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The Pub Sub Paradox
When the best lunch option could ruin your lunch hour.
The Challenge
This was a week-long case study that I did mostly for my own entertainment and to answer the question: How might we improve the grocery store experience?
When wandering around my local grocery store, it was abundantly clear where the most unpleasant experiences happen. Right past the specialty cheese section, you may think there is some sort of mosh pit forming. No, no- It’s just a typical Tuesday afternoon at the Publix deli counter. Pub subs, as they are affectionately called, are a favorite lunch option.
Background
The ‘Pub Sub’ is available in all 776 Florida stores, and a true Florida institution. The love for Pub Subs is definitely apparent in Florida. Poems have been written about them, thousands of instagram hashtags shared in their honor, more than one Tumblr dedicated to their glory. I hesitate to share links to deli aisle brawls, but I can attest to their existence on youtube. People really care about Pub Subs.
All of that affection is despite the fact that obtaining one of these subs is inexplicably frustrating. The process of ordering a sub, in person or online, is simply unpleasant for the customer. The problem is compounded by the fact that making subs in a timely manner is stressful for deli staff and causes unhappiness at work.
The Research
The customer experience problem became even more obvious when I viewed the yelp reviews of the Publix stores within a 5 mile radius of my home. There was a huge discrepancy between the love of Publix sub and the actual experience getting a Publix sub.
Customer pain points:
To determine why the experience of ordering a sub is unpleasant, I used a number of UX research methods to gather insight: In-store and participant…
