they brought the quality down to match the 5$… did they bring it back up to be worth 14?! i kinda doubt it
Not only that, they lowered the quality at the same time. I remember when a subway sandwich was still kinda gross, but at least it was filling and you could have a decently healthy calorie dollar if you ordered right. Now, half the weight of your sandwich is in that super sweetened bread and the meat portions are tiny
Last time ive seen a subway sandwich that wasn’t gross looking was in the 90s
I don’t get it anymore because I can make it way cheaper and better at home, but a flatbread turkey and pepperjack sammich with olives, cucumbers, spinach, onions, peppers, and their chipotle sauce is actually pretty dope looking. And it tastes wonderful. But not for 15USD.
I’ve been to Subway twice in the last twenty years. Both times the shop was understaffed and it took more than half an hour to get our meals, and they weren’t even good compared to other sub chains that cost less, let alone the local non-franchise sub shops.
The last attempt was a few years before COVID. I can’t imagine how bad it is now.
My wife and I walked into a Subway recently to use the restrooms. Not an employee in sight. Did our business and walked out without seeing a single person. I would have thought they were closed had the lights not been on and the door unlocked. Don’t know how they stay in business.
super sweetened bread
Fun fact: it’s so sweetened that the Supreme Court of Ireland (SCOI is a fun acronym) reclassified it as cake.
Also, Subway chicken is only 50% chicken.
To find out what the other 50% is, listen to the latest episode of my podcast Subway Exposure!
Just kidding, I don’t have a podcast. It’s soybeans.
They ruled that, for tax purposes, it counts as a confectionary because of the high sugar content. They did not rule that it is literally cake.
It’s soybeans.
If that’s true I really wish they’d just start offering a tofu option at Subway so I don’t just have to get vegetables in bread lol
I really don’t like subway, but they do have new chicken. Their old stuff was clearly not chicken. Their new stuff actually looks like chicken so I’m pretty sure the figure you are quoting is their old shit chicken
Subway Exposure
I’m hoping that’s a different entity than the Subway Exposer
I used to get a roasted chicken breast sub from Subway every day. The chicken slab was pre-cooked and literally sitting in a bucket of warm water, from which they would pull it and microwave it for a few seconds. How in the living fuck did I ever think it was OK for chicken to be sitting in a bucket of warm water all day?
This was around the time they stopped baking their own rolls in-store every day, and somehow I was also OK with the stale rolls that replaced it. I guess I was distracted by their pedophile spokesman.
IMO, no sandwich on Earth is worth $14. Especially not one from SooubWay.
I disagree, there’s a sub place near me with a 16" sandwich with like 5 meats, 3 cheeses, and lots of toppings that costs about $14. The heft is noticable, even when I’m hungry I can only eat about half.
There are some high quality places out there, Subway has always been the McDs of subs. I feel they started to go downhill when they stopped cutting the v notch in the bread to stuff it full and just went with boring halves.
I will say to those thinking $5 should remain the price - we were okay with $5 subs a decade or more ago, but now asking more is too much? Inflation is a thing. $5 purchasing power in 1990 is now $12 in 2024. The argument shouldn’t be about the price increase, as it should have crept up this whole time. But the quality should have at least remained the same, and the workers fairly paid. The price of the sub is the least of the problems.
But the price increase kinda is a symptom of the underlying issue. For reference, the reason that subway subs were $5 for a long time was that the company was trying an advertising campaign to grow the brand, which it did amazingly well (honestly, far too well). However, those were not sold at a sustainable price, but whenever the company tried to raise the price it was perceived very poorly by the market. So they kept the price low for a long time, and eventually had to raise it but due to inflation (and decreasing the sub size to compensate for the low price before that), but the price increase was pretty drastic to most of the customers who often stopped going there.
In other words, the company kept the price down artificially to keep their stock price high, and foisted a lot of the actual costs onto the franchisees, of which they had tons. Which is obviously not a sustainable business model, and it’s why less people go to subway anymore.
I had an amazing buffalo chicken sub from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in NYC that cost $16, and it was worth every penny. It was like 2 pounds of food, and they cut the chicken and grilled it right there in front of me. But that place and Subway aren’t even on the same planet as quality goes.
Oh man, you’ve never had a good Rueben then. Good corned beef, a pile of kraut, swiss, fresh rye bread (or sourdough), and that thousand island and/or spicy mustard. Grilled up and served with a pickle spear and some fresh chips.
Making one is not cheap, though not a lot more than your typical burger. But, a 14 usd price is reasonable when you factor in labor. I’ve paid more than that for a truly great Rueben where the corned beef was made in house, and the bread came from an attached bakery. Completely, totally worth twenty bucks.
Our closest deli that’s like the kind of deli in bigger cities charges 15 and some change for their Rueben that comes with a pickle, potato chips, and a drink. I ain’t mad at that price even though it makes it a rare treat.
Which, I get you, you led off with IMO which means you’re speaking only for yourself, so I’m not saying your opinion is wrong, or trying to change your opinion! Just giving my opinion on the matter of expensive sandwiches for my own tastes.
That’s a common price for any entree at most restaurants in my state. Indian, Thai, American (burgers), Italian, etc. Fast casual and casual dining all have many items in that price range. Most want tips on top as well. There are many sandwiches I’m willing to spend $15 or more on.
Saw an article recently, can’t remember where, that basically said that the sole reason fast food was doing so poorly was pricing. That McDonald’s was charging Texas Roadhouse prices, so people were choosing to skip McDonald’s and go to Texas Roadhouse.
As a european, fast food is just like a category of food, and more of an occasional treat for me. Normally, I just eat my own homemade food, which is even cheaper. So I guess I see it a little differently, and fast food is allowed to be not cheap if it’s “good”.
Hell yeah, gimme that cancer patty and those artery clogging fries, baby! But make the obesity water size “for kids”.
“Fast and cheap” as in cheaper than buying precooked food somewhere else. Of course stuff you make at home will be cheaper.
That happens when you just think of a bigger number and forget the customer somewhere down the line.
Also publicly traded companies and shareholder value. Everything could be much cheaper if not for shareholders draining every penny from companies. Edit: and CEOs/ managers of course.
I very rarely eat out but if I am going to end up blowing on 30 on two meals I may as well blow 45 on a local spot with a seat and a hefty tip to the waiter.
Unless you get the promoted deals it’s starting to be like that everywhere. Near me if im getting two burgers and two fries, I spend less at five guys than I do at burger king. Why would I ever go to BK?
Even FG is unreasonable.
My wife and 6YO kid went to FG last week and spent $27 on a meal for two and they split the fries.
A few ounces of meat, 50 cents of soda, a couple potatoes and an arguably 2 nice quality rolls. That meal cost them $5. Even with inflated labor it should be more like $15.
Five guys has been expensive for a long time. The rest just caught up more recently.
Five guys is at the very bottom of my “list of things that are so needlessly expensive that now I actively hate”.
Cause they’re so fucking good, and they use better stuff than most.
The moment that changes… will be the day I either go no-beef, or start rioting.
The recent Disney lawsuit reminded me of this. In order to get those deals, McDonald’s makes you use their app, and part of signing up for the app is agreeing to their ToS which has an arbitration clause
Yeah but there’s no way a judge will follow that reasoning. The response to the arbitration argument was that the argument was “unconscionable” and “no reasonable person” would think signing up for Disney Plus means they can’t file a wrongful death suit for a restaurant that has nothing to do with Disney Plus.
Also the lawyer who made the arbitration argument just got his client so much bad PR that i’m sure Disney Plus will take a hit over it.
There are a couple floating around out there, CNN/investopedia/Eat This Not That. The most scathing one I saw was from CNN, oddly enough: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/09/business/consumer-spending-travel-value-nightcap
I just stopped eating fast food altogether and started using our company cafe, prices at the drive-thru got absolutely ridiculous and the service got worse. I just eat a small salad and a drink, still costs around $6–7/day, but it’s way better than fast food prices. I could probably get it down cheaper if I prepped at home, but fruit and vegetables go bad so frequently and our cafe’s rates are ok-ish, so I just make due with that.
prices at the drive-thru got absolutely ridiculous and the service got worse
And in the case of McDonald’s, the burgers and fries both taste like compressed napkins now. Idk WTF they’ve done to their burgers, but that’s not beef.
This is exactly what subway is doing.
“A regular deli charges $16 for a sub/hero/grinder/hoagie/pickafuckingnameforalongsandwitch so we’re charging $14! It’s less they’ll still come the econ 101 book says they will! I’ll take my multimillion dollar bonus now tyvm.”
I haven’t even considered McDonald’s because their pricing skyrocketed post pandemic when inflation was high. They saw other businesses justifying large price increases by blaming inflation and the idiot consumers accepting the lie, and just ignored the niche their product is in, cheap shit.
Before the pandemic to be able to get a McDouble, Spicy McChicken and Fries for $4 with tax. Granted, the fries were only $1 with a digital coupon, but that coupon was always there. It was like the 2 tacos for 99¢ deal at Jack in the Box, you just gotta use the app.
Now that same group of food is $9 and the coupons available are dogshit. 15% off my $10 meal is not a good deal when sales tax is $12%. I’m not really saving much compared to things like BOGO offers and $1 items like it used to be constantly.
i moved from FL to MA, i have few regrets, i do miss pubsubs though. and corn nuggets.
As sacrilegious as it sounds pub subs are very mid-tier to me. Perfectly acceptable sandwich just too much bread and always kinda dry unless I drown it in mayo/mustard after the fact. I’d rather go with their tenders and potato wedges honestly
That and they fucked up the menu so they’re pushing premade sandwiches over the “build your own” model they’ve had for years. I used to go to subway because I knew exactly what I wanted and asked for it, now their menu is unrecognizable.
At this point better to disregard the menu and just start ordering, but only if you’re ok with those prices.
Most fast food places I go I’m able to “just order” without a menu. They haven’t changed their core items in decades - I don’t know why people treat menus as if something special is on it. Even people who rarely go - guess what McDonald’s the Burger Joint still got “cheeseburger no onions” and Popeyes The Chicken Place still has popcorn Chicken (extra breading hold the chicken)
Which is hilarious, because its not as if they pay enough people to be on shift at the same time so that they could make their menu items efficiently. The last 2 dozen times I’ve had to pick up someone’s order from one of 5 or so local Subway’s, they have had 1 single person running the entire joint. I’ve made it a point to ask every time I go:
- -how many people are supposed to be working today?
1, and about half of them opened alone, and all were closing alone! (Even young women!!!)
- -Is it always this busy? (Every time its a 12-30min wait for them to even begin the order)
Always gets met with some form of “Yes, or even busier, with the occasional half hour where nobody comes in”
- -Are you the manager?
Nope.
Its at that point I tell them to take all the time they need. And that they are dramatically underpaid and should riot…
So not defending them, but the franchise owners were royally fucked by subway corporate. Lead on with a cheap buy in, be your own boss, make money, etc. subway takes advantage of it’s franchises more than almost anyone else around. Things like requiring all food comes from corporate, no changes, even allowing rivaling franchises to open up next to you.
John Oliver does a good bit on it https://youtu.be/jDdYFhzVCDM?si=AMkHeXR5yIpZCu3l
Plus they keep the staffing low as hell and pay dogshit, so if there’s 4 people in line it means you have two employees (if one didn’t call in sick that day) that look like meth addicts doing what most would consider an extremely mind-numbing job for low pay and you’ll be in line for 25 minutes waiting to get your sandwiches.
