at very good price. I knew something was wrong somewhere...!!!
I have worked at a quiznos in the past and i work there today. I would never own this business even if it were given to me for free. Fact is they do not get volume they sucker these poor people by showing them the few stores out there that are doing good. They tell these owners the reason why there are so many store closings is because the owner did not know how to run the business and that they are trying to weed out the bad and are being selective on who they choose to be franchisers. You may not go bankrupt but i gurantee you there will be no profits especially ones that you could live on. It is only a matter of time before they are gone. Save your money and try something else.
I am a current Franchise Owner in Louisiana..last year, even with the natural losses we experienced, I grossed almost a million dollars~ I work in my store and have great employees! We excell in customer service and provide an atmosphere people want to come back to!! So, I believe that if a FO works hard, you can and will make money! Yes, it will be hard until the initial investment debt is paid off (usually 7 years) but after that, profit is made! What happens is that many FO's think this is a "get rich quick" business and give up within the first few years. Stick it out...work through it!!
I general manage for 2 stores. We used to have 3, but the 3rd was too far gone when I got here...bad employees and a bad reputation. At our other 2 stores we are making money. We are green and that helps a lot. We also have great employees and meet on a weekly basis. We market to businesses every week. Yes it sucks that they take 12 % in royalty but we are working hard to make money!
I got food poisoned and saw a rodent in a Quiznos bfore. Also, incurred credit card fraud.
Where in Louisiana is your store I'm look at starting one in Zachary La and would like to talk to you in more detail about this
Quiznos is a poison slowly but steadily it will spread in to your body.I reopen a store about a year ago .Did not pay any money but $12,500 but in one year I am in debt of 55 K. I am not an absentee owner It looks like I and my wife work here 24/7.
So please don't even dream to buy a Quiznos frenchise
I owned a quiznos and put in 90 hrs a week, yet went bankrupt. There is no way you can make money as a franchise owner of Quiznos.
A grocery bagger at walmart, makes more money than a quiznos owner.
My Quiznos is located in Northern BC and grosses over $800,000 a year and between 12-16000 a week(not including catering). Our location is very profitable and it is for sale. Not because it is a nightmare but because I am simply bored and want a career change. While Quiznos Corporate is annoying to deal with often an not the most helpful. I have been able to be very successful and I'm only 23 with no former management experience and minimal training by the previous owner. We are the only location in our town of 20,000 people. Ther nearest other Quiznos is an hours drive away in a similar sized town. It was put in lsat year and has not effected our sales at all. We are an oil and gas town and rig workers like big subs with lots of meat. No wonder we do well. We do at least double the national average in sales. I feel for the rest of you guys I don't know how any of you make it.
HI, I am looking to buy a Quizno or Subway? I see alot of people don't like Quizno. How about Subway? Would Subway be a good to buy? Any hidden Fee???
Thanks,
If Quiznos were purchased by another fast food chain would all Quiznos everywhere disappear? Or would they just be run by a different company? rick schaden
Why is Rick Schaden selling? I'm not entirely business talk savvy, unfortunately. I want to try and understand this.
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