SDMB: where asking a person paid to make your sandwich what goes on that sandwich is a controversial request.
There seems to be little controversy in this thread. I think most of the posters agree that it’s a reasonable question and odd that there isn’t a standard answer to it.
“Sandwich Artists”, even!
“One waterfall with a happy little tree, please”
“Uh, should I use blue? How much green? Do you want green here? So, like, how much white should I use?..”
To be clear, are we talking about the idea that Subway itself should have some sort of recommended build, possibly with help cards for the staff, the way other fast food restaurants do it, and then you can add or subtract from that suggested build to your liking? Or are we just mad at the fact the 16 year old behind the counter has gotten yelled at by one too many douchebags and is skittish about venturing an opinion on their own?
The issue isn’t that there isn’t a standard answer. The issue is that the standard answer is just “the meat plus whatever cheese and toppings you choose.” There are no toppings and sauces that normally go on the sub. Do you guys have the same issue with Chipotle?
This, I should think.
The former (for me, anyway). Knowing that Subway operates like Subway operates, I wouldn’t walk into one and start harassing the staff for essentially working in a Subway. that’s just being a jerk. But in a thread designed for kvetching about Subway’s corporate decisions, I’ll kvetch with the best of 'em.
I get that you feel this is the answer and maybe it’s Subway’s official answer. But I’m looking at a photo of a sandwich with various toppings on it, not one of meet with a handful of question marks surrounding it, representing its basic potential to be whatever I dream. If you say “Chicken Summer Club” next to a photo of a sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, etc then that sandwich is (as far as I’m concerned) a Chicken Summer Club, not bread with three pieces of chicken.
Actually, yeah. I’ll go to the actual Mexican joint ten times out of ten rather than explain to someone how a burrito is made.
You seem to be missing the point of this thread. We’re not talking about going to Subway and asking for a turkey sandwich. We’re talking about asking for the currently advertised specialty sandwich creation on the posters hanging all over the store, which is a specific combination of ingredients.
And as I mentioned earlier, I go to a burrito place that normally asks you how to build it but which also advertises special creations of their own. And they know how to make them.
No, it isn’t. “A specific combination of ingredients” isn’t a thing at Subway. It’s not the way they operate. To take your specific burrito example, no burrito place that I frequent has specific recipes either. It’s always build-your-own. There’s nothing wrong with either way. They’re just different models.
I get the same numb, empty-gazed reaction from teenaged Subway employees whenever I go in there and ask for bread without azodicarbonamide or meats without bulking agents, fillers, processing aids and preservatives.
They literally look at me like I’ve grown a second head. Unreal.
Correct.
But it’s understandable that some people might be misled into thinking their specialty sandwiches have a “specific combination of ingredients” from the way they’re promoted (and from the fact that other sandwich places do operate that way).
There’s a Jersey Mike’s about 500 yards from the Subway near me. Hot pastrami, make it Mike’s way please.
That’s got to be a geographic thing or something. There’s probably at least five places within a ten minute drive of me where I’d walk in, tell some guy “Steak burrito, please” and they’re going to give me a pretty standard steak burrito. Granted, they’re all named things like Taco King or Super Burrito and staffed by four Mexican dudes, one of which is fluent enough in English to run the register for white guys like me.
Yeah, I can’t think of a single burrito place where I need to specify the ingredients. (That said, I don’t usually do burritos). But at the taco joints, the only question you might get is “onions & cilantro” or “lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes”?
Well, I’m getting a reading in nanoJareds, but that could just be atmospheric.
My sentiments exactly. If they’re going to advertise a particular product, I ought to be able to walk in, order that product, and receive it.
Here’s a current Subway promotion. The pic of the Cold Cut Combo looks good, but what’s going to happen when you order it? “Sir, which cold cuts would you like in your combo?” You might as well say, “I’d like a sub.” What’s the point of their promoting this? How does the Cold Cut Combo even differ from the Spicy Italian? Hell if I know, and it shouldn’t be up to me to tell them.
You did see the “Depicted on…”, right? Meaning that’s just what the BMT is depicted on, not that it is the ‘usual’ items on a sandwich. The poster sandwich is just an example of what a BMT could be.
I might be missing your humor, but the cold cut combo is ham, salami, and bologna (all turkey-based, apparently.)
Maybe that’s why I’m wondering what the problem with telling the “sandwich artist” what you want on your sandwich is the issue. I grew up with NY delis. Sandwiches are not one size fits all here (and a regular coffee is milk and sugar [way too sweet for my taste], and a buttered kaiser roll is a common thing). I expect the sandwich to be made with what I like, and do not expect the counter person to know that I despise pickles. Personally, I like it better as you don’t have counter people sleep-walking through building the same sandwich time and again (especially if I can’t see them when they are making the sandwich) and they put pickles on my sandwich despite my saying no pickles (and yes, I can still taste that damned pickle even after it is pulled off). Instead, the routine is different, and the sandwich maker doesn’t get into a rut of ingredients.
As for the “everything means everything”, I’ve actually seen assholes (…I mean paying customers) complain when everything didn’t really mean ingredient x which doesn’t belong on sandwich a. They meant everything that goes on sandwich a normally. And it wasn’t a one-off, so I can’t imagine how often someone who has to make sandwiches for hours per day witnesses this.