I feel compelled to leave this review due to the completely uncalled-for way my daughter and I were treated today. I have already emailed Subway’s upper management regarding this incident but have not yet received a response. What should have been a simple visit turned into a highly disrespectful and upsetting experience at the Subway location in East Grand Forks, MN.
We stopped in to quickly order a 6-inch tuna sub on Italian herb bread, toasted, with mayo and chipotle sauce. I used the self-serve kiosk to place the order and then approached the service window to pay and pick it up.
As soon as we got to the window, an older white female lady employee opened it abruptly and shouted, “White or wheat?” I calmly responded that we had selected Italian herb on the kiosk. She repeated the question louder, again disregarding our order. I replied, “Ma’am, I honestly don’t appreciate your tone this morning, but I guess white.”
She then asked if we wanted the sandwich toasted, again ignoring the kiosk order. I reminded her that we had already selected that option. Her response was, “Listen here, I don’t have the oven on and it will take 20 minutes to start up. You need to take it cold.” When I asked whether the oven was broken or if she was just being rude, she didn’t answer. Instead, she abruptly said, “Goodbye, goodbye,” threw the sandwich bread she had just started on into the trash, waved us off, and refused to serve us.
My daughter was already running late for her internship, so we left and went to the Gateway Subway location in Grand Forks, where we were treated with respect and had no issue being served.
Later, I returned to the East Grand Forks location to try to speak with a manager. The same employee was there and refused to give her name or provide contact information for her manager. She claimed her managers were already “aware of how I disrespected her.” I calmly explained that she had been disrespectful to me, and unnecessarily wasteful with product. I asked if she was treating me this way based on how I looked(due to me being a woman of color). Rather than address my concerns, she escalated the situation by calling the police and falsely accusing me of harassment.
I waited in the parking lot for law enforcement so I could fully cooperate. When they arrived, the employee requested a trespass notice be issued against me and demanded that I delete any video or photos taken. I was issued a one-year trespass notice, despite my calm conduct and the fact that I have video evidence of the interaction.
This entire situation is deeply troubling. I believe I was treated unfairly—possibly even targeted—and certainly disrespected without cause. I am requesting that Subway conduct a thorough investigation of this incident, including a review of any store surveillance and audio recordings from that day. I also ask that the trespass notice be reviewed in light of the full context and the video I have retained.
Most importantly, I would like a response outlining what Subway intends to do to address this matter, prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, and repair the harm done to me and my daughter as customers.
Lastly, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the two officers who responded to the call. Despite the false accusations made by the employee, they treated me with kindness, respect, and professionalism. They listened to my side calmly and made me feel heard in a very stressful situation. If I could, I would give them a five-star rating. May God bless them and keep them safe always.