I know this question is a little tougher to answer given the various sizes of cereal and the spoon being used, but if anyone has an opinion on this, let us all know!

And while I’m on the topic, I just wanted to say that you should never pour the milk before the cereal. It makes a mess as milk splashes all over the place. LOL! It’s true!

If you know anything about offline and Internet marketing, you know that the customer is increasingly becoming important. Here are a couple of stories.

A while back I ordered a sub in a Subway restaurant in Newton (MA) where the owner who was an obviously disgruntled franchise owner. He went on about how “the amount of product” is “built into the price” and the fact that I wanted extra tomatos was an issue. Aside from making me feel very uncomfortable, he didn’t take note that all I wanted was tomatos and lettuce (no cheese, nothing else) which saved him money anyways. Well, a few months later I drove by and he was out of business. What came first, the bad attitude leading to a lack of customers or the lack of customers leading to the bad attitude?

In 2005, the Subway stamps program was cancelled. Apparently people were selling them on ebay and there were counterfitters and such. Well, that’s fine except that the price of Subway subs accounts for that extra one. When you order 10 subs you get one free. Well, where’s our discount?? It must have been a great time to buy stock in the company since there was surely a jump in profits.

During today’s visit to subway today, I ordered a tuna wrap. It seemed typical enough. The guy serving me opened the large round rubbermaid-style container, pulled out a plastic bag, and found a piece of crumpled wrap at the bottom. He went in back to find another and returned with a plastic bag full of new wraps. I soon discovered that these were frozen as he placed them in the MICROWAVE! I asked about the situation and was informed that someone forgot to defrost the wraps so he figured nuking them made sense. I decided that I didn’t want a soggy, hot, plastic-melt tuna wrap so instead opted for a 12-incher.

I went to Subway for the first time in a couple weeks or so. Today was arguably one of the nicest days of the year thus far. It was warm and sunny as people came out to take it all in. I opened the door at the local Subway restaurant and it was hot and stuffy. While standing in line, I kept asking myself why these rejects don’t open the door to get some fresh air in. Certainly the patrons would appreciate it. I do recall that I made a similar request on another occassion at a different location which was met with blank stares (but that’s a whole other story). Anyways, I was about to suggest the door opening when lo and behold, one of the employees actually opened the door with a chair! A Subway restaurant miracle! Subway employees thinking on their own! Wow!! One for the record books!

I was in line at Subway the other night, about to pay for my “usual” meal, when an elderly black (or African-American for those of you in the politically correct world) man came stomping into the restaurant. He had several large bags and I noticed they were filled with bottles of alcohol.

The man butted into line and ordered a coffee. It was time to pay for my meal and I was hungry! But alas, I had to wait for this guy to find his loose change to pay for the coffee. He finally pays and proceeds to sit down. I sat down behind him, sure to get a glimpse into his life.

This particular Subway restaurant tends to hire somewhat disorganized staff and my table had a small plastic cup, surely left there for hours. I moved it over which caught the attention of the alcohol guy. He then went to the cash and requested a small cup while pointing to the one on the table. He brought his cup to his table and looked around in a way that rivals Morgan Freeman’s Shawshank Redemption scene when he is looking around to see if anyone is watching him open the box that was left for him under the tree.

The alcohol guy then proceeds to pour his Grand Marnier Triple Orange Liqueur into the cup. He took a swig and then poured it into his coffee. I sat there watching this take place and was almost Shawshank-Redemption-Morgan-Freemaning myself as I wanted to see if anyone else had noticed this unusual consumption.

A few minutes went by and I got up to refill my cup of diet coke. Alcohol guy noticed that I was getting seconds for FREE and was intrigued. The machine did not offer coffee so he asked at the cash if he could get a refill. He was told “no” and so he complained that it was “cold” and deserved a second one. He got it, sat down, and added more alcohol into the cup. I watched in amusement, finished my meal, and left.

I have been a Subway restaurant “addict” for years. I have eaten at Subways in at least 5 countries and can share many an experience. I thought it might be funny to share true stories of my encounters and experiences in Subway land. Watch for them!