Complaint Review: Subway Restaurants - everywhere Nationwide

Good Morning.
 This is a write-up I did soon after I sold this disaster.  I lost alot of cash, a lot of earning potential and worked my Dear wife into the ground.  I promised God that if I could sell this disaster that I would attempt to spread the word to any and all potential victims.  The person that bought our store sold it to us 5 years earlier.  We did a remodel and sold it back to him for $50,000 less than we bought it from him for.  The remodel was $60,000.

Why did he buy it?
 He was arrogant.  He ripped me off and then believed he could drain this store (unrecognized transactions) then sell it to another unsuspecting buyer.  Well....guess what?  2 things happened since we bought the store from him in 2005.  1.  The $5 dollar sandwich   2.  The economy is devastated.  I got the last laugh.....

Here is a letter I received 12/12/2011 in reply to my letter explaining our experiences that  I sent them via Craigslist:

 Thank you so much for your input. I am actually in the process of purchasing one here in Katy Texas by means of owner finance with a significant down payment ofcourse, 75% of the asking price. However I base a lot of my decisions on the
people involved and how they carry themselves. Example throughout the entire deal process you know coming to the place talking with owner I got to know the store manager very well, and am fortunate she is a talker as well not being to
bright.

I would come and check on the store when the owner was not there and the manager Hymeni would tell me all the owner would complain about is how subway treated the owners by charging a penalty fee for small infractions all the time it felt like being an over worked employee instead of a business owner, and how stressed the owner
was all the time. I still proceeded with the decision to buy. Then I asked myself a few days all I need is a sign gearing me not to buy getting in to bed with subway. Reading your email is my sign that I would of got f***** by these dirtbags. So I'm pulling out meaning backing out of deal. 

Thank you so much for this! 

 I know of NO success stories with these things.  The Franchise will work you into the ground and leave you with nothing as it did me.  DO NOT TRUST THEM! They will tell you what they know you want to hear...they need your cash and your credit to expand...they will not work with you...they will dominate you. Here is some of what they did to us....a very bad experience that we have only begun to emotionally recover from....we will NEVER financially recover however....

  None of this is exaggerated.  This is very accurate of our experience. When wife and I got rid of this curse we promised that for the rest of our lives we would attempt to spread the word of what happened to us.  Before we bought a store I talked with a Subway owner who begged us not to buy...I thought she was just a disgruntled trouble make and that I would do better....I wish to God I had listened to her.  Chances are you will proceed with a purchase, just as I did.  If you do, please keep my writing as a reference to what you can expect as these things will happen to you...I promise.  Good luck to you with your decision.

I can't blame you for trying Subway...I did and this is some of what we encountered....no exaggerations here...my objective is not to hurt Subway recruiting efforts but to prevent them from hurting you...

 
Our story began in 2005 when we bought our first Subway.  We were in love with the product and thought the company was excellent.  Subway started to change in 2006.  This is not just my experience but many Subway owners felt the same way.  They started to get greedy and tough.  They would penalize us for the slightest infraction ($500 penalty).  We were told by many customers that would visit our Subway from across the country that ours was the best, cleanest Subway they ever encountered.  HOWEVER, we continued to get threatening letters from Subway headquarters that they were going to shut us down....this was very disheartening. The whole experience
became a sad one for us and we decided to sell rather than fight them....especially considering they were taking, along with the state and Federal Government almost ALL of our profits.  Our tax returns for 2009 show a net loss for the year.  This thing was a disaster for us and I promised God, myself and my wife that I would try to warn as many people as possible.  Should you choose to buy one of these disasters, please keep my writing so that you can see this disaster coming before it does....you will
experience what this write-up says....here is some of our experiences:

My advice is to NOT do it. I bought in 2005 and wasn't computer savy so I did not know how to investigate this company. Now, with the advent of Google search you can. Investigate this opportunity before you put your credit and your future on the line. I am NOT trying to sell you anything. I just want to prevent honest, hardworking individuals to fall for this scam.

I only know about 1 Franchise and that is Subway. Subway has an outstanding reputation with the American public....I can only imagine what less funded Franchises are like...investigate for yourself. Should you choose to invest, please keep this write-up so that you will know what is coming your way and can, perhaps pre-empt some of the disasters that we had. Make no mistake, if you begin to loose money Subway will have ABSOLUTELY no pity on you and will in fact accelerate your demise as they will assume you are incapable of towing the company line. This is a heartless, ambitious company that will do ANYTHING to move to the top....don't do it!!!

Here is some of our experiences...NONE of this is exaggerated or dramatized...

So you think you are an entrepreneur??? Subway will tell you that you are and sell you one of these things. When you begin to loose money they will tell you to work smarter and harder. You will put at least 12 hours/day 6 days a week and will be lucky to NET 12K per year. You will work it for 5 years and make no money and attempt to sell it to the next "Entrepreneur"....Email me for the real story on one of these things...I just sold my disaster and might just be able to talk you out of making the biggest mistake you will ever make in your business career....these
things are disasters......

 Don't ruin your life....read this first....learn from experience before you do something that you will regret for decades. So you think you are an entrepreneur??? Subway will tell you that you are and sell you I am not trying to sell you anything, I am just trying to talk sense into you before you "drink the kool-aid"

 I have sent this info to 50-60 people. I have heard back from 3 of them. This info is from the heart, honest experiences we paid a lot of money for. Should you proceed with the purchase please keep this info so you will have an idea of what is coming your way. Please feel free to contact me via this Email from CL.  I intend to remain anonymous as Subway can be a dangerous (litigious) operation

Before you buy a Subway please investigate thoroughly....Google did not effectively exist before I bought so investigation was difficult....now it is easer....below read our story and please, if you purchase one of these disasters, keep this info so you can see what is coming your way before it hits you.

Good luck and feel free to contact me regarding Subway in the future....below
is a vivid description of our pain.

 My advice is to not do it!!!!  Google Subway and see the many article on this disaster.  When I bought mine 5 years ago Google was not the powerful tool it is today, hence I did not have access to all the info that you as a potential buyer does.  I quit a high paying corporate job for this disaster...it is one of my life regrets.  I talked, when
thinking of buying, with an owner of as Chevron that had incorporated a Subway into her station. She hated Subway and I just wrote her off as a trouble maker and I could do better....I bought the Subway and never forgot what she told me....she said, "Don't do it".  I, however a cocky young man, though I could do it better.  I couldn't, no one can.  You are working to make Fred DeLucca a VERY rich man. 

 
MOST of your store profits, if there are any, will go to him with the 12.5% franchise/advertising fees.  This doesn't sound like much and Subway will tell you that their brand brings in so much cash you won't feel it.

Really...when you go to the "interview" ask them how much you can expect to make/store and watch them evade the question....you buy this store you will be a slave to these people....please read my and my wife's write up below...we have nothing to gain by telling you the truth or a lie for that matter....Chances are...if you have the cash and credit to go forth with this...you will.  Subway will make you feel as if you are an "entrepreneur"....this is one of their favorite words.  You will proceed and you will work your butt off and you will wonder, at the end of the month, where all the money went.  Yes, you will feel rich during the month as you will gross 25 to 30K....but you will keep NONE of it. 

This thing is a trap and I swore I would warn as many good people about it as would listen.  In the course of the last year probably 40 people have inquired,as you, and received our write-up.  Probably 3 people responded with a thank-you, and I assume the majority proceeded.   I would love to talk with them now...as they are in Subway Hell....good luck to you and I hope you make the right decision....by the way...if your store grosses less than $350,000 per annum and your store lease/rent (by the way you are renting this store property from Subway...check out your contract) is over 2K per month...you are loosing money. 

Now for our experience:

After you read about our experiences below, I implore you to talk with Subway owners THAT ARE NOT TRYING TO SELL YOU THEIR SUBWAY!!!  If they have numerous Subways they have been in the system a long time.  They bought them cheap and hence are probably making money just due to the multiple ownership.  You, buying
late into the system WILL NOT make any money...I assure you.  I was lucky, I bought into this nonsense after already making money and hence was not ruined.if you are investing all you own, at this point in time and in this economy, you will be ruined.
 
Good Morning.  I wrote the below paragraphs as a result of owning one of these disasters and losing a lot of money, time and effort. I promised God, and myself that when I extracted myself from this mess I would attempt to warn as many people that would listen, that were on the verge of investing.  I wasted/loss over 100K
and 4.5 years of my life and I implore you not to do the same.  You probably will not listen, I didnt when I was in your shoes.  I listened to people on both sides, but finally I went with the Subway hype as I figured the disgruntled were simply incompetents and I was sure that I didnt fall in that category.  These Franchises/Subway bank on the fact that there is a continuous new wave of fresh meat, fresh investors
that anxiously watched their videos at their introductory meetings and have a few $100k and think they will be the next to build a franchise empire.  I warn you.it isnt going to happen, particularly in this business climate. 
My store grossed $330K/year.  My rent was only $1500/mo with no CAM charges and I
still couldnt make any money.  Please, please stay away from these, and all Franchisesthey will break you

yes, my wife and I owned and operated a Subway Restaurant in Calaveras County in California.  The Development Agent is Marty Page.  If you decide to buy a Subway you will become very familiar with the acronym known as DA...it refers to the Development Agent.  As you interview with Subway they will act like they are very "picky" who they chose.  Actually they are looking at not your abilities as much as your net worth as their ONLY concern is that the restaurant you buy or develop will be profitable enough to maintain their exorbitant Franchise fees that they will sweep out of you bank account (they require you to maintain a Bank of America account listing them to have access for AUTOMATIC withdrawals) on a weekly basis...every Monday morning. Subway pulls 12.5% of your prior weeks GROSS SALES!!  Should you come up short you will pull out of your own savings in order to make up the difference. 

 There is just no way to make money in this business, especially with the $5 sandwich.  This $5 sandwich benefits ONLY Subway because while it may drive your sales volume up, slightly, the accompanying costs are driven up even more....sandwich costs, utilities, labor and taxes.

Please never assume you can run this nightmare from a distance.  You will be on site at least 12-14 hours a day.  You will make significantly under minimum wage and there are NO personal benefits like medical, 401k involved.

 I vowed when I sold this disaster that I would warn as many people as would listen about Franchises and Subway in particular.  I do not know you personally, but if you are considering a Franchise then you are an entrepreneurial type.  They will play on this trait to sell you on the concept.  Actually you are controlled by them much more than when you are an employee of a company.  After you buy, if you disagree with them in any way they will threaten to take your Franchise.  If that doesn't scare you, their next technique is to find "problems" with your restaurant on their monthly inspections.  These "problems" will begin to cost you $500 per occurrence until you resolve them....and then, they, of course will find more problems until they can drive you to sell your business to someone else with the dream of entrepreneurship.

Please listen these things are disasters...they WILL wreck you peace of mind....they will wreck your life...

I don't know you, but I implore you to give this move a lot of thought and a lot of time before you do it....get yourself in a financial state where you don't need a job for the health benefits and you have a lot of free cash...because you are going to spend it to keep these disasters afloat.
 
I know I sound disgruntled.  I am being realistic.  As I attempted to sell this disaster I interacted with a number of Business brokers who understood the nightmare I was in....they told me these problems were common with Franchises and Subway in particular.

 If you want a business...start your own....the Franchise concept is a GREAT business concept for the FRANCHISOR not you, the franchisee....you will be broken!

  The following is my wifes perceptions:
 
I don't have the time to tell you the entire history...and my husband has a file that I'm sure he'll be happy to send to you.  I can tell you this.....

  Our Subway was in a mountain town/ resort area, therefore your biz is seasonal.  However....you will work an avg of 12hrs/day...you will dance to the tune of the DA (development agent) Field consultant (Subway police)...you will work to pay out more money in taxes to the Fed gov...& State gov....work comp insurance....unemployment insurance... equipment failure/maintenance....warranties....remodels.(which will cost you a very minimum of $50K)...endless promotions.  You will have to baby-sit a caliber of workforce such that this country has NEVER seen before.  I guarantee you they will ALL have cell phones & use them multiple times on a daily basis no matter WHAT your policy is.  They WILL call in sick (if you're lucky they call)  They will come in late, they do smoke pot,  theywill (I guarantee it) go on unemployment.  You cannot easily fire them.  The state is on THEIR side..not yours.  I PROMISE you they will steal from you.  We had a $5K state-of-the-art security camera.   As if working there 12 hrs isn't enough..you get to monitor the little thieves from the comfort of your own home.  They will ask for time off & then apply to the State for food stamps cuz they aren't working enough hrs. They will also use that  excuse for unemployment (that
comes from YOUR pocket)  They won't follow directions, they will be careless & wasteful (costing you $)  They cannot figure out how toring up w/ a coupon. (that WILL cost you $)  They will give food to their friends...etc. 

   We haven't even addressed the issue of working w/ the public in food service!  That really speaks for itself.

   
You WILL follow what Subway requires or you will be fined!  Example...You have a lightbulb out on the day your field consulants visits..you have to be written up.  You must have it fixed when he returns on next visit (1 month)   NOW>>>IF it is fixed...but a different bulb is out (and by the way we had nearly 100 in a 900 sqft store) you are then written up again....AND THIS TIME it's your LAST warning!!!  If by chance he comes the 3rd time & yet another bulb is out...they threaten to CLOSE YOUR STORE DOWN.

  Do you think that it's possible to make certain that ALL 100 bulbs on his visit will shine brightly...I tell you I prayed they would.  He will make sure that your bathroom is NOT w/out a lid on the trash can, your tomatoes are lined up correctly...all cookies are on the correct shelf...all breads are baked every 4 hrs & on the correct shelf, you will disgard all remaining bread ( $ cost to you)make certain you don't put the cheese on the bread backwards...that's right..the cheese must go on  long side facing the hinge.   He will tell you to heat the meat in the microwave even if it's gonna be toasted...then on the next visit he will tell you the opposite.  His job is to find as much wrong w/ the place as possible...or he's out of a job.   You MUST have all required product for sale in your store...EVEN IF it's not a popular item in your area...therefore the shelf life expires..you must discard it ($waste) and you WILL be required to stock up
again on the very item you just threw away. 

   I could type endlessly here.  Seriously...and I truly mean this.....I feel like I would had I just survived a terrible plane crash!  Can you imagine how lucky you would feel to walk away from a burning plane?  I do.  All the money I worked for my entire life was being wasted on the likes of Subway & everyone involved form Fred DeLuca to the
employees....public ...and Government.  I worked all my life to make a future for myself & my family.  I regret the day I chose the Subway route, however I learned from it & I will share what I have learned to maybe help direct someone away from the path I took.  I wish someone had shared with me before I made the WORST mistake of my life.  But I survived!!  Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

  PS 
There's so much more to write, I just don't have the time.  But on a footnote....my son worked along side us.  He decided to join the US Army.  He'd rather be shot at than
work at this biz & NEVER would consider trying to become a franchise owner.  The Army was a better choice for him.

 I have no reason to sell other than I have high standards of morality and expectation from my associates, in this case Doctor's Associate Inc (DAI). DAI has been less than honest and reasonable in dealings with me, and others, over the past few years.
Subway used to be a great place where there was a family atmosphere. We did not always agree but we worked together to achieve a good working environment, to be benefit of all.

Now, if you have a disagreement with DAI you will receive a termination notice in the mail. You don't get any contact or discussion on any topic but just, to paraphrase; we are not happy with you and want you to give the store to some other poor soul who will be more compliant.

There is no sit down to determine any solution to any perceived problems. There is no appeal to any independent third party. All decisions for termination originates with a field consultant who works for DAI. The reports which are sent to DAI, based on monthly visits, are inaccurate and full of errors and exaggerations. There is little consistency between store evaluations as most of the data is subject to personal opinions.

I'm tired of working as a serf for a king who is not accountable to anyone except
his own court. Money is not the 'be all and end all' as there is a life outside Subway.
 
Here is a story from another Franchisee.

  I have been thinking about letting people know how horrible an experience this Subway franchise has been and will be until I die. My husband and I have seriously considered suicide but we love our kids (adults) too much to do that to them.
My husband wanted this store so badly that I couldn't say no to him. I'm 59 and have had fibromyalgia since I was 35. My doctor's nurse offered to help me get a full disability at that time. I decided to tough it out so that my kids-I was raising them alone after their father died, wouldn't think that's how to live. I made it through
to retirement at U/Mass and was working part-time close to home. I was so happy and wanted my husband to be happy. I signed the papers putting our home up as security-stupidity! 3 months after he started running the store-happily and well I might add-his back went out and we found out he has several ruptured discs as well as other back problems. One operation and several procedures later he is in more pain than when he started and I had to quit my job and try to run the Subway.

The day he was going to be operated on I let the corporate office that we deal with know and they told me it would be best if I was at the store that morning to meet with them anyway! I went-because at that time they frightened me-listened to their complaints--which is really all you ever get-even though you will here about the "Subway Family" and how they are there to help you. They couldn't have cared less if my husband lived or died and have not offered one bit of help. I have cried myself into a stupor over the stupidity of signing over the home that I love and have worked so hard to keep to people who couldn't care less and would kick us out onto the street
without a 2nd thought.

 They nickel and dime you every time you turn around and guess what-everyone in our town is down in business because of the drastic weather change this winter. Has anyone from corporate offered any help or suggestions other than give away more free grinders and you'll have more customers. Which is true. There's an old saying that if you give everything away, you'll have more customers than you could imagine!

Well, live and learn and remember that the hell that is Subway school-oh, yeah, I'm serious, is just the beginning.

wondering when it will and how much it will hurt,"

Name withheld by me so that the sender will not be harassed by Subway legal department.

 I, however, have no fear of the Subway legal department.  If they want to sue me come on.I can prove everything I have stated.bunch of chickens*** p*****.
 
Here is an interesting hyperlink so that you can access info from people with a lot more
experience than I:   http://subwayfranchisee.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-occasionally-receive-email-letters.html

 
11/25/2011 Update:  
Here is a reply to my Craiglists postings from a Subway owner.  EVERYTHING this owner states is TRUE.Please
read
 
I read your post about Subway. I to have been now disenfranchised. we just do all the decor over once again. we have had this franchise for 24 years and they just take it from us. I want to pull down the signage and put up a sign that says
NOT/ Subway, just to get media coverage. i'm so pissed with Subway, for years they have harassed us. they made us put things up, only to take them down.Otherwise as you know, they intentionally put you "out of compliance"and do this for 3 months straight to make you go to arbitration. thing is, some of the ex inspectors came back to our stores only to tell us, they where told to write us out of compliance on a regular basis. 

I was wondering how things were for you. I would love to have a class action suit against Subway world headquarters or just get someone like Diane Sawyer or 20/20 expose what Subway does to its franchisee's.

We got disenfranchised over them wanting us to put in a bush, at the front door
entrance, and you know, it will have to be removed. its crazy. we do everything to a tee. It really has ruined my health, my marriage and made a mess of family life and taken the best years of my life as Fred Deluca lives now in Fort Lauderdale I guess to pick up the college girls on spring break. I'm pissed as you can tell from my email, but i just wanted to see what you did and if you wanted to talk about it and if you know other franchisees that wrote to you or you know of that went through the same thing. They have a very bad reputation as the #1 Franchise that is hated by its franchisees once your in.

That's a fact. 

Please write back. 

Would love to hear feed back.

Debra....

 Another letter

 
Hi Wil, we have been in the Subway business for 24 years. no kidding and it has ruined my life, my health, my marriage and quality time i should had been spending with my children instead of being dead
exhausted.

all you said, we've had all these things happen to us also and btw, fred deluca is no prince. you should read what he thinks of the franchisee's problems. that it is "tough luck, and this is America, so to bad" he is cruel.

i they disenfranchised us months ago but we are still open and paying the 12.5 until someone, "takes the stores off our hands". i keep telling my husband, take the subway sign down and put up "no-way subs" or anything. we own the equipment. the people know us and they still have to eat. i know the food cost will go up, but without the
12.5% we send to subway i think it would work. 

our problem is a bit different, 2 building we own, well, with this economy, the bank owns us too. Subway has been a nightmare. i finally stopped working on hands at the stores because it was "literally" killing me. i was doing 18 hours a day 7 days a week. i lived in then a very small town with people that would not show up for work, so
guess who had to work all shifts? Me.

Now i suffer, thyroid disease, diabetes,chronic migraines and body aches and the list goes on, all thanks to subway sandwiches and salads. i put my heart and soul into the stores. and the truth is when those inspectors who quit, the ones writing us out of compliance. well,they stopped by and told us, how sorry they were, but that they were told by our DA that they were told to write us out of compliance. then it would be the 3 months in a row, then the letters, the Lenny Axelrod threats and we would have to pay. You know how that is. you were smart to leave after 5 years. My husband insisted we just weren't trying hard enough. I never had a vacation, i worked, our stores were number #1 in sales and the people were out the door waiting in line to get in. infact i had to buy the building and open the other side because there was no enough seating, but that other side had nothing to do with subway, they were very angry, but they couldn't do a thing about it. i put TV's in there for my lunch crowd, mostly people interested in CNN, reading their newspaper and sitting near the fireplace that was already there. it was really so nice, that my sale went up even more, i had an archway to enter that area. they couldn't write me out for that, so they would write something like this: fingerprints on the front door glass.... (during lunch rush) i'm sure you've had that. the inspectors love to show up at lunch. i would not let them sit in the dining room, but stand in the kitchen, because i knew they were going to write me out of compliance anyway. they just seemed to they to upset the franchisee, telling us all "great job, store looks great.....but...you need a plant, or some odd thing that once you put it in, 6 months later, they tell us to remove it, because we are now out of compliance because the rules once again have changed. i don't understand the game, but they are truly slavedrivers and we are all their pawns.

 i have this other store now, that also has included a satellite store in walmart. i said to my husband, take all the equipment out and if they don't want to sell the stores for us just keep it open and the other store, lets open something else or sell the equipment. i looked on ebay and see there is a lot of subway equipment for sale almost as
the same price we all have paid for it. what you probably don't know is this, back when we got into subway, there were 22 subway stores that brought a lawsuit against subway to use the subway name, they won and broke away from subway. they use to give out these disclosure books. i can't find it on the internet, but i remember reading that one over and over and wanting to do the same thing. i was fair. i never cheated them. never. i mean that. but now that i'm sick, no retirement benefits from subway, where and what should i do? i'm over 50 but feel like i'm over 99. they totally pushed me to an almost death bed. no one in my whole family ever had thyroid disease or diabetes. my mom had occasional migraines, but i have them daily.

Anyway, i have not proof read my email here back to you. i've had a headache and body aches so bad. so sorry if there are eras. i really would love to start a class action suit and get this out there whether on tv or facebook or whatever it takes to totally do to subway what they have done to all of us. 

maybe karma, what goes around comes around. i
can only hope.

debra thomson

of subways anderson sc

ps. when we took over the 2 closed and banqrupt subway stores, we were promised that no one would open another subway in the whole county except for us.... 

then one day a guy, named gary horton opens one in belton sc..... he went togeorgia out of our market and opened a store. you know why, because our DA, Ali Saifi is a liar. He of Market 37 tried to cover his lie and say, "oh, i didn't know
what was going on in my market area" BS!

he mad over 43 million last year alone on market 37 and is rich as roosevelt....

i'm not afraid to put my name out there. they already put the nails in the coffin. 

 
From: Wil Carolan <[email protected]>

To: God <[email protected]> 

Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011
1:47 PM

Subject: Re: subway
sandwiches and fred jacka** deluca

Hi Debra. Are you saying they have taken your Franchise from you and when did this happen?

  We owned a Subway in the mountains in California from 2005 until 2010.  It started off well.  We were very proud of it as we always wanted to own our on business and Subway is a very good product.  About 1 year into the ownership my mother broke her neck in a fall.  She languishedfor 6 months.  During that time Subway continued to harass me for a remodel...they could not care less about my personal situation with my Mom.  It was during this time that my attitude began to sour toward them.
 We continued to run a top notch store for the next 2 years.  Nocompliance issues and we were told we were the best store in California by many customers that traveled the west coast.  In, I think, 2008 Subway came out with the $5 sandwich.  We did this for 9 months but it became clear this was not a special but was to become regular and mandatory pricing.

 Finally, as we continued to loose money we stopped  the $5 sandwich.  This was when the threatening letters started coming.  They always found an "issue" to harass us over.  Our store grossed $330K and the rent was only $1500/mo but we couldn't make money because our profit margin was just too thin.  Subway couldn't care less and they offered NO advice how how to improve profits. They just continually harassed us with stupid compliance issues.  Finally, after 5 years we had enough.  We sold the store back to the gentleman we bought it from.  We sold it back for $50,000 less than we paid for it AND we footed the ENTIRE bill for the remodel.  

 These things are disasters and what I would consider pure slavery.  They are EVIL.  Yes it is a good product.  DeLuca was a good man but something happened to his  organization.  My wish is to get the message out.  While we may have been financially ruined my hope is to prevent people from buying into this thing...this "Franchise" without know what they are getting in to.  

I don't really see any way to sue these people as they hold all the cards and have near infinite resources to fight.  The only thing we can do, as I see it, is to spread the word....spread the word to buyers of what they are gettingf in to.  I tell them to hold on to my writing and use it as a reference source of what is coming at them...and it
will.

 
If I had it to do over I would strongly consider tearing the store out of the slot.  We had a store in a small mountain town and NOBODY would have rebuilt a store there because nobody has the money.  This would have cost Subway 12.5% of $300,000 forever.  They would have lost $40K a year forever.  I chiose to sell the store and got a fraction of my money back.  The buyer has suffered continuing loss of sales while, as you know, having to continually put new money into it.  2 weeks after we sold it back to him, the area experienced a power surge and burnt up a freezer...so he borrowed another $5K to intall a walk-in freezer.

 These things are just a non-ending source of money drain.  The only hope an owner has of recovering any money is to work 14 hours/day 6 to 7 days a week.  Pay the thing off, doctor the books (unethical), and try to sell it to the next unsuspecting fool that wants "his own business".

  These things are disasters and we must spread the word...Craigslist is a good start.  Please let me know if you have any other ideas.

  Name withheld due to Subway 

You have been warned!!!

Good Luck to you.