Was I so wrong here?

I don't normally go there anymore, but today after the gym I was having one of those infrequent bread cravings where I really wanted a Subway veggie delight and would probably kill someone for bread.  So, I get in line behind this woman who was there with her 3 grandkids (they're a whole new rant!) who were all getting subs of only meats and cheeses covered in mayo (I live in the fattest state in the US, right by the fattest city in the US, horrah)... so once they were FINALLY done I asked the girl who had just waited on them and was about to make my sub to please change her gloves. I phrased it just like this "Hi, would you please change your gloves before you make my sub, I don't eat meat or dairy and you just touched a lot of bacon and chicken". All said with a smile on my face, and I really was being polite, not faking it!! I got an eye roll, a huge exasperated sigh, and a "OK MISS" while she ripped off her gloves and slammed them in the trash. You could actually SEE grease from bacon on her gloves! Why would I want that all over my precious banana peppers or sliding all around on my spinach?! 

Have you fellow herbivores had sitations like this, too? I hadn't had anything like this happen to me in a long time, someone actually bothered by me asking them to go out of their way a LITTLE TINY BIT for my diet choices... makes me realize why I prepare 99% of my food at home, well... that and all the damn sodium in that stinkin' bread!!

Rule #1 of food service:  The customer is always right.  You're perfectly entitled to ask for a minimal accommodation like changing gloves, and I certainly wouldn't appreciate getting a bunch of attitude about it.  Consider writing a letter to the manager of the store or even to the franchise headquarters, letting them know that as a vegetarian you enjoy the options they provide but would appreciate it if they would encourage their employees to show a little more courtesy.

I don't see anything wrong with what you did.  I stand up for myself all the time. 

The other day I was faced with similar situation when the cashier at my favorite coffee shop was writing my order on my cup but holding it in a way that his germy hands were inside the cup - I asked him to not handle it like that since he's handling money and I got the big "whatever" eye roll as well.

I don't care though - I feel I was right and you were right as well.

I'm the queen of letter writing when something like this happens! Last winter a Panera Bread employee once assured me one of their soups was vegan and when I went to look up the calories online to log it... CHICKEN STOCK! They sent me a really nice letter apologizing & said they were going to hold a meeting with their staff to let them know that they need to check infomation before answering questions, and gave me 5 coupons for free visits for me and my guests.

I completely agree. The customer is always right, and you definitely were doing nothing wrong! A pet peeve of mine is bad customer service, especially rude people at food/drink places.  Especially since you were polite (but even if you weren't), part of their job is to treat you NICELY, and not just decently.

I also second writing the letter idea.  What you asked them to do is not uncommon I'm sure, and it would be good if the store managers made everyone aware of it.

I worked at Subway and had vegetarians ask me to do that all the time.  It's totally normal, no big deal.

I'm not a vegan, but I totally respect it and I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm a germaphobe and am more than a little squeamish about that kind of thing.

I had a very similar siutation at a Subway, no less, where i watched the guy clean off the counter tops with an old dirty rag, then walk over to me to make my sandwich. I waited for him to put his gloves on and he never did. It was a few years ago and I wasn't as assertive (this was a big lesson for me) and was thinking, "OMG, he didn't put gloves on!", but didn't say anything. I got home and threw the sandwich in the trash and ate the chips and coke. I regret that so much.

So I am totally on board with you asking them nicely to change gloves. That salesperson should not have minded such a simple task. Yes, please write a letter or call in and ask for the manager.

I agree with Hannibal Lector on this one. "Discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me."

Of course you are in the right to ask the server to change their gloves. The bad part is the reaction you got. Maybe that person was having a bad day--not really a valid excuse but maybe they were just fed up with making sandwiches and overreacted to your request. I'm not saying it's ok, but customer service is sadly lacking in so many places. Write the letter if it will really make you feel better.

Funny thing about the soup. At Sprouts (A Natural Foods Market) near my house, they had some "vegetarian" split pea. When i was ladling it out I could see chunks of ham! In some less aware areas many service people don't know that vegans don't eat dairy. Around here they throw a bit of some kind of cheese in just about everything!

Mind if I put a little newbie spin on things?

I'd say just make sure you know WHY you are asking for the special accomodation.  I can see a vegetarian or vegan getting so habituated to asking for these little favors that they forget to pay attention to whether it really makes any difference.  Having a sandwich artist change her gloves won't save the lives of any animals.

Granted, I don't want bacon grease on my food either, but not just because I don't like the thought of it.  The taste and texture are unappealing, and I'm not interested in the cholesterol.

We need to increase awareness without being annoying.  Just my $0.02.  Sorry to be unorthodox.

sorry but Rule #1 in food service the preper is always right....   learn your place =P

um, i don't really think i was being "annoying", like a lot of other vegans i know, i've been vegan long enough that when the odd little bits of meat or dairy accidentally end up in my food i get horrible stomach aches. i don't mind asking someone to change their gloves to save myself from a bad afternoon of stomach cramps.

I like the idea of explaining, too - but sometimes there is a line behind you and it's hard - good for you to say something!

At my last restaurant job, a lot of customers who frequented us has wheat issues. It became very important for me to learn all the ingredients on the soups - and luckily I was sympathetic, being a vegetarian.

Now that you've probably calmed down, ask youself if you were really correct. If the answer is yes, you were 110 % correct, write to the manager right away. I've been working in the hospitality industry for approx 14 years, and let me tell you this:

the customer isn't always right. as the matter of fact, most of the time, they're wrong.

But working in this field means smiling a lot at people you don't want to smile at. That girl should have been polite with you, even if she was just probably stressed to death by the granny with the fat kids.

If she can't keep her temper, she should get another job. And your request was perfectly reasonable.

i would write a letter. whether it does anything or not, at least you'll feel better. that was rude of her, and i'd be pissed. however, the downside of this might be spit in yer next sub if you go back to the same place with the same worker. kidding (i hope!)

Well, the customer is NOT always right, especially at a restaurant.  I?ve worked my fair share of time in the food industry and most of the time the customer has their head up their a$$!  If you approached her as you said you did, her response was uncalled for.  It?s all fine and well, in my opinion, to get rude and pissy with a rude and pissy customer, but if someone asks you to do something simple and asks politely there shouldn?t have been eye rolling.  Write letter!

Ooh, I hope someone starts a restaurant industry blab thread!

hmph funny...when I worked at subway a few years ago we were required to change gloves after every order...

 

 

I've requested the same thing of a Subway sandwich-maker, and he just said, "Oh sure, no problem," and switched his gloves. Sometimes I ask, but sometimes I just shrug and don't think about it. I'm usually purist about being vegetarian, but sometimes it's just not worth the hassle with little things like glove-changing.

I think you were completely in the right in this case though.

you were definitely right. i get things like this ocasionally, see it as a "game" now. do not feel frong!

Not really a vegetarian, but I do understand where you are coming from. I get sick when ever I see someone cooking meat and cheese on the same grill that I am about to eat from and ask them to clean before cooking my meal. The same goes if there was bacon or ham cooked on the grill before hand. I am trying to follow all the mitzvot and they clearly state that meat and dariy are not to be consumed togeter and that pork should not be eaten either.

Oh yeah, sorry. I do not want animal stuff in my body, regardless of whether or not it won't save any more lives or not. I don't judge vegetarians who don't mind cross contamination-but I don't want it. And as a customer, it was her right to ask the person-politely-to change her gloves prior to her order. Besides the fact, isn't that the rules in all food prep? No cross contamination? Seems to me that is what I've been told time and time again.