We hear about customers who flip out all the time, but what about fast food workers who flip out?

[Proud to be Woke]

Last night I worked late and decided to go to a Subway instead of cooking for my guy and me. I got my purchases and was heading toward the door when the Subway worker yelled after me that I had been disrespectful by not putting the money in her outstretched hand and counting out the money, putting it on the counter right in front of her instead. I replied that I was not trying to be disrespectful to her. It never occurred to me that it was disrespectful. She said "Maybe they didn't teach you any manners back in the day". (I think I was about 40 years older than her). I then said, "That's enough. I want to speak to the manager."

She said that the manager wasn't there. Then she said she was the manager. I told her very well, you have just lost a customer who has been coming here for years. Her reply was that she did not care, there are plenty of other customers. I said "Young lady, if you treat customers this way they will keep leaving. Do you want that?" She said "That's alright, I make enough money to pay my bills here." I saw a young man working there and asked if he was the manager and he just looked at his cell phone and smiled. After a while I just shook my head and left.

Should I pursue this matter with higher ups or leave it? Are Subways known for abusing the workers until they get to this level of crazy?

[LakeArenal]

1. I say TripAdvisor review.

And no, not all Subways are like that.

[Deuxcents]

2. If you got her name, I'd write a letter to corporate.

Name, date, store location and shift hours this occurred. I would not patronize the location again.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. What outcome do you want here?

[Earth-shine]

4. I've never had an experience like that at Subway. The worst I ever experienced is when they refused

to honor my coupons!

Bu, bu, that's why I came. You put coupons in my mail.

Sir, we don't honor coupons at this location.

[mn9driver]

25. This is a known issue with Subway.

Corporate announces coupons and promotions that the franchise holders never agreed to and can’t make a profit if they honor. They are really bad to their franchisees.

[Bettie]

26. This video explains it well...John Oliver

Oh, the one that got me is that they'll allow a new store to open right next to an existing one! I mean, that's setting them up for failure.

[Proud to be Woke]

5. I would like them to train their workers in not insulting older customers

That's an outcome I would like to see Subway do,

[LiberalFighter]

7. Better yet. Not insult any of their customers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. That's unlikely to happen with the tactics that are available to you.

[BannonsLiver]

6. When I go to Popeyes

I’ve started simply apologizing at the outset for being there before placing my order and it seems to be appreciated by the staff.

[Torchlight]

8. My household finds it's just better to ignore

whoever is making the spectacle or if forced to, engage them with minimal interactions and words. I see little advantage in going down the rabbit hole of public drama and pursuing a freakouts any farther than it already is. I think my own empty pride sometimes compels me to throw really righteous tantrums, which I know from experience makes a bad situation worse. Foul odors pass quickly

[LiberalFighter]

9. The problem is also likely the fault of management.

They don't train their employees properly.

I go into grocery stores and find employees not doing anything getting in the way of customers. Or leaving stock on the floor blocking customers to the goods.

[Effete Snob]

11. Should I pursue this matter with higher ups or leave it?

Why?

To what end?

For all you know, she sleeps with the franchise owner

>After a while I just shook my head and left.

You went for a sandwich. You got one. There was a rude person working there. You can make that person the focus of your life or move on.

[Iggo]

24. I'm with you.

I’m not messing with someone’s minimum wage job just because they were having a bad day.

I don’t need to see their manager…lol.

[sarisataka]

12. That's bizarre

That the counter person would wait until after you received your change, food and were on the way to leave before saying anything.

[anciano]

13. If that had happened to me, I would definitely pursue it.

IMO the only way to change and hopefully correct a situation is to address it head-on. The owner of the company that I retired from had a motto that I really like, it's a quote by William Johnsen: "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Best wishes.

[pnwest]

14. If I were the owner of that restaurant, I would

want to know that I had an employee acting like this. Period. If this was a first complaint, then it’s a training opportunity. Second complaint? Gone.

Having worked customer service my entire working life, I know that the majority of owners and managers would most definitely want to know about staff acting like this. Report it, and THEN forget it. You’ve done your due diligence.

[obamanut2012]

15. Call Corporate and ask for the phone number and email of the REGIONAL Manager of that store

Not District, and do not allow them to offload. Tell them they have to legally give you the info (they do).

Odds are it is a franchise, and Subway will take complaints very seriously, but you ahve to escalate it up to that level of supervisor.

https://www.subway.com/en-us/contactus/contactusform

https://corporateofficeheadquarters.org/subway/

[RT Atlanta]

16. that store will have a # that is registered in Subway's franchise system

It's possible/probable the actual store owner (franchisee) is remote or has multiple locations.

I would want to know my employees were behaving this way (they'd be fired) and encourage you to see if you can track down the actual store owner contact information and relay a message to them. I would also register directly with Subway and note the store location to ensure your complaint is registered (those complaints are tracked by franchisors when they measure annual performance of their franchisee).

[XanaDUer2]

17. I've had money thrown at me

Id never respond like that.ETA I'd be pissed at the age Crack. Also, I doubt she cares if they lose a customer.

[SWBTATTReg]

18. I know that the desire is to take it out on them, but remember their working environment, the some-

what minimal working salary/hourly pay they're getting, and there's sure to be weird or worse customers. As being one of these employees during my college years, it was a struggle to pay for schooling, books, etc., and doing all of the other stuff too.

I'd say give them a break, and you'll be pleasantly surprised that it doesn't take much, and you'll feel better too. Kind of your good deed for the day.

[Midnight Writer]

19. The downside of full employment nationwide is that some people get jobs they are not suited for.

It has long been my personal gauge of the economy to observe the abilities of the people interacting with the customers.

[NowISeetheLight]

20. Corporate

They may be franchised but corporate still needs to know. Likewise if it's franchised the owner needs to know. This so called "manager" has no business being in a job where she deals with the public.

[HoosierDebbie]

21. Nobody addressed the Subway worker's complaint

First, though, the worker was wrong to berate the customer for laying the money on the counter. She was way out of line there. She should not have even mentioned it to you as the customer. I worked retail management for most of my life and did lots of cashiering over those years. Cashiers do not like the money to be put on the counter instead of in their hands for several reasons. It takes longer to complete the transaction when you have to pick up the money (especially if there is change involved). As a cashier it feels almost like the money has been thrown at you, it does feel disrespectful. I don't like it if the cashier in a transaction with me puts my change on the counter (I actually hardly ever use cash anymore). It feels just as bad on the other end. OP says she didn't know, but now she does, so she hopefully won't lay the money down again. It is not surprising that the cashier was offended, but her reaction was so wrong.

As a manager, I would want to know about my employee's behavior. I would explain the cashier's feelings to the customer, but not excuse the situation. I would take the opportunity to explain the situation regarding money handling. I would take the opportunity to teach my employee that working in a service industry requires in many situations that we must tamp down our feelings concerning such matters and not take it personally. Also, that no correction or admonition should be given to the customer in such a situation. Hopefully in the end, the problem is solved.

I liked to give the customer's change in coin in their hand first, and then the bills on top as that makes it more efficient to put it away.

[DFW]

22. The closest I came to something like this, I was the one who flipped

There is a franchise chain of health food stores in Germany called “Reform Haus.” I used to visit the one in our town regularly. About three years after the conversion to the Euro, I was buying some things there, and gave the woman at the cashier a €100 bill. She suddenly started screaming at me for trying to pass off a fake bill on her, said she had been duped before, and wasn’t going to let me get away with it. Since when I need cash here, I get it from foreign exchange dealers who get their paper money directly from the country’s central bank, I was rather sure I had handed her a genuine bill. She further started yelling that the signature on my €100 note did not exist.

About six months before, the head of the European Central Bank had changed from Wim Duisenberg of the Netherlands to Jean-Claude Trichet of France. The bills with the new signature had been in circulation for many months, something any person working retail should have known from day one. She then came out with phrase that betrayed her: “I don’t know in what country you get your money from, but you are not passing off your counterfeit money on ME!!” I.e., “you dirty foreigner, your attempt to deceive me won’t work!” I was more boiling mad than I had ever been at a retail sales person. Since overt Nazi slogans are still forbidden by law in Germany, I went down to the nearby police station and swore out a formal complaint, something I have never done. I then sent an email to the head office of the Reform Haus franchise, which prides itself on its organic/health oriented product line. I said I did not appreciate being yelled at with Nazi-like slogans, especially in a store least likely to hire people harboring such sentiments. I got a nearly immediate (in Germany!) horrified response, apologizing profusely, and asking for details (when, which store, which employee).

This was a Saturday morning. The next Monday, I went to a local bank, and picked up a flyer, there for the taking in every branch, explaining the two signatures that had been on all Euro bills for half a year or more. I grabbed one, and, seeing the disagreeable woman at the cashier of the store, walked in and handed her one, saying maybe this would help her avoid unpleasant incidents in the future. She stuck her nose into the air and said the matter “had been cleared up.” In other words, she had gotten a visit from the cops, plus been informed by her employer, and still considered me to be the offending party. I just answered that the matter was far from being “cleared up.” The story made the rounds in my town, and I have never set foot in the shop again. If asked why, I unhesitatingly say because I don’t like being insulted by Neo-Nazis. Most people are shocked. In THAT store? Yep, in that store. I don’t even know if she still works there. My time is too valuable to me to waste my time finding out.

[Iggo]

23. Seriously? "I want to speak to your manager?"

Why not just call the cops?

Just don’t go there anymore. Jeezus.

[KentuckyWoman]

27. I would have just kept walking

I don't go to every fight I am invited to. I certainly would not escalate it.

[Ms. Toad]

28. Just out of curiousity -

are you white and the worker black? (or vice versa?)

That's the only thing I can think of that might logically trigger this kind of comment - feeling as if you didn't want to touch her hand because she was black. (Or, if the races are reversed, some whites are offended when blacks don't look at them - and at times, at least, not looking at whites is a safety issue because doing so is sometimes perceived as defiance. Way too many white teachers in the alll-black school I used to teach at demanded that students meet their eyes when they were calling the students out; the students were just doing what their parents taught them.)

[Takket]

29. Write corporate.

And if you are on twitter tweet about it tagging @subway. I’ve found companies hate being called out in a public forum and will jump right in to get you in a private chat to help you.

[Proud to be Woke]

30. Thank you so much for all your great feedback and advice (and both I and she are white)

One of the folks who responded asked if I were white and she black and no, we are both white... (and the young woman is blonde and very fair complexioned!)