Marty and The News: Special Report

News.

*Updated* November 4, 2012

Arby's executive attacks 'Sandwich Artist'

Arby's attack on Subway prompts one manager to quit.

Dale Lawson had been the manager of the Arby's in Hays, Kansas for almost 6 years. He'd been working at the Arby's for over 13 years. Starting as a cashier during high school. That's all over now.

"I enjoyed my time at Arby's," says Lawson. "I really wanted to stay, but they've gone too far. There is a Subway right across the street from the Arby's here in Hays. I have friends that work there. Well, we used to be friends."

Lawson also says the two stores were always trading food. "I'd always go over to get sandwiches and cookies. In return, I'd give them some curly fries and Horsey Sauce." Whenever the two businesses threw parties for their employees, they'd always have the parties on the same day, and at the same location. Often times at a nearby park. "Eventually the two parties would merge into one," says Lawson. "It didn't matter if you worked at Subway or Arby's. We all worked on main street in Hays, Kansas. That's what brought us together."

No meat slicer here

The Arby's ads attacking Subway starting making the rounds in early October. The ads center around the fact that Subway doesn't slice their meat in store and that Arby's does.

After seeing one of the ads, Lawson contacted his regional manager, asking for the ads to stop. "I told him, I don't like this. I have friends that work at Subway. Before hanging up, I told him that I felt so strongly about this, that I'll leave if they don't stop. I made sure he knew I was serious. I didn't want these ads ruining my friendships."

Meat slicer equipped

Lawson was about to find out that it was too late.

On Thursday, two days after the ads began airing, Lawson went to Subway with a bag of fresh curly fries and Horsey Sauce. "That was the worst moment of my life," Lawson says. "I walked in there and none of them would even look at me. No one said a word to me. Rick, (the manager of Subway), came out eventually. He just looked at me. I could see the pain in his eyes. He was hurt. He had a hard time speaking, but he did manage to get these words out, 'why don't you go back over there and use your fancy meat slicer.' His words cut through me like a meat slicer through meat. I'll never forget those words."

Lawson started to leave the Subway, but stopped in the doorway to make one last plea. "I want all of you to know, I had nothing to do with this. I'm trying to get the ads taken down. It's not right what they are doing. I've threatened to quit over this."

"Rick just looked at me," says Lawson. "The pain was still evident in his eyes as he spoke, 'get out of my store Dale."

Lawson was done. He couldn't take it anymore. Arby's had gone too far. He called his regional manager back and put in his two weeks.

"I just don't understand why Arby's would do this. Arby's doesn't have cookies. Subway doesn't use that against them. I just don't like this at all. Subway has good sandwiches. Meat slicer or not. It's ruined my friendship with the workers at Subway. I haven't seen or spoken to Rick since he told me to leave his store. Occasionally I'll see one of the Subway employees in town. They still won't look at me. I'm not the only one at Arby's that is upset either. Two other employees left with me. A few more want to leave. They can't though because of financial reasons. Subway and Arby's employees in Hays, Kansas were best friends. The actions of Arby's has brought that to an end. It's not just in Hays, Kansas either. I'm sure this is the case in cities around the country. I just hope that one day, we can put all of this behind us."

Arby's has refused to comment. They've also refused to stop the ads. Despite the ruined friendships.

*Update*

Dale Lawson has contacted me. He has asked that an analogy he made be changed, or taken out of the article. While the analogy in question will remain in the article in it's original form, I have allowed Lawson to write a short statement explaining himself.

I sincerely apologize for the analogy I made about Rick's words 'cutting through me like a meat slicer through meat'. I sincerely meant nothing by the flippant analogy. I understand why many think it comes across as callous and uncaring. That is far from the truth. It was not a thinly veiled jab to Rick or Subway, as some have suggested. You have to understand, for over 13 years, my job at Arby's gave me daily access to a meat slicer. Many analogies I made during that time, involved a meat slicer in one way or another. I have many Horsey Sauce analogies as well, but I'm getting off topic.

I clearly wasn't thinking and made a poor choice of words when using the analogy. Nothing was meant by it. I want to apologize to Rick, Rick's employees, Subway, all Subway employees and all Subway lovers. I deeply regret my choice of words. Again, nothing was meant by them. I sincerely apologize to all of you. I can only ask that you forgive me.

With Deep Regret and Sorrow

Dale Lawson 

 

Marty and The News

Like most Americans, the news took the weekend off. It's back at full force. It can be overwhelming. That's why I'm here.

Former political prisoner sets himself on fire. The man with a funny name was once a victim of the former communist regime in Albania. He set himself on fire to prove that people like him need their compensation faster than they are currently receiving it. Albanian officials responded by saying, "This whole setting yourself on fire thing is kind of played out. It was novel the first time someone did it. He's going to have to try something different if he wants our attention."

Jay-Z rides the subway, proving that stars are just like us. There are conflicting reports as to whether or not he took the N train or the R train from Canal Street to Atlantic. If he took the R, it just proves that Jay-Z isn't in touch with the common folk anymore. He'd have to make like eight stops taking the R. The N would only mean one stop. Meanwhile, the Q would actually drop him off slightly closer to the Barclays Center, where he was performing at, but that would also mean two stops.  Either way, he's just like us.

Fat guy

Police claim that Victor Espinoza is a gang member. Gang denies Espinoza's membership. Police have requested that we not use the name of the gang in this story. The gang used to be called the Los Angeles Riders. In reference to the Raiders, a NFL team that used to play in LA. Upon the team's departure form LA, the Riders determined it was not necessary to change their name. The leader of the Riders gang does not deny that Espinoza was, at one time, a member of the gang. "He was a member," says the gang leader. "He's just put on a lot of weight since joining the gang in '82. He used to be a svelte 193. Now he's a grotesque 425. We tried to get him some help. We got him gym memberships, Jenny Craig, Slim Fast, Nutrisystem and we even almost got him that thing where they staple your stomach to make it smaller. Nothing worked. Other gangs were mocking us. There were rumors going around that the thing on his neck is a tumor. We just couldn't have an object of ridicule in our gang. We let him go. He's actually the first gang member in history to be fired from a gang by not being killed. But now that he tried to kidnap that boy, bringing more shame to our gang, because of his former association, we're probably going to kill him. Don't print that."

Jordan Van Der Sloot, of Natalee Holloway fame and killing some other girl who wasn't white, has super semen. Van Der Sloot claims a female from Lima, where he is imprisoned, has become pregnant from some semen he sent to her in the mail.

Everyone around that world was awakened today with feelings of anxiousness, excitement and anticipation. The reason? The Nobel Prize winners are announced today. They may have already been announced. There is no way of knowing for sure.

Anonymous person sits in a wheelchair

Amusement parks say to airports "you're just finding this out now?" Places like Disneyland and Six Flags have know this for years, but airports are discovering that some passengers in wheel chair don't actually need the wheelchair. The are just gaming the system to skip security lines and boarding lines.





The best part about the Internet, is that you no longer have to watch the whole boring NASCAR race to see sweet crashes. Now if we could just get people to make these videos shorter. Skip ahead to 1:30 to see a sweet crash from yesterday's race.

Teen has stomach removed due to potent cocktail. Doctor who removed the stomach is very excited. "This is going to be awesome," says Doctor Todd Rashi. "I've never seen something like this before. I don't know what's going to happen when she eats now. This is the best thing I've done."

So sad

The world stops spinning for a record 47 seconds when news hits of a Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman break up. The previous record was set a month ago when Amy Poehler and Will Arnett broke up. The world stopped spinning for 26 seconds at that time.

Mom beats her 2-year-old daughter so badly that the toddler was in coma for two days, but is unable to make it in the news until she glues her daughters hands to the wall.

This is why you don't have two separate wedding parties in one hotel at the same time. The police are going to tase a guy and one guy is going to die. There is some sweet video of the brawl if you click on the link.

Another search is planned for a missing girl in Colorado. Jessica Rideway, 10, went missing on Friday and already, there have been about six different searches for her. Meanwhile, parents of missing kids, who aren't white, sit and wait for just one search to be conducted to find their children.

Soda consumers have one mure nutrition label to ignore. Nutrition facts have been printed on cans and bottles of sodas for a long time. Consumers have been ignoring those labels for just as long. Now soda consumers will also have to ignore the nutrition labels that are going to be put on vending machines.

I don't know why people are surprised every time something like this happens on QVC. Woman faints while selling product, QVC powers through like nothing happened. This isn't news. QVC does this all the time. A guy once fell of a ladder and they acted like it didn't happen.

That's it. That's the news.