IAmA Subway Restaurant Employee for just over 2 years. I know how everything is prepared and the way everything runs. Ask me any questions you wanted to know about Subway.

Why do I get looked at like I've just stabbed someone's Grandmother or molested a child when I say I don't want my sandwich toasted?

Some meats need to be toasted for safety reasons. Chicken depending on whether or not the chicken is served heated already, bacon, steak, and pastrami all need to be heated. If you get one of those sandwiches, and you don't get it toasted, it is a little bit annoying to have to toast just the meat and struggle to put it on the sandwich when the meat is hot. Bacon especially. It's not really a big deal though. If whoever is making your sandwich is in a bad mood, chances are they just had a really rude customer complain about something and were unable to say anything back, because the customer is always right. Try to be nice to food service workers. They make your food. We can't really do anything to mess with the food of rude customers, but other restaurants can easily and do regularly.

Where can I order the Chipotle Southwest sauce?

I have had several people ask me that question before. And I will ask today when I go to work. I will get back to you.

Should I feel bad every time I ask for more of something? I feel as if the employee making my sandwich wants me dead when all I want is a few more banana peppers.

As long as you do it politely any worker would be happy to help you. At my Subway, we are required to put more of whatever they ask within reason. Don't feel bad. Don't be rude though ever. We hate rude people. Nothing ruins your mood like a rude customer.

More!!!!???? You mean I can ask for AND receive extra tomatoes????

WITHIN REASON. Yeah.

Got a most obnoxious customer story for us?

A really short grumpy looking guy comes up with a nasty look on his face. I am polite asking what he would like, and he ignores me and just looks at what is on the line. Whatever, I don't expect customers to acknowledge me when I greet them. He looks for maybe 10 seconds before asking me what his vegetarian options are. I tell him we make the Veggie Delite (no meat), Salads (with or without meat), and we have tuna and crab meat if he wanted either of those.

He looks at the tuna, and says it's next to all the other meats. I tell him that they are in separate containers and that they are not touching. He says that we probably use the same scooper for the tuna as we do for the other meats, and I tell him all the other meats are sliced so we do not need to scoop them. The steak is the only exception, and there is a steak scooper made specifically to scoop steak.

I might have taken a bad tone as I was saying this and he was upset at me making him look like a fool. He said that this was the dirtiest Subway he had ever seen and insulted all of us. This customer really got to me. I don't know why, but he actually hurt my feelings.

Which Subway just got 100% on its inspection last Thursday? Mine. He was just an idiot.

I have more of these. Let me know if you guys want to hear more.

yes

There was a little girl that came up and paid for a sandwich. She tried to use her points reward card after she paid, and we told her that we could only add points to the card before the transaction was completed. She did not see it as a big deal. Her mom comes back later furious that she was going to miss out on the points for her $5 sandwich.

She complains and makes a fuss and demands to see a manager. I find a manager and tell her the story and the lady gets the points added to her card. If she had just asked me to add the points without being a bitch, I would have been happy to bend the rules and give her the points. She also gets a free meal next time she comes. There is a sticky note on the register that says Jane Doe gets a free meal. I am taking that sticker off the register if it is still up when I get in to work in about 30 minutes.

Do you think people who suffer Siderodromophobia would be anxious entering your store?

siderodromophobia an abnormal fear of railroads or of traveling on trains

I think maybe if they thought the two were connected somehow. I hope that they would be able to see that they are in fact very different from each other.

Subway literally has old maps of city Subways on the walls. Hahaha.

All we have is fake brick wallpaper...

Do you mentally judge us for what we put in our sandwich?

I do. Not sure about my co-workers though.

If I order, say, a sandwhich with plain Italian bread, turkey, with provolone, onions and bellpeppers on before toasting. After toasting I'd get spinach and an absolute shit ton of pepper. Lastly a small bit of sweet onion sauce, no drink, no chips.

How would you judge me?

Okay so indepth evaluation:

Bread: Italian- plain bread with least flavor(probably has yet to try other types of bread, probably had white bread since childhood) Meat: Turkey- Healthiest option (good job) Chesse: Provolone- We don't serve provolone. Read the cheese sign. SIGH. Vegetables: Onions and Bellpeppers- I dislike both of them, but those 2 always seem to go together. Likes hot food Toasting: No thoughts Drink: No drink- good for you not wasting money on unhealthy soda

Which bread would you say has the most flavor? Just curious.

Italian Herbs and Cheese if you like Cheese, Honey Oat if you like a tiny hint of sweetness.

Have you seen the Jared sex tapes??

No idea those existed.

See rule 34

Could you explain rule 34? I don't know it.

Do you like your job? Does your store have the zesty Italian sauce?

Yeah, the job is fun. If you work with good people, it is fun. It is just really busy. We are serving customers probably 90% of the time that you are on shift. Standing up making sandwiches.

We had the Zesty Italian Sauce for a week, then we discontinued it. I don't understand why, because people really liked it, and people still ask for it now. I have to let them know we no longer have it, and offer something I think that they might like in its place.

is hygiene taken seriously?

is the stuff always fresh / well kept?

We have to wash our hands every time we change gloves, every time we go into the kitchen or back up front, if we pick up anything on the floor, if we accidentally touch another person, and tons of other times. There is even a sink in the front of the store so that we don't have to walk back into the kitchen to wash our hands. We clean every surface with disinfectant every night after closing before leaving the store

Everything is dated, and has a certain amount of time that it can wait in the fridge until it is used. I can't recall the times but I have never had a problem with freshness in my sandwiches, and have never had a customer complaint about it.

Oh god, at the Subway near my house hygiene is definitely not taken seriously. They have this employee who is literally the worst smelling human being I have ever smelled. It's not like I go up to him and smell him, his odor actually invades my nostrils from across the counter, it's horrible. I don't eat there anymore for these and other reasons.

That is a shame. Sorry to about that.

Why is the cheese steak filling so pitifully small?

Any sandwich-making tips for those of us at home?

Have you ever eaten at a Subway outside of America? If so, what did you think?

A friend of my Mom's manages a Subway in Virginia, and honestly it was not to good. I felt like the vegetables were not very fresh. It wasn't bad just not what I am used to. I'm not saying that all Subways in the States are bad, just that one was nothing special.

I actually live and work overseas, so I am used to the overseas Subways. Not to brag, but my Subway is definitely by far the best one in the area.

I live in Japan and everything is always fresh and amazing, so I completely get it.

If you think there is not enough meat on the Steak sandwich, you can get the Big Philly Cheesesteak. It is the same thing with double meat and double cheese. Normally double meat and double cheese would be $3.50 more for a footlong, but for that sandwich it is lowered down to like $2 extra.

You guys dont make the dough there do you?

We have our dough shipped in from somewhere in small cardboard boxes.

IT'S PEOPLE!!! SUBWAY DOUGH IS PEOPLE!!!!

Totally agree with you on that one man.

Do you have to roll it or just throw it in the oven?

The bread looks kind of like a stick. It is almost the same length as our bread once cooked, but maybe 1/5th of the width. We score it(make small cuts), spray it with a water bottle, then depending on which types of bread we need, roll it in seasoning, either Parmesan Oregano or Honey Oat.

After the bread has been prepped, we put it in the Poofer, this just warms up the bread and makes it rise. This takes about an hour. To make Italian Herbs and Cheese bread, we take the Parmesan topped bread and sprinkle mixed shredded cheese on it right and then we put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. The bread then has to cool for about 10 more minutes before we can serve it.

Everyone has burned themselves multiple times with the hot pans of bread or by touching the oven accidentally.

Poofer?

Yeah it is called the Proofer, but I refuse to call it that, because everyone tells me to. It makes the bread POOF. I tell new people that it is called the Poofer too.

Yeah, you guys are right, it is called a Proofer. I call it a Poofer though, because it makes the bread POOF. I also tell new people that it is called the Poofer too.

We have Jalapeño Cheese seasoning as well. So good.

We do not have Provolone or Pepperjack Cheese. Everyone wants those. I'm like "What type of cheese would you like with that?" They say "Provolone" Crap. We don't have Provolone. "We don't serve Provolone here sorry sir." "Oh." "I'll take Pepperjack Cheese then." "I'm sorry sir, we don't have the Pepperjack Cheese either."

Just reread your question. Sorry for not being relevant.

would you eat in a subway?

I have eaten Subway during my lunch breaks almost every day I work, 5 days a week for just over 2 years. It is good to eat. Healthy, decently priced, quick, and good tasting.

Healthy

It's only healthy if you order it right... Subway can be just as bad (and worse) than most fast food places. You get a steak sandwich with bacon, normal sauce, on white bread, with cheese that's far worse for you than anything you'd order at most fast food restaurants.

I actually said almost the exact same thing in another AMA I had done.

http://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1uua6p/i_am_a_subway_employee_that_will_be_quitting_soon/cem1nah

I have broken 1000 subway points. Should I be proud or ashamed?

It depends. You should be happy that you are eating healthier than most others, but maybe you should learn how to make food yourself? Subway is well priced, but still way more expensive than making food at home.

How many regular customers do you have that order the same thing everytime?

A lot of people come to subway everyday for lunch or dinner, others just come by when they are nearby. Most people have one sandwich they get, but some bounce between 2 or 3.

any idea if subways rolling out anything new? pizza etc.

what was the process of getting hired?

does your franchisee owner own more than one? any idea what their making each year?

s/o for the 5$ january subs, jan u any is just a stupid marketing phrase tho, pisses me off lol

Most Subways do make pizza. We do not. Sometimes we get a new thing shipped in and are told to use it. These "promotions" are sometimes popular and sometimes not. Once we stop receiving shipments though we don't seem to get more. We have had pastrami (not popular), barbecue chicken (extremely good), barbecue pulled pork (pretty good), Provolone cheese (everyone wants provolone), and other things. No idea what is coming next though.

I applied online and talked to the Human Resourced Department for our Foodcourt. I am guessing that working for self standing Subways is different though. If you are looking for a job, just go up and ask and employee next time you are getting a sandwich. If they don't seem to know what they are talking about, ask to speak to a supervisor or a manager who does.

No idea about who owns what and stuff like that. Sorry.

We are behind on getting new things. We had FebruAny, and it was even dumber. Look at the shirts they gave us for that month. Imgur

I guess if we use the same deal on a leap year, nobody gets the discount on the 29th.

I was eating in Subway and a lady customer was yelling at the employees because all the foot longs were not $5. She grabs the sandwich without paying for it and storms over and throws it in the trash on her way out. After fuming I'm her car for a bit, she comes back in and yells some more at the employees, gets a crazy look in her eyes, walks over to the rack of chips and starts popping the bags like some maniacal midway game at the fair. Chips flying everywhere, pop pop pop pop..maybe 15 bags of the poor innocent Doritos and Sun Chips..storms out the door again, burns rubber and drives off. All the while customers and employees staring in disbelief. My regret is not capturing it on my phone.

There are some really nasty people in this world.

What is in that veggie patty?

I honestly do not know.

There we go

A wholesome slice of goodness made from a fantastic recipe that includes soy, carrots, corn and red peppers. Filling Allergens: Cow's milk, egg, soya, wheat, gluten and celery For bread and sauce allergens see the Nutritional Information section.

http://subway.co.uk/menu/subs/classic/veggie-patty-.aspx

I heard the left over meatballs from the day before are just reheated and you guys just add water and use those the next day until they run out, or you mix them with new ones, is this true.?

We put everything we do not use at closing in fridges and put them back out on the line in the morning. Anytime anything is refilled, we make sure that the container has the new content on the bottom, and the old on the top. That way we use the slightly older stuff first so it does not go bad. Like I have said before, I have never had a problem with one of my sandwiches, and never had a customer complaint.

When will Subway start selling bottles of Southwest Sauce?

I don't think we will sell them, but someone else asked if there was a way to order them. I am asking when I get to work so I will get back to you on that too.

My choice of sandwich (that I always go with) is full length wheat, roasted chicken, lettuce, tomato, carrot and onion. I literally order that every single time

I wish we served carrots at my Subway. No sauce? If you want to try a sauce, you can usually get a packet or cup of sauce on the side so you can dip your sandwich in it to try it without ruining it in case you dislike the sauce.

You should try new sandwiches or sauces. Mix it up a bit. This is something I posted before on a different AMA. My first year at Subway I ate: Footlong Turkey Swiss Cheese Toasted Lettuce, Cucumbers Honey Mustard For most of the second year working: Footlong Tuna Swiss Cheese Toasted Spinach, Cucumbers, Tomatoes Spicy Brown Mustard(Deli), Sweet Onion Sauce, Yellow Mustard And lately I have been eating weird combinations like: Footlong Double Meat Chicken Teriyaki, Ham, Turkey Double Cheese Swiss Toasted for 60 Secs Spinach, Cucumbers, Sweet Onion Sauce, Mustard, Spicy Mustard, Barbecue Sauce I really like the taste that Spicy Mustard and Sweet Onions Sauce make when combined. Try it sometime. (Sweet Onion tastes nothing like onions, and Spicy Mustard is not spicy...) Now I get a different sandwich almost everyday.

Are your falafel patties vegan, or just vegetarian? I know your only vegan bread is the italian, but I'm not sure about the falafel.

I am not sure what falafel patties are, but I think they might be what other people call the "Veggie Patty." We unfortunately do not serve the Veggie Patty. As far as I know all of the breads we have are vegan friendly.

Here they have both veggie patties and falafel, falafel is made of chick peas.

As far as I know all of the breads we have are vegan friendly.

I corresponded with your corporate office, only the italian bread is vegan.

Good job on following up and going out of your way to prove me wrong. Sorry about misinforming you.

Oh I didn't do it to prove you wrong. I researched this years ago because I needed to know, I was just letting you know. It wasn't my intention to do so with the direct purpose of proving you wrong.

My mistake, it was just hard to read your tone through text.

Subway by far has the worst egg salad I've ever tasted. It's always inconsistent so I'm assuming the employees make it. But maybe I'm wrong.

What is in the egg salad? How do they make it where you work? Just want to know.

Sorry we don't do any egg products at my Subway.

Is temperature checking taken seriously?

We have a log that we record the temps in. Sometimes we slack off, but we do take them. The problem with the temperatures in our store, is our fridges on the line are either on or off. It is keep the temperature correct, because we have to turn the fridges off and on every once in a while to keep the temperatures right.

What's the pay, holidays and working conditions like in subway in comparison to other fast food outlets?

I have only worked at Subway, so I can't give you comparisons.

Starting pay is $9.40, Holidays are double pay. We usually close 2 hours early on Holidays. Subway is very clean compared to other restaurants because of the lack of grease.

If you have any other questions let me know, I wasn't really sure what information you were fishing for.

What kind of mayo do you use?

We have Extra Heavy Mayonnaise, and Light Mayonnaise.

Is it a huge hassle to ask for "a bit of everything" on my sub when asked which vegetables I want? I've been told it makes the sandwich hard to close and therefore annoying for whoever is making it.

An experienced worker realizes this in advance and puts slightly less of each vegetable on to make the sandwich easier to close. Just don't ask for a lot of lettuce, a lot of tomatoes, a lot of cucumbers. AND ALSO everything else.

How old are the eggs on the breakfast subs?

Sorry we don't do any egg products at my Subway.

I am going to edit the text to say we don't do eggs now. So many egg questions.

Hows the wifi?

We used to have WIFI, but I suddenly stopped working. It stopped working right when we got some cool banners to hang declaring that we now have free WIFI.

How did you work there that long? I could not survive two weeks...

If you need a job then you can do it. There are much harder jobs out there. It honestly is not that bad once you learn all the ropes, it is just really busy.

Does the CCC meat still come linked together by the packaging? Are there still huge globs of fat in the genoa salami part?

The Cold Cut Trio meat is linked by the packaging separated by a piece of paper. We also have not had any CCC shipped in for about a month, so we haven't been able to serve any for quite some time. I despise pepperoni and salami for that exact reason. The globs of fat are relatively small, but yeah they are still there.

How many sandwiches are actually a foot long in length?

http://gawker.com/5977183/subway-responds-to-sandwich-scandal-footlong-not-intended-to-be-a-measurement-of-length

Apparently not very many. I feel like the difference is so small it should not matter.