Subway Franchisees Say Mothership Is Shipping Food Too Late, Compromising ‘Eat Fresh’ Photo: The Subway logo is seen on on a soft drink cup next to a sandwich at a restaurant in Londonderry, N.H., Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Subway prides itself on its “Eat Fresh” philosophy but not so say Subway franchisees, who are demanding more frequent food deliveries of fresher food.
The giant sandwich chain is coming under attack by store operators who are demanding better-quality produce, The New York Post reported.
Subway has been delivering food to most of its stores just once a week, resulting sometimes in stale lettuce and bad cucumbers, franchises complain.
“It is vacuum-packed, but the reality is it’s not fresh,” said a franchisee of the lettuce. “If I have it for seven days, it is more like 15 to 20 days since it was picked,” he said.
“How ethical is it for them to say ‘Eat Fresh’?” asked the franchisee who owns multiple Subway stores.
The fast-food chain is getting slammed on Twitter.
Eric Brown @_Ezza tweeted, “it’s not fresh, its subway”
Another franchisee told The Post, “The freshness all depends on how careful the restaurant is with food storage. If your refrigerator is good, if you shut the refrigerator door when you leave, there is only a slight difference between lettuce you get at the beginning of the week and at the end.”
Subway has been facing troubles on several fronts. In addition to these complaints from franchisees, the company is suffering from sagging sales,
A group of Subway franchisees on April 19 wrote a letter to Elisabeth DeLuca, the widow of the chain’s founder, demanding changes they said would boost sales, The New York Post reported.
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“Franchisees should have the right to source fresh vegetables every day and offer higher quality ingredients when they are available,” the letter said.
The chain has already said it has implemented changes to avoid more closures in Mexico. So far, the chain has closed 135 branches in Mexico and another 40 are at risk, Entrepreneur reported.
