Subway 'crisis': Is footlong sub really 11 inches?
NEW YORK (AP) - What's in an inch? Apparently, enough missing meat, cheese and tomatoes to cause an uproar.
Subway, the world's largest fast food chain with 38,000 locations, is facing widespread criticism after a man who appears to be from Australia posted a photo on the company's Facebook page of one of its footlong sandwiches next to a tape measure that shows the sub is just 11 inches.
More than 100,000 people have "liked" or commented on the photo, which had the caption "Subway pls respond." Lookalike pictures popped up elsewhere on Facebook. And The New York Post conducted its own investigation that found that four out of seven footlong sandwiches that it measured were shy of the 12 inches that makes a foot.
The original photo was no longer visible by Thursday afternoon on Subway's Facebook page, which has 19.8 million fans. A spokesman for Subway, which is based in Milford, Conn., said Subway did not remove it.
Subway also said that the length of its sandwiches may vary slightly when its bread, which is baked at each Subway location, is not made to the chain's exact specifications.
"We are reinforcing our policies and procedures in an effort to ensure our offerings are always consistent no matter which Subway restaurant you visit," read an e-mailed statement.
The Subway photo - and the backlash - illustrates a challenge companies face with the growth of social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Before, someone in a far flung local in Australia would not be able to cause such a stir. But the power of social media means that negative posts about a company can spread from around the world in seconds.
"People look for the gap between what companies say and what they give, and when they find the gap - be it a mile or an inch - they can now raise a flag and say, 'Hey look at this,' I caught you," said Allen Adamson, managing director of branding firm Landor Associates in New York.
Subway has always offered footlong sandwiches since it opened in 1965. A customer can order any sandwich as a footlong. The chain introduced a $5 footlong promotion in 2008 as the U.S. fell into the recession, and has continued offering the popular option throughout the recovery.
An attempt to contact someone with the same name and country as the person who posted the photo of the footlong sandwich on Subway's Facebook page was not returned on Thursday.
But comments by other Facebook users about the photo ran the gamut from outrage to indifference to amusement. One commenter urged people to "chill out." Another one said she was switching to Quiznos. And one man posted a photo of his foot in a sock next to a Subway sandwich to show it was shorter than a "foot."
"I've never seen so many people in an uproar over an inch. Wow," read one Facebook post. "Let's all head to McDonald's and weigh a Quarter Pounder," suggested another poster.
The Subway footlong photo is just the latest in a string of public relations headaches for that were caused by a negative photo or event about a company going viral.
Last year, a Burger King employee tweeted with a picture of someone standing in sneakers on two tubs of uncovered lettuce. Domino's Pizza employees posted a video on YouTube of workers defacing a pizza in 2009. And a KitchenAid employee last year made a disparaging remark about President Obama using the official KitchenAid Twitter account.
Subway, the world's largest fast food chain with 38,000 locations, is facing widespread criticism after a man who appears to be from Australia posted a photo on the company's Facebook page of one of its footlong sandwiches next to a tape measure that shows the sub is just 11 inches.
More than 100,000 people have "liked" or commented on the photo, which had the caption "Subway pls respond." Lookalike pictures popped up elsewhere on Facebook. And The New York Post conducted its own investigation that found that four out of seven footlong sandwiches that it measured were shy of the 12 inches that makes a foot.
The original photo was no longer visible by Thursday afternoon on Subway's Facebook page, which has 19.8 million fans. A spokesman for Subway, which is based in Milford, Conn., said Subway did not remove it.
Subway also said that the length of its sandwiches may vary slightly when its bread, which is baked at each Subway location, is not made to the chain's exact specifications.
"We are reinforcing our policies and procedures in an effort to ensure our offerings are always consistent no matter which Subway restaurant you visit," read an e-mailed statement.
The Subway photo - and the backlash - illustrates a challenge companies face with the growth of social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Before, someone in a far flung local in Australia would not be able to cause such a stir. But the power of social media means that negative posts about a company can spread from around the world in seconds.
"People look for the gap between what companies say and what they give, and when they find the gap - be it a mile or an inch - they can now raise a flag and say, 'Hey look at this,' I caught you," said Allen Adamson, managing director of branding firm Landor Associates in New York.
Subway has always offered footlong sandwiches since it opened in 1965. A customer can order any sandwich as a footlong. The chain introduced a $5 footlong promotion in 2008 as the U.S. fell into the recession, and has continued offering the popular option throughout the recovery.
An attempt to contact someone with the same name and country as the person who posted the photo of the footlong sandwich on Subway's Facebook page was not returned on Thursday.
But comments by other Facebook users about the photo ran the gamut from outrage to indifference to amusement. One commenter urged people to "chill out." Another one said she was switching to Quiznos. And one man posted a photo of his foot in a sock next to a Subway sandwich to show it was shorter than a "foot."
"I've never seen so many people in an uproar over an inch. Wow," read one Facebook post. "Let's all head to McDonald's and weigh a Quarter Pounder," suggested another poster.
The Subway footlong photo is just the latest in a string of public relations headaches for that were caused by a negative photo or event about a company going viral.
Last year, a Burger King employee tweeted with a picture of someone standing in sneakers on two tubs of uncovered lettuce. Domino's Pizza employees posted a video on YouTube of workers defacing a pizza in 2009. And a KitchenAid employee last year made a disparaging remark about President Obama using the official KitchenAid Twitter account.
The picture with this story is about as appetizing as a Manatee that has been through a boat prop.Â
LOL!. Since when has advertising even been honest? Honesty has never been a requirement of "free speech", but rather the right to make any claim you want without repercussion (on pain of lawsuit).
Â
I'm sure that Subway will come back and say that the bread is a foot long*.
(*pre-baking measurement.)
Â
Ho-hum. End of story.
Their advertising is also very deceiving. If you look at pictures of sandwiches on their website or store signage, those pics show sandwiches overflowing with meat and veggies, but what you really get is one that looks like the picture at the beginning of this article.Â
 @Kennyboy That is all fast food. Hamburgers are the biggest crime of all. In production, they will literally paint the meat and vegetables to look the right color. I think it should be against the law to advertise with fake food. They should have to pull a nasty smashed looking burger from the closest location and use that burger or sandwich. I've never had a fast food anything that looks like the advertisement.
The real story should be why subway sandwiches are so flavorless.
Wait, this is about sandwiches, and not something else??  Must have the wrong support group :)
I wish I had an 11-incher...
@str1ngb3nd3r  Just fold it in half
 @WendyTeagarden Best comment I have ever seen.
So if its 11 inches, then divide 11 by 12 and multiply by the price and you get what you really owe.
Wow. Subway owes me at least 40 feet of sandwich.
The real problem is that in order to have a decent amount of meat and cheese on your footlong, you have to pay an extra $4-5 bucks.
The meat on a McDonald's quarter pounder, for certain, won't weigh a quarter pound... the measurement is in reference to the weight of the meat before it is cooked.Â
That is correct, however, they SAY so in their ads.
Great, just great. NOW my GF will be puling out a ruler tonight...Dang it!!
 @disgustedman  Better pulling something out than pushing something in! Count your blessings!
Consider yourself lucky.  Mine will be pulling out a micrometer.
 @Kushfan It's time has cum, I'm thinkin' it's time for an orgasm app for my new SIII so I can tell if the OMG is legitimate.
 @Kushfan No kiddin' dude, now the wife is gonna be questioning what the dimensions really are.....I don't think she's gonna be buying the John Holmes thing anymore....darn it.
 @beernpizza  @Kushfan I hate to go into cardiac arrest if not necessary.
Subway has more of a problem than cheating people with an inch of dough, they never put more than an ounce of meat or cheese on a sandwich. I asked for spinach and they gave me 4 baby leaves, really? Just once I would like to feel like I got something like they advertise. I always feel cheated when I went to Subway. Note the past tense, I no longer darken their doors.
Huh...I say deal with it. I was always promised a certain few inches and was always disappointed in finding less. But....you just learn to deal....... :)
 @fracas It's not the size of the wand but the magic you perform with it. ;p
 @beernpizza  @fracas What a splendid comment. That's how you get in the door gentlemen!!
I always thought they looked a little short, I figured I just had big hands. Sad Panda.Â
As any sandwich eater will tell you, length is important, true, but what's more important is girth.Â
I'd like to see the people complaining about this bake 100 uniform loaves of bread.
Subway has been cutting down on food costs for the past few years: they discontinued the old customer loyalty program involving the stamps, they cut down on the slices of meat from 14 to 12 to 10 while increasing the amount of bread. I stopped eating there because quality declined so and because eating a big loaf of bread isn't satisfying.
Warning folks - DO NOT eat at the Subway located on 16066 SW Boones Ferry Rd in Lake Oswego. They allow their sick employees to work and as a result, they cough all over the displayed food. I WILL NEVER eat at Subway again because I caught the flu by eating there.Â
@Sick_n_Tired You know if an employee calls in sick they risk getting fired?
 @JLO  @Sick_n_Tired That's pretty much the standard at any restaurant, not just Subway. Minimum wage slaves can't afford to miss work, and even if they're some of the few who can, they really don't dare risk being fired. If you're not in the hospital, you don't call in sick.
"What's in an inch?"
Sounds like the title of a really bad Porn movie!
 @B SmizzleÂ
Â
The next Craigslist add: Wanted: Fluffer. Please, apply in person at Subway.
 @Icarus  @B Smizzle oh so wrong but oh so funny. kudos to you
That's why women have a problem with depth perception. For all those years they were told this was six inches.......
Why can't women read maps? Â Cuz only a man would think that 1 inch equals 1 mile.
"Subway Sandwich - "I WAS IN THE POOL!!! Â I WAS IN THE POOL!!"
 @Kushfan
"It shrinks???? You mean like laundry?"
"No like a frightened turtle!"
@Kushfan I'm off to Vegas tomorrow....where lying is allowed.
You men - always about size!  It's not the missing inch, it's what's in the sandwich that counts.Â
 @Justanother1 It never hurts to add some "head let us"!
What a coincidence. Â My last girlfriend told me that I came up an inch short too.
 @Kushfan I told my wife from the get go that I was only 3 inches...From the floor.
 @mikeyb123 That's like the punch line from that old joke.
Â
Guy#1 - "This river is cold."
Guy #2 - "Yeah, and it's deep too."
 @Kushfan  @mikeyb123 Guy #3- "and the rocks are sharp too"
Whenever I talk about myself I always exaggerate at least an inch.
 @swimbad So you're up to 3 these days eh? lol j/k
 @beernpizza  @swimbad Hahaha, I owe ya a beer and a pizza!  lol n/k :-)