Last week, Australian teenager Matt Corby uploaded a photograph showing an 11-inch Subway sandwich. The original Facebook post has since been deleted, but Subway did respond to Corby.
"Hi, Matt. Thanks for writing. Looking at this photo, this bread is not baked to our standards," Subway wrote on Thursday in response to his post.
"We have policies in place to ensure that our fresh baked bread is consistent and has the same great taste no matter which Subway restaurant around the world you visit. We value your feedback and want to thank you again for being a fan."
If it were just one sandwich, the picture probably would not have gone viral, but apparently it touched a nerve with sub sandwich eaters. Quite a few other Facebook users posted similar pictures of a Subway footlong as 11 inches or a bit less. By the time Subway Australia responded in the comments of this Facebook post, they could no longer pretend it was an isolated incident.
So if a Subway Footlong® is not intended to be a measurement of length, does the same logic apply to a 6-inch sandwich, which is made from cutting a Footlong® in half? And is the ® symbol a new version of "quote" marks in that when you see them, you automatically think that it doesn't mean what the words say?
I have not seen a picture of a 13 inch sandwich, at least not yet. A quick survey of New York City sandwiches found four out of seven at 11 or 11.5 inches.
Some say that the internet uproar over an inch of sandwich is silly. Others point out some of the greater implications of the controversy:
1. Will it still be silly when next year, the Footlong® is only ten inches? Or nine?
2. What if we decided the dollars we pay for the sandwiches are not intended to be a measurement of money?
3. Would it be silly to complain if a gallon of gas were to become 10% smaller?
So what do you think -is this a tempest in a teapot or a place where customers should draw the line?
I say Neatorama needs to get in touch with Peter Reinhart to make this an interesting bit of investigative journalism.