If you’re talking about Subway, there really is no default combination of veggies and condiments. That’s part of the store’s philosophy–each sandwich is, if not unique, very particular to the person ordering it. If I went into my local Subway and asked them to make a sandwich just like the one on the sign, the kid would probably have to examine the picture in detail in an attempt to replicate that combination.
If the sign you’re speaking of does list the exact ingredients for the sandwich (no more, no less), then yeah, your boy was clueless.
Not Subway. I understand there’s no default there.
This was some other chain that advertised specific combinations and the standard build of ingredients. I could have made a big deal about pointing out the sign and reading off each item listed, but it was easier to just get it done and go.
LOL - I was sitting at the bar at Chili’s tonight and someone a few seats away from me ordered the happy hour sliders deal…The bartender said “You ok with the bacon on those?” HA! Has anyone EVER said “no” to bacon?
Do not ask me what my favorite sandwich or drink is. Do not ask me what the best sandwich or drink is. I will either tell you the simplest thing for me to make or something really expensive depending on how irritating you are. Do not order off the menu. Do not order by picture. Do not order by asking for [noun] thing. You’re not cute, you’re not funny, you’re not making my day. I don’t work on commission so I don’t care about your experience.
Which is why I never EVER eat at Subway. I don’t want to stand there and pick and choose stuff. Or Chipotle. I perused a menu at a Subway in a food court and was so baffled and intimidated I ended up going to the Burger King instead. “Gimme a #3.” Done. I did eat at a Chipotle once and it was traumatizing. Don’t make me, like, THINK and stuff!
Actually, I’m pretty sure for a long time subways had a “Works” option that’s like lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumbers and stuff that’s standard. But really, it’s not difficult. You’re in a sandwich shop. You need bread, filling, and sauces. It’s all in a line and everything’s completely visible. This really isn’t that hard. That being said, subway is not the tastiest sandwich shop around.
But, shouldn’t you? Isn’t that what a lot of people are complaining about–how there’s no customer service anymore, no one cares, they just want to do the minimum required for their job, get their paychecks and go home?
I frequent a Taco Bell near me where the staff seems to genuinely enjoy what they do and their interaction with customers. It’s a welcome break in the middle of a day.
I take a while to decide what I want, especially if it’s an unfamiliar place and it’s a big menu. So I stand way, way back until I’m ready to place my order. Far back. So far back I could not be possibly confused with somebody standing in line. And yet the people at the counter are always calling at me: “Are you ready to order? May I take your order?” I’m fifteen feet away. What do you think I’m going to do, use a megaphone?
My cousin used to manage a McDonalds and she thought pretty much the same as Inner Stickler. In fast food, it’s not about the dining experience, it’s about selling as many burgers as you can to meet your quotas. Especially during busy hours, you don’t need someone standing there doing the “it’s all so tempting what you do you recommend” routine holding up the line and aggravating your other customers. Of course the cashier should be pleasant and polite rather than look like they’re there at gunpoint, but it’s not like being the waitron at a sit-down restaurant.
Something that irritates me are the “regulars” who either show up early in the morning, buy the smallest coffee, and sit around drinking their free refills all day, or at lunch time buy the cheapest sandwich and get a free cup of water which they nurse all afternoon. They always seem to sit one to a table or booth and yell across to each other, cutting down on the number of available tables and making it impossible to hear yourself think.
But they have a ‘New Works’ and an ‘Old Works’ for those that remember it. I’ve found one Subway employee around here that does remember the difference.
In Subways around here, they have the sign with the ingredients attached to the sneeze guard and I just point to it and tell them ‘everything except the spinach, jalapenos and banana peppers’ and that seems to accomplish what I want.
I went to a supermarket that did away with its self-service cash register. It was crowded but I managed to find a line that had only one guy in it and all he was buying was a bottle of water. Sweet!
Except:
He also had been tasked with asking the cashier out on behalf of his friend. So he had to describe the friend and check repeatedly that she knew which guy he was talking about. Then he had to issue the invitation (to go bowling, for anyone who cares. I did not care, but if I had to hear it, you have to hear it). Then they had to discuss where he wanted to take her bowling. There was quite a bit of back and forth before she finally said no.
I should also mention that they both appeared to be in their late 20s or early
30s. This wasn’t passing a note in gym class.
I was once in a grocery checkout line and the cashier was more interested in flierting with the bagboy (both twenty-somethings) than watching what she was doing. I handed her a ten dollar bill, she rang up 100 and gave me back the change as per the cash register.
I put it in my wallet and went on my merry way. Teach her to watch what she is doing.
We have Moe’s around here, which is similar to Chipotle except the owners think they’re way hip and clever. All the items have silly names, many of them taken from Seinfeld. There’s “Costanza” (a buritto with this and that and this in it), a Joey Bag o’ Donuts (some other combination), and so on. Entirely too cute. The menu board doesn’t make it real easy to understand how to order.
I was there once ordering my regular, a “Homewrecker,” and there was an older woman behind me growing increasingly distressed as she studied the menu. The cooks kept asking for her order until she was near tears. She finally yelled “I just want a burrito!” in the most anxious, pitiful voice. It was all too much for her.
Probably. I’ve always gotten stellar marks on employee evaluations, though, so apparently it doesn’t show through. And 10 bucks says the Taco Bell staff doesn’t give 2 shits about you either. I sleep well at night, though because I have more ethics than Annie X-mas, apparently.
I feel the same way when I go to Cracker Barrel with my wife. I just want pancakes, eggs, and sausage - I don’t give a flying fuck what it’s called (Mama’s Breakfast? Old Timer’s Breakfast? Smokehouse Breakfast?), I just want pancakes, 2 eggs, and sausage.
And so that’s what I order: Pancakes, 2 eggs, sausage. The waitress/waiter invariably reply “So you want a XXXX, then?” “Yup, if that’s what y’all call pancakes, eggs, sausage.”
