Subway Surpasses McDonald's: Clever Marketing Eludes Ethical Questions

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Subway Restaurants has surpassed McDonald's in the total number of restaurants operated under a single brand-name. The article, written by Julie Jargon, credits Subway's strategic move of locating its restaurants in non-traditional locations for part of its expansion success. However, I believe that it has been the company's ability to market itself as a healthy alternative to traditional fast food offerings that has primarily facilitated its growth. While McDonald's has been a lightning rod for ethical questions about its unhealthy products, Subway has escaped such scrutiny. However, a comparison of the two firm's key menu items suggests that Subway's healthy reputation may not be warranted.

As America became more health conscious, Subway successfully modified its image by portraying itself as a fast food chain for waistline watchers. This marketing approach culminated in "The Subway Diet" campaign that featured Jared Fogle, a customer who had lost 245 pounds in less than a year purportedly due to a diet consisting primarily of Subway sandwiches. He ate a six-inch turkey sub plus a bag of chips for lunch each day, and then consumed a foot-long vegetable sub for dinner. As part of Subway's promotional program, it emphasized its menu that contained seven six-inch sandwiches with under six grams of fat each. The sandwiches on this menu did not did not contain any cheese or sauces, which limited the fat content.

I have eaten at Subway frequently and I cannot remember ever seeing a customer order a sub without cheese or condiments. As well, most customers appear to order sandwiches that are not part of the low-fat menu. Despite straying from the low-fat menu, I think that most of these customers believe that they are consuming a healthier meal than they would receive at McDonald's or other traditional fast food restaurants. They have simply accepted Subway's marketing message regarding its healthy product offerings and have failed to examine the calorie and fat content of their most popular subs.

Many of Subway's six-inch sandwiches contain over 500 calories and have over 20 grams of fat, including in excess of ten grams of saturated fat. Consider the following six-inch subs:

Meatball marinara with cheese: 570 calories; 22 grams of fat; and 9 grams of saturated fat.

Tuna sub with cheese: 530 calories; 30 grams of fat; and six grams of saturated fat.

Spicy Italian with cheese: 520 calories; 28 grams of fat; and eleven grams of saturated fat.

Subway Melt with cheese (one of the lower calorie offerings): 370 calories; 10 grams of fat; and four grams of saturated fat.

Keep in mind that the above menu items do not include any sauces, which most customers order. The addition of the most popular condiments can add an additional hundred calories and ten grams of fat and turn a seemingly healthy sub into a calorie laden lunch. For example, one of Subway's six-inch sandwiches from its low-fat menu is the turkey breast sub with 290 calories, five grams of fat, and one gram of saturated fat. However, if a customer adds ranch sauce and Monterey Jack cheese, the resulting sandwich contains 440 calories, 19.5 grams of fat, and 5.5 grams of saturated fat.

This makes a McDonald's cheeseburger, with its 300 calories, 12 grams of fat, and six grams of saturated fat seem like diet food. Other McDonald's menu items have nutritional profiles that are not much different than the Subway sandwiches with cheese and condiments:

Quarter Pounder with cheese: 510 calories; 26 grams of fat; and 12 grams of saturated fat

McChicken: 360 calories; 16 grams of fat; and 3 grams of saturated fat

10-piece McNuggets: 460 calories; 29 grams of fat; and 5 grams of saturated fat

So a customer who decides to eat a foot-long turkey sub with cheese and ranch dressing believing that he or she is eating a healthy meal is consuming the caloric and fat equivalent of a Quarter Pounder with cheese and a McChicken sandwich.

I am not suggesting that Subway has done anything ethically improper by emphasizing its low-fat menu items. The company clearly states in its advertising that these sandwiches do not include cheese or condiments. It also provides detailed nutritional information regarding all of its subs on its website. What is notable is that Subway's marketing approach has allowed it to escape the ethical scrutiny that has plagued McDonald's and other fast food restaurants. By marketing its products to children through its Happy Meal promotions and advertisements, and by sourcing some of its ingredients from factory farms, McDonald's has received the negative attention of consumer watchdog and animal rights groups that question the company's moral compass.

It remains to be seen whether or not Subway's rapid expansion will result in greater examination of its products and business practices, or whether the continued success of its marketing message will allow Subway to maintain its reputation as the healthy fast food.

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Will Customer Service Job Interview Questions Decide Your Employment Future?

Customer service job interview questions could be of great importance in your next job interview.

The reason is simple, the sad fact is that the West in general and the United States in particular, steadily lose their jobs in manufacturing to countries with less expensive workers are generally in the east.

Many of the works that are created are in the service sector, where present, and future revenues much more to expect from an extreme focus on the customer - soMany questions centered around customer service in your job interview.

What you can expect to be asked? Well, here are some common customer service interview questions.

Since the service sector of the economy is growing, your prospective employer to focus on its largest single asset, their customers. And you will be expected to support that asset through good customer service.

Customer service job interview questions will explore your ability to meet, and exceed, customer --Expectations.

The interviewer must be convinced that you and get to follow the customer-service standards will you be able to anticipate the future needs of customers, and become active and attempt to take to contribute to future sales meeting.

If you have been employed before, so the interviewer should focus on your background. Do not have a customer service training at a former employer? What do you have of that training? Did you meanbe successfully completed workshops and seminars, which were focused on customer service?

If you answer these questions well, and provide details of how your customer service expertise has grown over time, you are given a good change of being as superior applicant have.

In your interview you can expect to work much emphasis on the ability to work with a client who is unhappy, too. Can you focus on the fact that the customer is upset and not personallycan be attacked, even if the language and the attitude of a client is extremely difficult?

Difficult situations occur more frequently than most employers admit they want to know you'll stay calm. Can you focus on the issue and restore solutions for the customer confidence in the new organization? If you can stand on their feet and remain calm and collected, you will be beneficial to any company that has a strong customer orientation.

The interviewer asks if you are the typeCommitted person, and will provide the customer? They have a proven track record of following through with what they promise? As events unfold, you need to get back to your customers, tell them if the situation has changed, and offer a second or even third solution?

Another issue you can expect during your interview is a focus on the relationship. Can a good working relationship with your customers? What skills do you have in this area? Can you examples or answersdemonstrated to the customer that they be rated companies?

Could, given the importance of "service" sector of the current economy, the correct answers to interview questions contact Customer Service to help you secure a job in an increasingly competitive market.

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Effective interview questions for hiring managers

Much attention is the qualification for the candidates also act as to dress, ask the right questions - and not ask to be paid. Less attention is given to the right kinds of questions to ask for the recruitment of managers. While it is usually clear what the recruitment manager should not and can not ask, is given little to the right key questions. One of the most important things you can do every executive or manager is to select the best people. As resume is only part of the story. Questions and getAnswers to tough and probing questions is essential to eliminate the wrong candidates and identifying the right ones.

TELL ME A BIT about your professional background? Resume in hand, this is an opportunity for the candidates, even if you or the HR department had done so on the phone screen. The key is times two. Firstly, to ensure that the things of interest in the revival is directed by the candidate. Secondly, to observe the candidates posture, presence, voice, self-confidence, soand body language. How would this person come across to your boss, your boss's boss and to your top customers?

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION? A chance to see if what jumped out (or did not) to you is highlighted by the candidate. Is the story consistent? A follow-on question if a younger candidate can be about favorite course and why or least favorite course and why. This is another chance to evaluate demeanor, tone and body language.

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN XYZ COMPANY? This is an Opportunity to see if the candidates have their homework about the company. If they are serious, they will say, clearly and accurately about the elements of society who want them enough to work there. When they are vague in response to this question are, it's not a good sign of how serious they are about the situation.

WHAT YOU are the biggest strengths? While this question has been raised for years, speaks volumes about what it is important to the candidates and what theCandidate considers important to the company setting AKA manager. This question can trigger could greatly exaggerated body language and eye contact.

WHAT IS AN AREA OF DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU? This is a variation on the strengths question. This is often less comfortable. People want to talk about their strengths, not their weaknesses. That makes this issue even more important, and say that the hiring manager. The key here is honesty, professionalism and composure on the part of theCandidates.

You do not read) the job description (paraphrase.

Why do you think YOU ARE the ideal candidate for this position? It is a happy medium between boasting and modesty. That is what the recruitment manager is looking. There is also another opportunity for the candidates, their knowledge and experiences to recapitulate and to refer specifically to the open position. Look for two or three key points in response to this question.

WHERE DO YOU WANT to be in five years? This can be aKiller question. I know I was much too honest on this in my youth. The correct answer should be honest, thoughtful, realistic, and for the benefit of the company. If the candidate wants a free education and then go on their own or managers or on the beach, that is the end of the interview.

IF YOU ARE IN THIS labor market of tomorrow, what do the first THINGS YOU WOULD BE, and in what priority? This tells the hiring manager whether the candidate has some understanding of theCorporate mission, vision and values. It indicates whether the essential features to understand the work in context. There is also shown by the candidate countries a chance, their initiative, while at the same time testing their sense of corporate reality.

What questions do you have me? This may be the crucial question of all. There is again the candidate an opportunity to show what they know about the company. It is open and allows for probing and creative questions. Unless, you know,what is important to the candidates - such as "when can I start taking vacation?" (Wrong question!).

When can you start? Even if you do not make a job offer (which is rarely made during the interview), it is always important to know the availability of job candidates, whether they're working, whether they have a different job in the wings, or just fishing.

While the questions a hiring manager can and should ask a job candidate, which are almost endless, the right questions areessential. Through these questions each time, the hiring manager to get better interviews and ultimately hire the best candidates for every job.

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