[QUOTE=Mikemike2]
Those are all good points, 5-4-Fighting, but I eat at various subways in several cities and they are all doing the clumping vegetable thing. I asked them about it and they said it was corporate policy. Do we have an Doper Subway artists to clarify?
I know food costs are rapidly rising, but saving too much on food costs will not improve profits if Subway also loses customers.
[/QUOTE]
I used to work in a deli/convenience store/liquor store. We were told to start clumping veggies because our new manager saw some other restaurant do that and decided that it looked better. She didn’t care if it was less convenient for the customer, she thought it looked better and could be assembled quicker. This might not be Subway’s corporate reasoning, but it might be.
So, as I watch my “artiste” compile my sandwich, I tell them I would like lots of lettuce. They put on the standard 3 shreds of lettuce, I ask for more. They add a few more shreds, I ask for more. Finally, they get the hint but it’s still a struggle. At least I get to watch them make the sandwich.
[/QUOTE]
Are you saying your sandwich wasn’t bursting with veggies like these? I know what you are saying about struggling to get what you want. If I’m not up for a fight, then it is just not worth it. It would be interesting to check the nutritional content with some of the subs they make that snap shut like an empty coffin against those they advertise.
Huh. I’ve never had a problem with the Subway near me (downtown NYC) shorting on protien or veggies. I couldn’t tell you if they mix the salads or clump them though, since I never order the salad (because if I want a salad, there’s a salad place in the lobby of my building - as opposed to Subway, which is half a block away).
Generally the sandwiches are pretty much like the ones in the ads - at least in quantity of stuff on them, if not appearance. Although, if you want to micromanage the amounts of veggies on your sub, you better be quick about it. If you take your time to mention you’d like more olives that that, your sub will be wrapped and ready to go before you get the words out. Those guys are fast on the sandwich making. They have to be. One of them told me once that they average around 1,000 sandwiches between 12:30 and 2:30 (including the delivery subs - Subway here delivers)every weekday. I know they have lines to the door (sometimes out the door) every time I’m there, and I’ve never waited longer than 10 minutes for a sandwich.
[QUOTE=Ruby]
So, as I watch my “artiste” compile my sandwich, I tell them I would like lots of lettuce. They put on the standard 3 shreds of lettuce, I ask for more. They add a few more shreds, I ask for more. Finally, they get the hint but it’s still a struggle. At least I get to watch them make the sandwich.
[/QUOTE]
I have the opposite problem. I ask for very light lettuce, and they usually grab a whole handful, which even after I tell them to spread it out across the whole sandwich is a bit too much for my tastes.
All the Subway stores in my area stack their salads, which is why I never get salads at Subway anymore. Particularly annoying because I have to eat all the “good stuff” (protein portion, pickles, olives, tomatoes, etc) and the sauce/dressing first to then reach the crappy lettuce. The salads are huge and packed to the brim of the bowl, so there’s no way to mix it all together. Ergh.
[QUOTE=Mikemike2]
But lately they have started adding the different veggies in little piles, rather than mixing the salad. Who wants to eat a clump of cucumbers, and then a big bowl of lettuce? Obviously the higher ups have dictated that this is the new way to make a salad, but why?
[/QUOTE]
Actually you probably just got lucky that they were doing it wrong before, because the little piles were how we were supposed to do them when I worked there 13 years ago.
[QUOTE=Miller]
Is anyone else irrationally irritated by the term “Subway artist?” Or is that just me?
[/QUOTE]
No, that’s the only reason I wanted to respond to this thread as well. Seeing the OP use the term with a total lack of apparent irony ruined my day a little bit.
[QUOTE=eldowan]
Hmm. Around here there are commericals on the TV and pasted all over the subway stores. “$5 foot longs”. Of course its only for about 5 different sandwiches, but I figured that was a nation wide promotion.
[QUOTE=Cisco]
Actually you probably just got lucky that they were doing it wrong before, because the little piles were how we were supposed to do them when I worked there 13 years ago.
[/QUOTE]
Was any reason given for stacking the vegetables in that way? Except for the OCD types, I don’t think most people like eating their salads that way.
[QUOTE=Mikemike2]
Was any reason given for stacking the vegetables in that way? Except for the OCD types, I don’t think most people like eating their salads that way.
[/QUOTE]
I dunno, I was freshman in high school, I didn’t care :). I guess it’s perceived to look better.
… I just wish they’d return to the classic cut on the sandwiches (apparently, this was allowed for a short time, but then corporate threatened to fine ‘artists’ who kept doing it).
[QUOTE=lawoot]
… I just wish they’d return to the classic cut on the sandwiches (apparently, this was allowed for a short time, but then corporate threatened to fine ‘artists’ who kept doing it).
[/QUOTE]
Funny . . . that cut actually made a lot more sense, and produced a better, more manageable sandwich. When I worked there, part of the corporate culture was to be very proud of the unique “U-cut” and make fun of shops that used the lame flat-cut method. I assume they switched because so many people came in and were dumbfounded by the U-cut and requested a flat-cut. Every person from New York who came in demanded a flat cut, even though we weren’t allowed to do it (I did it because I wasn’t going to argue about something so stupid.)
[QUOTE=Cisco]
Funny . . . that cut actually made a lot more sense, and produced a better, more manageable sandwich. When I worked there, part of the corporate culture was to be very proud of the unique “U-cut” and make fun of shops that used the lame flat-cut method. I assume they switched because so many people came in and were dumbfounded by the U-cut and requested a flat-cut. Every person from New York who came in demanded a flat cut, even though we weren’t allowed to do it (I did it because I wasn’t going to argue about something so stupid.)
[/QUOTE]
What’s a “U-cut?” Does this mean the cut was curved rather than straight? If so, how did that make a more managable sandwich?
I believe subway used to cut their sandwiches so that there was a well in the bread running the length of the loaf. The meat and veggies were placed in the well and the curved strip replaced on the top.
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler]
I believe subway used to cut their sandwiches so that there was a well in the bread running the length of the loaf. The meat and veggies were placed in the well and the curved strip replaced on the top.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Frylock]
What’s a “U-cut?” Does this mean the cut was curved rather than straight? If so, how did that make a more managable sandwich?
-FrL-
[/QUOTE]
Instead of the usual hinge-type cut (like a hot dog bun) Subway used to make two angled cuts which ran the length of the bread, kind of like scooping out the center. From the end, it looked like this (/) although the cut didn’t actually go all the way through the bread. The filling was then placed into the center and the cut-out piece was placed over it. The advantage was that you didn’t have to turn your head or the sandwich sidewise to eat it, and there was less spillage.
Of course, it was more work and took a little practice to do properly, which is probably why they stopped doing it.
and I should have previewed so I’d see that someone beat me to it…
[QUOTE=LurkMeister]
Instead of the usual hinge-type cut (like a hot dog bun) Subway used to make two angled cuts which ran the length of the bread, kind of like scooping out the center. From the end, it looked like this (/) although the cut didn’t actually go all the way through the bread. The filling was then placed into the center and the cut-out piece was placed over it. The advantage was that you didn’t have to turn your head or the sandwich sidewise to eat it, and there was less spillage.
Of course, it was more work and took a little practice to do properly, which is probably why they stopped doing it.
and I should have previewed so I’d see that someone beat me to it…
[/QUOTE]
Not quite. It was not a V. It was a U. A lot of slackers made V’s or frequently mangled, filleted, or impaled the bread (which, now that you mention it, might’ve been a big part of why they stopped doing it), but really, with half a brain and 2 or 3 solid minutes of practice you could do good U-cuts just as fast as flat cuts and the benefits were substantial.
It was obvious to me that the U cut was designed to make the sandwich look like it was stuffed with more fillings because they were hanging out of the top. As fewer people were fooled by this deception, they adopted the flat cut, which is the way god intended a sandwich to be made. That U cut was a silly marketing idea that was more difficult to eat.
