FOOD PHOTO STOCK / Shutterstock.com
Restaurant work provides a flexible income option that doesn’t require extensive experience or education. While it can be fast-paced and financially rewarding, it also comes with its fair share of challenges.
From demanding customers to unmotivated colleagues, unsanitary walk-in cooler surprises to physically demanding tasks – the restaurant industry isn’t for the faint of heart. This week, a Subway employee went viral for highlighting one particularly frustrating aspect of the job: prep work, specifically the tedious task of slicing tomatoes.
Unlike typical social media responses that favor workers, viewers weren’t sympathetic this time.
The most popular comments came from customers threatening to order extra tomatoes or insisting they receive exactly what they ordered. Some even suggested they’d track down the worker’s specific Subway location just to order tomato-heavy sandwiches.
Despite the negative response, creator @sub.way020 has maintained a surprisingly positive attitude in her replies – one that contrasts sharply with her feelings about the tomato-slicing ordeal.
An ‘Easier’ Way To Slice
In her TikTok, @sub.way020 documents her struggle with an industrial tomato slicer – a device designed to slice entire tomatoes in one operation. The equipment appears similar to commercial models that cost nearly $500 and are intended to make prep work faster, more consistent, and reduce injury risks.
These slicers function perfectly until one critical component fails: the blades become dull.
That seems to be exactly what’s happening in @sub.way020’s video. She’s clearly exerting significant force, repeatedly jamming tomatoes against blades that aren’t sharp enough to penetrate the skin. Her frustration builds visibly throughout the clip, and she appears to cut herself toward the end of the video.
The text overlay makes her point clear: “Next time you wanna add tomatoes just remember what we have to go through.”
She adds in the caption: “At 6am.”
Her video has accumulated almost 9 million views as of this publication.
In a subsequent post, @sub.way020 acknowledged that equipment issues were the primary culprit. “Our tomato slicer is dull, and the tomatoes were very ripe,” she explained. “That is not an everyday occurrence. The end.”
@sub.way020
‘I Don’t Care I Want Extra’
Viewers have shown little empathy for the Subway worker’s predicament. Comments reflect a distinct lack of sympathy for both @sub.way020 and Subway employees in general.
“I’ll ask for extra next time,” wrote Chelsea in a comment that garnered over 270,000 likes.
Another popular response with more than 90,000 likes states, “Yeahhh you better be making them right, just for me.”
Rather than becoming defensive, @sub.way020 has responded to these comments with a playful attitude. When someone sarcastically suggested she’s merely being asked to perform her job duties, she replied, “It’s a TikTok go away.”
To another commenter who joked, “It’s always what the subway worker is going through and not the tomato,” she cleverly responded, “The tomato consented.”
At least one follower offered constructive advice. “Ask your manager for new blades,” suggested Gabby Carnivore. “This only happens due to dull blades.”
