Yesterday I came in for a Spicy Pepperoni and had one of the best customer experiences. I liked it so much that I came back today and somehow had the complete opposite experience.
As soon as I walked up, the employee asked what she could get me. I told her, and then she immediately pointed to a man who had been there before me, on his phone, and told me she was helping him first.
Okay, that’s completely fine. He was there first. But then why ask me what I wanted, only to immediately correct me and make the interaction awkward?
When it was finally my turn, she asked me what I wanted again. I ordered two 6-inch Spicy Pepperoni sandwiches. Before I even tried to customize anything, she immediately told me that I couldn’t add toppings or customize the sandwiches and still get the $4.99 deal.
That confused me because yesterday, the employee actually asked what I wanted on my sandwich. I went by the picture, added jalapeños, and she put three slices of pepper jack cheese on it. Today, I was charged an additional 60 cents for each of two extra slices of pepper jack cheese.
The difference in service didn’t stop there.
She never asked whether I wanted salt or pepper. At the register, instead of asking me whether I wanted chips or cookies like I had just watched her ask the customer before me, she simply asked, “Anything else?” I told her I wanted two bags of chips.
Then I watched her shove and crush napkins into my food even though I was eating there.
I asked for my receipt. Instead of simply giving me one, she accused me of already having it and essentially suggested that I had misplaced or hidden it. I checked my plate. I checked my purse. She had never given me a receipt.
Then came the part that completely crossed the line.
After sitting down, I realized she had never offered salt or pepper, so I went back and politely asked for some salt.
She grabbed a huge handful of salt packets and threw them toward me in front of everyone in the restaurant.
I needed maybe three packets. Not twenty thrown at me.
At that point, this wasn’t a misunderstanding about a sandwich or a disagreement over 60 cents. It was the cumulative way I was being treated throughout the entire interaction.
And yes, the interaction was recorded.
I’m sitting here eating my extremely salty sandwich right in front of her as I write this. I’ll be uploading the recording because people can watch the interaction and decide for themselves whether this is an acceptable way to treat a paying customer.
It’s especially disappointing because the employee who helped me yesterday was wonderful. The difference between yesterday’s experience and today’s was unbelievable. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree on the history of subway and this employees customer abuse.