Stingy With Napkins

If I were Greta Garbo and if I were visiting my local Subway sandwich shop for my early afternoon sandwich of choice, I might say something along the lines of:

"Gimme a turkey sandvich...
Extra napkins on the side...
And don' be stingy, babee"

Movie buffs will recall Garbo's first words on-screen in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (1930).

I don't know if it's a 'think green' thing, or a 'think cheap' thing, but I've been displeased to note that fast-food places have become rather stingy when it comes to napkins. I don't know about you, but I need a few napkins when I eat some meals. For instance, when I get my favorite turkey breast sandwich from Subway, it invariably falls apart at some point and the light mayonnaise tends to get everywhere. When I eat at the new Subway downtown, they give out one napkin per order unless you specifically ask for more, and you can only get them from the people at the counter. One time, I was feeling rather reckless, and right when I was handed my change at the Subway counter, I reached around past the cashier and snatched an extra napkin or two, and I thought she was going to slap my hand. She had that look in her eye and I swear I saw her hand twitch. I've noticed the same thing at Taco Bell. They'll give you an entire sack full of hot sauce, yet just one or two napkins. And the napkins and sauce are in their own little plastic sack, as though they were prepackaged so employees couldn't get napkin-crazy and just pass them out willy-nilly. Maybe it is a good way for them to cut costs, but jeez... would one or two extra napkins really hurt anyone? If so, I think they should make the food less sloppy.