Subway - Eat Fresh

[dclaryjr]

Oh, please. Just stack a Subway sandwich next to a Togo, Blimpi's, or any other sub-franshise sandwich in America. Easy to see that Subway is just a veggie sandwich with a slice of meat. I can see them put the meat on in a small pre-wrapped paper package. I only complain because I like a meaty sandwich. Nothing against Subway for those who like a veggie sandwich.

I was born and raised in New Orleans and after I return home and have real good poboy at any one of a number of outstanding sandwich shops in the city, I can't bring myself to eat in a Subway for months!!

[DualCitizen]

I eat subway quite often, but I have noticed that quality of service has gone down a lot. I frequent the Subway next to Villa on Sukhumvit, as well as the Silom one. I usually go in during the evening (around 8-9pm) I'm not sure how the staff are trained, but it seems the latest crop are not good at all.

The other night at the Silom branch, the girls behind the counter did a bad job at making our sandwiches, and they even gave my friend the wrong sandwich altogether! When we got home, we noticed they had given him the sandwich for the guy behind him

The girls at the Sukhumvit store are simply terrible, they made my sandwiches with half inch thick beads of mustard and mayo...we might as well have called it a mayo and mustard sandwich because there was more of that than meat! Then we saw that a piece of cheese had all this crud all over it (ie, DIRTY), so we asked the girl to not put it on our sandwich. She picked it up off our sandwich after putting it on the bread (she didn't listen to our protests beforehand), looked at it, and tossed it back into the cheese bin! That was a stomach churning sight.

Then there was the time we ordered a steak and cheese sandwich, and then we noticed that the meat was completely RAW (as in red, not pink!) after we bit into it. When I complained, the staff simply said that that was the way it came.

I think I'll have to resort to making my sandwiches at home if this keeps continuing.

Edited July 28, 2008 by DualCitizen

[steveromagnino]

[*]Siam Square

[*]MBK Shopping Center

[*]Sukhumvit near Soi 39, 55, 103

[*]Silom Rd near the Oriental Hotel, Satorn Rd

[*]Central World Plaza

[*]Suriyawongse Rd

[*]RCA Avenu

[*]Pratunam area

[*]Emporium Shopping Center

[*]Any other shopping centres you think would work?

[*]Any other locations you think would work?

Cheers!

One of the core realities is that many Thai people would rather eat rice than bread; however there are so many middle class Thais that just because many don't like bread, it doesn't mean that there is no market. Paragon kind of proves that, with a decent number of Thais eating there apparently.

Au Bon Pain does a good sandwich and there are always plenty of Thais eating there in All Seasons every day; dwarfed of course by the food court, but still enough to run a business.

However, white foreigner central is kind of the easiest recipe for success as is high traffic of any sort; so I'd say any location at any of these places above COULD work but it needs massive traffic past the door. If you look at the failures e.g. Subway All Season it is pretty obvious that high traffic for 2 hours per day (12-1 and 5-6) is not going to be enough, you need constant traffic preferably into the evening.

Against this, rental cannot exceed 15% of sales (and Greg would probably say you should acheive, total guess here, sub 10-12%) so maybe movie floor Emporium is better than MBK in the back of the 3rd floor but rental kills it.

Suriwong might work as that is fairly constant traffic; bear in mind mostly evening though; definitely not Suk 103, Thong Lor might work but must be same street side as the major walking areas e.g. J Avenue, or better still inside those locations.

I would be thinking for:

- amount of walking traffic wandering around in a buying mood

- some mix of Thais and foreigners

- hours that the wandering is happening

Then start comparing from there.

[Sunbelt Asia]

DualCitizen,

Sorry to hear about your experience on a couple occasions. You state you eat at Subway frequently so I surmise the vast majority of the time it’s been very pleasant and why you returned many times. Unfortunately any negative experience is what a guest will remember more than the many positive times. That’s why you have taken the time to point out three times you were unhappy.

Employees are the biggest reason if you are successful in providing a good experience. We are open 24 hours a day at many of our branches and serve over 10,000 subs a week. I repeat its all about the employees getting the job done and training by mgmt. The good news is many of our sandwich artists would never provide the experience you had. But it just takes one to ruin it for a guest.

Even though the Silom branch is not owned by us. I will point out your post to him. He is the DA for the region and will be flying back as he just attended the Subway convention.

The Roast Beef does get imported from Australia. The girl should of sent it back if it’s still red. The cheese, no excuse. Not subway's gold standard that is preached and practiced by most of our staff. I just sent my wife a copy of your post and she will be looking into this.

Thanks again for your post.

Regards

Greg Lange

Director

Bread Aroy Co., Ltd.

[Sunbelt Asia]

Against this, rental cannot exceed 15% of sales (and Greg would probably say you should acheive, total guess here, sub 10-12%) so maybe movie floor Emporium is better than MBK in the back of the 3rd floor but rental kills it.

You are right about the rent. Our worse performing location is Siam Paragon. Not because of the volume... it’s almost the same as Sukhumbit 7/1 but because of the rent of 20% of gross sales. Even though they are good people, we are just working for the landlord.

MBK wants and gets 32% of Gross Sales from the tenants in the food court.

www.thailandsubway.com

[steveromagnino]

Against this, rental cannot exceed 15% of sales (and Greg would probably say you should acheive, total guess here, sub 10-12%) so maybe movie floor Emporium is better than MBK in the back of the 3rd floor but rental kills it.

You are right about the rent. Our worse performing location is Siam Paragon. Not because of the volume... it’s almost the same as Sukhumbit 7/1 but because of the rent of 20% of gross sales. Even though they are good people, we are just working for the landlord.

MBK wants and gets 32% of Gross Sales from the tenants in the food court.

www.thailandsubway.com

yeah but food court is different as that 32% includes cash management, overhead and in some aspects the kitchen so there is much lower capex to set up.

32% is high for a food court, most of hte others are around 26-30%, 32% is justified when you look at the foot flow at MBK though.

20% at Paragon would be a killer; you think you can get a rent review on that? (my guess is.....not). Siam Discovery you might do better....but cannot think immediately of a top notch location to match. Siam Square is a mess. Ahhhhhhhhh the joys of being a retailer. You know I don't have much to do with retail these days right? Must catch again one of these days :-)

[Sunbelt Asia]

yeah but food court is different as that 32% includes cash management, overhead and in some aspects the kitchen so there is much lower capex to set up.

32% is high for a food court, most of hte others are around 26-30%, 32% is justified when you look at the foot flow at MBK though.

Subway Leasing would never approve the lease of 32% it as it would be impossible to make money without increasing prices. HQRS is leery of % leases anyway as you have a partner who is a landlord and its very hard to get a rent deduction

20% at Paragon would be a killer; you think you can get a rent review on that? (my guess is.....not).

We are on the low end of rent % charged. Most all local brands pay 25% on gross and some even higher. As I said Siam Paragon does very good numbers with traffic. Not much goes to the bottom line however. At 32% with MBK, it would be like selling 100 baht notes for 88 Baht. The more business you did, the more you would lose.

We must hook up one day and enjoy a cold one.

www.thailandsubway.com

[Lucifer]

After last nights ITV investigation into salt in sandwiches, including Subways, not many people will be visiting Subways, which came out as one of the worst.

[lardy]

After last nights ITV investigation into salt in sandwiches, including Subways, not many people will be visiting Subways, which came out as one of the worst.

Yes fine if you like plenty of salt and fat......... oh dear another "fresh and healthy myth" out of the window. Its all a bit like the sun cream companies the truth is you have to literally block the sun out with their cream for it to really work ie you look white all over as the cream is half an inch thick!

As a business model though Im sure its fine but location is the most important thing, people always want junk food!!

[Familyonthemove]

Sukhumvit 63/Ekamai has a healthy farang population ..... but I think the concept will need interest from locals as well as farangs to provide real growth.

I've just moved from India where the franchise is doing well. The vast majority of customers there are Indian and not 'gora'.

The Indian operation is split half and half between a vegetarian side and a side for people who like eating bits of dead animals.

- If you don't add the dressing and the extra cheese ...... the veggie options are pretty healthy.

Veggie foot long with honey oat bread ..... mmmmmm!

[Chang_paarp]

One thing that has been brushed over here in the franchise vs non franchise section is the brand recognition and the willingness of wholesaler to talk to you.

I have a small non franchise minimart, and 6 months into operation some of the wholesalers are just starting to talk to me. Service levels are terrible, for example I have been getting regular milk deliveries from meji for the last couple of months, some times a little patchy, but usually getting regular supply till this last week, all of a sudden no deliveries, now the person who delivered does not even answer the phone. This would not happen to 7-11 or subway.This is just a simple example there are many more to frustrate the independent.

On another level Soundman's family has a service station with a minimart attached. They ran it as an independent for some time, then 7-11 came to them and offered to rebrand and run the shop. They get a % of profit, the turnover has increased by a factor 10 (if I remember his post correctly). Basically brand recognition.

[Familyonthemove]

One thing that has been brushed over here in the franchise vs non franchise section is the brand recognition and the willingness of wholesaler to talk to you.

I have a small non franchise minimart, and 6 months into operation some of the wholesalers are just starting to talk to me. Service levels are terrible, for example I have been getting regular milk deliveries from meji for the last couple of months, some times a little patchy, but usually getting regular supply till this last week, all of a sudden no deliveries, now the person who delivered does not even answer the phone. This would not happen to 7-11 or subway.This is just a simple example there are many more to frustrate the independent.

On another level Soundman's family has a service station with a minimart attached. They ran it as an independent for some time, then 7-11 came to them and offered to rebrand and run the shop. They get a % of profit, the turnover has increased by a factor 10 (if I remember his post correctly). Basically brand recognition.

Excellent point ..... the buying power of a franchise operation v independent can add a vital couple of % to the margin.

And auditing of suppliers becomes viable due to economies of scale - so food safety and supplier performance will improve.

Organisations that invest in a brand have more to lose if they poison or exploit customers .... that's why people can place a higher level of trust in a well known, heavily marketed brand.

[BSJ]

Yes there is strength in numbers! I think that Subway is an excellent example of brand marketing. Here in Australia their franchisee's can get started without a huge up front outlay.

I would agree they are stingy on the meat, always have been. Plus the ham they use here looks like the cheap supermarket variety. Otherwise I wouldn't complain about anything. Certainly will go there again!

[warriors]

After last nights ITV investigation into salt in sandwiches, including Subways, not many people will be visiting Subways, which came out as one of the worst.

Yes fine if you like plenty of salt and fat......... oh dear another "fresh and healthy myth" out of the window. Its all a bit like the sun cream companies the truth is you have to literally block the sun out with their cream for it to really work ie you look white all over as the cream is half an inch thick!

As a business model though Im sure its fine but location is the most important thing, people always want junk food!!

I am waiting for Sunbelts reply to the above it is all good telling us about there shop standards and profits but what about folks that might have high blood pressure and eat say there tuna 6 inch thinking its healthy???

[kyb789]

Employees are the biggest reason if you are successful in providing a good experience. We are open 24 hours a day at many of our branches and serve over 10,000 subs a week. I repeat its all about the employees getting the job done and training by mgmt.

Well said. I work in a company that supplies to the automotive industry. Training is critical to our success. Most failures can be attributed to improper training and poor process control. Restaurants and retail outlets fail miserably due to poor training. They hire some poor employee making minimum wage and spend only a few hours with them, then set them free. This is criminal. Good managment needs to constantly retrain, monitor their staff, and obtain customer feedback to ensure quality service. There also needs to be a detailed training program. Unfortunately that just doesn't usually exist in retail and restaurant services.

[Sunbelt Asia]

After last nights ITV investigation into salt in sandwiches, including Subways, not many people will be visiting Subways, which came out as one of the worst.

Yes fine if you like plenty of salt and fat......... oh dear another "fresh and healthy myth" out of the window. Its all a bit like the sun cream companies the truth is you have to literally block the sun out with their cream for it to really work ie you look white all over as the cream is half an inch thick!

As a business model though Im sure its fine but location is the most important thing, people always want junk food!!

I am waiting for Sunbelts reply to the above it is all good telling us about there shop standards and profits but what about folks that might have high blood pressure and eat say there tuna 6 inch thinking its healthy???

Sorry about the delay in responding. Just came back from the States.

Here is link on reducing sodium.

http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition...frmFatTips.aspx

If you are trying to lose weight, Tuna would be one of the worse choices. Pick a healthier choice that has 6 grams of fat or less like Ham, Roast Beef, Turkey, Club, Chicken or Veggie. You could eat six 6 inch subs or three footlongs and still have less fat then one single 6 inch tuna sub.

http://subway.com/applications/NutritionIn....aspx?id=lowfat

This is how Subway measures up to other restaurants.

http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition...dMeasureUp.aspx

www,thailandsubway.com