Today I took my family to the Subway location near our home, a store we visit often and have generally had good experiences with. Unfortunately, this visit was very different and left my wife, our children, and me feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome.
My wife ordered a footlong sandwich and asked if it could be split so that each half had different vegetables and sauces while keeping the same meat and cheese. Since the primary chargeable items were the same, we believed this was a reasonable request, especially because the second half was intended for our children. When she asked, the sandwich artist responded with noticeable sarcasm and frustration, saying, “Okay so different sandwich.” This response immediately caught us off guard, as my wife was simply asking a genuine question. Wanting to avoid any back and forth, I agreed and moved on.
Sensing that my wife felt uncomfortable, I tried to lighten the mood by casually mentioning that my sandwich would be a little different because I had worked at Subway years ago and understood that people sometimes make sandwiches differently. At that point, I believed the situation had been de escalated.
However, the interaction became worse during checkout. We entered our rewards phone number, and I asked to use a Subway corporate gift card, which I have successfully used alongside rewards in the past. The employee became visibly frustrated and assumed the gift card was a coupon, stating that two coupons could not be used. I calmly clarified twice that it was a gift card, not a coupon. When the card did not scan immediately, which can occasionally happen, the employee spoke to me in a condescending tone and said, “You used to work at Subway, right, so scan it.”
For clarity, I worked at Subway briefly when I was eighteen, many years ago. My earlier comment was only meant to ease the initial awkwardness, not invite disrespect. At this point, the tone had clearly shifted. While I attempted to give feedback about how his communication was making my family feel uncomfortable and unwelcome, he interrupted me and stated that he had given us the footlong we wanted to split at a discounted price. I responded honestly that I would much rather pay full price and receive respectful service than receive a discount paired with rude treatment.
There was no yelling, no profanity, and no aggressive behavior on our part. The interaction was marked by sarcasm, dismissiveness, and a lack of basic customer courtesy. The individual assisting us, who appeared to be a blonde long hair manager trans male no name tag was on no hair net, displayed behavior that felt unnecessarily harsh and unprofessional. This description is shared only to help identify the situation, not as a judgment of who he is as a person.
It is important to note that another employee, a female staff member, was also working at the time and was kind and professional. She thanked us for coming in and made a thoughtful comment about taking care of our kids as we left. This made it clear to us that the issue was not the location itself, but this specific interaction.
I am writing this review in hopes that leadership will address the importance of respectful communication and customer service, especially from management. As a business owner myself, this experience also made me question the value of using Subway gift cards if customers are treated poorly when attempting to use a service they have already paid for.
At this time, I do not plan to return to this location. My intention is not to attack anyone, but to provide honest feedback so that future customers and families are treated with the respect they deserve. If others experience similar treatment, I encourage them to leave feedback so leadership can better understand the impact this behavior has on customers.