Research Product

Shannon Napples
Dani Loch
Jessica Bird
Claire Talley

3B

1
 Table of Contents

Executive Summary...................................................................... 3

Introduction................................................................................. 4

Secondary Research: Yelp............................................................. 5

Secondary Research: Twitter..................................................... 6-7

Secondary Research: Yelp.......................................................... 7-9

Primary Research: Observation..................................................... 9

Primary Research: Survey........................................................ 9-10

Research Findings.................................................................. 10-14

Conclusion................................................................................. 15

Recommendations..................................................................... 15

References................................................................................ 15

2
Executive Summary

This research report was conducted to find issues within the Subway food chain.

Subway has noticed a slight decline in customer satisfaction. We used both primary and

secondary research to narrow down the main cause of the customer satisfaction drop.

We aimed to look at many aspects of Subway such as product quality, store

cleanliness, promotion, etc. However, our main area of focus was customer service. We

believe lower quality customer service may be a major factor in the drop of customer

satisfaction.

We used two methods of primary research. The first method was to survey

people who have been to Subway. This method was best for finding out specific

information from customers. Our team also used the observation method at various

Subway stores. This way, we could directly observe everyday protocol in various

locations.

Social media was our secondary source of information. We used Yelp, an online

customer review site, to see what Subway customers really think of the store. Twitter

was our second social media device. Our social media sources were best for finding

mass groups of Subway customers.

3
Introduction

Customer service is a key role when determining the outcome of a business. If

their customer service is lacking then so must be their profit. For an example of a
location that can be lacking in customer service resulting in a loss in profit is Subway
Restaurant chains. Constant complaint of unfriendly service, mixed with the
disappointment of getting a cheap, tasteless sandwich have all been complaints of
subway restaurants in the past.
To assess whether a certain company is failing to give proper customer service
we will look at two different areas. The first being the primary data and the second being
the secondary data. Primary data is the observation and surveys while secondary data
is the social media aspect. Observation took place when customers were observed by
our primary data team and evaluated on what they said, what the employee said, and
the overall satisfactory of the customer with the service they received, all from a visual
standpoint. Survey took place when the same primary data team created a survey to
give out to participants, that helped us see how many times people go to Subway and if
they are ever satisfied with their service and meal.
Our secondary data team was in charge of finding what people said about
Subway online, in the virtual world of Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp. Our findings were
discouraging toward one such Subway location that will be touched on later in this
project, in the detailed section of the primary and secondary data page.

4
Company History

*There is a website that has a timeline of Subway events that is really neat to check out.
(“Subway.com”)

The company started in 1965 with Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck as partners.
They later joined together to form Doctors Association Incorporated which is the
company over all of the Subway restaurants in the world. Subway has grown
exponentially since the very first day in Connecticut when they sold 300+ sandwiches in
one night. They now have restaurants that are not only in America, but in international
countries as well. Subway has been named america's favorite restaurant for a good
reason, but all of that may soon be slipping away if the customer service of some of the
locally owned franchises don’t tighten their reign on it.

5
Secondary Target Market: Yelp

First we need to look at a brief history of Yelp.

1 Yelp was founded in 2004 to help people find great local businesses, such as,
dentists, hair stylists and mechanics.
2 Yelp had an average of approximately 84 million monthly unique visitors in Q3
2012.
3 Yelpers have written over 33 million local reviews.
4 In addition to reviews, you can use Yelp to find events, lists and to talk with other
Yelpers.
5 Every business owner (or manager) can set up a free account to post photos and
message their customers.
6 Yelp makes money by selling ads to local businesses-you’ll see these clearly
labeled “Yelp Ads” around the site.
7 Paying advertisers can never change or re-order their reviews.
8 Yelp has an automated filter that suppresses a small portion of reviews - it
targets those suspicious ones you see on other sites.
9 You can access Yelp via iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and more - see the full list
of mobile apps here.
10 The weekly Yelp brings locals updates on the latest and greatest business
openings and other happenings.
(“Yelp”)

Yelp has given many businesses incentives to focus more on their customer service
than just how fast they are making to product available. Yelp found three reviews for a
Subway location that is near to Taylorsville High School. They are all listed below:

Review #1
Charles S.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Worst. Subway. Ever. I would elaborate, but this restaurant is so bad that it
doesn’t warrant more than two sentences.

Review #2
L.L.
Sandy, Utah
This is a review I just sent to Subway Customer Service. Hopefully they do
something about it. There’s so much to say about this store, I’m not sure where to start.
First off, I should say that my family and I get Subway sandwiches at least three times a
week. This Taylorsville store is consistently the WORST in service, quality, and worth.

6
The girls who work there are snobbish, resentful, and rude; none of the girls ever greet
you. Also, the amount of meat put on the sandwiches at this location is pathetic. I cringe
every time I have to go to this location because I know i’m going to get horrible service,
less food, and a horrible feeling as I leave the store. The sad part is, i’m paying for all
this. Please please please fix this! The Downtown location on 400 South has always
been a pleasant experience, as well as the Bountiful store right off the 2600 South
freeway exit. Why can’t the Taylorsville store be more like them? I spend about $50 a
week with your company, every week; I would expect a bit more courtesy and
consistency. Don’t waste your time at this store. Please GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

Review #3
Shem J.
Salt Lake City, Utah
It seems like whatever sandwich I get here it tastes the same...bland and
unexciting...places like Subway make money from low food costs which equal lower
prices for me the consumer...however it also means lower quality product...so even their
specialty sandwiches lack depth in flavor and distinction...a loud resounding blah!

All of these reviews were written before 2012 and the company has indeed seen
them and is making the necessary changes that will help fix these problems. The store
now is required to greet every customer within 3 seconds of entering the store by
saying, “Welcome to Subway. We will be will you in just a moment” or “You can order
whenever you are ready.” Store policy indicates that you can only start with a certain
amount of food and if the customer wants more, all they have to do is ask and they will
be happy to add more to your sandwich.

7
Secondary Data Target Market: Twitter

Twitters mission statement is, “To instantly connect people everywhere to what's most
important to them”. Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging
service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140
characters, known as "tweets" (“Wikipedia”). Here are the following results of the Twitter
research.

Kelsey Rozak@helloitskr
Yes I did just use the #Subway drive thru and yes, I loved it. #eatfresh

White Harriet@mandaa seas

Getting Subway instead of McDonals’s>>>>#eatfresh

Fat Problems@fatproblems
Just bought a deep fryer. I wonder what deep fried Subway tastes like.
#eatfresh

ThugWife@PrincessMeeky
#subway dont noooobody like the cold cut or meatball!
#AppreciationMonth my butt

The majority of the Twitter comments that were found were for general Subway
and all of them seemed to be pleased with Subway with no complaints. The main
reason it is believed this data conflicts with the other data is that it is not for the specific
Subway restaurant, it is for their local restaurant. In order to get a more accurate
assessment, we need to suggest the creation of an individual Twitter.

8
Primary Data: Survey

We collected primary data in two ways, through observation and surveys. First,
we passed out surveys to local high school students. Here is an example of the
questions we asked survey takers:

1. Have you been to a Subway restaurant lately? If yes, which one?

2. How would you rate the customer service on a scale of 1 to 5? (1=terrible,

5=excellent)

3. Were you greeted when you arrived as the store?

Our goal of these surveys were do find what the majority thought of the customer
service as well as the overall experience of going to Subway. We also hoped to find if
the results were the same for all Subway locations, or to narrow down specific stores
that have room for improvement.

One major thing we noticed from our surveys was that most customers were not
greeted by Subway employees. Most people rated the service as average or slightly
below average. While there were no major complaints, and no one ranked the customer
service as a “1”, it is obvious that Subway’s customer service needs to be improved.

9
When asked if customers get greeted on a regular basis, this is what they had to say;

Yes 6

No 3

Sometimes 5

We also asked if they are Thanked in anyway;

Yes 4

No 7

Sometimes 3

10
We even asked if they could rate the customer service;

Rate 1 1

Rate 2 0

Rate 3 7

Rate 4 6

Rate 5 0

11
Primary Research: Observation

Our second method of gathering secondary data was through observation. Two
project members went to three separate Subway locations. These stores were located
on 4660 South Highland Drive, 2885 South Highland Drive, and 3900 South 2300 East.

During observation, we focused on many different aspects of customer service.

This included whether an employee greeted and thanked the customers, how they
handle difficult customers, and their overall interaction with customers. We also focused
on cleanliness of the store, location, and overall impression that the store leaves on
customers.

#1: 3900 South 2300 East #2: 4600 South Highland #3: 2885 South
Drive Highland Drive

Con Con Con

- Lobby area not clean
- No employee in front
- No greeting from employee
- Not thanked by employee
Pro
- Friendly employees
- Not rushed
- Fast service
- Small parking lot, hard to - Only one person in
navigate store
- Small, cramped building - No greeting
Pro - Little employee -
- Very clean store customer interaction
- Greeted by employees - Not thanked by
- Friendly employees employee
- Fast service - Very rude customer
- Thanked each customer service
Pro
- Clean store
- Fast service

12
 During our observation research, we noticed only a few factors that were
consistent throughout each store. However, most stores varied greatly from location.
Most inconsistencies were in the area of customer service, the quality of customer
service was different for every location. There seemed to be no pattern or regulation
that employees followed.

The consistent factors can be focused on to find the stores’ strengths and
weakness. However, having very little consistency through the different locations is a
big weakness for Subway.

Consistencies Inconsistencies

- Speed of service - Greeting customers

- All locations provided very fast service
- Organization
-Everything in both the lobby area and
behind the counter was very well
organized
- Rushing customers
- employees did not try to rush
customers or pressure customers in any
way
- not all employees greeted customers
as they walked in the store
- Thanking customers
- about half of customers were thanked
after their purchase
- Personal employee - customer
interaction
- some employees tried to connect with
customers, while most simply went
through the motions
- Employees in front line
- usually, employees would only be in
front of the store if there were many
customers at one time
- Cleanliness
- behind the counter was very clean
- other parts of the store, specifically
lobby, were sometimes dirty

13
Conclusion

After collecting and analyzing the research data, we have narrowed down what
needs to be fixed in order to improve Subway’s customer satisfaction. The obvious
problem is customer service quality.
The main thing leading to this issue is the inconsistencies of each store. Subway
does not seem to have a strict customer service protocol, so the quality of customer
service varies depending on which store a consumer goes to.

Recommendations

The first thing that Subway needs to do is to establish a specific customer service
policy. Every current and new employee should be trained on this policy. Managers and
supervisors also need to monitor employees to make sure they are providing customers
with the best service.
One of the most important parts of this new policy is to make sure that
employees greet every customer as they walk in the door. Being greeted my employees
immediately leaves a great first impression on customers. Just as important as greeting
the customers is also thanking them after they make a purchase. It reminds customers
that Subway appreciates them. These two things alone will make a huge difference on
how consumers view Subway and ensure more future visits to the store.
This new policy should also provide basic guidelines for building a relationship
with the customer. Employees should go the extra mile to connect with customers. They
should ask each customer how they are doing and show that they care about their
customers. Having that employee - customer interaction is especially important for
regular customers. If a customer comes to the store regularly, employees need to
remember their name and their usual order if they have one. If not, regular customers
will feel ignored and underappreciated.

14
References

.Subway.com. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013.

<http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/about_us/TimeLine.aspx>.

.Yelp. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013.

<http://www.yelp.com/about>.

. “Twitter.” Wikipedia. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter>.

.Youtube.com Just Your Everyday Subway Employee. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNaI-NgEi_0>.

.Prezi.com. Research Project. N.p.. Web. 11 Jan 2013.

<http://prezi.com/7xz_4b7816_j/edit/?auth_key=
9h7zcz5&follow=59kgvmrqalgc>.

15