Jersey Mike's Employees Wish You'd Stop Doing These 10 Things

Jersey Mike's has a lot of fans. In fact, in June 2026, it actually managed to knock Chick-fil-A off the top spot as America's favorite fast food chain on the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Make no mistake, that is no easy feat: Chick-fil-A has held the number one position for more than a decade. According to diners, you just can't beat Jersey Mike's quality and value. 

People love Jersey Mike's, but, well, Jersey Mike's doesn't always love the people. Okay, let's be more specific: Jersey Mike's employees don't always love the people. It turns out, dealing with hungry members of the public day in, day out, can get a little tiring after a while. And while many enjoy working at Jersey Mike's, for some, certain customer habits can be irritating.

Are you guilty of annoying your Jersey Mike's server? We scanned Reddit threads to find out 10 things that employees wish customers would stop doing. If you're not up on certain order terms and you have a tendency to snack while you're speaking to your server, it might be worth paying extra attention. Just saying.

If you're hungry, like you probably are when you step through the door at Jersey Mike's, it's tough to be patient. We get it: Your stomach is rumbling, and all you want is to sink your teeth into a stacked, juicy sub. But if you're impatient with your server, you're not going to make any friends.

On Reddit, some employees say that it's incredibly frustrating when customers interrupt them mid-task to tell them their order. "[My pet peeve is] when I'm working the slicer and putting together a few subs already, look over, say hi, and, 'I'll be right with you.' Then, instead of waiting a moment, they start rattling off their order to me," said one Redditor in the r/jerseymikes subreddit.

Several fellow employees agreed with them, noting that it's even more annoying when the customer proceeds to go into even more detail, explaining which toppings they want, long before they're ready to serve them. In short? Patience is a virtue. Good sandwiches come to those who wait.

Jersey Mike's wasn't always Jersey Mike's. It actually started as Mike's Subs, a small deli in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, back in the 1950s. In the 1970s, 17-year-old Peter Cancro bought Mike's Subs from founder Mike Ingravallo (with a loan from his football coach, in case you were wondering how a teenager pulled that off), renamed it Jersey Mike's, and grew it into the success it is today.

When you choose to have your sub "Mike's Way," that means you're having your sub just like Ingravallo used to, with added lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and salt. Not everyone knows that, and that's okay. But if you're heading to Jersey Mike's, it might be a good idea to brush up on what Mike's Way means before you start ordering, or you might risk irking your server.

It turns out, customers not knowing what Mike's Way means is a pretty big annoyance for many Jersey Mike employees. "One of my biggest pet peeves is when I ask if they want it Mike's Way and they say 'I don't know what that means but I want [proceeds to list Mike's Way],'" said one Redditor in r/jerseymikes. "Like... you could've asked or literally read any of the 12 signs we have that say exactly what goes in Mike's Way." And whatever you do, don't say your name instead of Mike. They've heard it before, and they probably won't laugh. Yikes.

If you're ravenous when you arrive at Jersey Mike's, it's understandable that you might want a little snack to tide you over before your sandwich. But do your servers a favor, and don't attempt to order while you're eating chips. According to several Jersey Mike's employees, customers eating potato chips while they're speaking to them is one of the most annoying things they can do.

"One of my biggest pet peeves after working here so long is when a person walks in, ignores our 'hello,' grabs a bag of chips, and starts eating them in line before even ordering, and proceeds to order and talk with their mouth full," said one Redditor in the r/jerseymikes subreddit. Another added: "Had a guy who did this. Grab the salt and vinegar chips [and] eat them as he was talking and pointing to toppings, spraying chip crumbs out of his mouth."

We get it: Many consider speaking with your mouth full to be rude, but it's also unsanitary (especially if you're spraying crumbs from your mouth), and a misophonia nightmare due to the crunching sounds. If you can't wait until you have your order to eat your chips, eat them before you start speaking to your server, or you might be subject to some pretty judgy looks.

Jersey Mike's employees like efficiency. After you place your order, all of your ingredients are quickly sliced and piled into your sandwich before the whole thing moves on to the toppings section, and it's finally sliced and wrapped. It's kind of like a military operation, but it works. The line moves fast, you get your sandwich in a speedy fashion, and everyone's happy. Unless, that is, you clog things up by wanting to go back to the beginning when you get to the end of the process, because you've got more subs to order.

If you don't want to frustrate your server (and the people waiting behind you), make sure to clearly communicate how many subs you want before you start ordering. This helps employees maximize efficiency and makes everything go a lot more smoothly. "[My customer pet peeve is] slicing, sprinkling, wrapping an entire sub, and they say, 'I have [three] more subs,'" said one Reddit user. Another added: "The kicker is when I've already asked if they have any more subs and they've said no and STILL try to add one on at the register."

As we've established, the assembly line at Jersey Mike's is serious business. After the slicer has cut your meat or cheese, your sandwich will then move on to the sprinkling stage, which is just a fancy name for the toppings section. At this point, you can ask for your sandwich to be prepared Mike's Way, or you can customize the toppings to your individual taste.

There are quite a few ingredients to choose from at the sprinkling station; as well as all of the ingredients included in Mike's Way, you can also add dill pickles, banana peppers, mayonnaise, hot chopped pepper relish, and jalapeños to your sandwich. If you truly want all of this, feel free to ask your server for "everything." But be aware that saying you want "everything" when really you only want a few of the ingredients is going to annoy your server.

That sounds obvious, right? But, according to Jersey Mike's employees, this is a regular occurrence. "[One of my biggest pet peeves is] when a customer asks for 'everything on it,' and what they really mean is lettuce, pickles, and [Chopped Pepper Relish]," said one Redditor in the r/jerseymikes subreddit. "So you don't want EVRYTHING?"

Another user claimed that customers who say they "want everything" on their sandwich almost never actually do: "99% of the time, the customer does not mean [Mike's Way] + pickles, banana peppers, jalapeños, [Chopped Pepper Relish], mayo, etc. Bonus points for when the customer gets annoyed/confused when you ask for clarification."

Jersey Mike's employees don't just make your sandwiches; they're also responsible for deep-cleaning the restaurant and maintaining a hygienic environment, too. So, unsurprisingly, many don't like it when you touch or poke the glass in front of the ingredients.

Arguably even worse, though, is when customers actually reach over the glass to gesture to what they want. "Bro, the glass is there for a reason; get your arm out of my space," said one worker on Reddit. Another added: "Yes. I know what lettuce is. Get your damn hands out of the food."

Reaching over the glass isn't just annoying for employees, it's also a big food safety no-no. The glass, which is also called a sneeze guard, is there for a reason: It serves to create a literal barrier between the customer and the food, helping to stop any germs from contaminating the ingredients.

Gesturing towards ingredients by reaching over the glass isn't ideal, but actually touching them? That's a big problem. Jersey Mike's employees have witnessed this happen, though, and unsurprisingly, they don't like it all that much.

In fact, one employee was shocked when they witnessed a customer pick up a piece of bacon from behind the glass and eat it. "The audacity for a customer to TOUCH product that is meant for other customers and employees was insane," they wrote in the r/jerseymikes subreddit. Many fellow workers responded empathizing, noting that not only is it a food hygiene red flag, but it's also a waste.

Needless to say, if a customer has touched food with their bare hands, it will usually need to be thrown away. This is because bare hands can transfer harmful bacteria to the food, which may result in an increased risk of foodborne illness. So, while it might be tempting, don't touch any ingredients or your sub until it's wrapped and handed to you. Oh, and washing your hands first is always a good idea.

If someone says hello to you, it's usually common decency to say it back. It's polite, and it helps to set the tone for a friendly, positive interaction. So, that's why, like many who work in hospitality, Jersey Mike's employees don't like it when customers are rude and ignore their greeting by launching straight into their order.

In fact, one Redditor said it "stings a bit" when customers ignore them when they say hello and ask how they are. Rudeness really does grind servers down. Experts say it can cause employees to feel stressed or embarrassed, and highlights a perceived power dynamic between the customer and server. It also means that they might be more inclined to give you bad service. All of this to say: just greet your servers — at Jersey Mike's, or anywhere else. It's the right thing to do.

Jersey Mike's has a pretty big menu. Just ask our taste tester, who ranked 15 of its most popular subs in 2023 (their favorite was the Big Kahuna Cheesesteak, in case you were wondering, which was closely followed by Mike's Famous Philly). Because of this rather extensive selection, it helps to be specific when you're ordering your sandwich.

And just a note: If there are multiple sandwiches on the go, saying "my sandwich" won't help much — unless you clearly identify which one is yours. "I HATE when there's a customer that says, 'On my sandwich, I want blah blah blah,' and there [are] multiple different sandwiches that I have on the cutting board," said one Redditor in r/jerseymikes. The comment received several upvotes, and many fellow Reddit users and Jersey Mike's employees agreed that this particular habit is frustrating.

To make the process smoother, you can always brush up on a few ordering hacks before you go. If in doubt, keep it simple, and remember the magic words: Mike's Way. "Nothing makes my life better at work than a customer that knows how to order," said another Reddit user in r/jerseymikes.

There are many similarities between Jersey Mike's and Subway. They're both popular sandwich destinations, with thousands of locations across the U.S. (although Subway has quite a few more, of course). And many of the things that irk Jersey Mike's employees also annoy Subway workers (they also can't stand glass touchers or people who don't give multiple orders at once, for example).

But Jersey Mike's and Subway are not identical. In fact, if you try to order a Jersey Mike's sub as you would at Subway — you guessed it — it might just irritate your server. "[What makes me mad] personally is, 'Can I get a six-inch?'" one Redditor explained, "like bud this ain't [Subway]. Indeed, the standard sub at Jersey Mike's is actually slightly larger than Subway's, at around seven inches.

The ordering system at Jersey Mike's is also slightly different. Subway tends to take its orders in smaller stages, starting with the bread, before moving on to flavor, cheese, vegetables, and sauce. At Jersey Mike's, you give your full order straight away. "Took me a while to realize that people who [ask for bread first] are Subway regulars," said one Redditor in r/jerseymikes. "They expect you to slice the bread and then take it to the presliced 'meat' station and then ask them which sandwich you want."