This 'Helpful' Habit Is Actually A Big No-No At Jersey Mike's

What really makes Jersey Mike's sandwiches so good is the variety. Customers have their choice of deli meats, breads, and sauces at the chain's more than 3,300 locations across the United States. The ability to add vegetables, pickles, and herbs to the order makes it even more special. When you're customizing your sandwich, you should avoid a common mistake people make at Jersey Mike's.

It's easy to choose exactly what you want simply by pointing at the ingredients. Just don't reach over the glass or barrier between the customers' side and the prep area. (Remember the "keep your hands to yourself" rule in kindergarten? Turns out, that applies to food service, too.) This literal overreach might seem harmless enough, but it annoys some employees. More importantly, it can make both the food and the guests less safe.

You might just be trying to help out the clerk making your perfect sandwich to your specifications. But simply describing what you want will easily suffice, according to Jersey Mike's employees, who took to Reddit to explain the problem. "Yes. I know what lettuce is," wrote one. "Get your d**n hands out of the food." Apparently, this is just one of the secrets of what it's really like to work at Jersey Mike's.

At Jersey Mike's, the actual ingredients are displayed on a counter behind a glass barrier. Such partitions are pretty standard for food service operations of this sort. These barriers are called sneeze guards, and they come in all shapes and sizes. They're not only common but often required, as health codes mandate that ready-to-eat foods are shielded when they're not packaged. As their name implies, they help keep out all manner of contaminants, like germs from a sneeze or stray hairs.

Beyond addressing contamination risks, the guards also help keep customers safe from injury. A commenter on Reddit recounted how a customer who attempted to reach into the deli meat slicer while it was in use. "My manager had to tell him politely not to do that again because he could have sliced his finger," they wrote. "She wanted to tell him how stupid he was for doing that though." So it's in everybody's best interest to stay on this side of the counter and let the sandwich makers work their magic.