Having Subway located in a more central location on campus subsequently brought more consumers to the sub shop, yet its services have not caught up to the increased traffic.
Brynn Castro | The Houstonian
During the lunch rush, long lines can be expected at any campus eatery. However, one moves slower than the rest.
Subway’s streamlined process now crawls at a glacier pace.
In a study conducted by The Houstonian, the average lunch rush time from entering Subway’s line till leaving the restaurant following the transaction is 19 minutes, 54 seconds. Time spent waiting in line before ordering averages at 15 minutes, 23 seconds and the sandwich making process averages 4 minutes, 31 seconds.
In the 45-minute period customers were monitored, three patrons left the line before ordering their sandwich.
Freshman political science major Dilek Icten spent 23 minutes, 11 seconds in Subway ordering her lunch. Icten frequents the shop because of her dietary restrictions.
“I am a vegetarian, so it is a simple choice for me in terms of food,” Icten said. “[Service] should be much more faster than [it was]. The service was good but, the line was very, very long. It shouldn’t be like that. We need a much more larger one.”
Kelsi Moore, junior business major, moved through the process in 18 minutes, 23 seconds – the quickest of the customers sampled. Moore frequents the sub shop, and while she waited the least of the patrons sampled, she noticed the service was slow.
“I usually come twice a week, so it is about the same every day, so it’s not that bad,” Moore said. “Today was little slower than usual. They seemed kind of off.”
A probable cause of Subway’s sluggishness is the apathetic atmosphere exhumed by the employees. Often times, patrons move through the restaurant with little-to-no verbal interaction with those making their sandwiches.
Confusion ensues when the cashier fails to vocalize the customer’s total and never asks for the customer’s form of payment. The root of these issues lie with the employees and the lack of energy they devote to their job.
To avoid the lunchtime gridlock of Sam Houston State University, sandwich lovers can visit one of the five remaining Subways off campus, take their business to Five Loaves Deli near downtown or wait for the soon-to-open Jimmy John’s on Sam Houston Avenue.
With six Subway build-your-own sandwich shops in Huntsville, the SHSU population and members of the surrounding community should be familiar with the standard operations of the world’s third largest restaurant chain.
The ease of customizing any sandwich, flatbread pizza or salad to the consumer’s liking at a decent price leaves a university begging to have one on or around its campus. Luckily for SHSU, there are two within walking distance of any building on campus.
Beginning fall 2014, the Subway once located in the South Paw food court was moved to the Lowman Student Center Paw Print food court as part of a campus-wide relocation of restaurants. Subway and Grille Works landed in Paw Print, Moe’s was introduced to SHSU at South Paw, while Tortilla Fresca and Burger King were removed from campus.
In a town saturated with sub sandwich options, one can hope Paw Print’s Subway can iron out the kinks in its process and begin to provide the university population with the service it so desperately needs.
Lillie Muyskens | The Houstonian
Multimedia Reporter Logan Self contributed to this article.