Did those geniuses also come up with removing most of the meat to make them cheaper?

So it's this guy's fault we have really crappy commercials with singing construction workers who aren't the Village People.

@pecan 3.14159265: the commercials are actually pretty cute and laughable. But to each their own.

Now who was the genius at Krystal that ripped them off to make the most annoying commercial of the year...?

I'm not surprised that the idea "originated" from a franchise owner. Anyone who has worked for a large corporation would probably agree when I say that the workers in the trenches usually know what's going on and are able to come up with good ideas and solutions.

Rather, to me, the surprise is that anyone in headquarters listened to this guy.

JAS, you mean to tell me having a reasonable price that doesn't end in 99, offering a reasonable selection of products at that price, and ensuring the product is a generous portion makes customers come to your store now?

@pecan 3.14159265: I'll put up with crappy commercials, but not crappy food.
Dear Subway:
--Why is my sandwich always so mushy and soggy?
--No matter how brown my bread looks when it comes out, that box is a microwave, not a toaster.
--Cheese triangles suck, and it's a rip-off
--Are you owned by Hellman's? Your employees destroy my sandwich with mayo. And somehow 'light on the mayo' translates to 'load that fucker up.'

Sincerely,
A Pot Belly enthusiast

@laserjobs: If you mention, "don't forget that other piece of turkey" or equivalent as they are making it then you can still get all the meat you used to without paying the extra meat charge. Had this happen last thursday.

@pecan 3.14159265: You should get a DVR. Then you wouldn't be forced to watch crappy commercials.

It has worked for me. I had not gone to Subway for a few years based on their 6" sandwiches costing $4 and me wanting a footlong but not willing to pay $6-$7

Enter the $5 Footlong deal, and it is now pretty high on the list. Whether I should be feeling like I am getting a good value or not, it has worked for me.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: I'm indifferent to the commercials, but when I saw Relient K this October, they covered the 5 Dollar Footlong song and it was hilarious.

My problem with this promotion is that all the subs that are bad for you are $5. Maybe one is on their list of 6 grams or less (and its the veggie).

Plus, the veggie 12-inch was under $5 (about $4.50) before this promotion and guess what, its now $5.

@VidaBlueBalls: Seriously. Little bit of mayo always means three passes with the dispenser "Is that ok?"

If I want a chain sandwich, I'll take my money to Mr. Goodcents or Blimpies. At least they slice the meat right in front of you unlike Subway where it's all prepared and pre-portioned.

Little King (local sandwich chain) though is the best in my opinion.

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already:

The Ham sub is also quite healthy, and only watching fat is not going to make you a healthy person (Most candy contains zero fat).

That makes 2 out of 5 $5 choices healthier choices for people trying to lose weight. The cold cut combo sub isn't particularly unhealthy, although eating a whole footlong wouldn't be great for you (Eat it over two meals), and it isn't going to help you lose weight.

'course, this is coming from a meatball sub lover. :)

I know Subway gets a lot of crap, and I can't stay in one too long without the smell getting to me, but I'm completely addicted to their veggie subs. If only I could find 12" sub bread, I'd make those things at home alllll the time.

@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: It took me a while to figure it out (I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes), but that's the Burger King in the limo.

@VidaBlueBalls: First of all.. I love Pot Bellys..

I'm shocked that you have a too-much-mayo issue at Subway. When I used to eat there (not my choice, family dinner kind of thing) they would never put enough mayo on.. it was mostly shreddy soggy lettuce. But this was back in the day of the V cut bread.. stupid Subway. I'll never eat there. Ruined childhood dinners really seem to stick with a person.

@pecan 3.14159265:

The idea was to use hand gestures and an irritatingly addictive jingle to convey both the price (five fingers) and the product (hands spread about a foot apart).

They charge a little less for the sandwich, but more than make it up on the combo. It's an extra $2.50 here for a 16oz.fountain drink and a bag of chips. At the convenience store next door to the one I go to, a bigger bag of chips and a 24oz. drink are $2.00.

After working in the bush and eating many a Subway sub for lunch, I can no longer even smell Subway bread baking without getting ill. Seriously, that stuff is just ground up baked assholes.

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: The Subway's over here have Ham and Oven roasted chicken breast on the list which are both pretty healthy for you.

@eccsame: We have a DVR, but we watch a lot of shows live. We always reach for the DVR to fast forward, only to realize that we're watching live.

@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: PotBelly is fantastic. I love, love, love PotBelly, especially the milkshakes with the little cookies they give with them.

I hear all the complaints here about the amount of meat... and I used to think the same thing. Then I discovered a) I don't need to eat my weight in meat every day, and b) flavor.

For the $, you can't get a more healthy dining-out alternative to Subway. I buy a 12" subway club on wheat, no cheese (you can't taste it anyway so why ingest the calories), L, T, pickles, and black olives with deli mustard. Eat half first day and half the next. Very healthy and very economical. Try to do that at blimpies or pot belly...

@shepd: True, but in general the coldcut combo is EXTREMELY high in sodium, ours have the tuna, and the mayonaisey subs on our $5 list.

I understand it's not only fat, but their list of 6grams or less also tend to have fewer calories as well which is what its all about.

It'd be nice if they dropped their six-inch prices in a similar way. I can never down a footlong, and even if I could, those things have millions of calories, which goes against the whole healthy image Subway used to try to convey.

Remember, mandating calorie counts on menus resulted in people eating fewer calories at every major chain ... except Subway. And why? The $5 footlong deal: [consumerist.com]

So who's the marketing genius who came up with those creepy oven commercials for Quizno's?

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: I noticed the veggie actually went up as well. I guess that they are making out on that one.

I hardly ever get the veggie one as I prefer the oven roasted chicken breast that isn't too bad for you in fast food terms

I have very few fast food options as a vegetarian, so I was pretty pissed At Subway when the veggie sub went UP in price. I haven't been back.

@Sneeje: I agree with you 100%. As far as fast food goes Subway is one of the healthier options around and $5 footlongs like hte oven roasted chicken breast are great since they're cheap and fairly healthy.

Just a note, the link to the businessweek article goes to the second page.

@diasdiem: You don't like the redneck hot tub?

@TCama: to be fair the "millions of calories" depends on the subs and condiments.

A footlong steak and cheese with ranch, mayonnaise, bacon, double meat and double cheese? Sure, it's going to be like 2-3 meals in one.

A footloong veggie or oven roasted chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, onion, and other veggies without sauce or cheese? Much more like 1 or 1.5 meals, where it should be.

I just don't go to Subway. Prices are too high for the tiny amount of meat, piss poor quality, and just unfulfilling after effect.

I personally prefer to stick with local delis. In CT, there are a few "Giant Grinder" locations. They cut the meat for the sandwich, right in front of you. Use great ingredients, and truly load the grinders (I'd say an inch or better of meat in the middle). A "half" if about a foot long and costs about $7.50. But that half can make for 2 servings. Dinner and lunch the next day for me.

@laserjobs: I was in a Subway about two weeks ago; the guy in front of me was giving the sandwich maker a hard time because the chicken salad was spread VERY thin. I ordered the Subway Club and watched the guy STRETCH the meat across the bread. I figured they were trying to save money as well. I simply left; for all I know, he is still waiting to finish up that sub. I probably won't be back to any Subway. No big loss, I prefer Chik-fil-A anyways.

@laserjobs: I usually get the chicken breast. Not a whole lot they can do to thin those out.

I always asked for a $5 footlong and they end up charging me $7. They said it wasn't one that qualified for the $5 footlong promotion. So, I don't go back.

@laserjobs: In my experience here in the Madison, WI area, they've been putting MORE meat on the sandwiches in the last couple of years AND more tomatoes (which used to be one of my peeves about Subway).

@laserjobs: What upsets me is this $5 footlong craze replaced a better deal that the Subways in my area used to have. 3 footlongs for $11.99. Any footlongs. Even specialty subs like "The Feast" (the sub with like 6 different meats on it). Those were $4 footlongs. I'd buy the 3 subs on Sunday and have lunch for the whole week.

@VidaBlueBalls: It's probably your local Subway then. My subs are never mushy/soggy and when it comes out the oven it's definitely toasted.

@AirIntake: In my old apartment complex in Philly, Subway opened up a restaurant on the ground floor. I don't know what they did, but they somehow piped the Subway's exhaust into our building's ventilation system, and every morning, our apartment on the 5th floor would smell like their fresh baked bread. And while I love the smell of baking bread, Subway's does NOT smell normal.

I used to wake up feeling nauseated because of it. Every. Single. Day. To this day, I can't eat Subway without feeling queasy.

Something about that bread.

@Al Swearengen: The signs are pretty clear on which ones qualify for the promotion.

@laserjobs: I used to work at a Subway in college. I remember how all the subs are made and have never had any Subway skimp on the meats. The veggies are a different thing entirely. I've had some where the guy put 3 tomatoes on the sammich (it should have 4) or 5 black olives on a whole footlong. I simply ask nicely for some extra and smile at the person making it. Haven't been told no yet.

I'm also the guy who gets the chicken breasts. I just feel it's more "meat" than you get with the cold cuts, even if it is pieced together, bleached chicken meal with fake grill marks on it.

@Bigfoot-Angus: I dunno, not much you can change on the Club seeing as how it's 4 turkey, 2 ham and 2 roast beef (on a footlong). Even if they "strech" the meat, you should be getting the same quantity of product unless it's sliced thinner.

Subway gypes you by putting on next to no veggies unless you push them to put on lots (remember when they used to cut the bread the "old" way and loaded on so much vegetables that the subs were practically bursting at the seams?).

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: I guess it depends on which ones they put on the menu where you are. Here are the sadwhiches they have here in Durham, NC:

Meatballs
Cold Cut Trio
Tuna
BMT
Veggie Delite
Chicken Breast
Black Forrest Ham
Ham and Turkey

If you look at the list, the top four are "bad" for you, but the other four are on the list of 6g of fat or less. You can eat healthy and a sandwich with less than 300 calories if you get one of the bottom four without mayo or cheese (I normally get lots of vinegar and spicy mustard as sauce on mine because there is almost no calories in those).

When in doubt go to Jimmy John's?

Two Words: JIMMY JOHN'S!!!!!!!!!

Subway can eat a giant cockwaffle.

@TCama: Hmm, from Subway's Nutritional info page (all sandwiches are foot long and include L,T,Green Peppers and Cucumbers):

Chicken Breast - 640 Calories
Black Forrest Ham - 570 Calories
Subway Club - 640 Calories
Turkey Breast - 570 Calories
Turkey Breast and Ham - 590 Calories
Veggie Delite - 460

If you consider that a normal person should eat 2000 calories in a day, a foot long sandwhich is about right for one meal (if you don't drink a soda and eat some chips, that is). Also, you can add pickles, jalapenos, onions, spinach, vinegar, and mustard to your sandwich without significantly increasing the calories you eat.

@Bigfoot-Angus: God bless Chic Fil A. Its a jaw dropping experience everytime I go there. They have never effed up my order and the customer service is unbelievably outstanding.