Quiznos treated customers as its top priority when its real customers were the franchise owners, and squeezing them is what broke the chain.

• A typical Quiznos franchise owner cleared only $15,000 to $35,000 a year after paying rent, staff, and supplies.
• One Granada Hills owner netted $30,000 running the whole store himself, and started questioning why he bothered.
• Quiznos made good money at the top while the people actually operating the stores made almost nothing.
• Once owners realized the math did not work, the company lost the customers that mattered most — its own franchisees.

Outlook: Any franchise model that leaves owners with near-nothing after expenses eventually runs out of people willing to sign up.