I Want It Like The Commercial!

[blas]

I was at Subway on Saturday afternoon.

There was an older woman in front of me, for the life of me I don't remember exactly which sandwich it was that she wanted, but she made it a very clear point that she'd never had it before and she wanted it exactly the way it was advertised on the commercials and in the picture on the menu. Down to the very last freaking detail.

The sandwich artist was a little nervous about it, but tried her best......this woman didn't even know WHAT all was "supposed" to go on the sandwich but she was adament that it had to look JUST like the picture and the commercials!

Every time the sandwich artist tried to suggest something or even just go into personal taste territory, the old bat would just snap "I want it JUST LIKE the picture on the menu right there!"

This would be why some people need to stay home and make their own damn sandwiches.

[Kristev]

Oh my. That's just absurd. I mean, not wanting it to be just like in the commercial per say, but having no idea what kind of sandwhich that was.

[Racket_Man]

yeah I WANT a burger/sandwich/pizza to look exactly like the commercial......

but OH, I know that food pictures on menues and in commercials are so faked it is not even funny so I take what I can get. I know the lettuse will not be all fluffy, the cheese will not be melted just so, and the burger is actually cooked all the way through, and will NOT have the perfect grill marks on it, the mayo is actaually mayo not some lard lookalike, etc.

[draco664]

The food in those photos is often frozen. Cooked and then frozen to hold it's shape and colour during the photo shoot.

[Javarod]

One thing that's a pet peeve of mine is that Subway doesn't offer a standard way for their special subs. When they advertise something new, i want to try what it is, but when i get there, they don't know what it is per se, which is kinda annoying, you'd think they'd have a list of what goes on it, then you're free to customize it. So, while the customer was being obnoxious, some of the blame does fall on Subway, since i shouldn't be required to memorize the ingredient list, so i can try what they're advertising.

[PepperElf]

especially considering that in the commercials they don't always use real food.

or if they do use real food it's specifically designed to look as best as possible. i've read articles on how to photograph food... you get the shots ready ahead of time - focus, placement etc. everything is *set* before the food even appears. So when you actually shoot, the food is out for a minimal time.

and there's other tricks too... photoshop, adding a lil bit of water to make it steam, etc. there's a serious art to filming / photographing food

[Kogarashi]

And then one of those photo comparison sites I read once said that only the food actually being advertised has to be "real" food in the photos/commercial, so while the cereal itself may be legit, unless you see someone eating it there's no guarantee that milk it's in isn't glue.

Javarod, I think one of the problems is that Subway doesn't do "standard" vegetable arrangements. The veggies, as far as I'm aware, have always been intended to be customized, while the meat/cheese ingredients are more "set." So their photos of, say, the Teriyaki Chicken sub may show lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes, but that doesn't mean that's the default arrangement at the store. The default would be everything but the veggies, which the customer then chooses to add as they see fit.

What always confused me was how some Subway stores would have the specialty sauces separate, at the end (so you could get, say, ranch on your Teriyaki Chicken sub if you wanted instead of the sweet onion dressing), but at others the specialty sauces were pre-mixed with the meat, so if you asked for Teriyaki Chicken, the sweet onion dressing was mixed with the meat in little paper trays.

[blas]

I'm a really picky eater, so I already have my set ways of wanting my sandwich.

[chainedbarista]

she wants it just like it is on the menu/commercial?

"ok, ma'm, it'll be a moment while i grab the silicone patties, lacquer and shaving cream. what? that's what the ones in the commercial have..."

*customer leaves*

the ones in the commercials/pictures are so doctored with things that could kill you that...wait, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

*hands customer the 'perfect' sandwich* "enjoy!"

[MoonCat]

I read something about the way they do those food commercials...you might be looking at real food, but it might not be the stuff that actually goes in the dish. For example, the lovely mound of vanilla ice cream might really be mashed potatoes, because they hold their shape under the hot lights, which ice cream obviously won't.

[Raveni]

Other sandwich places in the area at least have a "standard" way of making it, for those that lack creativity. Or personal taste. "I would like it Mike's way. It's Mike's sub shop; I assume that he knows what he's doing, or he'd still only have one shop in New Jersey."

Really, sometimes I'm ordering for someone else and they haven't told me anything. Other times I am so tired that I have no idea what goes on a kung-pou-chicken-ranch sandwich (presumably some chicken and ranch?). Your nametag says that you are a "sandwich artist". Be artistic, impress me, and maybe I'll come back more often.

[kwdy]

Ok just like the picture huh? *pulls out the airbrush and some hot glue/pins.*

Yeah cause those sandwiches you see on TV are what your going to get IRL :P

[Javarod]

Javarod, I think one of the problems is that Subway doesn't do "standard" vegetable arrangements. The veggies, as far as I'm aware, have always been intended to be customized, while the meat/cheese ingredients are more "set." So their photos of, say, the Teriyaki Chicken sub may show lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes, but that doesn't mean that's the default arrangement at the store. The default would be everything but the veggies, which the customer then chooses to add as they see fit.

True, but Cousins for example tells you this is what we put it on it, but would you like something different. How hard is that? More importantly, when you're pushing some new promotional sub, wouldn't you think there's a standard formula to match the ad, even if its something you don't offer, but rather pull out if the customer asks for it like the ad? I would think it was just one lazy store, ifn i hadn't run into this over more than a decade and stores in a half dozen states, so its definitely a chain thing.

[Kogarashi]

Different stores, different methods I guess. The OP's encounter is the only time I've heard of someone who whined that they wanted it like the picture rather than just picking which veggies they wanted on their sandwich.

[blas]

Apparently, some people just can't even trust or know their own personal tastes.

My next paycheck says she's the type of person who would be first to bitch if she didn't like the sandwich the way it was "supposed" to be.