They don't know what a steak and cheese sub is. I kid you not...I've eaten here at this specific location MANY times and hadn't had an issue until this visit...but this is worth a Yelp review. I asked for a "regular steak and cheese, with salt and pepper, please" and the guy at the counter started cutting a tiny piece of bread after I told him the type of bread that I wanted. I stopped the employee and said, "is that a regular-sized sub?" and he looked up at me and said "this is a breakfast sandwich, you said you wanted a steak and cheese and I saw you pointing up at the breakfast menu, right? This is the size they come in". [I never pointed up at the breakfast menu.] I replied, "No I'd like a regular steak and cheese please, like a normal lunch sub". The employee goes, "Oh! You mean like a regular #6? Okay sure, just salt and pepper?" I replied, "Uhhh..." (I looked up at the menu and didn't quickly see a #6) "I think so? I just want a steak and cheese with salt and pepper". So the employee goes, "okay, sure". At this point the employee kind of seemed flustered with me for no good reason other than a misunderstanding. Next, I walk over to the cash register where another employee rings me up for my purchase along with a bag of chips and a drink. By the time I'm done paying, the original employee making my sandwich says to me, "hey just salt and pepper on this right?" I then look down at the counter in front of the employee preparing my sub and its a *ROAST BEEF sandwich*.... I very simply said to this employee as patiently and calmly as I could, "thats not a steak and cheese sub". The employee then got a little more flustered and said to me, "this is a steak and cheese sub!" The employees voice was clearly in a frustrated tone and he pointed at the sandwich while saying, "This is roast beef, which is the steak, and there is the provolone cheese. This is what the number 6 comes with, you said you wanted a number 6! This is a steak and cheese and what you asked for." I replied, "I wanted a cooked steak and cheese sub..." The employee shook his head with somewhat of an attitude or frustration and said, "thats what we have here." I then finally looked up and really stared at the menu to try to figure out where the heck the confusion was coming from, then I finally pointed to the menu after seeing the Hot Subs section and saw the 'Mike's Famous Philly'. I then told the employee making my sandwich, "I guess I want a #17 without the extras." At this point, the original younger gentleman who was helping me just walked off in frustration. As the guy was walking away from me clearly fed-up with the situation saying "thats a steak and cheese" [to the ROAST BEEF sandwich he made me], I simply said to his back, "sorry man, that's not a steak and cheese from anywhere I've ever been to and I order these all the time". Then a friendlier lady working behind the counter stepped in and asked me, "what did you want? you want a cooked steak and cheese right?" I then said, "yes please, just the steak and the cheese, no onions or peppers". The lady promptly started cooking my steak and cheese. I turned to the different employee at the register and I asked "is this going to change my price now?" And the employee at the register said, "after all of that? no dont worry about it". We both kind of laughed a little at how overly complex that was.
Long story short I have to say this to you, Jersey Mike's in Encinitas: I eat at different Jersey Mikes restaurants all around the San Diego area and I enjoy the food and I have never had a problem ordering a "steak and cheese" up until now. However this leaves you with a training opportunity... Please EITHER teach your employees what customers often name different types of sandwiches (aka that a "roast beef sandwich" is NOT a "steak and cheese"), OR please insist and force customers to locate the "number" of the type of sub they want to purchase off your menu. I find it a pain to have to memorize or identify the number of the sub that I want, which is why in this case, I didn't think that providing the sub "number" was necessary when ordering a simple steak and cheese...because all I EVER really order is a "steak and cheese sub". I'll reiterate; I've never had a problem up until now... If your employees tell me I HAVE to pick the correct number off the menu (#17) when I order, then so be it, its on me...but if they're rushing me to pick a menu # when all I want is a "steak and cheese", then it gets frustrating on the customer. I DONT want this employee to get in trouble...but I would also say that another training opportunity for your employees is to NOT get frustrated easily or at least do not show it to the customer. Trust me, as the customer I'm also frustrated with the complexity of trying to order a simple steak and cheese sub, and I'm getting more frustrated with the suppressed frustration from your employee who is having a hard time figuring out what I wanted. I just kept calm. read more
