- A. First, we slice the meat and cheese fresh after you order your sub, instead of having pre-cut, pre-portioned meat and cheese sitting in a countertop cooler. Second, our bread is baked fresh from scratch from our own special recipe every day, rather than being shipped to us as frozen bread dough. Third, we put far more into our subs than our “competitors”. They put their money into advertising; we put ours into our subs! Speaking of advertising, have you ever noticed how much better their subs look in their ads than the ones you acutally get? Those are just three of the things that set Sub City subs above all the rest! Sub City subs have been awarded 1st place in the category of “Best Subs” in the Waterloo Courier’s “Best in the Cedar Valley” and “Best of the Best” polls every year they have been conducted. This is quite amazing when you consider our biggest “competitor” has more than four times the number of stores in the Courier’s circulation area as Sub City does, including having a presence in several communities where there is no Sub City! By the way, subs are our only business! Though we do offer a selection of soups every day to complement our subs, we do not offer other entree items, like quesadillas, tacos, hot dogs, pizza slices, etc. Subs are what we do best, and subs are what we will succeed or fail on!
- A. It is important to understand that every restaurant has to have a certain profit margin to stay in business. While it seems like coupons and punch cards are a good deal for the customers, the cost is actually built into the menu pricing. In effect, the menu prices are higher (or you get less food) so that the restaurant can give customers coupons and punch/stamp cards and make them think they are getting a bargain. I don’t want to play that game and I don’t think our customers do either. My experience has led me to believe that, if they understand this and are given the choice, most customers prefer to pay a reasonable price and get a good value, without having to mess around with coupons or punch/stamp cards. By the way, have you ever been in line at a quick service restaurant and the person ahead of you had a coupon to get a free item and you didn’t? That has happened to me, and I felt cheated because I had to pay more for not having a coupon. At Sub City – West, you get the same great value every day, no coupon required! You may have heard that one of our “competitors” is discontinuing their stamp card program. (click here: Waterloo Courier News Story) This will effectively increase their prices by 12.5% for their customers who currently use these stamp cards, unless they replace it with some other type of customer loyalty program. We are happy that we don’t have to use gimmicks to keep our customers coming back, but that they come back time and time again for the excellent value and great taste.
- A. The reason we charge less for a whole sub than for two halves is because it is faster and easier to make a whole sub than it is to make two halves.
- A. We do now offer honey dijon mustard! We have added nine new toppings and condiments since I have owned the store, but there is a limit to how many I can add without it becoming too confusing and increasing the chance of error, as well as lengthening the wait time for customers. We get requests for every topping that people have seen in any other sandwich shop, but it is not feasible for us to carry the combined composite total of all the toppings and condiments of all those other restaurants! Typically, if we get enough requests for a certain item, I will add it. That’s how most of our toppings, condiments, and new subs got on the menu!
- A. This has to do mainly with the space limitations we have behind our counter. For hot subs, we do have meatball subs, unbreaded chicken breast fillet subs, and pizza subs. In addition, we can heat any sub for you in the microwave. You will be surprised at how different a sub can taste when heated in the microwave. For example, try a hot ham and cheese (#16 heated) and see how much difference warming in the microwave can make in the taste! That’s one of my favorite subs! NEWSFLASH: We now have steak and cheese subs!
- A. Three reasons: 1) cutting the meat and cheese and toppings for a Sub-in-a-Tub takes more time and is more labor intensive, and the labor to make the subs is a large part of the cost, 2) a Sub-in-a-Tub typically has more toppings, especially lettuce, and 3) there is a cost for the styrofoam tubs we use.
- A. There are several reasons for this. 1) If the customer does not bring the sub back in, how do we know they even got a sub from us, not to mention that it was made wrong? 2) Even if we are confident they got the sub from us, we still don’t know that something was wrong with it. 3) And even if we are pretty sure we made a mistake on the sub, if it was good enough for them to eat anyway, why would they expect a free sub? We would like to be able to give a customer a free sub if they tell us we made a mistake, but there are a couple of problems with doing that. First is that fact that we have so many toppings that, although we strive for 100% accuracy, mistakes do happen. If we gave away a free sub everytime one or two toppings were missing (or on the sub when they shouldn’t be), we would either go out of business or have to raise our prices substantially. Second, unfortunately, there are a lot of dishonest people in the world who regularly scam restaurants and other businesses. While we know the majority of our customers are honest, we have no way of knowing who is being honest and who is not, hence the policy that you have to bring your sub in if you want a new one. And, again, even if we know the customer is telling the truth in a certain situation, we feel that if the sub was OK to eat, they shouldn’t expect to get another sub as well. We want to correct our mistakes, but not give twice what was paid for. A business that does that doesn’t stay in business very long. Suppose you bought a toaster at Target. When you get it home, however, you find it doesn’t work, so you throw it away. Then, you go back to Target and ask for another one. Obviously, they are going to ask to see the bad toaster. If you tell them that you threw it away because it didn’t work, they aren’t going to accept that. They are going to tell you they need the toaster in order to exchange it for a new one. No one would expect Target to give them a new toaster if they don’t bring in the old one. But, for some reason, people think that when it is a restaurant, they should be able to get free food by merely telling them that the food they got was not made to their specifications. For some reason, a lot of people have trouble understanding that.
- A. We accept cash, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and debit cards! We also accept approved business checks. Here are some interesting facts you may not know. Many people think there is no cost for using debit and credit cards, unless you don’t pay off your credit card balance in full. However, that is not true. Merchants have to pay every time a customer uses plastic. The charge varies widely due to many factors, but it is usually a flat rate per transaction, plus a percentage of the sale. The bigger the amount of the transaction, the more it costs the merchant to process it as a credit. Many people like to use credit cards that have “cash back” or “cash rewards” programs (even some debit cards have this feature these days). What most people don’t understand is that ultimately it is not the credit card companies or banks that are paying you for the rebate you receive. These fees are charged to the businesses that accept the cards. Those kind of cards cost the merchants more to process than cards without the cash back feature. But, ultimately, it is not even the business that pays this fee. While it seems like a good deal for the customer–they are getting a cash back bonus for things they would buy anyway–this is a misconception. When the expenses of a business increase, including debit/credit fees, those increases are generally passed down to the customer through an increase in prices. Using cash whenever possible helps keep our costs down, and hence the prices that you pay. Just something to consider. 🙂
- A. All the Sub City stores have different owners. Each owner has customized his or her menu to a certain extent. While you should still be able to find most of your long-time favorite subs at all stores, we have each tried to appeal to a wider variety of tastes by adding new sub choices to our menu. One thing remains the same at all Sub City stores–our committment to provide the best value for your sub dollar! When you call in an order, if the menu you are looking at is not from the store you are calling, be sure to confirm the sub number you are ordering is actually the sub you want. Otherwise, since some of the numbers at the different stores represent different subs, you may end up with a surprise when you pick up your sub!
- A. The state passed a minimum wage increase that took effect April 1, 2007. There was no way we could absorb the increase in labor costs, so that necessitated an increase in prices. Had it not been for the minimum wage increase, we would not have raised our prices. It was two years since the last price increase. Prior to that, we went for 5 1/2 years without an increase. And during that 7 1/2 year period of time, some prices stayed the same. While I feel both our employees and our subs are worth the higher cost, I also feel that employee wages should be set by the employer, NOT the government. The free market determines the value it places on any particular job, and competition among employers will establish a fair wage. When the government gets involved by setting an artificial wage floor, it interferes with the workings of the free market. An increase in labor cost without an increase in productivity is inflationary. The result is higher prices, lost jobs, and closed businesses. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The money for the raises has to come from somewhere, and most businesses that employ workers at or near minimum wage are not able to absorb the increase. Ultimately, it is the consumer who pays for the minimum wage increase. If you don’t like the government dictating the wages a business must pay its employees, and forcing the business to increase its prices, please contact your legislators. Here are the Waterloo metro legislators, who all voted for the increase. If your legislator is not listed, or if you don’t know who your legislator is or how he or she voted, click here: Find your legislator here. Senator Jeff Danielson – 236-0611, Senator Bill Dotzler – 296-2947, Representative Deborah Berry – 233-9934, Representative Doris Kelley – 236-0343, Representative Bob Kressig – 266-9021.
- A. My decision to close on Sundays was a spiritual decision, not a business one. I feel it is right and necessary and pleasing to God to have a day of rest each week. I have chosen to set aside the Lord’s Day for that purpose. While this may seem like a foolish business decision, I feel God has blessed it, as our volume did not decrease when we went from being open seven days to being open six days.
I hope I have answered any questions you may have. If not, please feel free to contact me at info@subcitywest.com
Al Manning, Owner