Subway - the KNIFE and other disgusting practices

David1540

At the end of the line - when they have all the glop on your sandwich (note here - I despise mayonnaise and most dressings) they need to fold the sandwich up so they reach for - the KNIFE. The knife that is dripping with mayo and other dressings from the last 50 sandwiches they've made that day. They lay it on your sandwich to hold the toppings in place, fold over the top, and extract the knife such that those remnants get scraped onto your pristine, veggie patty, pepperjack on wheat sub with everything but cucumbers and carrots and a touch of red salsa sub.

The other thing that disgusts me - the server standing there, waiting for the next sandwich on the assembly line. They are wearing those plastic gloves - for our protection I presume - and they proceed to wipe the counter and push leftover stuff into the trash hole using just the glove, then turn to you and ask what you'd like on your sandwich.

I'm sure much worse happens behind the scenes at a McDonalds, Hardees, etc. but it's 1) not where you can see it, and 2) I don't eat at those meat-factories.

zyxst

I hate the knife at Subway. It stops me from getting footlong veggie subs because when I want one, inevitably, I'm behind a mayonnaise queen (has half a bottle of mayo on sub) and the server will use the knife to shove that person's toppings around. I've found out mostly guys will do a fold and shake - fold sandwich, hold sideways, and shake the toppings in - which eliminates the knife.

My usual - 6" veggie on white, plain - means the slop knife doesn't touch my sandwich. I always get weird looks for not having any dressings and cheese. If I splurge for a footlong (go halvsies for lunch and supper) and they try to use a slop knife, I politely ask them to wipe it because I'm "allergic" to mayo. What I want to say is, "Hey, can you go wash that *kitten* off the knife? I want to be able to eat my sandwich, not puke it because it's got the last guy's mayo/honeymustard/chipotle sauce on it."

The cringe-worthy best? When you ask them to clean the knife and they just SCRAPE IT ALONG THE EDGE OF THE GARBAGE BIN.

skellyness

I think I've just gone off subway,,

Restlessme

Don't tell me!! Though I'll admit most of the subways I have been wipe off the knife...but I've just realized they do it on the dirty counter.

:sad:

Amberonamission

I think I've just gone off subway,,

This was exactly my thought.

Not that I eat much subway.

loopingcaterpillar

oh, in the uk, they have squeezy sauce bottles, the knife only gets used to cut the breads.....

amanda_catherine

whats worst is at some places they make tuna sandwiches and cut them.. and the same knife cuts a chicken sandwich... and you are allergic to fish.... happened to a friend... not pretty

dad106

Honestly, Subway disgusts me in general.

All that pre-sliced meat thats been sitting around in the open for hours... no thank you.

Give me Jersey Mikes any day... where they slice it fresh, and it tastes a thousand times better.

cassie_golden

I work at subway, and though some of my other employees do this. I completely understand being a fitness enthusiast and just a clean person in general. I go through about 100 knives or more through out the day and always change my gloves and wash my hands after each customer no matter how long it takes. Some customers in the line find it annoying though. that being said I will encourage other employees to do the same more often:).

melanie8289

this is why I never, never frequent subway (yuck)!!! My advice make your own sandwich and take it with you that way you can avoid having to shop at places like this and you can control exactly what goes into it!

7djt

I just copied and pasted these comments onto Subway's corporate web page. I assumed they would want to know what concerns us about eating at their establishments -- hope you don't mind.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

FitspoEm

omg ive never noticed!! x

SideSteel

Generally speaking, if you're overly concerned about sanitation I wouldn't suggest fast food.

Fozzi43

oh, in the uk, they have squeezy sauce bottles, the knife only gets used to cut the breads.....

I was gonna say, they don't use the knife here, just to cut the bread...

IronDame

I've never liked subway...I'm more of a publix sub kind of girl.
I'm sure publix does the same, but the knife doesn't scare me.

Fozzi43

I used to like Dunkin Donuts on the base here..but missed them since they closed :grumble:

Sarah_Wins

Generally speaking, if you're overly concerned about sanitation I wouldn't suggest fast food.

I was just thinking this. If a knife and glove at Subway is upsetting, you probably shouldn't go out to eat anywhere, ever. I've worked at enough restaurants, fast food and otherwise, to know this is the VERY LEAST you have to worry about.

dinosnopro

At the subway I go to, they wipe the knife on their apron....much cleaner

wellbert

You think that's gross. Look at the chicken breast. Notice how it's all the same size and shape?

Acg67

At the end of the line - when they have all the glop on your sandwich (note here - I despise mayonnaise and most dressings) they need to fold the sandwich up so they reach for - the KNIFE. The knife that is dripping with mayo and other dressings from the last 50 sandwiches they've made that day. They lay it on your sandwich to hold the toppings in place, fold over the top, and extract the knife such that those remnants get scraped onto your pristine, veggie patty, pepperjack on wheat sub with everything but cucumbers and carrots and a touch of red salsa sub.

The other thing that disgusts me - the server standing there, waiting for the next sandwich on the assembly line. They are wearing those plastic gloves - for our protection I presume - and they proceed to wipe the counter and push leftover stuff into the trash hole using just the glove, then turn to you and ask what you'd like on your sandwich.

I'm sure much worse happens behind the scenes at a McDonalds, Hardees, etc. but it's 1) not where you can see it, and 2) I don't eat at those meat-factories.

What is more disgusting, the Knife or a " veggie patty, pepperjack on wheat sub with everything but cucumbers and carrots and a touch of red salsa sub"?

onyxgirl17

Yea I prefer getting my lunch meat sliced fresh at Publix

IronDame

At the subway I go to, they wipe the knife on their apron....much cleaner

Oh the apron...where they probably sneeze, cough or pick their nose and probably wipe their hands. :laugh:

ggof

subway shut down years ago in switzerland but i am sure pre-prepared sandwiches in the supermarket aren't much better .. i make my own now that way i know what's in it and it's cheaper ..

Livingdeadgirl44

I hate places where people where those plastic gloves. It's so unhygienic because when you have gloves on you can't tell if your hands have sauce or anything on them. You could get them to change the gloves every time but that is a complete waste when all they need to do is wash their hands after each job. I think fast food do it because is 'looks' hygienic, it's not as if chefs in fancy restarunts who fiddle about with your food piling it up into towers on the plate wear them.

CyberEd312

Generally speaking, if you're overly concerned about sanitation I wouldn't suggest fast food.

This!!

I work deliveries (Ran Beer truck for Budweiser for 12 years through the 90's) and let me tell you that you do not want to know some of the practices and things I seen going on in the back kitchen areas of many of these places. You would never go eat fast food or eat out ever again. I myself pick and choose my places mainly on past experiences. My 2 Subways that I use here in my town never use the same pair of gloves after making a previous sandwich. They have a bread cutting knife use soley for that and a knife to cut the sandwiches at the end of the line which they wipe down after each sandwich is made... yes they wipe the leftovers into the bend but that is before they start with the next customers sandwich and they wash their hands before they put on the new gloves. The worst I ever seen was at a Mexican Place where they make their own chips fresh daily and put them in 32 gallon trash cans in the backroom. I was dropping a cart of beer off in the same room and literally seen a rat come pushing his way out of the half secured lid and landed on the floor and scurried out the back door (which they left open and blocked for ventilation in the summer months.) So yeah I have seen much worse, even much worse than that.......

victorious27

Yeah... Subway is still my favorite "fast food" place. I always go there when I'm running low on ideas, because it always fits in my calories and in reality, isn't too horribly bad for you (compared to most other options). It doesn't bother me that they do that stuff -- you should really hear what they do in actual restaurants/fast food restaurants. You'd really be horrified then, lol.

It really isn't that bad, regardless of how you talk about it...because they only other things touching that counter are other sandwiches and those other sauces aren't exactly detectable when they actually use the same knife.

I love me some subway

fbmandy55

I work at subway, and though some of my other employees do this. I completely understand being a fitness enthusiast and just a clean person in general. I go through about 100 knives or more through out the day and always change my gloves and wash my hands after each customer no matter how long it takes. Some customers in the line find it annoying though. that being said I will encourage other employees to do the same more often:).

I worked in a Subway in high school and some people were just ridiculous. We were off the Interstate and always busy. Once, during a peak lunch hour, I had a guy come up to me and request that I wash my hands and change my gloves before starting. I had just started and was clean, but went with it. After placing meat on his bread, he request that I wash my hands again and put on new gloves before his veggies went on... WTF, OK.So he proceeds to pick out the veggies he wants, 3 slices of tomatoes, specifically requesting certain ones from the tray. Then I rang him up and he had me wash my hands a THIRD time before handing him his bag, after handling the money. Dude, you just touched the money yourself....

As far as the knife, all of us wiped them off at the least if they had sauce of any kind on them. It takes a shred of common sense to not get mayo or mustard on a person's sandwich if they didn't request it. There was a knife on the bread side that stayed there, and one on the veggie end that was always wiped.

If you are that obsessive over your food, why go to a fast food restaurant where at any given time and given person could be doing far worse with your food.

Koldnomore

oh, in the uk, they have squeezy sauce bottles, the knife only gets used to cut the breads.....

I was gonna say, they don't use the knife here, just to cut the bread...

They do the same in Canada.

Truly if someone ever wiped a knife on the bin they would be re-making my sandwich after I talk to the manager. That is disgusting. Also, I don't think you would be crossing any line by asking that they change gloves or wipe the knife off before starting your food.

ahamm002

Generally speaking, if you're overly concerned about sanitation I wouldn't suggest fast food.

Unfortunately, as Sara_wins mentioned, it's not just fast food. There are a lot worse things than the subway knife at most normal restaurants where the food is all made in the back. The problem at subway is that you can see it. Whereas, at most restaurants it's out of sight, out of mind.

fbmandy55

Oh, and the crab meat... It comes in an air tight, shrink wrapped plastic bag. I saw an employee drop a sealed bag of that once and swear it bounced at least 3 feet off the floor. I'm pretty sure rubber and gelatin are the main ingredients there..

As far as the veggies go. They do come whole and are sliced daily.

Jorra

I believe in a strong immune system.