For sure. This would not be tolerated in another country, though I presume majority of the Taiwanese Subway customers have no clue how a good sandwich should be prepared.
One thing is for sure: With all complaints listed on this 11 page thread, Subway managment should call a meeting with all FRANCHISE owners to close the current gaps. And there is where the problem lies in fact: “Franchise” . Rent a brand and destroy it by not following the company standards. (with the exception of some shops probably)
Could the Subway gurus out there please confirm for me how many slices of turkey breast, ham, and roast beef goes on whatever that particular sub is called?
It’s usually called the ‘Subway Club’ but in Taiwan it is unimaginatively called the Turkey, Ham & Roast Beef in both Chinese and English.
The correct 6" formula for international markets is: 2 Turkey, 1 Ham, 1 Roast Beef
Note that for US markets only the formula uses 2 slices of roast beef. There are occasionally formula differences like this for international markets for various reasons. One notable difference for Taiwan is that we use 1/2 the standard formula for bacon because the bacon slices we get locally are much larger than the standard bacon. So for example a BLT uses 2 slices for a 6" and other subs and add-on option uses 1 slice for a 6" in Taiwan.
The two Subways I most often frequent are excellent. One is in Neihu and the other is on Kung Fu Sth Rd.
I did go into the one upstairs in the world trade center recently and it was a complete shambles and kind of dirty. I had to laugh when they were using a little plastic cup to measure out how much lettuce to dispense in each sandwich.
“Tightass Taiwan,” you can just see the words rolling around some business type’s mind.
In fact perhaps they should stamp that on all the letters leaving the country.
Which Subway in Neihu? There’s at least four of them. The ones on Neihu Road in the Xihu area and Ruiguang (sp?) Road are run by the same franchisee. He won the franchisee of the year award for Asia last year and really works hard at running good stores.
At the risk of losing some friends here, I would like to explain this situation a little bit more. Subway has standard formulas for exactly how much of each vegetable to put on the subs. By default we must put on exactly that amount. If we don’t, we will have points deducted during store inspection. (Yes, some franchisees don’t seem to care about doing well on their inspections… that’s another story.)
Why these standards? Yes, one reason is definitely food cost. Quick service restaurants have very low profit margin and controlling food cost is a key way to remain profitable. If the store isn’t profitable, it doesn’t stay open and can’t serve its customers. On the other hand, good customer service says that when a customer wants extra veggies, you give the customer the extra veggies. If your service quality gets the customer to come back again then it is worth a bit extra cost. All successful restaurants have to work hard at following precise formulas to control food cost, or they just will not survive. No way around this fact of life. QSRs in particular have to be particularly good at this because the menu prices are so low.
There are other reasons as well. The subs are designed for a certain flavor profile. If there is an excess of veggies then the taste of the sub is different. You may prefer a different flavor (everyone is different) but the design is one that should appeal to the most people. When excess veggies are used it is often too much to be able to close and wrap the sub. This usually results in the bread being squished, the sub looking sloppy and veggies falling out all over when trying to eat it. Using the standard formula is most likely to result in the best taste, appearance and ease in eating.
That said, using a measuring cup for lettuce could have sanitation problems if they aren’t careful, and it is not hard to learn how to put on the correct amount manually.
You’d need to word it in a way that makes a lot less sense.
Oh, that’s right. I’ve eaten at the RTMart one, which was fine in terms of quality (as are the Taipei 101 branch and Ruiguang branch). Didn’t know about the Miramar Carrefour one – thanks!
Which Subway in Neihu? There’s at least four of them. The ones on Neihu Road in the Xihu area and Ruiguang (sp?) Road are run by the same franchisee. He won the franchisee of the year award for Asia last year and really works hard at running good stores.[/quote]
The Ruiguang one is my local (when I’m at work) and I have to say it’s really good. I’ve been going to it regularly since it opened a couple of years ago. I tried out the NeiHu Rd one the other day and it was fine too.
Is the owner the youngish guy with the greying hair?
[quote=“irishstu”]The Ruiguang one is my local (when I’m at work) and I have to say it’s really good. I’ve been going to it regularly since it opened a couple of years ago. I tried out the Neihu Rd one the other day and it was fine too.
Is the owner the youngish guy with the greying hair?[/quote]
Yes, that’s him. His name is Brendon and he is a really nice guy.
No way. The OP was making a complaint. A valid one, too. Making the title “neutral” would remove the negative sentiment the OP was trying to establish.
[quote=“sulavaca”]I have complained twice to the Subway down the road from me in Zhonghe, near to Hsiaolang Elementary school. For the third time I have been in there now I have seen dogs in there and it’s driving me potty. This last time I politely but sternly told them I had complained before and that one of the reasons I frequent Subway is that I consider it healthier than eating at other restaurants and for that reason I get mad when I see pets in their shop, especially when there is a clear no dog sign on the front door. I laughed when they tried to convince me I hadn’t seen a dog as there hadn’t been one in the shop, so I asked them if it was possibly an ugly cat that had just walked out with its owner then, and they seemed to blush a little and then try the old “Oh, none of us noticed it in here.” Oh heavens please will someone give me a little more credit?!
Next time I’m writing a miserable letter to HQ. What was the address again?[/quote]
What road is this Subway on, I don’t mind the dogs as long as it is generally clean. Looking for a Subway near my place in Zhonghe but can never find one… I’m on Zhongshan and Jianyi near the Costco.
I’d like to tell of my anecdotal experience this week, at Subway.
I ordered a tuna sandwich. When he scooped the tuna up, I saw at least one fruit fly take off from it. Then I saw all containers had covers, except for the tuna container. And then I noticed they used the tuna container to put all the three scoops in, when not used. Nice!
It was the Subway nearby bookshop street, by the way. Isn’t that Kaifeng street? (between all those camera shops).
the one in miramar carrefour is OK. sometimes they stuff too much lettuce in it and put the sauces on top in the end. in their case it means the sauces will be squeezed out when they roll it together.
the guys in 101 make it perfect: not too much lettuce, put in the sauce in a way that it doesnt get squeezed out.
i still have to try the one in rui guang rd. it is very close to my company here. but i remembered reading in another thread here someone mentionend roaches / poor hygiene in there??? anyway since you are all very positive here about this one and jlick says the guy running it is a good guy i will try it next week.
on a slightly different topic:
does anyone know the Ryan Sandwich shop on the end of Jin Hu Rd across from Jolly that just reopened?
what sauce(s) do you put on the regular tuna sandwich?
what is the subway default?
also do individual franchise owners run their own websites?
i stumbled across this: new.fresh-fit.com/02.htm
and saw this very yummy looking pizzaiola sandwich but i saw it on no menu of the subways i usually go to. so is this soem test/experiment from that franchise dude?
