Situation at Subway - was I wrong?

[Anonymous]

After college, I worked at Barnes & Noble part-time because my "real" job didn't pay much and this area is expensive. We closed at 11:00 p.m., which means that some nights I didn't get home till 12, and i had to be at work the next morning. There were things we had to wait to do until after people left, like vacuuming and closing registers, etc. And I took the bus home, so if I was late, it was a LONG time till the bus came again.

Honestly, we got pretty annoyed when people would linger and linger and linger close to closing time, ignoring the announcements over the intercom. I mean, c'mon. Is the world going to stop if you don't get your book that night? (we opened at 10 a.m.) the ones lingering were very rarely the ones buying, either. they were typically the ones nursing the dregs of the one cup of coffee they'd bought 3 hours earlier, reading a book they had no intention of buying.

Chances are, if someone is working at Subway at 8:00 p.m., they have probably worked a long day and they are tired and just want to go home. If someone comes in at 7:55 and wants to eat their sandwich there, those employees are stuck there until they're done. I don't really blame them for wanting to go home when their shift is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: You say you got your answer and that you're open to the possibility you were wrong. What have you concluded? Most people seem to think you were wrong even if they think the store should have stayed open.

Here's my view: You were acting like an entitled jerk.

Why entitled? Because sandwich shops are not there for your convenience. You have no right to a sandwich even if it's an hour before the posted closing time. The store is there to earn a profit. They are willing to sell you a sandwich if you're willing to buy it, but they can decide to close when it's slow if they choose. The consequence to them is that they don't get to sell you or anyone else who comes along a sandwich, and may lose you as a future customer, but they don't have to open just because they're normally open at that time and you happen to have planned poorly.

Why a jerk? Because even if they employees were not acting under their manager's orders, you put your convenience ahead of theirs. They were halfway closed an locked the door, yet you insisted that they let you in and give you food even though you had an HOUR before your son's training was done. Undoubtedly you are aware of one or two vegetarian options within 25 minutes' drive that would have gotten you back in time.

Actually, they are there for everyone's convenience. That's why they exist. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: You say you got your answer and that you're open to the possibility you were wrong. What have you concluded? Most people seem to think you were wrong even if they think the store should have stayed open.

Here's my view: You were acting like an entitled jerk.

Why entitled? Because sandwich shops are not there for your convenience. You have no right to a sandwich even if it's an hour before the posted closing time. The store is there to earn a profit. They are willing to sell you a sandwich if you're willing to buy it, but they can decide to close when it's slow if they choose. The consequence to them is that they don't get to sell you or anyone else who comes along a sandwich, and may lose you as a future customer, but they don't have to open just because they're normally open at that time and you happen to have planned poorly.

Why a jerk? Because even if they employees were not acting under their manager's orders, you put your convenience ahead of theirs. They were halfway closed an locked the door, yet you insisted that they let you in and give you food even though you had an HOUR before your son's training was done. Undoubtedly you are aware of one or two vegetarian options within 25 minutes' drive that would have gotten you back in time.

Well here is where I am at right now. In that moment I felt absolutley right and that I should be served since it was still within the store hours. I have since learned that this is a pretty typical store policy and that the girls were most likely doing nothing wrong for closing the store early. So in this case, I was wrong to request they let me in. However, I will say this. I never ever raised my voice, talked sternly or gave off angry vibes. I probably came off as a pathetic pleading desperate person. Now the other guy that was there with his kids said "c'mon Ive got two hungry kids" in a slightly stern voice - not angry just a little stern sounding. Actually when he said that is when they let us in. I wonder if they would have done that if he had not come along. And I never banged on the door like a maniac. I knocked. I realize I said I knocked and banged but I shouldn't have used the word bang because that implies loud and constant knocking. I knocked like you would knock on someone's door. When they looked up at me I pointed to my watch to let them know they should still be open. I wasnt flailing my arms around like a mad woman. Just wanted to clarify that. For some reason Ive given people the impression that I was very angry and yelling and banging. That was not the case at all. And I thanked both of the girls for letting me in to order my food.

[Anonymous]

You were not wrong. Sorry. You absolutely should have been able to order, and I agree with the PP, you should write to the manager of the store and let them know what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you did the right thing, and you should write to the manager. I'm sure the manager won't approve of the ees trying to sneak out a few minutes early. If the door says 8 PM, you should be able to place your order at 8 PM. The girls were just being lazy slackers.

You didn't bother to read the posts from those of us who actually worked at Subway stores. What works for larger chain stores like McDonald's or Burger King, etc does not always work for the small Subway store. Many times managers of the franchise stores DO encourage their employees to close early if it is not busy. And despite those who think that "they're buying a sandwich, so they're making money off of me", the profit from one sandwich (especially a vegetarian one) is not that high. Depending on costs, they're probably only making a dollar or two. If the staff had already started putting food away, then they'll have to take food out again, then clean up, putting food away and wash all of the cutting surfaces and utensils again. All told, it will be over 15 minutes and for over 15 minutes, they'll get paid for an extra half hour. At $8/hr (starting wage is minimum, but most people working by themselves on closing shift have been there for a while and had a few raises) that's $4.00. You'd need to buy 3 sandwiches to make it worthwhile for them to reopen...and just barely. In this case, my manager always let me decide closing policy as long as it wasn't extreme. And if you called to complain, my manager would be have been apologetic and polite, but would not have changed anything.

[Anonymous]

Quick question -- define "slow". OP said someone was ordering a sandwich when she was outside the locked door. I thought slow meant no customers or a customer finishing up their food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: You say you got your answer and that you're open to the possibility you were wrong. What have you concluded? Most people seem to think you were wrong even if they think the store should have stayed open.

Here's my view: You were acting like an entitled jerk.

Why entitled? Because sandwich shops are not there for your convenience. You have no right to a sandwich even if it's an hour before the posted closing time. The store is there to earn a profit. They are willing to sell you a sandwich if you're willing to buy it, but they can decide to close when it's slow if they choose. The consequence to them is that they don't get to sell you or anyone else who comes along a sandwich, and may lose you as a future customer, but they don't have to open just because they're normally open at that time and you happen to have planned poorly.

Why a jerk? Because even if they employees were not acting under their manager's orders, you put your convenience ahead of theirs. They were halfway closed an locked the door, yet you insisted that they let you in and give you food even though you had an HOUR before your son's training was done. Undoubtedly you are aware of one or two vegetarian options within 25 minutes' drive that would have gotten you back in time.

Actually, they are there for everyone's convenience. That's why they exist. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of the world that you would be well advised to correct. Nobody's saying "Hey, where can we put a Subway where people might just happen to show up and be hungry? Those people sure could do with a sandwich!" Some person decided to open a Subway because it appeared that enough people would buy sandwiches there that it would make a profit. The Subway has no other reason to be there.

[Anonymous]

OP here, yes one woman was ordering at the counter and a family of about 6 were seated already eating. I ordered one sandwich for my son and a salad for myself. The other guy with the two kids ordered 3 sandwichs.

[Anonymous]

I seriously cannot IMAGINE banging on a door for someone to let me into a subway. Holy shit. If I try to open the door and it's locked? Hint taken - I'll go somewere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually I worked in fast food my entire teenage years while in HS. Oh and no I am not entitled, but the thought is pretty funny. Thanks for the laugh. lol I'll give you the obnoxious comment though. Maybe I was obnoxious in insisitng they let me in. I dont think I was but I posed the question "was I wrong" because I am absolutley open to the possibility that I was. Thus, I wanted other people's opinion.

No I wasnt going to DIE without subway but I was pretty desparate. My son has training sessions that are 50 minutes from my house. The sessions are from 7:30 to 10pm. Usually I pack a dinner that he can eat on the way home since we dont get back home until 10pm. I was rushing and didnt have time yesterday so I decided to stop at subway since it's close to where he trains. So yeah, I was pretty desparate to get that subway sanchwich. We do not eat meat so other fast food places arent an option.

Typically I probably would have just kept it moving but because of the situation I really needed to get him a sandwich. When we leave his training we do pass a McDonalds on the way to the highway but none of their sandwiches would work for my son.

I wish there was a chipotle where we were, he loves that much more than subway!

It isn't the fault of the store employees that you have crap time management skills.

You have got to be kidding. What kind of upbringing does it take to produce a person who has this to say about the situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, yes one woman was ordering at the counter and a family of about 6 were seated already eating. I ordered one sandwich for my son and a salad for myself. The other guy with the two kids ordered 3 sandwichs.

OP again, actually I wonder if the lady at the counter was ordering. Because by the time I got to the counter most of the food had covers on it and some of it was already put away. Maybe she had just ordered and was in the process of paying. I'm not actually sure, she left as we were entering.

[Anonymous]

I think if you politley knocked and they let you in, and then you were nice about it when they let you in, then no great travesty has occurred. They didn't have to let you in, after all.

I think you should just accept that you were perhaps a little annoying to those girls, but realize you didn't do anything too terrible.

[Anonymous]

I understand that the employees had a long shift, had clean up to do, still had to get home, etc. I am sympathetic but a job is a job. If the store says it's open to 8, you should be able to open the door and walk in up til 8.

I understand the manager may not care. If the manager does not care, they don't deserve my business or the OPs business or people who think like we do.

Bottom line, of course it's a free country and that manager can run their shop according to their desires and the agreements they have with the parent franchise. Of course they are free to go beyond the call of good customer service or exceed that standard.

Of course they can tell me to piss of when it's 7:55 and they want to go home. SHOULD they? No. The customer is always right and if the customer wants a sandwich at 7:55 then get in there and fix them a sandwich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: You say you got your answer and that you're open to the possibility you were wrong. What have you concluded? Most people seem to think you were wrong even if they think the store should have stayed open.

Here's my view: You were acting like an entitled jerk.

Why entitled? Because sandwich shops are not there for your convenience. You have no right to a sandwich even if it's an hour before the posted closing time. The store is there to earn a profit. They are willing to sell you a sandwich if you're willing to buy it, but they can decide to close when it's slow if they choose. The consequence to them is that they don't get to sell you or anyone else who comes along a sandwich, and may lose you as a future customer, but they don't have to open just because they're normally open at that time and you happen to have planned poorly.

Why a jerk? Because even if they employees were not acting under their manager's orders, you put your convenience ahead of theirs. They were halfway closed an locked the door, yet you insisted that they let you in and give you food even though you had an HOUR before your son's training was done. Undoubtedly you are aware of one or two vegetarian options within 25 minutes' drive that would have gotten you back in time.

Seriously, how does a person grow up thinking this way? This post is so absurd that I don't even know how to respond to it. I seriously do what to know where people learn these approaches to life. This is not a normal way of looking at this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I seriously cannot IMAGINE banging on a door for someone to let me into a subway. Holy shit. If I try to open the door and it's locked? Hint taken - I'll go somewere else.

Agreed! Reminds of me shoppers at the mall, who sneak in under the metal gates when they are pulled half down NEAR (not AT) closing time. When customers leave, one worker will lift the gate a little to let the customer out comfortably. But the customers sneaking in.... weird.