Teach people how to order at Subway

I think my second entry was enough of a lesson. I could go into more detail, but I think that would just be confusing. People, learn how to order at Subway. You will be more confident, and your Sandwich Artist will be less annoyed.

I know a lot of people are intimidated by Subway because it requires so much human interaction and it’s confusing the first time. If you don’t know what question the sandwich artist is about to ask, you might have to make a quick decision. You might feel rushed. And we like people who know what they want and who are prepared to answer our questions.

If you know the Subway routine and you know what we’re going to ask, you can tell us what you want without waiting. But unless you are sure (and Subways do differ in the order of things), keep that in mind.

Here’s a list of everything that will be asked of you if you come in to Subway:

How many sandwiches are you getting?

What size (six inch or foot long)?

What kind of bread?

What kind of sandwich? (This refers strictly to the meat. Each sandwich includes cheese and vegetables, and so the sandwiches are priced according to what kind of meat you get.)

What kind of cheese?

Do you want it toasted?

Which vegetables? (Some Subways offer mayonnaise and mustard before the veggies. Some sandwich artists will simply ask you “what vegetables do you want”, while others will go through the list two at a time “Would you like lettuce or tomatos? Cucumbers or pickles? Green peppers or olives?”. We’re supposed to do the second, but sometimes it’s just easier, especially if the customer doesn’t speak English very well, so they can just point.)

Mayonnaise/mustard/other sauce?

Salt and pepper, oil and vinegar?

For here or to go?

Do you want to make that a meal with chips and a drink?

So, that’s a list of all the questions. Any questions?

Yes, I am a sandwich artist. I’ve worked at Subway for nearly a year now. One of the most frustrating things to me in my job: customers who don’t know how to order a sandwich! They usually preface their requests with phrases like “This is going to be really easy” and then proceed to say “I want three sandwiches, with everything on them, and no pickles on the first one, no tomatos or jalopenos on the second, and everything on the third. No, wait. Make that the second. Okay?”

Here’s the deal. Besides being way too much for me to remember, the customer needs to realize that I am the one making the sandwich. I will ask appropriate questions at the appropriate times. Before vegetables, these are the questions I ask:

What size sandwiches are you getting?
What kind of bread would you like?
What kind of sandwiches are these?
What kind of cheese do you want?
Would you like this toasted?

I can’t memorize a vegetable list when I have to deal with all that other information first.

Well, that’s some frustration. I’ll post more later.