TikTok has become a popular platform for fast-food workers dunking on both their companies and their customers, but it’s also a place where employees who vibe with their workplaces let folks peek behind the curtain simply to get a glimpse of things from their perspective.
Milad Mirghahari (@miladmirg) definitely falls into the latter category. The TikToker has gained an impressive following over the last couple of years, mostly through POV videos that show him making sandwiches at the Subway where he works.
One of his recent videos centered around the criticisms he’s heard about the sandwich franchise during his time as a content creator, and why he thinks it’s unfair.
“I’ve had so many people try to convince me Subway is trash, and I will never understand this perspective,” he admits in the clip. “Number one, you literally make the sandwich. You pick ingredient per ingredient what goes onto your sandwich. So if you’re making a bad sandwich, that’s on you. I’m sorry.”
Of course, that’s not the only issue people have with Subway, and Mirghahari knows that. He also referenced arguments that the ingredients going into the food aren’t all that great, and his contradiction there was a little more lackluster.
“Let’s start with the vegetables. I mean, they’re literally just tomatoes, lettuce, onions—like, all these vegetables are just vegetables sourced from every other place that gets them,” he said. “And then we go to the meats.”
Subway was previously sued by someone claiming the restaurant’s tuna doesn’t include any tuna. It was ultimately dismissed, though testing done by The New York Times and Inside Edition reportedly had differing results.
Outside of that, Mirghahari suggests there’s no difference between Subway’s deli meat and any other deli meat, claiming it all tastes “the exact same.”
“The one thing I will critique Subway on is the bread. I don’t know if it’s just me, or if it’s anybody else, but I always get very, very bad stomach aches whenever I had the Subway bread,” he admitted. “But at the end of the day, a sandwich is a sandwich. And, well, one other thing I will say—how does a $5 footlong become $11?”
It sure seems like there’s an inherent disconnect in insinuating all sandwiches are the same while acknowledging that the bread—arguably the most important ingredient, since it tends to be the common denominator amongst sandwiches—at one particular restaurant always makes you sick. And the idea that all deli meats (and vegetables) are of the same quality also doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
@miladmirg #subway #subwaystories #subwayemployee #milad ♬ original sound – Milad
Still, several viewers seemed to agree that Subway unfairly gets a bad rap—at least as far as the food itself is concerned.
“The product is fine, it’s price-point that’s completely skewed now,” wrote @asagrimwotan. “That’s the only reason that I don’t frequent Subway anymore.”
“I can have a fancy club sandwich with fries and a salad for the same price as a [Subway] footlong,” @chawmila agreed.
Another viewer claimed that “every subway I’ve been in is filthy,” saying that’s why he would rather pick up a cheaper sandwich at an Italian market, while several others suggested Jersey Mike’s bread is superior enough to Subway’s to make a difference in which they choose.
Mirghahari encouraged the conversation, saying in the video that he planned to send all the feedback directly to Subway.
“I don’t think they’re going to listen to me; I’m literally just some random worker, but still,” he said. “I want to make Subway the best it could be.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mirghahari via email.
