6 Frequent Customer Complaints About Jimmy John's

Sometimes, when lunchtime rolls around, only a juicy, flavorful sandwich will do. You know, the kind of sandwich where you need a napkin tucked into your shirt to eat it, because it's messy and satisfying in equal measure. When this craving calls, many people rock up to one of Jimmy John's more than 2,700 sandwich shops across the U.S. And, unfortunately, some of them leave seriously disappointed. Yes, things have taken a turn for the worse, but sadly, not every story has a happy ending.

Like many major chains, Jimmy John's has to deal with criticism from the general public. Here, we take a look at some of the frequent customer complaints about the sandwich giant — some of which you might relate to if you've ever ordered food from the chain. Ever been bewildered by the menu? Wondered where the flavor was? Or ended up having to dig deeper into your pockets than you expected? You've found your people.

Jimmy John's has a pretty extensive menu, but it turns out, you should probably think twice before you order many of the chain's sandwiches. It's not that they taste especially bad, say customers, but that they don't really taste of much at all.

"I have put things on it to add flavor and [it] just tastes bland to me compared to other sandwich shops," said one Redditor in the r/Sandwiches subreddit. At the time of writing, the post has nearly 400 upvotes. According to some customers, the mayonnaise at Jimmy John's is also watery, the bread is sometimes stale, and the ingredients, in general, are pretty low quality.

When our taste tester tried a few sandwiches at the chain, they came to a similar conclusion. They noted that the Country Club, for example, was "incredibly average," The Veggie was "sad," and the Turkey Tom was "boring" and "bland." It's not all bad, though. According to another taste tester, the J.J.B.L.T is the best sandwich on the chain's menu.

If you're familiar with Jimmy John's, you'll probably know that the online menu isn't organized in a way that feels, let's say, straightforward. There are different categories for Favorites and Originals, and Chicken has a whole section of its own. There's also a separate section for Toasted Sandwiches, even though some of the Favorites and Originals can be toasted, too. See? Not straightforward.

In the store and on the app, things aren't much better, and it really irritates customers. In one post in the r/jimmyjohns subreddit, one person wrote: "The menu has always been difficult to understand, hence why I stopped going there before." In another post in r/fastfood, another user added: "Their menu has always gotten too complex. No need to add Wraps and Gyros imo (though I do think their wraps are solid)."

The complicated menu is frustrating for Jimmy John's employees, too, who often have to save confused customers from ordering the wrong thing. "I can't even be mad at them for it because the menu is set up so ridiculously stupid," said one worker in r/jimmyjohns.

It feels like everything is expensive right now. From overpriced grocery stores to overpriced fast food, prices seem to be constantly climbing with no sign of relief. Unfortunately, sandwich chains aren't exempt from cost increases. Expensive menu items is a common complaint with Subway and Jersey Mike's, and according to many customers, the prices at Jimmy John's are also getting out of hand.

In one post that, at the time of writing, had received nearly 100 upvotes, one person wrote in r/jimmyjohns: "When did prices get so unreasonably high?!?!" They went on to explain that they had paid $12.39 for a sandwich. "Yeah no kidding," added another user. "I remember when I giant was like 18 bucks but now 26 bucks for a giant is freaking insane." 

Of course, prices climb even more if you want your sandwich delivered. Some have noticed that they can jump by around a dollar on the delivery menu — and yes, that's before delivery costs are added on.

To add insult to injury, not only are the prices seemingly higher, but if you order a sandwich for delivery from Jimmy John's, you might have to wait quite a bit longer for your lunch. But wait, isn't Jimmy John's supposed to be Freaky Fast? Well, yes, that's what the chain has been telling us for years through advertising campaigns and commercials, but it turns out, it can't always follow through. "When did JJ's become freakishly slow?," asked one Reddit user in r/jimmyjohns. They noted that while they were usually a fan of the chain, they were unimpressed after waiting nearly an hour for cold, soggy food.

Their experience isn't unique. Many customers say that they have to wait a long time for their food after ordering delivery from Jimmy John's, leaving them feeling hungry, frustrated, and ready to vent their frustrations online. Some speculate that everything got slower and less "freaky fast" when the chain outsourced its delivery to Uber. "Old JJ's already would have already had the order at my doorstep within [20 minutes], but here we are," said one Redditor in r/jimmyjohns, who waited nearly an hour for their order to even be picked up. "Needless to say, guess I won't be ordering delivery from them anymore."

Unfortunately, there aren't many chains that haven't been accused of shrinkflation at this point. According to fans, McDonald's is shrinking its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and fan favorite McNuggets, while In-N-Out's burgers are disappearing before our eyes. And even the rolls at Texas Roadhouse are not as big as they were. Is it, as the memes keep telling us, a recession indicator? Hard to say, but portions are certainly shrinking. Sadly for sandwich fans, Jimmy John's customers have noticed it, too.

In one Reddit post with 1,400 upvotes, one customer declared "Jimmy, your days are numbered," above an image that showed a wrapped Jimmy John's sandwich that was no wider than a small Bic lighter. "My last experience was incredibly similar and I was definitely let down by the lack of a good portion," commented another user. Some customers have even questioned whether they're losing their minds over increasingly narrow subs from the chain. "Am I just remembering incorrectly?," asked one person in the r/shrinkflation subreddit. "Has Jimmy John's always been skimpy and overpriced AF?"

Mistakes happen, especially when you're working in a busy, crowded sandwich shop (with customers trying, and failing, to get to grips with a confusing menu). But when orders are frequently incorrect, it's harder to be forgiving. Unfortunately, some customers have noticed that when they grab a sandwich from Jimmy John's, it's wrong on far too many occasions.

"Im tired of spending money for long wait times or incorrect orders," wrote one customer on TrustPilot, who claimed that for around one in four orders, their Jimmy John's sandwich was "messed up." Sure, they might be hangry and exaggerating, but they're not the only ones to complain about this. People have claimed that they have been given tuna sandwiches with no tuna (yes, seriously), well-done roast beef when they asked for rare, and subs without any of the extra ingredients they had asked and paid for.

"Jimmy Johns fairly consistently gave me the wrong sandwich for several months," said one Redditor in the r/firstworldproblems subreddit. Fortunately for them, this story has a happy ending, and they actually ended up liking the incorrect order more than the original one. Every cloud.