(Photo by ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images)

This is one case where size does matter. Fans of Subway’s footlong sandwiches may not have realized they were getting shorted. Literally.

A few savvy customers, including an Australian who posted a picture to Subway’s Facebook page, took measure of footlong subs and discovered that the sandwiches didn’t measure up. They were only 11 inches long; just one inch shy of a foot.

Subway officials say these shorter bread loafs don’t meet their standards. They claim that their bread will consistently come out of the oven at the correct length if the proper procedures had been followed.

It begs the question, if you ate 12 not-quite-a-footlong sandwiches, shouldn’t you get one free?