Dalai S.
Yelp
I am smitten with Jenny's Pizza & Subs. I'm not one to be easily smitten, except perhaps when I've had a bit to drink - but I was sober when I went to Jenny's. For the last month, I've made a Friday night habit out of her. Jenny's is close to Somerville, where my musician friends have a studio. I go to Jenny's whenever I'm supposed to do the piano parts for my friends, then we go to the studio and work really hard on full, blissful stomachs until about 4 or 5 in the morning. We run on the fuel that Jenny's unflaggingly provides (ok, that and the liquor store down the street). I order the same thing every time because it hits the spot every time without fail: a grilled vegetarian sub with provolone cheese and no eggplant. Although the food is always served piping hot and fresh, it's not only the food that keeps me faithful. My main man Joey remembered my preferences down to the minute details immediately after my first visit and even asked about me when I didn't show up one Friday.
This kind of customer service is old school: completely uncalculated and completely unheard of these days. You're not supposed to matter, remember? It's so unnecessary to have a name and a face and a set of preferences. At both Starbucks and Bank of America, I've been regularly asked for my name. The corporate world has caught on to the fact that it needs to come across as less corporate in order to maintain the loyalty of their customers. It is possible to get good customer service at both Starbucks and B of A - I don't want to offend the people who work there and who, against the odds, do a good job. But the fact of the matter is that when I'm asked for my name at Starbucks or B of A, it's because it blatantly facilitates their job for them to do so. My name will get written down on a cup (Starbucks) or on the line-up list of people to be helped (B of A), but this isn't a desire of theirs so much as it was dictated by the corporate structure for them to take down their customer's names. If that concierge at B of A hands me another flyer when I come in or asks me if I need help when it's clear I'm just there to deposit a prosaic check, I'll need to have an anger orgy. By contrast, the staff at Jenny's genuinely cares for their customers, not due to corporate compulsion but out of commitment to mutual satisfaction. It's not a corny throwback to quainter days and it shouldn't be confused with courtesy. It's a simple relationship: I know what I want and Jenny knows how to please me. If only human relationships were always so direct. Je t'aime Jenny.
PS - I can't vouch for the pizza or salads because I haven't had any, but the subs and sandwiches are reliably out of this world. Make sure to ask for extra lettuce or onions or whatever it is that you're into. Just be careful where you end up parking because the street signs are tricky and you can easily get fined, which would detract from all the money you're saving due to Jenny's ridiculously reasonable prices.