A Potbelly's Experience You Wish You Had

A few weeks ago I sent in an online application for Potbelly's Inc. for a design position in one of their headquarter buildings in Chicago.
 Potbelly's, you know, the place that charges $7 for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich? And is closely resembles the interior decor of a Bennigin's? Yep, them.

With every chain store, be it Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, Borders, etc, etc, on their applications they have several odd questions like "Have you ever visited company X? If so, explain your experience.
I'd grown weary with the stale, hum-drum answers that point out the high caliber friendly staff, my order being filled in a timely manner; Not to mention trying to creatively highlight my attention to detail, my work ethic, and qualifications.

What follows is the actual questionnaire I submitted to Potbelly's Inc. along with my resume.

Have you ever visited a Potbelly location? Where? Describe your experience.
Oak Lawn, Illinois. On a cool spring evening, a friend and I decided to stop in for a quick dinner. As we entered, we were both surprised to find an acoustic guitarist perched on a platform above us, plucking constant out-of-tune, yet oddly soothing background music during our time there. The menu had a vast array of goodness to select from, and the gentleman who took our order was extremely polite in announcing to the staff, and other patrons, and anyone within a 3 mile radius, my friend’s extremely particular/ peculiar ordering habits. Thankfully, he has since toned down his antics and will now remove lettuce and tomato himself.
Also, after a long 13 hour day displaying in an art show at the Merchandise Mart, in downtown Chicago, Potbelly’s was the only shop still up & running. They comforted me with a fantastically hot soup, and refreshing sandwich, along with a quiet atmosphere where I was able to get away from the days chaos, even if it was only for 15 minutes.

What do you like about Potbelly?
I find myself oddly drawn to the copious amounts of signage that guide me through the building. Whether it be a hand directing me to the menu, vintage wall décor, or a sign stating that Potbelly’s PB&J is in fact better than the one’s my mother use to make. (which I disagree with, however, I don’t feel the need to bring it up with staff or management)

Why would you like to work for Potbelly Sandwich Shop?
I’m a big fan of the free smiles. If that attitude carries over into the ‘behind the scenes’ element of Potbelly’s, I’d enjoy coming into work each day.
Or the possibility of .99 cent pickles daily would also do the same.

Describe a specific situation where you have provided excellent customer service.
There is no particular story of heroic customer service that I can think of, however, I have assisted many clients and customers with a gentle yet reassuringly firm hand hold, from the very beginnings of a project through it’s completion. As well as the occasional check-up to make sure everything is still going smoothly.


They never called back for a follow-up...

Be good. As always, more to come...
--Nick