I have noticed that some Quizno’s shops are called “Quizno’s Sub” and some are called “Quizno’s Subs.” Is there a rational explanation for this or is it just up to the individual franchisee whether they want to name themselves after a single sub or multiple subs? It seems an odd thing to be inconsistent about for a large corporation with (presumably) teams of experts managing their brand image.
At first, I thought it might be a regional thing, like maybe there were actually two distinct companies operating in different states for obscure legal reasons, but since I’ve been paying attention, I’ve seen it both ways in a single city.
There definitely aren’t that many letters falling off Quizno’s signs to explain all the instances I’ve seen. Further, if you go to the official Quizno’s web site, you can see a picture of a storefront that says “Quizno’s Sub.”
I’ve seen this too and always wondered about it myself. I know Quizno’s seems to be very gung-ho about recruiting new franchisees, even airing an infomercial on TV around these parts. Maybe the franchisees are trying to save a little money on what they consider an unnecessary letter for their signs, but it just seems weird to me.
It looks to me like the official franchise name is just “Quizno’s” and anything after that is added by the franchise when they list their d/b/a name. So they pay to use the word “Quizno’s” and associated logos, but anything else they want to add (probably within limitations) is up to them.
A piggyback question: I’ve seen some outlets of the largest video rental chain in the United States called “Blockbuster Video”, while some others have signs that read “Blockbuster” alone. Why are some outlets Blockbuster Video, but others just Blockbuster?
As a former BBV franchise store manager, I can tell you the registered franchise name we operated under was (for example) Acme Mgmt., Inc. d/b/a Blockbuster Video, Inc. but all of the logos, signage, uniforms, buttons, etc. were marked with the trade name, Blockbuster.