This is so simple an idea I'm sure there's some bloody obvious reason it wouldn't work.
You know those fast-food-type restaurants where they make a sandwich or a burrito or the like by keeping all the ingredients along the counter behind a glass sneezeguard, and you walk along it, explaining to the person behind the counter which ingredients you want? And how if the place is busy, you have to repeat yourself three times, or attempt to communicate your desires by mime?
They should have transparent stickers with the names of all the ingredients, laid out just like the tubs of ingredients, on the sneezeguard. Then you don't have to speak at all. You can just touch the names of the stuff you want on your sandwich. Since it's glass, the food maker can see you; since it's direct and two-dimensional, they don't have to try to work out lines-of-sight on the ingredients as you desperately point. (They do have to be able to read backwards, but that's easy enough with a little practice.)-- gisho, Jun 24 2014 Odd. Last week at the deli we decided that we needed to develop some gang hand signs for sandwiches.
So far we've only gotten this far: Thumb and pinky together, the other three fingers extended.
Pointing up: Wheat
Pointing to your left: Extra
Pointing down: Mustard-- normzone, Jun 24 2014 I went to a noodle place in Melbourne which had a little, free-standing kiosk where you selected your ingredients to order. This was then printed out on a little thermal paper slip which you simply handed over the counter. So much easier and you had time to customise as you liked.-- AusCan531, Jun 24 2014 Good one. Hi [gisho].-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 24 2014 A great suggestion for Subway, [gisho]. Now call them and tell them and let us know how it goes. +-- blissmiss, Jun 25 2014 It would be a little better if Subway hired robots! Good idea, though. +-- xandram, Jun 26 2014 The robots demanded too much compensation, and had an aversion to handling chipotle sauce.-- RayfordSteele, Jun 27 2014 random, halfbakery