Subway Hates Gift Cards Owned By Parents of Cancer Patients

If you know me you know that my family has had a difficult 3 months. My 3 year old daughter is battling leukemia (cancer of the blood). Since October 29th, my daughter has been in the hospital three times for a total of 23 days. This does not count the visits to the out-patient clinic that last from 10am until 2 or 3 or 4 or 5pm.

Unfortunately for my wife, she's been the caretaker for my daughter while I stay at home and take care of the other two kids, do as many chores as I can, AND work 40-50 hours per week. Let me tell you - it ain't easy.

Having to spend so much time in the hospital, it makes sense that we end up eating a lot of meals there, which means spending a lot of money. We have awesome friends and family and many of them have given us cash and gift cards to help us defray the costs of living at the hospital. The hospital also has given us gift cards to use at the few food places in the building, which include Subway, Mama Liardos, Donna's Cafe, and some other shop that sells higher-end sandwiches and soups.

Just this past week my daughter was back in the hospital for sepsis (blood poisoning - her body cannot fight off anything right now). So my wife was in the hospital from Sunday the 3rd until Friday, when we switched out and I was there until Sunday, and she returned and was there again until Monday night.

When I arrived she told me that Subway would not accept our gift cards. For some reason the 'machine wasn't working'. Okay. Things happen.

The next day I thought I'd give it a try myself. I ordered a 6 inch pastrami sandwich. I presented the cashier with my gift card. He examined the gift card as if it were a strange day-glow green crystal from the planet Krypton. "Are we accepting gift cards?" he asked the girl next to him. "No, it ain't working." "Why is it not working?" I replied. "It's an old slow dial-up thing and it don't go through." That doesn't even make sense. "Do you expect it to be fixed soon?" "No."

Wow! Now that's customer service! Subway executives - are you aware that the outlet at the University of Maryland Hospital on Greene Street in Baltimore, Maryland is run by a bunch of incompetent employees that display no interest in resolving their problems?

What really irked me is that I could pay by credit card, but not by gift card. Most places use the same damn machine for both.

Subway, my daughter will be in treatment for the next 2 years. That's a lot of meals my wife and I will be buying. There are two things that you can count on:

1) I will tell everyone I know this story and tell them that I think you suck
2) I will buy my meals elsewhere.

Jerrod - it may be time to start advertising for someone else!