To whom it may concern,
I am writing to express my disappointment with the unprofessional and hostile behavior we encountered during our recent visit to a Subway location we have frequented for many years.
It all started with the start of my order, I asked for a 6 inch and then realized I meant to say a foot long. No problem, we continue with the two halves. We move to the veggies, where he drops half of the cut sandwich inside the veggies, causing the sandwhich to be smushed and the protein upside down. No problem, we ask if it’s possible to redo that half, and this is where things go awry. He begins nagging me on my initial mistake, saying it’s my fault that I changed my mind in the size. But I told him that I was okay with the footlong being cut in half (it’ll be cut in half in the end either way) just not with it being smushed and it’s contents upside down and scrambled. He was SO rude, saying many things and the tone, body language and facial expressions were hostile as well. After I pointed out the inappropriate tone and speech he was using, his behavior escalated, and he began shouting at us. Instead of saying sorry and proceeding with kindness, he continued on. This made me upset, and I told him to not speak to us that way as it’s not professional (and at this point I too reciprocated the same tone he was using with us, because why are you speaking to people in this manner and expecting any other response, truly). While I acknowledge that I made a small mistake with my order, I had already apologized for it, and his reaction was completely uncalled for. Instead of attempting to resolve the issue, he became increasingly aggressive and continued to raise his voice.
When we requested to speak to a manager, the employee’s response was to press the store alarm and threaten to call the police. This was completely unwarranted, as we were not causing any disruption—simply asking for assistance and clarification on whether it was possible to have one half of my sandwich redone after it had accidentally fallen into the veggie bin. We were not demanding anything unreasonable, but rather just wanted to know if it was possible to correct the situation.
Furthermore, when we asked for his name or any details about the management, he refused to provide any information, seemingly attempting to hide the interaction. His refusal to cooperate left us feeling disrespected and ignored. We were not trying to cause trouble; we simply wanted to ensure the issue was addressed properly by someone in a position of authority.
The situation escalated further when the employee, instead of resolving the issue, continued to berate us and threaten to involve the authorities. After some time of enduring the alarm blaring and his hostile behavior, he finally agreed to finish the sandwich, but by then the situation had already gone far beyond what should have been a simple, polite request.
As someone who works in customer service myself, I can assure you that this level of unprofessionalism is completely unacceptable. The way we were treated was not only disrespectful but also completely disproportionate to the issue at hand. At 2 points he was shouting at my husband, who only demanded to be spoken to with respect in return. We simply wanted to speak with a manager, and yet the situation was blown out of proportion by the employee’s unprofessional behavior.
I hope you can understand the frustration and discomfort this experience caused. We have always enjoyed visiting this location, but after this incident, I am left with serious concerns about the standards of service at this store. I kindly request that you look into this matter and provide some guidance on how we can escalate our concerns to a manager for this situation and in the future without fear of being treated in such an aggressive and threatening manner. Even as we were leaving after everything had dialled down, he told us we are banned from coming back to which I said that I would need to hear this from a manager, not an employee trying to cover up their bad behaviour.