5 ms·

Subway is just the lowest tier of sandwich shop I can think of lately. Could easily see them going the way of Quiznos and forced to restructure at some point in

by Hypx 7y ago

Subway is just the lowest tier of sandwich shop I can think of lately. Could easily see them going the way of Quiznos and forced to restructure at some point in the future.

TheAceOfHearts 7y ago
They're alright for a quick salad if you have diet restrictions and you're busy. You can usually ask them to use spinach as the base instead of lettuce, which is much more nutritional.
noisy_boy 7y ago
I see lot of subway bashing all around. At one point in my life, I ate subway sandwiches for dinner, daily, for more than an year (can't remember exactly how long). The serving folks memorized how I wanted it and basically just asked "which one" I wanted (felt like hash lookup with the "alias" being the key and my custom requirements being the "value"). Never had any upset stomach etc so no complaints.
i_am_nomad 7y ago
You’re right, of course; Subway tastes like resignation and apathy. But even the most mundane things can surprise you every once in a while. Years ago, I walked into a random Subway, somewhere, and ordered some random sandwich. I asked for onions, olives, and yellow peppers on it. The energetic “sandwich artist” (their term, not mine) shook his head. “No, no,” he said, with a friendly sincerity, “that’s not a good combination for this sandwich. You should go with olives, yes, but also the green peppers and spinach, with the sweet onion sauce. Much more balanced that way.” I let him make it his way. I couldn’t even object, because I was struck speechless by this man, making probably minimum wage at the crappiest sandwich chain in America, caring so deeply about his work and my lunch. This man and his pride in his work, his determination to actually care, helped me see my own work in a new light, and honestly helped me climb out of the burnout I’d been suffering at the time. Whatever you do, do it the best you can; thanks for the reminder, Subway dude.
- ctchocula 7y ago
  This is a beautiful story. It reminds me of the stories collected in "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" by Studs Terkel. The overall theme is how people find meaning in what they do and the nobility of the human spirit. Thank you for sharing it.
  - asah 7y ago
    Thx. Another great book: How to Tell When You're Tired, by Reg Theriault
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  I think the resignation and apathy is just something that happens always with chain restaurants and scale. At a certain point consistency becomes the big priority and it becomes soulless as process dominates and it depressingly seems to work.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - newen 7y ago
    I think cost cutting becomes a bigger priority than expanding to new franchises (I guess expanding becomes harder to achieve after a certain point and cost cutting becomes a better way to improve financials). So they use lower and lower quality ingredients. Burger King is a prime example of this. Chick-fil-A is good counter example.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  Seems extremely rude to criticise someone’s preferences like that?
  - pfortuny 7y ago
    It is not rude if you smile and say it with respect.
beamatronic 7y ago
I used to really love one particular Quiznos sub. It had this really great bbq sauce. I was happy to pay a premium for it. Then one day they changed the sauce. It was awful. I stopped going. Moral of the story: When customers love your product, don’t change it or take it away.
Rotdhizon 7y ago
As much as people crap on Subway I don't think I've ever had a negative experience at one. I know they don't use fresh ingredients but I'm fine with that. They aren't that expensive and I enjoy the array of toppings they have, although I will always remain bitter that they took away that spicy pepper paste. If on any day I decide to go there, I'm not doing it to have a good time, I'm doing it get a quick bite to eat and fill up on. Although the fact that it's one of 2 close food places to me adds bias, I don't have to get on any main streets to access the plaza it's in.
- stordoff 7y ago
  > As much as people crap on Subway I don't think I've ever had a negative experience at one Same here. I'm never going to come out of one thrilled, but they are consistently _fine_.
  - mgkimsal 7y ago
    Yep. It's one of the few sandwich places I can go to - locally or while traveling - and be pretty sure I can get spinach and other toppings I want. I can see what things look like, so if the tomatoes are ... meh... I can ask for different ones before the damage is done, etc.
  - ender341341 7y ago
    In my experience they are super location dependent. Some of them are pretty good, but there's a few in the less nice areas around me that are consistently grungy interiors with ingredients that are always on the edge of expiration.
m463 7y ago
What other sandwich shops are you comparing to? I think subway is a consistent experience, available nationwide and has a variety of raw vegetables not usually found in fast food.

by Hypx 7y ago

Subway is just the lowest tier of sandwich shop I can think of lately. Could easily see them going the way of Quiznos and forced to restructure at some point in the future.

TheAceOfHearts 7y ago

They're alright for a quick salad if you have diet restrictions and you're busy. You can usually ask them to use spinach as the base instead of lettuce, which is much more nutritional.

noisy_boy 7y ago

I see lot of subway bashing all around. At one point in my life, I ate subway sandwiches for dinner, daily, for more than an year (can't remember exactly how long). The serving folks memorized how I wanted it and basically just asked "which one" I wanted (felt like hash lookup with the "alias" being the key and my custom requirements being the "value"). Never had any upset stomach etc so no complaints.

i_am_nomad 7y ago

You’re right, of course; Subway tastes like resignation and apathy. But even the most mundane things can surprise you every once in a while. Years ago, I walked into a random Subway, somewhere, and ordered some random sandwich. I asked for onions, olives, and yellow peppers on it. The energetic “sandwich artist” (their term, not mine) shook his head. “No, no,” he said, with a friendly sincerity, “that’s not a good combination for this sandwich. You should go with olives, yes, but also the green peppers and spinach, with the sweet onion sauce. Much more balanced that way.” I let him make it his way. I couldn’t even object, because I was struck speechless by this man, making probably minimum wage at the crappiest sandwich chain in America, caring so deeply about his work and my lunch. This man and his pride in his work, his determination to actually care, helped me see my own work in a new light, and honestly helped me climb out of the burnout I’d been suffering at the time. Whatever you do, do it the best you can; thanks for the reminder, Subway dude.

ctchocula 7y ago
This is a beautiful story. It reminds me of the stories collected in "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" by Studs Terkel. The overall theme is how people find meaning in what they do and the nobility of the human spirit. Thank you for sharing it.
- asah 7y ago
  Thx. Another great book: How to Tell When You're Tired, by Reg Theriault
Nasrudith 7y ago
I think the resignation and apathy is just something that happens always with chain restaurants and scale. At a certain point consistency becomes the big priority and it becomes soulless as process dominates and it depressingly seems to work.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- newen 7y ago
  I think cost cutting becomes a bigger priority than expanding to new franchises (I guess expanding becomes harder to achieve after a certain point and cost cutting becomes a better way to improve financials). So they use lower and lower quality ingredients. Burger King is a prime example of this. Chick-fil-A is good counter example.
chrisseaton 7y ago
Seems extremely rude to criticise someone’s preferences like that?
- pfortuny 7y ago
  It is not rude if you smile and say it with respect.

beamatronic 7y ago

I used to really love one particular Quiznos sub. It had this really great bbq sauce. I was happy to pay a premium for it. Then one day they changed the sauce. It was awful. I stopped going. Moral of the story: When customers love your product, don’t change it or take it away.

Rotdhizon 7y ago

As much as people crap on Subway I don't think I've ever had a negative experience at one. I know they don't use fresh ingredients but I'm fine with that. They aren't that expensive and I enjoy the array of toppings they have, although I will always remain bitter that they took away that spicy pepper paste. If on any day I decide to go there, I'm not doing it to have a good time, I'm doing it get a quick bite to eat and fill up on. Although the fact that it's one of 2 close food places to me adds bias, I don't have to get on any main streets to access the plaza it's in.

stordoff 7y ago
> As much as people crap on Subway I don't think I've ever had a negative experience at one Same here. I'm never going to come out of one thrilled, but they are consistently _fine_.
- mgkimsal 7y ago
  Yep. It's one of the few sandwich places I can go to - locally or while traveling - and be pretty sure I can get spinach and other toppings I want. I can see what things look like, so if the tomatoes are ... meh... I can ask for different ones before the damage is done, etc.
- ender341341 7y ago
  In my experience they are super location dependent. Some of them are pretty good, but there's a few in the less nice areas around me that are consistently grungy interiors with ingredients that are always on the edge of expiration.

m463 7y ago

What other sandwich shops are you comparing to? I think subway is a consistent experience, available nationwide and has a variety of raw vegetables not usually found in fast food.