Monday, February 18, 2008

Why My Local Subway Sucks

So I went into my Subway for some lunch today and I noticed a huge sign out front that says: "5$ for Any Footlong Sub". The guy in front of me in line orders a foot long Pastrami. I have Jack with me so I am trying to keep him occupied and am ordering my sub when I hear the lady who is at the cashier say something to the guy about the price of his meal.

He understood it as being $5, but they mean every sub, except the pastrami and the philly cheese steak. I look over at the poster that is posted on the window and read it to myself, "$5 All Foot longs, All Day, Every Day".

The guy is arguing with them about the price, and he is pointing out the sign about $5 and they point out a much smaller sign that states that the deal applies to all subs, EXCEPT the pastrami and philly cheese steak.

I pipe in that the big sign says All Foot longs, and that that should mean all foot longs. They just shrug like they are sorry, but not willing to budge. The guy just refuses the sandwich and gets them to make another sandwich. Meanwhile, the foot long sandwich is just sitting there, probably to be thrown away (what a waste). Arguing is pointless sometimes if people just don't care, so I didn't push it. It wasn't my fight anyway.

I paid for my meal and left, thinking to myself that there is definitely something sketchy about what just happened.

If you have a sign that says clearly what the deal is, there should be a sign equally as big that shows the exceptions.

I took a picture of the front of the store that shows what I am talking about. The big sign is obvious, the small sign that signifies what the exceptions are to the deal is much smaller. (Can you spot the exceptions? Its the little white letter-sized page posted on the door)

BTW- Notice the Two huge displays that advertise the new Pastrami sub that accompany the $5 Footlong poster - and you wonder why there was confusion.



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31 comments:

huntsly said...

If you're considering buying a Subway restaurant, better read the complaints from Subway Franchisees before you waste your money on those losers. There's a reason the president is called "BendoveritsFred".

subwayscam.com

subwayfranchisee.blogspot.com

http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/315/RipOff0315931.htm

Anonymous said...

Subway is dominated by Indian owners. Why would I bring that up? Because it's probably not well known, and if you're interested in owning a Subway, you better have a lot of cash, an inside track, and get along very well with Indians (East Indians, not American Indians). You might think that's racist, but it's not. It's the truth.

You also had better prepare yourself to have a second income besides the Subway (if you have spouse with a side job that may help). One Subway is barely enough to live on. You will need at least $110K to buy an existing store which will only be 1/3 of what you are paying for that existing store. It's highly unlikely you will be able to build a store your first time as all of those other franchisees are very protective of their territory and have right of first refusal if you identify a sight. Say you're lucky and you get to buy an existing store. You will have high rent, and a 5 year mortgage. Your net the first five years will likely be $20K, if you're lucky. Once you've paid off your loan, or if you didn't need a loan to begin with, you can expect to make approximately $60K a year, and that can fluctuate wildly. Most franchisees will tell you that you need at least three stores before you make a "comfortable" income. Don't get excited, it's not $180K. You have to pay managers to work in the stores that you can't be in and that comes from your bottom line.

When I say that Indian's dominate Subway, it's no joke. That doesn't mean they don't run stores well, some do, but most have figured out how to get over on Subway and the public. They know how to cheat on sales, and frequently get busted for cheating customers out of what they are supposed to get. How do I know all this. I know a lot fo these franchisees personally. Doctors and Associates Incorporated "DAI", won't admit to it, but they are in a constant battle using forensic computer tools to analyze sales of frequently "Indian" franchisees that are under-reporting sales. Additionally, they are constantly catching these franchisees gypping customers out of what they are entitled to, or charging extra for vegetables, something expressly forbidden by the Subway operations manual.

Are Indian franchisees the only ones that cheat, no, of course not, but they are the masters.
They also know how to work together making political deals and to use family ties within Subway to grow and control their territories.

Fred Deluca knows all about it, and encourages Indians to join Subway. It's really pretty strange. They've made him far richer than anyone even knows (private corporation that it is). When Fred briefed us at franchisee training in Connecticut, he even asked if there are any "Patels" in the room. He's wasn't joking. He loves Indians, not because they run clean stores (That's what the company line would be). No he loves them because they have lots of cash, they aggressively expand territories, and they just keep coming with more cash.

Anonymous said...

As far as Subway misleading customers, well, that's only partly true. The "Any $5 footlong" promotion has always been "Any REGULAR $5 footlong." Pastrami and Philly have never been included in that special, and they never will be. Both of those are heavy meat sandwiches (1/2 lb of meat after cooking) and have extremely high food costs at their regular prices. Subway franchisees cannot afford to sell them for $5

I'll give you one where Subway is in the process of misleading consumers. Most states are adopting legislation to require nutrition information to be displayed. One area where Subway fails miserably is in sodium content. They are high on almost all of their food items, and they are scrambling to reduce the sodium numbers. What's their solution? A little game of deception. The standard "build" for all sandwiches has been changed to "not" include pickles or olives anymore. If you ask for all the veggies, we are not supposed to provide pickles and olives, but we're not stupid either. As owners, believe it or not, the last thing we want to do is piss off customers, so we'll give you those pickles and olives just like we always have. Subway in fact requires us to carry pickles and olives on the "bain", just like we always have. So you see, Subway can now claim their sandwiches have less salt when they haven't changed a thing.

Anonymous said...

Subway is still a relatively inexpensive food franchise operation to get into, but DAI is getting so "Big Brother" and it is a cesspool of aggressive franchisees that will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead. I'm not saying don't buy one, I'm warning you that it's not easy by any stretch. Subway does not provide protected territory of any kind. If you have a profitable location they can put another store across the street and "F" you if they want. It happens all the time. They claim you have recourse if you can prove your sales were hurt, but it's too little compensation compared to what you lose.

Here's the biggest reason to to buy a Subway (in my opinion), but not the only reason.

I believe Subway franchisees are headed for disaster. There was time when Subway emphasized the profitability of selling 6" subs, vice, footlongs. Thus, Subway franchisees were able to make a decent profit after operating expenses. The two things you control as a franchisee (somewhat), are food cost and labor. We just made more as franchisees selling 6-inchers.

Over a year ago, some franchisee in Florida was sucking Fred's knob and and told him he would like to test selling "Any Regular Footlong" for $5. Naturally, Fred gave him the OK and no shit, it drove gross sales up through the roof. Fred realized the goldmine he and DAI stumbled upon, and convinced all the Development Agents (DA's) and powerful multi-unit franchisees that franchisees will make more money through volume. Yes and no. We made a lot more in gross, but our expenses went way up as well.

The $5 footlong goes national and people go gaga. For over a year Subway experiences an enormous increase (probably over 25%) in royalties. Franchisees saw large increases in gross sales as well, but food costs skyrocketed. Fred turned a blind eye and fudged a lot of numbers to convince franchisees that $5 footlongs are now a "brand", and they will carry us into the future.

After the initial period of "Any for $5", DAI realized they couldn't run it forever, but ever so afraid of losing momentum, they came up with the "EDV", Every Day Value $5 footlong. We kept eight footlongs at $5 for the rest of the year, until this year. In March 09, we did the "Any $5 footlong" promotion again, but guess what, it was a dud overall. DAI even started it early (March, vice April), and extended the offer longer to try to game the numbers and convince franchisees that it was still "kicking butt". Bullshit! Same store sales have dropped all year long. What DAI doesn't want to admit is:

- $5 made DAI rich, not franchisees.
- Our customers have been trained to only want to pay $5
- The $5 footlong has become passe. Oh sure, it's still popular, but not nearly as much as before, and everybody and his brother has a $5 special.

What's the answer according to DAI? $4 footlongs of course! The early reports from DAI is selling $4 footlongs does not increase food costs overall. That's funny. It's amazing how they can tweak their data.

DAI is already test-marketing $4 footlongs around the country. God help us all.

Anonymous said...

hey i work at a subway we arent responsible for any of that shit sorry but not my fucking fault and not my fucking problem i need to pay for college somehow and i wish i didnt have to work there and serve assholes like u

Johnny said...

I usually won't post stuff from someone who doesn't have the balls to put their name to what they say, but decided against that policy when the above poster commented.

My response: I never said it was your fault or your problem. You don't HAVE to work there, so please don't dump on me if your life seems like a big ball of crap.

As far as your happiness - I am so sorry, but as you said, its not my fault or my problem either, its yours. But if posting that makes you feel better about your unhappiness and brings you a bit of it, then good for you.

Unknown said...

Subway really amazes me how cheap they have become. I recently ordered one of their $5 foot longs and not only was their meat paper thin so were their veggies. They ought to rename their $5 sub specials the starvation sub. The only thing I could taste was bland bread while eating the sandwich. So long Subway you have lost a loyal customer forever. Forget filling out their online complaint form, chances are you will NEVER hear back from them. As for me never again will I be ripped off for by paying for a substandard Subway sub. So long Subway...

Kid Presentable said...

What 1950s-era bomb shelter did you crawl out of? Ever hear of "fine print"? It's that small for a reason! Also, why the hell are you eating at Subway -- it's barely a step above school lunch.

Anonymous said...

Because they are both DOUBLE MEAT AND CHEESE SUBS, you ingrate.

Double meat, meaning basically TWO sandwiches.

Get over yourself.

Johnny said...

OK "Anonymous", show me where that is stated that its double meat sandwiches and I will take it back.

Kristi "sandwich artist" said...

oooook well i have been with subway..for about 4 years now..it has always been known that when the footlongs go on "sale" for 5 stupid fucking dollars the PREMIUM subs are always going to remain the same...like here in ohio the philly and the feast are PREMIUM subs..the prices dont change because the meat is very expensive! a durrr. its not the person in the hat making your food ...(who makes no more than minimum wage)...that makes the prices. ive been dealing with assholes like you for four years now. i just want to reach my hand over that glass and knock your teeth out. as i always tell my friends i dont think the customers realize we have knives back here! :)

Anonymous said...

Subway is always out of bread. The usually cut my sandwiches with a dirty knife. The service is very slow. They frequently ignore customers at the Drive-Thru.

Anonymous said...

Subway is always out of bread. The usually cut my sandwiches with a dirty knife. The service is very slow. They frequently ignore customers at the Drive-Thru.

Bonesawsss READYY said...

i hate these dorks who defend subway - and any sandwich franchise. these franchises are all stingy - with everything calculated down to precision. For example, when i was in high school, I actually worked at blimpie and we were allowed to put only 4 tomatoes on 12 inch subs - wtf is with that? Give the man some fucking tomatoes. I'd advise everyone who feels the same to just pay the extra $1.50 and get a decent sandwich from a local deli. Don't give these clowns at subway, blimpie, quiznos etc any more of your money. FYI, I graduated from a good college and make a decent amount of money every year but this topic STILL enrages me haha

Anonymous said...

subway has ripped me off for the last time as they make one then just let it waste or toss it out. This time i tried to use a travelers check and they looked at me like an alien. Not an illegal one but one from space. And if you think thats really a foot long then just measure it.

Anonymous said...

And my local subway is the one at mercado off 101 in santa clara. Spoke to the store mgr spoke to the asst mgr spoke to the district mgr spoke to the owner and spoke to conneticut customer service. All 5 could care less and basically told me go away and have a nice day. They are wastful as they would rather toss a sandwich in the trash and argue with someone than sell it. Ill make my own sandwich now , you can stick your 2 oz of turkey. I grade this company and store an F minus and im being nice. They rate last in customer service, quality of food , amount of food, cleanliness, english language spoken, and attitude to customers. Now hoping jarod has a heart attack so millions of customers will get the message about this place.

Anonymous said...

My local subway the one at 101 and mercado in san jose sucks. Talked to maker, store mgr, owner and conneticut customer service. And no one cares about a customer who has been ripped off. They pretty much said go have a nice day and go away. They would rather waste sandwiches and argue with a customer rather than sell one. This company rates an F minus and thats being nice. Horrible customer service, attitude, cleanliness, amount of food, quality of food, and ability to speak english as they have franchised thier name to forigners with no common sense or ability to communicate. Hope jarod has a heart attack so millions of customers can see the truth about this crap.

Nipsy said...

1. The promotion is $5 regular subs. The Philly, pastrami, feast, are premium subs. In fact Subways POS system will not let you ring those subs up at any discounted rate or price override them.

2. Most of the times subs that customers end up not purchasing do not get thrown, an employee will take it. Or we will give it to another customer if they want it.

3. Don't ever argue with something that you know nothing about. This is our job, we know the stipulations for the promotions, and your attitude about it just makes you walk away and doesnt hurt us.

Johnny said...

Nipsy,
You can't put together a coherent sentence. Arguing ABOUT something is probably what you meant.

What you don't know about me is that I used to work for Subway back when I was in high school and on break from college. So I am a little familiar with Subway, believe it or not.

What I find more than fascinating is that I posted this more than two years ago and it has received more than its share of comments from Subway employees, who have taken this as some sort of personal insult.

By the way, for one to find this blog post, an employee of Subway would need to Google search "Why I Hate Subway" and search down across a few pages to get to the link, click it, (possibly) read the post and take the time to comment. That is an amazing amount of effort a Subway employee would need to go through in order to defend their employer. Unfortunately, it seems the only defenders are the employees and not the customers.

How fucked up is it that most of the defenders of Subway and their marketing tactics are employees?

Of course you guys are going to know the difference between a premium sandwich and one that is not, you have it hammered into your head at least four hours every day. A customer isn't going to be nearly as familiar with your pricing schemes and the Corporation of Subway is not exactly forthcoming about its deceptive advertising. They only care about the traffic through the door.

Anonymous said...

Dude, figure it out. It is NOT the Subway worker's fault, and it is NOT your local Subway that sucks. Direct your anger at the right target, which is the company itself.

I work at a Subway. If I budged and offered someone a special deal, I could get in trouble and get fired. Not to mention the fact that if it upsets you enough, DON'T EAT THERE. It's pretty simple. No one is force-feeding you those shitty sandwiches, YOU are choosing to buy them and therefore you have no right to complain. Go eat at Quizno's if you want to make a statement instead of bitching on your blog.

Ana said...

Hihi :)
I order from Subway, occasionally.. that is when they are ready to deliver home which is not very often!
I'd say major reason of ordering subway:
1) fed up of mcdonalds
2) dominos /pizza hut too expensive for portion u end up getting

so im generally only left with Subway...

I'd agree with most of u, the company and staff seem to be least bothered about marketing their product. Here in asia, half the people dont even know subway exist , i discovered subway by mistake.. coz here they dont advertise for it anywhere... maybe once in 5 years i think i saw a paper ad with the menu.

and subway in the arabic countries suck sooo badly, firstly they never have all the sauces and they just have white bread ... this happened 5-6 times and i dont think its a coincidence !

Anonymous said...

Subway sucks, nothing more nothing less! I went to my local Subway @6501 Old Shepardsvillle Rd. in Louisville Ky, and asked for a sandwich with mayo on it. They started to put light mayo on it I told them I don't want light mayo, they said,"it tastes the same,it's all we use". So I told them,"I can taste the diffrence and can't eat it on my sandwich". So they said hold on went to the back, and got another bottle of mayo. Now this is where it gets tricky, as they took the light mayo bottle with them, and did not return with it. I said are you sure this is Mayo, and not light. The lady said yes and made the sandwich, but when I got to work and started to eat it, it was light mayo! It went in the trash! I will never eat there again, or any other Subway again!

Anonymous said...

At my local subway I found out that they dont give you a choice of bread except white bread if you dont talk fast enough and offer you no seasoning or condiments for your sandwich if you are not in their processing plant mentallity. oh also they give you no choice when you ask for seasoning or condiments hell i got blamed for even asking for condiments after they shoved me through the line like some kind of clog in a machine. no personality and no customer service except bad customer service. thanks alot subway i will never return if your the last place to eat out on earth. down with subway.

Anonymous said...

Nitpicking grammar is just making you look like an even bigger douche bag john. Face the music. There's nothing wrong with subway. They are just trying to run a business. How much do you think subway is making on a five dollar sandwich huh? 20 cents? 30? hHell, even with one of their premium sandwiches, the margins are just ridiculously low due to the cutthroat nature of the food industry. Go to a butchers and try ordering half a pound of meat. It will probably cost the same as a premium sandwich. Blame the economy all you want. Blame the franchisees. Blame the corporation. It doesn't change the fact that the real problem here are the stupid customers who seem to think they are entitled to the world for a paltry five dollars.

lishron said...

Subway is the worst place anymore. I worked there and met my wife there in the early 90s and it was good. Now they just need to give up.

Evan Lewellen said...

Yeahhh....workers don't make the rules...so stupid people who blame shit on the workers just don't understand...we don't set the price...if there is no button for it, that mean it doesn't exist. We don't make the rules, we just work there. and 7.70 an hour isnt enough to deal with abunch of old stupid retarded fucktards who think they're better than us just because we're on the other side of the counter, ordering. Shut. Up.

Johnny said...

Evan,
I remember being 19, too. "19-Smart" is not like actually being smart. Right now you THINK you're smart, because you're 19 and think you have it figured out. Well you don't.

When you address someone through the comments section of their blog and refer to them as a "fucktard", you might get a response back that may challenge your assertions.

I realize this was written by a 19-year-old sitting in his Mom and Dads basement at 11pm through an internet connection in a house he doesn't own or even rent. He has a job that pays him $7.70 and take crap from customers that look down on him. But maybe that is because you live with your parents, make $7.70 an hour and try to pick fights with people you don't know at 11pm on the internet. You aren't happy with your place in life and have decided to strike out in anger. So let me give you some constructive criticism and a bit of advice.

Grow up. Less masturbating, less junk food and less video games. Try focusing on loftier goals like bettering yourself with a decent education, joining the military to serve your country or even just manage not to be a dick.

Accept my challenge just not to be a dick. Start there.

Anonymous said...

Dear Johnny,

I agree, subway does suck. I am less concerned with them "misleading" you with their prices than I am with why you were there in the first place. I hope you take my advice and never go to subway again. I personally have been subway free for close to a year now and have done miraculous things. I have lost 40 lbs, got a high paying job and met the woman of my dreams. All while not shoving soft, doughy bread with no taste into my mouth. If I could burn every single subway down, I would. I'm not even joking. Every single one with all the employees and all the customers. The world would be better off. If I had to choose between traveling back in time and stopping Hitler or burning subway to the ground, I would travel back in time, kill Hitler and then kill the parents of the creators of subway. I found a loophole there Johnny, a loophole.

If I wanted to pay 5 dollars for a foot long of shit I would go to the womens restroom at my local barnes and noble and wait till a 50 year old lady with IBS came in. Except even that would be better because it would be free and I would probably get her number out of it. I hate subway and I hate you Johnny (fucktard, bald person, etc) for claiming to be so smart and sophisticated and yet still going to subway in the first place. If I ever see you in real life I am going to shake your hand, stare you in the eyes, kiss your mouth, stick my tongue down your throat and jerk you off with my free hand. When you are spent, laying wasted on the ground from the amount go esctasy I just gave you. It is then that I will ruin you.

Love, Evan

Johnny said...

I may have my first stalker. And his name is Evan Lewellyn.

I tell ya, your comment is a little on the creepy side. But I can't wait to see what a future employer of any caliber will see when they look up "Evan Lewellyn" on the internet. Good stuff.

Keep writing, Evan, and I will keep publishing it. Its really amusing. Creepy, but amusing. It also helps the stats and a higher ranking for when people search for "Subway Sucks" on Google. Unsure? Google "Subway Sucks".

Anonymous said...

I agree with some points, but honestly it comes down to common sense. That paper was posted on the door right in front of your face when you walk in. Also as previously mentioned those subs will never ever be 5$ because they are so piled that they would lose so much money. Comes down to common sense but people ignore that when they see an opportunity to save money and then get pissed when they don't get what they want. The customer is stupid. Worked at subway for almost 5 years, unfortunately.

Johnny said...

ANOTHER former Subway employee submitting their opinion. This is becoming hilarious when you consider how many former Subway employees have taken the time to search for the term "Subway Sucks" to come to my little post I wrote back in 2008. How many former Subway employees is this now? 8 or 9? I'm losing count.