Sandwich Sodomy

It's been a long long while since I've had the motivation to blog publicly about anything. But I went to lunch today at a large sandwich franchise and was fascinated to witness the effects of truly dumb corporate decision-making.

So I shot off a customer complaint on their website:

Seriously guys, WTF.

First, the following comments do not apply specifically to the store I visited but to your company as a whole.

I can understand as a growing company the need to find ways to cut expenses. But this recent change to basic sandwich packaging is utterly myopic and is the dumbest thing I've seen in a month. It's a terrible decision for your store employees and a terrible decision for your customers.

1) The paper sandwich bag. It's designed to fit so snugly that it can hardly be called a bag. Maybe a sandwich sock. I feel sorry for the employee working the end of the counter but I'm amused that it looks like he's trying to shove an erection into a dry asshole. Whoever came up with this idea is unconscionably disconnected from your real labor force. Given the marketing info on the bags, I wouldn't be surprised if your whole damn marketing department were responsible since this actually fell through the gaps of peer review. If it doesn't fit, the sandwich needs to be smashed. If it doesn't fit, tear the corners of the bag. If it doesn't fit, shake the sandwich into the bag and guarantee that everything that was put into the sandwich in the first place ends up at the bottom of the bag. There's a reason you used to use a simple large sheet of paper and it's because it provides employees economy of motion on the serving line. Put the sandwich in the middle, fold, fold, fold, roll. Next. Is the bag really cheaper to make than sheets of paper?

2) The metal grating basket. The old plastic basket served a dual purpose by not having holes. People in the modern western world eat sandwiches on a plate, OK? An 8"x8" sheet of paper on top of a metal grating is not a plate. There are crumbs everywhere! Where the hell do you put chips or a pickle? I watched a lady construct a placemat out of carefully positioned napkins for her torpedo (which happens to ridiculously oversize the metal basket). Are these metal baskets cheaper than the plastic baskets? Are they supposed to be easier to clean?

If you're going to make a change, make sure it has positive effects throughout the entire process.