RB
Ryan Bon (BonBon)
Sep 5, 2026
I have been eating at Subway for Decades, went as a young child and still go to this day, However! I never imagined that I would walk into one of their locations and leave feeling like I had been singled out and discriminated against.
My friend and I had spent most of the day working. We are professional contractors, so yes, we were dressed in work clothes and you could tell we had been working, but we were still clean, presentable, and respectful. There was absolutely nothing about our appearance that justified the treatment we received.
We walked in, chose our sandwiches, and told the employee what we wanted. She picked up the two buns, looked at us, and immediately said:
“You can pay first now”
We looked at each other because this was unusual. Nevertheless, we didn’t argue. We paid and continued.
Then came the process of actually getting our sandwiches made. It was frustrating from start to finish. We had to repeatedly explain and correct what was being put on our sandwiches because the employee wasn’t listening and was adding the wrong toppings.
We asked for honey mustard and were told she had to go to the back because apparently only mayonnaise was available up front. On my sandwich, I simply asked for mayonnaise and regular yellow mustard. I was told:
“The mustard is not filled right now” which came across as they couldn’t be bothered to get it…
At that point, we could have complained, but we didn’t. We remained patient, polite, and respectful, We sat down and ate our food.
“Nine plus customers came through after us.
One customer was frustrated because the location didn’t have the ingredients necessary to make a cold cut combo.
One thing that became very obvious while we were sitting there:
Not one of those nine customers was asked to pay before their sandwich was prepared.
Not one
They were served first, their sandwiches were prepared and wrapped, and then they paid\.
So naturally, we have to ask: Why were the two of us treated differently?
In my 30 years of eating at Subway, I have never known “pay first” to be the standard procedure before the employee even makes your sandwich\. If it truly was the policy at this location, then why wasn’t it applied consistently to the customers who came in after us?
This is the part that made the experience go from bad customer service to something much more disturbing.
We were the only two people who were specifically told to pay before our food was prepared\. We were also visibly dressed as workers and are European. After watching nine other customers receive completely different treatment, it is impossible not to question whether our appearance or ethnicity played a role.
Maybe there was another explanation. If there was, management needs to explain what it was.
Because from where we were sitting, we witnessed unequal treatment with our own eyes.
We are not “overly sensitive” people. We didn’t walk in looking for something to complain about. We didn’t confront the employee. We didn’t cause a scene. We simply wanted to buy two sandwiches after a long day of work.
Instead, we were made to feel singled out and unwelcome.
And frankly, that is unacceptable!
Customer service should not depend on someone’s race, ethnicity, appearance, clothing, or perceived social status. If there is a policy, apply it to everyone. If there isn’t a policy, don’t selectively impose it on certain customers.
I am not going to make a blanket judgment about an entire group of people based on the actions of one employee. But I will call out discriminatory or disrespectful behavior when I experience it.
This location needs to seriously look at how customers are being treated and whether the same standards are actually being applied to everyone.
We went in for two sandwiches. We left feeling discriminated against. After 30 years of eating at Subway, this is one experience I will not forget — and certainly one that I will not be repeating at this location.