Why is Subway so popular?

I grew up in Brick and stick with Jersey Mike's for the same reason.

 

Subway is popular because it is cheap, quick, and you get exactly what you ask for, it's not how they made it...it's how you ordered it. I like it, is it as good as a $10 sub, no, but that's my choice as well.

The spicy italian is my sub of choice.

 

Way back in the misty past, I had a Vietnamese sub at a small shop located on Tan Son Nhut, AB. (Saigon International Airport). That was 51 years ago and it is still the best sub I have ever had and I grew up on Philly hoagies.

 

YES - Jimmy John's
No Choice of Bread
No Choice of Cheese
Not Toasted

 

Ah ok, I'm seeing the point the OP was making now. Yeah, Subway to me is a sub. It is not a religious experience. I'm more of a really good BLT or a Club sandwich than a sub person. I'm sorry.

 

I eat at Subway 4 days a week. It's convenient. Six inch lack forest ham (sometimes oven roasted chicken) on Italian Herb & Cheese bread, all the veggies except onions, light mayo, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Like someone else said, it fills you up. It's like a salad.

The only problem is that the employees at my locations are not that great. The best one can fix your sandwich as quick as you can order it. The worst one is an old woman who is slower than molasses, asks you to repeat everything once because she can't hear what you said, and then asks again shortly thereafter because she always forgets what you said. If you've ever seen that episode of the Todd Chrisley show where his old mother got a job working a drive-thru, that's her. They finally put her on the register, where she's not a problem. The problem is that they'll put old slow granny on the make line during lunch rush and the speedy gal on the register.

One location around here has an owner who is terrified of spending money. I ordered my sandwich and he hovered over the girl to make sure she didn't put too many of the toppings on it. I countered by ordering extra toppings and ended up with almost as much as you'd get on a normal sandwich. He said that's all they put on. Got to the register, he gave me the total, I told him no thanks, he told me that I made him waste food, I walked out trying not to laugh. Screw that cheap freak.

 

Subway is the best place to get a sandwich. As long as you're nowhere close to any other place that sells sandwiches.

 

Actually, their sliced wheat bread is very good.

 

I like Subway. I guess they are popular because of what you get for the price you pay. And everything is fresh. Well, at least at the place I go to.

 

You definitely made him waste food. I feel like there might have been a better way to make your point, but maybe that's just me.

 

Calling @notfromconcentrate , come in @notfromconcentrate !!!

 

But you really don't. Cheap deli meats and not a lot of it. If you get all the veggies on a sandwich, I guess you get max value of a bad salad on a roll with dressing.

Also I hate the bread smell at every subway I've ever been to

 

I don’t think any of us plan a lunch or dinner around going to Subway. It’s a good option when you’re traveling on the road or don’t know where you are and it’s either Subway or a certain burger place for a quick eat.

 

My take on this probably would have been pretty different about a year ago (though perhaps more entertaining). You can probably tell from my more recent postings that I've re-evaluated a lot of things, which means that my approach to a situation like this wouldn't be nearly as dramatic or confrontational. I'll still be happy to provide my take on it though

Foremost, I dislike cheapness in foodservice probably more than the average person... likely because I spent quite a bit of time in the industry and saw just what lengths some restaurant owners will go to in order to cut costs. In their defence, it is a difficult business to be in and I can respect having boundaries when it comes to being conservative with certain more expensive ingredients. But that's something that can be balanced with a bit of transparency, such as by being clear about what exceeds your allotment in the base price of an item, and what costs extra. It seems that part of what makes Subway popular is the freedom to add toppings at will... so they can't easily place firm maximums on how much spinach/olives/whatever you can have. Which unfortunately falls on the shoulders of the franchisee who must pay for the ingredients, creating scenarios like these.

To the situation in question... I'm on Toddster's side in that it's not right at all for that franchise owner to be that stingy. If all other franchises are giving you more toppings than that so-called "normal" amount, you have a right to feel as if you're not getting what you paid for, because you're not. You're going in there with a reasonable expectation of getting a predictable product, which includes essentially however much of a given topping you'd like. How much are you actually entitled to? That's not stated anywhere, but most patrons seem to be satisfied with the amount they get... as if they weren't, Subway would be out of business pretty fast.

So my approach would be to amicably try and solve it on the spot. Most Subways will give X amount of a topping, this one isn't doing it for some reason, and that's best solved by speaking up about that discrepancy. It seems Toddster did just that, and the franchisee's response was that it was the normal amount. Evidently this may not have much or any truth to it... but that's an argument the customer could never win. So your two options are to accept it at face value, or stand your ground and say you want more of the topping. In the case of the latter, their two options are then to give you more of the topping or refuse to put any extra.

If they still refuse, there isn't really anything you can do to actually get more toppings. At that point, it becomes a question of how much you value being able to come back there again. Obviously nobody would WANT to go back to a food place that short-changes them (so you probably wouldn't have returned anyhow), but does the option of being able to come back matter? If it matters, it might be worthwhile to just bite the bullet and pay for the sandwich as-is and choose not to come back, but while retaining the option to return if having that option would be helpful to you in the future. If going back doesn't matter at all, I can kind of support the idea of abandoning the sandwich and walking out... though I'd definitely give them the opportunity to fix it by saying something like "Most other Subways give more than that. If that's the most you'll put on, I don't want the sandwich.". Then the ball is in their court. If they want you to pay, they'll give you the extra toppings. Otherwise, that's their choice... and losing your repeat business will likely wind up costing them far more than those extra toppings.

So I'm not completely against an approach that can ultimately cause food waste (especially doing it just to make a point). After all, nobody wins that way. The customer might make their point, but they walk out hungry while the restaurant loses money. I just think that politely pushing back against the "that's how much we usually put on" claim is a bit more constructive. Like I said, you probably don't want to go back there anyway if that's how they do business... but if proving that point means you need to find another place to eat and you can't return there again without it being awkward, it effectively turns the initial problem of skimping on toppings into two new problems.

Sorry for the long reply... but I'll close this out by saying it could be worth calling Subway's head office to give them a heads-up about this particular franchise. But based on this meme from last year you'd probably be best off finding their phone number on their website instead of asking for it

 

I'm generally not a fan, we have much better sandwich shops, but when the co-workers want to go there I make do. Last time I ordered a veggie it was saddest sandwich ever. I could've ordered plain bread and it would've been close to the same for the amount of toppings they put on it.

 

It's looking like Subway is 'so popular' because of proximity. It's like the volume of shops is such that it's just too convienent NOT to use one..."there's a Subway 1/2 mile away but Jersey Mike's / Firehouse is 2 miles away...fork it...it's just a sandwich, I'll stop at Subway."

 

Meatballs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This debate about Subway reminds me about when years ago Mc Donalds used to have on their sign about how many billion hamburgers they had sold, and either Mad or Cracked Magazine had one of those signs redone to read-Over 50 billion sold, over 20 million eaten!

 

I am having a hard time adjusting to the topic and number of responses. We must really be bored to spend so much time and thought on sandwiches on a Vegas board.

 

Stop by guest services to pick up your complementary gift.
I'm hard pressed to come up with a more volatile, engaging, timely and informative subject than sandwich franchises.