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465 — Sandwich Artist University
47 Plays7 days ago
Ty & Eric speculate on the syllabus of Sandwich Artist University, becoming an anti-capitalist skid, the whether Subway requires a no-knock warrant, the sandwich artist probation period, BBQing beachside, and being a cog in private equity’s master plan.
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Transcript
Getting Started: Podcast Setup and Environment
00:00:50
Think Fresh
Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Way. T-F-I-T-B. i t b Thank God it's TF. Think fresh in the building. Let's go. You're getting better. getting better at the acronym. Thank you. Thank you. Well, dude, I'm ready to podcast. I'm feeling good.
00:01:09
Think Fresh
I am ready. And so is this huge concrete truck behind us. Why do we keep recording in industrial areas? This is ridiculous. Oh, well, it doesn't even matter. We're just here to have a good time. Have fun. We got We got one beer in the clink right now and now and two in the think.
00:01:26
Think Fresh
That's me, Eric. Am I right? That's right. As this Ford F-150 from 1960 is about to back up into my car, we'd love to see it. We really are in traffic today. We pulled up to this park to record this episode. It was very peaceful.
00:01:39
Think Fresh
Except there's a lot of lot happening all of a sudden. As soon as you hit soon as the red blinking light picked up. It's crazy how that happens. You hit the big button that says go.
00:01:50
Think Fresh
And then all things start to crumble around you. But nevertheless, Ty, we have some good good ah stories and topics today. Yeah, we do. um Take it from here. Yeah, yeah. Actually, I do have some
Subway Employment Anecdotes and Humor
00:02:05
Think Fresh
interesting topics. I was just reading, actually, about...
00:02:08
Think Fresh
ah You're familiar with Subway, the sandwich company. I have, uh, I know of it. Yeah. I don't know much else about it. I don't know anyone's name who works there.
00:02:19
Think Fresh
That's what you're wondering. Yeah. Say their names. eric i can't, I refuse. Uh, I think like they always say it's like, there's like a name tag and it's like Eric's way.
00:02:32
Think Fresh
Right. ah But you can never read their writing because like they don't teach penmanship at Sandwich Artist University. No, they definitely do not. No, that's for sure.
00:02:44
Think Fresh
like But also like, why would you be making someone's sandwich and be saying that it's like Ramit's way? Yeah, you know, it's like, no, it's it's the customer's way. I'm the one directing you. So why are you doing it like your way?
00:02:59
Think Fresh
Well, they can't say your way because I feel like at a certain point they're crossing into Burger King territory. Have it your way. Yeah, which is kind of silly because Burger King is it's all of car you know it's not a It's a prefix. Yeah, exactly. It's not tailored to your specifications.
00:03:14
Think Fresh
That's right. oh There's kind of simple something silly about that. Yeah. But yeah, okay. Where was I going with this? a Sandwich artist, Subway, blah, blah, blah. I was just reading a post about someone who just got hired there, an actual sandwich artist.
00:03:27
Think Fresh
And they do have a name. Their username is Alex. So we got one. We learned one. So you're saying this Reddit user posts their real name on Reddit? Well, their you full username was a bunch of characters. But oh it within it is the word Alex.
00:03:42
Think Fresh
Okay, cool, cool, cool. yeah So they just got hired at Subway in the United Kingdom, which I think you actually are in at time of this recording. We'll get into that later.
00:03:53
Think Fresh
Yeah. By the time you hear this, Ty, I'll be very deep into a full English breakfast. Right. You're cross crossing the pond. That's right. Hi. Tapping in with our lads.
00:04:05
Think Fresh
<unk> ah point Dipping your fingers in a warm cask.
Cultural Contrasts: Pub Culture and Odd Contracts
00:04:10
Think Fresh
Oh, yeah, baby. I'm having a pint on the sidewalk as we listen to this.
00:04:15
Think Fresh
Wow, yeah, nothing like some mushy peas for Eric. Ty, let's just take 30-second detour and talk about how we need to have real pub culture here in Canada. We got to bring that here somehow. And by that, you just mean like more drunk old men or drunk young lads?
00:04:30
Think Fresh
I don't mind the drunk old men. I think we we're good at whatever limit. we have now, but we need to be able to have glassware on the street. And if you listen to my rant about the patch brewing, they're doing the opposite side. They're pushing us in the wrong direction.
00:04:43
Think Fresh
They're in the wrong side of history. and Yeah, you're absolutely right. Like we just rolled out off the patio of a nearby brewery. And my favorite part about the entire experience is I took my glass from the counter and I walked onto the sidewalk with it.
00:04:54
Think Fresh
yeah and they didn't care where i go i could have kept walking that's right we didn't have to check in with the host and say table for two please yeah they didn't and then wait for some fucking gooner to come by with a menu being like which ipa would you like fuck off dude yeah and they're bringing around a piece of paper that has a qr code on it just so we can order an ipa so fucking annoying dude give me a beer come on Okay, back to your story. Yeah, no, that was a worthwhile rant. It really was.
00:05:20
Think Fresh
So, okay, Reddit user Alex just got hired at Subway UK. And he's asking a few questions online about the kind of like onboarding booklet. The chutney, isn't it?
00:05:32
Think Fresh
It might be the chutney, but and let's just say there's some like red sauce flags happening here, a little red tomato flags. And so he's just gut checking. He's like, this doesn't seem right.
00:05:43
Think Fresh
Am I right? And two things that came out of this that he says are ominous. One of them is that Subway reserves the right. now actually, not going tell you that one. I want to tell you this one.
00:05:55
Think Fresh
Subway reserves. requires you to go to Sandwich Artists University before you are allowed to like slice the bread. Interesting. Right. Is OK, so is Sandwich Artists University an online course is it a on-site like onboarding phase or is it like do you have to travel to campus to do this unless there's like maybe a group project which i can't imagine what that would be i think it's an online course okay interesting we should sign up for it but i think that would be pretty funny if we were certified sandwich artists it would add legitimate to see to this podcast
00:06:33
Think Fresh
I think if I was unemployed, i would i would definitely you know play with the idea of getting through the subway interview process. like Not actually like ever showing up to work, but like just out of curiosity, like going through the entire process to figure out what it's like to be sandwich artist and seeing if I can just weasel my way into that role.
00:06:53
Think Fresh
But I would never risk my current employment, which is this podcast, to do that. would You would fire me if you knew I had J2. That's true. Yeah, I need you fully dedicated to this body of work. and Good point. Good point.
00:07:07
Think Fresh
I just feel like if learning that would open up a lot of maybe empathy or at least critique to like to help kind of carry forward. It would add texture to this for sure.
00:07:17
Think Fresh
We can't critique what we don't know, Ty. Exactly. And who are we to say?
00:07:24
Think Fresh
like i know what i eat and that's about it and that's a pretty one-dimensional sensory experience yeah to drive this podcast anyway i digress okay so uh this person is going has to sign up for sandwich university and their question is if it says in the handbook that if i quit subway within one year have to pay back my tuition what So wait, this is the actual school? Well, this is the weird part. I'm like, why would Subway charge you to go to Sandwich Artist University, which is their own employment education?
00:08:01
Think Fresh
That's just onboarding. They should be paying you. not Maybe you have to pay back the time, the money. i will read you the exact sentence. Okay.
00:08:13
Think Fresh
um if i want to leave within a year it says i have to pay back a bunch of money for subway artist university in quotes should i that's what you just said the first time that's ah all i've heard you didn't have to read that again it was exactly what you just told me so um so we gotta what's going on here it's what i'm trying to figure out well this is fascinating um So every other job I've ever heard of teaches you how to do their job on site and while you're getting paid for it. Right. Like, yeah, you show up to day one of your new gig.
00:08:48
Think Fresh
Here's your laptop. Here's your pen pad. Here's your stapler. Yeah. Here's your non compete. Exactly. um Here's your unpaid lunch break. Yeah. And then they say like, all right, so first two weeks, you're going learning how to cut bread.
00:09:04
Think Fresh
First oh week after that, we'll get you upgraded to the deli ham slicer. Yeah. It's kind of like what's it three days, three months, three or three days, three weeks, 30, 60, 90, 60, 90. Yeah. So we're going thirty cutting and bread, 60, you're laying cheese, 90, you're bagging the bread and send her um sending her home. And then only after, Ty, only after.
00:09:25
Think Fresh
90 days are able to interface with a customer. You're not allowed to say oh a single word. Obviously, this is all made up. But the point is, like, why would why would I have to pay out of my own pocket to learn how to do a job for a company?
00:09:38
Think Fresh
Yeah. That's crazy. It must be that they, like, reserve the right to, like, take back the income for the training. But I know that cannot be legal. There's no no way. I don't think so.
00:09:49
Think Fresh
Also, a year is a long time to commit to working at something. That's an insane probation period. Yeah, because, like... Dude, like I imagine so many employees are just like in high school or in university. Like they just need something to like, you know, get some money for the summer or just some pocket change. They're not looking to build a career at the way. Yeah, dude, like one year the way is like 10% of their life.
00:10:12
Think Fresh
Unless do you think this is, is Alex working in a corporate? We actually don't know. Oh, well, Subway, Sandwich Artist University implies the job title. Which sandwich artists.
00:10:23
Think Fresh
It's not sandwich creative director university. Yeah, but if it was Subway University, then it could apply to all employees. True. And maybe they like like lovingly refer to their corporate employees as sandwich artists as well. Because when, you know, they have a, I'm sure they have a Slack channel where people post their subs that they made at home.
00:10:41
Think Fresh
that's kind of fun. DIY. DIY. Like, I already know if we worked there, we would be creating all kinds of lore in the Slack channel. Like, dude, shut down the subway.
00:10:53
Think Fresh
It's 11 p.m. Last customer's gone home. That's when we cook. That's when that thing becomes a real lab. Yeah. um just Not just in store, but, like, in corporate, too. Yeah, that's true. I'm sure there's, like, a test kitchen in Subway HQ.
00:11:06
Think Fresh
And they're probably, like, importing all sorts of weird-ass... They probably got seaweed up in there, a little porcini. yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, they're, meant they're, they're trialing meats that not even the FDA is aware of. They're taste testing new ingredients. Yeah.
00:11:21
Think Fresh
Love that. but that would That would get me real excited. Do you think they're taste testing on animals or humans? I think they're like FDA, not approved, like new novelty meat. formula is like they're like we've got to feed this to chimpanzees until like the government approves us to give this to people dude guarantee you there's a few ingredients that uh only the office dogs are willing to eat they have a dog rating system they lapped this one out oh it might make the menu next season yeah the liver spread is hit or miss with the humans but all dogs love that one that's wild
00:11:55
Think Fresh
Wow. So poor Alex, man. That's kind of wild. feel bad for the guy. Yeah, me too. So obviously that's a crazy ass probation. um The other thing he's really concerned about, and this one is even more shocking here. Oh, wow.
00:12:07
Think Fresh
Is that if you are ill, Subway reserves the right to come to your house. Huh. Huh. And do what? I don't know. treat you for your illness?
00:12:17
Think Fresh
Just check in on you. To see if you're actually sick? They have the right to visit you at home if you're sick. It's kind of crazy thought. That is absolutely insane. So I'm guessing this is in Alex's contract?
00:12:30
Think Fresh
Yeah, it's in the contract. It's like in the onboarding. So, you know, TBD, if it actually happens, but the fact that they are legally doing this, I think that's actually illegal. You think so? To be honest. I don't know...
00:12:43
Think Fresh
what country alex is from but i'm pretty sure youre here in canada this is the uk oh right it's the uk okay i don't know what's going on over there in the brexited uk yeah post-brexit there's wacky shit going on yeah but i'm pretty sure in like north america you're allowed to call their customer of employees like emergency phone number if they don't show up um but then that's kind of it. like As soon as you find out they're alive, you can't like chase them down. You can't knock on their door.
00:13:13
Think Fresh
Yeah, you're going to show up with handcuffs and plastic gloves. It's like, you're coming with me back to the line. Yeah, exactly. So I don't know um nowhere where that happens or how that happens in the UK, but Is there a job where like it actually makes sense for the employer to come for your come for your livelihood, come for your house?
Urban Planning and Gentrification Debate
00:13:33
Think Fresh
Knock, knock, knock. Maybe like maybe if you're like a professional Jehovah Witness, that's just like culturally what you do. Yeah, totally. yeah I don't know, dude.
00:13:44
Think Fresh
Why would anyone ever show up to your house? I don't know. Like, there's no unless and unless it's like kind of like the Silicon Valley, you like work out of your garage shit. And it's like they're coming to your house because that's where their their monitor is. yeah Everything like that.
00:14:03
Think Fresh
Getting a lot of chitter chatter in the background here. Ty, when we parked the car, there was few people hanging out on the bench and they were drinking beers.
00:14:15
Think Fresh
Dude, they were giving us the think eye. mean, stink eye. Yeah, they were thinking hard while looking at us. You can tell all of their brain cells were at work trying to figure out what the fuck we were doing. Well, Eric pulls out like seven laptops and a microphone and we don't exit the vehicle. So we're clearly undercover cops there to bust them for their 24 pack of Budweiser. I just think it's so funny the clear difference between this group of rejects and then the father that saw us podcasting, the dude with a stroller and a family and a job.
00:14:43
Think Fresh
He was the one who was like immediately like, oh, podcast. yeah And then you get these four skids who are like, one's wearing a cast, the other one's like you know definitely on the spectrum, undiagnosed, who's looking at us like, what is he doing?
00:14:57
Think Fresh
Are they undercover cops? Yeah, I mean, like it makes sense. like ah The father, he's like he's in the podcasting sphere. He has a WeWork membership. he's like He's like connected to a headphone jack.
00:15:13
Think Fresh
Yeah, but he pays for not one, but two Patreons. He likes to support the arts. Exactly, dude. That's insane. But you're right. These guys, like the closest thing they've done to any sort of kind of cultural...
00:15:28
Think Fresh
exchange is like maybe a visit to the stucy store i don't really know you know like no dude they just stand outside they just did they window shop they just hang out outside the stucy store and uh don't know smoke cigs and you know empty beer cans at the window that's cool that's so cool so bart simpson of that fuck i wish i was that cool right yeah uh but it's kind of funny because commercialism or like capitalism, you know, like participating in that is both like identity forming and also identity kind of melting, you know? we have
00:16:03
Think Fresh
Like these guys, they're like their identity is their rejection of capitalism. They just like hang out outside the store and like protested in a way. Right. But also like their adjacency to the store is what gives them their id identity.
00:16:15
Think Fresh
Mm hmm. So it's like I live with it. Can't live without it. Exactly. Dude, it's both Stussy and Budweiser. kind crazy how like, just depending on how much money you have in the old Wealthsimple TFSA, it kind of dictates whether you're Anti-capitalist or a capitalist.
00:16:33
Think Fresh
Yeah, dude, you're either hating from outside the bank or you're hating ha from the the boardroom, you know? Totally, yeah. You're hating either way, though. You either hate the rich and want to eat them or you want to so hate the poor and want to kill them, you know? It's two sides of the same coin. There's a lot of hate at either way. And it's hard to, you know, switch sides.
00:16:54
Think Fresh
But once you do, it's life-changing, would say. It's just, it's a lot better looking down than up. that's for damn sure yeah purposefully oh what cool b-roll we're getting today i think say what cool beards we saw yeah um but yeah we are deep in the hipster heartland yeah east van do you think ty that these construction trucks are building
00:17:23
Think Fresh
Are they gentrifying the neighborhood that we're in right now? Or are they, is this part of what was happening here before these hipsters rolled in? You know, I think that gentrification is, I'm this is a hot take, but I think like in 2025, there is no longer gentrification.
00:17:41
Think Fresh
I think like the, it it's already happened everywhere and to it a degree in which like the all city centers are like, kind of like they have a, we don't know it, but they have a 40 year plan. You know, the real estate developers have earmarked what's getting developed this year. What's going to get developed next year, 10 years. They have a 30, 60, 90 basically for all urban planning.
00:18:00
Think Fresh
Yeah. And it doesn't matter if like people feel like they're moving into a space to gentrify it because like that's by design. Like, the I think the real estate companies and the development companies have like set up the cues to incentivize that behavior before we even think it.
00:18:20
Think Fresh
So like we're not really even really responsible for that anymore as an as an individual. Right. Like I'm not going to. you know prevent the juice bar from opening up in a in a new neighborhood. There's nothing I can do about that.
00:18:33
Think Fresh
The juice bar is only there because you were kind of interested in that space and you were only interested in that because Mural Fest was started a development company to they make the area feel like it was more like approachable for a creative community you know the whole time was just a bait and switch yeah dude it's all ops right there wow there everything is a plant from big big skyscraper dude mural fest is kind of like the big bang
00:19:04
Think Fresh
in a way. you know it It really just kind of kick-started all of the bad stuff we see in in Vancouver. Yeah, if you like line up the dominoes, realign them and go all the way back, it's like the beginning of mural festivals, what kicked off and entire like like or like imperialism of Boza properties. ah Yes, the Medici family of Vancouver is Boza properties.
00:19:27
Think Fresh
It really is. The Aquilini's. Totally. wow um a As I ah tapped my card over at the brewery we were at, I noticed a little notification came up and it said, hey, join the rewards program.
00:19:41
Think Fresh
And i called it out to you and you said, oh, it's probably the same one from my brewery that that you were frequenting recently. is there the same thing happening in all of these like fun businesses that we love so much like breweries and taco trucks?
00:19:56
Think Fresh
It's all kind of one conglomerate as well. Did you say that because there's a taco truck 20 feet away from us? Yes. Okay, cool. I wasn't sure if you noticed that. Wait, how would I not notice it? I was blowing enchiladas in my face all the whole time we were drinking.
00:20:09
Think Fresh
I'm talking about this one right here that says tacos. Oh, what the fuck? ah There's two taco There's two taco trucks. That's crazy. We're like 20 meters away from two different taco food trucks. What the hell? i don't know I don't know if the other one's a food truck. It looks more like a meth den.
00:20:24
Think Fresh
Dude, this is ah Tacofino right there. That's their brand name.
00:20:29
Think Fresh
For sure. for Damn, you're right. That's crazy. What the fuck happened to Tacofino? They really fell off. What the hell? Yeah, I think they flew too close to the sun. and know You know what? The surf.
00:20:40
Think Fresh
Yeah. What was your question about so something about... So... What? Development companies that own the land. They own the land. Right. ah Donnelly Group owns the all the places where we get food.
Ownership and Control in Modern Society
00:20:54
Think Fresh
So those are like two needs that humans need, right? Food land. Like shelter and food. You're right. So like, what's next? Like... is BC hydro going to take over all the waterways? Maybe. if i already have.
00:21:06
Think Fresh
Who owns the air is the real question. The airways. Yeah. but Think fresh ones. The airwaves. Maybe it's a big, too big of a question for right now, but just to ah plant the seed for maybe next episode. thinking about it. I will be thinking about it.
00:21:23
Think Fresh
That's great. Yeah, I don't know, man, but I think like we're entering weird times and the weird the weirdest thing about it is that no one is in control of anything anymore. There was a certain point in the world where like you kind of felt like you as an individual had some form of agency to shape the world that you wanted to be a part of. Right. And now you don't.
00:21:42
Think Fresh
You know who shapes it? AI slop and big private equity, essentially. You know, BlackRock and ChatGPT choose everything now. Honestly, I'm good with BlackRock taking...
00:21:53
Think Fresh
you know, control the situation as long as they give me my 10% return year over year. Yeah, I guess so. But if everyone gets 10%, you're not getting ahead. Because that means the grocery store gets 10%. Like everyone is like kind of,
00:22:06
Think Fresh
That's true. yeah That's why you got buy Inchcoin. Facts, yeah. Check the description for that one. Yeah, if you want stay a job in the top of Inchcoin. Inchcoin is up. That's right. It is genuinely my most profitable enterprise. Way better than Fartcoin. It turns out you just got to make your own crypto if you want to make money in this game. Yeah.
00:22:22
Think Fresh
Turning farts to inches. Yeah. Think fresh way. Anyways, Ty, we talked a lot about... companies owning every aspect of our lives. And I can't help but feel like there's a trend towards bumming it, for lack of a better better term. Oh, hell yeah. We love bumming it.
00:22:44
Think Fresh
That's right. um Recently, I went with my LP. We went to the park, brought a portable barbecue, and grilled some meats by a body of water. And I got to say, that was an incredible use of time, Ty. In between sessions of pork belly, I was jumping in the water.
00:23:03
Think Fresh
Oh, dude. Dude. Just absolutely loved it. That's awesome. That's like such a like large minority family vibe. Large minority family? Yeah. That's always people that are grilling meats like Parkside. It's just like a really big birthday party for like, it's just like jet multi-generational.
00:23:20
Think Fresh
Dude, yeah. You got to get there before the Pakistanis. That's for sure. In order to get a picnic table. Yeah. they're They're posted up all day. Mm-hmm. I don't know how we got a waterfront like table like last time. you actually got one?
00:23:33
Think Fresh
That's awesome. Yeah, Barnett Marine Park. Solid dude. Cars aren't queuing to even get into the parking lot there. That's right. It was a late one. you know, it was a weekday went around 5 or 6 p.m. Yeah, it was tons of space. It wasn't too bad. So the whole time, did you feel like you were bumming it?
00:23:50
Think Fresh
little bit. Yeah. I mean, the only thing like elevating the experience was my Yeti cozy, oh which I would just like put my red truck lager in one of those, tighten it up, and then it stays cold as I kind of nurse the deer, you know, as I like to do.
Closing Thoughts and Podcast Reflections
00:24:06
Think Fresh
it's It's really the hardware that elevates the experience at the end of the day, you know? Otherwise, youre you really are just you're just do yeah sitting on a picnic bench. If you're not using Snow Peak cookware, then like just get EI already, would you?
00:24:19
Think Fresh
Yeah, exactly. And that's why like this podcast always is fun, because no matter where we record it, whether it's here on a picnic bench or on a pile of rocks by the ocean, like we have like $7000 worth of Apple equipment. So it's like the hard work makes it feel official.
00:24:35
Think Fresh
It really does. um Yeah. Fuck, I still want to upgrade the microphone at some point. I think we got to do something where don't know, we got it we got to figure out where how we can like innovate a little bit in the microphone space yeah and do something more mobile so we can be like, who knows, maybe even like on a bike ride recording. That would be sick. Insert heavy breathing. Yeah.
00:24:59
Think Fresh
Yeah, that's a great idea. um This guy has like worked well for us. What the breadheads are hearing is at least consistent because of the spacing of everything. yeah Environment. It's more environment that we got to fix actually. Yeah.
00:25:12
Think Fresh
Anyways, let's wrap here and let's reconvene next week, shall we? Sounds good. Breadheads, thank you for listening. Don't forget to buy InchCoin. Thank you for supporting your favorite or least favorite podcast.
00:25:23
Think Fresh
The underdogs need some help too. So check out merch store too. Ciao. Ciao.