It was a typical day in Anystate, U.S.A. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and passers-by were getting tagged by gangs of spray paint-wielding young adults. As usual, I was in my palatial 9 square foot cubicle, emailing angry correspondence to customers in order to ensure my seven-figure salary.
Around noon I began to feel a bit peckish. So, I sashayed over to the local Subway for a bit of sustenance. Over the last few years I had gained an appreciation for the fresh-baked bread and seemingly endless amount of toppings that this healthier fast food chain provided for their sandwiches. Lately, that appreciation increased as the company embarked on their ‘$5 Footlongs‘ promotion, which made every standard footlong sub the company made a mere five bucks! Needless to say, this helped save some of my hard-earned pennies.
So, I lumbered up to the counter, ordered my usual (footlong turkey with cheese, honey mustard, lettuce and tomato), grabbed my chips and soda (as part of the combo meal), and headed to the register. I pulled out my usual seven dollars and twenty-seven cents, the normal cost of the meal, and was ready to hand it to the counter person, when he gave me the total of $8.50.
I was stunned! Even before the $5 promotion a turkey sub combo was under eight dollars. Now, after several months, the price had jumped up a buck-thirty. Dumbfounded, I asked the man behind the counter what had happened and he informed me that the turkey was no longer part of the $5 promotion. Fact of the matter was that its price had jumped up to $6.25. I thanked the man for his answer, kindly told him to put the sub where the sun don’t shine, and walked out.
I don’t know if this was a decision of the local franchise, or a price change across the whole chain, but the decision to limit the $5 promotion to only eight subs was a mistake. Particularly since they left off turkey, which is probably one of the more popular choices (and, I believe, was one of the ones Jared ate to lose all that weight). Considering local competitors like the Mid-Atlantic chain WaWa are offering the same subs for less this seems like an marketing error.
The price changes not only angered myself, but other customers as well. While I walked out of Subway that day, head held high, I heard from a number of other people who were shocked and totally unaware of the changes to the menu. They weren’t keeping it quiet either. While they were directing their opinions at me their voices were just loud enough for the managers to hear as well. Not a good sign.
So, for the time being, Subway is off my list of lunch choices. With other food outlets reducing prices on most of their menu items thanks to the success Subway has had, I’m sure the sub shop will come to its senses and restore the $5 Footlong promotion to most of their standard cold and hot subs. If not, well, I’ll just look somewhere else for that tasty combination of meat, cheese, and veggies.
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on May 13, 2009 @ 14:01 EST5EDT
