I went out to eat with my family a few years ago at one of those gas station places with multiple fast food joints inside.  We went our separate ways to get food, and I ended up at Subway.  The line was long and by the time I got to the front of the line my family was already sitting down with their food.

The girl behind the counter was a sandwich making machine.  She had multiple orders going at once.  She asked me what I wanted, put the meat and cheese on the bread, and then asked me if I wanted it toasted.  I said yes, so she put my sandwich in the oven behind her and turned back to help the guy in front of me.

After she finished making his sandwich, she turned back to me and asked me what I wanted on mine.  I started naming off the ingredients:  lettuce, tomatoes, pickles … and she started loading them on the sandwich in front of her, which happened to belong to the next person in line.  I turned and looked at the lady next to me, who was starting to look distressed, and then said to the girl, “That’s not my sandwich.  It’s hers.”  I pointed to the distressed lady next to me. “And I don’t think she likes pickles.”

The girl stopped with a confused look on her face and asked the lady, “Is this your sandwich?”

When the lady nodded, the girl turned back to me and said, “Where’s your sandwich?”

I had to explain to her that my sandwich was still in the oven behind her (where she had left it).

This is a funny story and has become a running joke for my family.  Whenever one of us gets confused, or in a hurry, we ask each other, “Where’s your sandwich?”

Marketing makes me feel that way:  Reading through all the advice, trying to figure out what to do next, wondering if you forgot something.  I feel like that girl in Subway hurrying to get it all done and losing track of what I have in front of me.

All you can do at that point is to stop, take a deep breath, and turn to your customer and ask, “Where’s your Sandwich?”

Well.

Where’s your Sandwich?

By the way, I’ve lost my taste for toasted sandwiches.  It probably has nothing to do with this story (maybe).