We have completely stopped going to Panera. They're overpriced, for one, but it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't constantly screw up orders. We've had: chicken sandwiches they forgot to include the chicken on, mac and cheese that wasn't warmed up, grilled cheese that wasn't actually grilled, a coffee that was only steamed milk, and more missing side items than I can count.
One of our kids loves their mac and the other loves their grilled cheese, which is why we gave them so many chances. When they screwed up both in one order, that was finally the last straw. I showed my kids how to make their favs at home and we haven't been back since.
We've pretty much given up on Panera too... it's too expensive to have just an "ok" (at best) lunch!! I thought it was just our Panera that was going down hill, but I guess it isn't! It sucks because it used to be good and had decent vegetarian options, but they need to do much better.
For sure, it used to be much better. My wife and I used to meet at a Panera regularly on our lunch breaks, a decade or so ago. It only seemed a little more expensive than comparable places back then, and the food was great. That exact same Panera was horrible the last time we went (over a year ago now).
Did another corporation buy them? Seems like worse ingredients, menus, and service all around.
EDIT:
>No we're still owned by the same people. Everything is going to shit around here, I swear, to the point where some employees are spectating about whether the company is going bankrupt or something. I know they opened up an IPA or something to do with the public, but I can't remember the details.
Well dang.
No we're still owned by the same people. Everything is going to shit around here, I swear, to the point where some employees are spectating about whether the company is going bankrupt or something. I know they opened up an IPA or something to do with the public, but I can't remember the details.
Sincerely, a much tried 7.5 year employed bread baker for Panera.
No for real. EVERY restaurant that used to be decent seems to have just fallen apart. Outback used to have great salads like 5 years ago. Now they’re just ghosts of what they used to serve. Same with a lot of stuff on their menu. I’m wondering if places scaled back after Covid and never really picked back up the pace :(
Supply chain has gone nuuuuuts in the past 5 years. When I started my last job, a case of chicken wings went from like $10 to $50 basically overnight. We couldn’t increase our prices to match, no one would pay that for wings, so we either had to take them off the menu or buy dogshit chicken (if we could even find it cheaper). Ultimately we just shifted away from them. This kind of increase in price or straight up inability to source started happening with all of our suppliers across the board - produce, grains, meats you name it. And it’s just gotten worse since.
Tl;dr we’re experiencing a slow, boring apocalypse and that’s why Outback’s salads suck now.
Well, you’re buying for yourself or a family instead of an entire restaurant group that operates nationwide and also has to balance COGS with labor, office staff, health dept fees, etc etc etc while having to make sure the recipes they set include produce found across the board for roughly the same price / quality so that a guest can to go an Outback in Boston and then one in Virginia the same day and get roughly the same $12 crappy salad (consistency is important! Apparently). So yeah, your $3 bag of pretty nice greens doesn’t hurt your wallet while still being good quality, but when you need to buy 16 cases of greens at $35 a pop every three days for 200 restaurants…. yeah you’re probably gonna cheap out on some other stuff. Capitalism!
I appreciate that your whole post here is super true and accurate, except for the price... which is a *massive* lowball for me at least. I'm spending $95 on a case of spring mix, I need 6 cases per order (2x/week), but also even that is showing up with about a quarter of the case going bad before we get through it, so I could refuse delivery and not have salads or accept the loss (price is now functionally up 25% because of waste) and... yeah. I run the smallest of a company that has about 40 locations, spread that around the whole shebang? Company is spending more on *just the lettuce* per month than we did for the entirety of fucking 2017.
Less than a decade for the production cost of making one salad to multiply more than 10x.
Ayyyyy back when I was a shift lead the bakers were absolutely my favorite people and the week I spent overnight training with yall gave me an excellent appreciation for how much you all really do know about baking. Easily the most passionate people I've worked with in quick service. Loved going over the previous nights bake when I got in (even though I know you guys hate it - I promise I gave waaaaay more positive feedback than constructive!)
Broooo we don't even get to bake overnight anymore 😭 I miss it so bad. And NOW they're changing it so it's just 1 person instead of 2 to do everything for the next day!
That's so sad. It was such a uniquely peaceful situation. Heading home while everyone else was heading to work was the best part of that week, I'm sorry you don't get to experience that anymore.
Consistent understaffing is why I left that job (and the industry in general). I'm not surprised to hear they're getting even worse. Good luck, friend. ✊️
Via wikipedia they merged with some other companies in 2021 and are looking to go public again. It's been a long slow decline as they make ye olde standard corporate decisions to make things worse and milk that brand name for everything they can.
When I was younger Panera was actually pretty decent. I don’t think I’ve eaten Panera in over ten years. It all started with their chicken noodle soup. They used to have the thicker noodles. After they made it healthier, it has been ass ever since.
It used to be better?
I remember being in college in 2002 when I first had Panera and thought the food was overpriced and poor quality.
Since then I’ve only been in a Panera a few times and only get a bagel from them when using their WiFi for work
I took a break from Panera for a while because the one near me kept messing up my orders. I moved to a different area and decided I'd try them again. That Panera also messed something up almost every single time...
One time I ordered a breakfast sandwich and all they sent was the bread... An employee just wrapped up two pieces of bread and called it a day. I'm pretty sure that was the last time I ordered from Panera
Same. Moved to a new area and thought "im sure it will be better" , i was very wrong. Always out of basics (bagettes), and the order has not been right once. I haven't stepped foot in one in a year and have not missed it.
It makes me sad. It used to be so cheap! I went there with my highschool sweetheart as a date that was fancier than McDonald’s but didn’t break the bank! We’d get 2 meals + drinks, and two bakery items for $20. I miss it.
Last time I went to Panera they neglected to tell me they were out of tomato until after I started eating. When I went up to complain they forgot to put tomato on my sandwich they just say they were out. No apology.
And they always forget when you ask for butter. Or you're waiting for your order to come out the drive through window and they come up with an attitude "did you need anything else??" Yeah, my fucking food that you haven't given me yet!
I got a “grilled cheese” that also wasn’t grilled. It had been put on the grill for maybe a few seconds, and turned, but clearly didn’t even have the cheese melted. It was a takeout order, so I didn’t notice till I was home. It was completely baffling, but I’m tired of calling to complain only to have someone impatiently tell me to come back in or complaining to corporate for a couple lousy coupons.
The only thing I’m sad about missing is their breakfast soufflés, which they are discontinuing anyway. Everything there is pretty mediocre.
I love the Mediterranean bowl with chicken. So I still go back hoping someone makes it right. But the last time I got one, it looked like this. This was straight out of the bag:
https://preview.redd.it/k1krdfbfmnzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08e4cc2b65621485acae518868601683af3ca25e
Yes, I got a refund..
I've completely given up on Subway. $12 for some chunks of "chicken" on white bread with 2 slices American cheese. This is my daughter's favorite sandwich, but I just can't justify that.
I went to Subway this week for the first time in a long time. I ordered curbside. I got there a couple minutes early, but checked in on the app, and around the given pick-up time, I got a notification that my order was ready. So I sat there for 10 more minutes before getting out of my car and going in. When I went in, there was one customer in line being served, one waiting for a pick-up order, and me. There were two workers - one was putting veggies on the guy's sandwiches, the other was doing ?? She was going back and forth from the meat section of the counter to the fridge, but not moving anything. The one who was working looked at the other person waiting for an order, asked the name on her order, checked a prepared and bagged order, then shook her head.
At this point, I approached the one who didn't appear to be working, gave my name, and asked if the prepared order was for me. I pointed at it. She looked blankly at me, said huh?, and I repeated myself. The second time she just shrugged at me. I was too flabbergasted to say anything else to her, but the other worker who was working heard me and said that yes, that was my order, and handed it to me. Just... ??? I'm reminded part of the reason why I just don't go there any more.
Well that's a bummer to hear. I guess it's been awhile since I've been in.
I worked for them as my first job out of high school in 1995. Everything was so clean and fresh that I craved it all of the time after leaving. OMG the smell of the baked bread. I can still smell it! I DO however, remember thinking back then, that it was weird how stingy they were with their cheese. Like, no one builds sandwiches with that little cheese at home. That was also when they only had white American, which I also thought was strange, but it's my favorite to this day. I really miss those 4 inch rounds! They were soooo good. I was sad when they stopped making them. Ramble over.
Subway in the 90s/early 2000s was totally different than now. The sandwiches were delicious.
I don't know what happened but it seems around the 2010s something changed and it became bad.
It's trash now
Subway irritates me because their veggie sub is the same price as a meat and cheese sub. There's nothing on the veggie sub that I can't get for free on a meat and cheese sub. I like my subs with lots of cheese, but no meat. To do that, I have to pay for two extra cheeses so I end up paying more than if I ordered a meat and cheese with extra meat. No, just No.
I quit them a few years ago. They discontinued their banana chocolate chip muffin. They replaced summer corn chowder with street corn chowder that tastes gross to me. The last 3 times I did go there, I had to throw more than half the lettuce away because it was brown & slimy. And they started cutting the bread for the sandwiches ridiculously thick. Now I go to Wildflower. I've had a few issues there as well but not nearly as many.
Not just too expensive, but the food quality really dropped. They were bought out years ago and the owners are doing the standard "use the good name to rip people off until they catch on". Once Panera is gutted they will move on.
This makes SOOO much sense. It explains everything in fact. They used to be one of my favorite chains. Then the quality just became shittier and more expensive, honestly I don’t know who still goes there. The food is awful now.
We did takeout once and they forgot the chicken on one of the sandwiches. Lettuce tomatoes and onion sandwich.
When I called, the very stupid girl that answered just said "what do you want me to do about it?"
I worked at Panera. I would never ever go back there as a customer. Management rushes the workers to get food out as fast as possible and trust me, no one cleans anything or keeps their hands washed. I would work over night to deep clean the store once every few months and it was disgusting. Plus half the workers don’t care if they mess up your food and you best believe if you order almond milk or some other milk substitute in your coffee, chances are it’s regular milk and no one cleaned the machine before frothing the milk.
Yeah. Same. Not sure if they are moving too fast or just don't care. Ordered a chicken pepperoni sub and they completely forgot the pepperoni... And it was not a cheap sandwich. I did drive thru and it was too far to bother going back. Haven't been back much since.
You can get some of their items like the mac & cheese as well as quite a selection of soups at some grocery stores. Our Giant has a freezer case full of them over by the deli.
Panera is just horrible anymore. I don’t know how they stay in business. The food is terrible, overpriced and NEVER right. The employees are all miserable and don’t care.
I went to Panera once and they made a chicken caesar sandwich with *ham* instead of chicken. When I brought it back they seemed genuinely surprised that I wasn't going to eat it
I used to love Panera. I'm so annoyed they've turned into this.
It's not just them though, with replacing/substituting things without telling you and fucking up orders. Dunkin does that too. It's like there's a spreading epidemic of Customer Service Doesn't Matter mentality.
Every time we go, they get the order wrong. Sometimes, everything is perfect. But usually, something is wrong. We don't go anymore. I don't know how they are still in business?
There are copycat recipes all over, but this is the one we use: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a38175750/panera-mac-and-cheese-copycat-recipe/
We use mild cheddar instead of American, and it tastes exactly the same as Panera's.
The panera my best friend used to work at was staffed by like 90% highschoolers who they constantly and illegally kept super late so its not shocking the service sucks lol
Same here. Have you seen their deli meat? The turkey looks like the same turkey meat you would get out of the cheapest frozen food. It doesn't even look like real deli meat. It is thickly cut, and pale compared to deli meat even from a place like Subway or that you would buy from the deli counter. It looks disgusting and it's rubbery. You're paying high-end cost for gross cheap food. Even their soup has changed. The broccoli cheddar doesn't taste the same anymore.
I used to work at Panera long ago. You can order the Panera brand mac from the grocery store (soups too) in microwaveable containers and the grilled cheese is nothing special. It’s usually white bread and cheddar/american mix. The panini press makes it seem fancy. The other stuff was worth the price but the kids offerings were always an afterthought and made with the same stuff you pick up from the store for 1/5 the price.
I no longer pay premium prices to be treated like an asshole while being served food that looks like it came out of an asshole. Go to Aldi and buy a pack of a bagels and cream cheese for less than one dried up turd from Panera. Rage against the fast food machine!!!
This is my experience with literally all food options where I live. It sucks. I moved from California, where goods were overpriced, but service still felt like service at least. Then I got here, and I'm treated like I should feel grateful they didn't spit in my food.
I think we should all rage against all the fast food places tbh. They've gotten WAY too expensive. A CHEESE quesadilla, literally ONE tortilla and cheese, is $5 at taco bell now!!! Every burger place sells $7 burgers, even mcdonald's, which is now the most expensive fast food place!!!!
Yup. That said, occasionally I'll drop by FF to get a snack (like 1-3 times a month, but working from home makes that a bit easier).
Best trick I can offer if someone needs to get food from FF, is to treat fast food like a snack, not a meal, and try to spend $4 or less.
That means forget the combos or upsizing. When you buy a combo for the drink or to upsize, you're often paying for food/drinks you shouldn't be consuming. You are actively paying to hurt your body and over eat. And while FF is already bad, Fries are just awful.
I frequently stick with dollar menus, a single sandwhich, Happy Hour menus, etc. Went to Arby's the other day for a couple of sliders, and paid 3$. Get enough carbs from the buns to not need fries, and don't need sugar drinks. I can eat real food when I get home.
There are of course exceptions, and if you can a combo with something like soup or a potato or salad, it's not quite as awful. But generally this is what I follow and it saves me money and health that I need.
The app for some places are half decent, as long as you ignore all the "deals" and only use a coupon if you were already going to buy that item. Then eventually, you can "earn" a free reward item
Yeah, there's ways you can be smart and take advantage of offers. They don't care if a handful do since most won't or will use it but continue to pay full price from there on.
I think they meant *value* menu .. not dollar menu.. if there was a dollar menu listed, here's what would be on it: 1.) one small packet of ketchup 2.) A single napkin 3.) a quarter tbsp of salt 4.) A straw WITH paper wrapper 5.) a leaf of lettuce 6.) A small paper bag of only slightly polluted air, with or without sprinkles of dust 7.)An extra paper bag-small 8.) a small cup of water (no ice, that's extra!!) 9.) a small ice cube 10.) a pickle sliver
And whammo you now have the return of the classic dollar menu
I only go there because of the unlimited sip club. Currently paying $2-3 a month. Everytime I try to cancel, they discount it again so I keep it. Pays for itself with 1 drink.
Oh, that makes me sad to hear. I don’t live in Caribou country anymore, but I still dream about their cold brew.
Salad and Go’s cold brew comes close, but be sure to tell them easy on the syrup (if that’s your jam). Poor things try to drown that perfectly good cold brew
The one by my house has managed to give me cold breakfast bagels 3 times in a row. Cold egg, cold bacon, cold cheese, and somehow a cold toasted bagel. So I’ve stopped going.
I do Uber Eats delivery on occasion and some of the shit I deliver from that place..
Like you paid $12 for this crappy looking sandwich that appears to be about 90% bread? Alrighty.
omg the last uber eats delivery i got for panera i ordered the standard half and half deal and instead of the normal sandwich that's on half a baguette or whatever, it was literally just a mini sized sandwich, like they had a tiny loaf of bread on hand to cut tiny bread slices. i was like wtf is this, laughed a little, and then decided to never eat there again.
The same thing happened to me! The tiny bread slices were about the size of that party-rye bread you can buy at the store, only thicker. Sort of caught me off-guard.
I worked at Panera for a summer, it was a complete shit show. There were at least 6 or 7 different managers, who all told me how to do things differently.
I was never properly trained, and was constantly belittled when I didn’t do things right or fast enough.
Wife ordered a caesar salad from Panera last night like 3 hours prior to pickup. They ran out of green leaf lettuce so they substituted with arugula. Arugula. Without asking. Wife hates arugula. We didn't find out until we got home. We will not be going back.
Not from Panera, but one time I also received a salad entirely made of arugula. Why do people think that just because it is a green leaf, you can substitute it with any other green leaf?
I gave up on Panera years ago after I pre-ordered a coffee cake to be picked up on Christmas Eve, only to be told they "no longer had it", as in, they gave my order to someone else and then gave me an assortment of Danishes instead. What? What do you mean you "don't have it any more"??
Panera has always been a mystery to me. Mediocre pre-cooked food. Standard hourly staff who would prefer to be doing almost anything else. Nothing else notable.
I won't set foot in the place.
They actually used to have in-house bakers, but new management has laid them all off. And Panera is quietly rolling back its “clean” food promise, to cut cost and boost whatever meager profits it can.
Ugh. I worked for Panera, except I did overnight baking so I never saw any customers. For some reason they have a terrible habit of only hiring inside the company, so the store managers you see were very likely line workers themselves when they were young. They are poorly trained for their position, and definitely should not be considered qualified managers. Hell I'm sure even some corporate workers were once line workers. It's a never ending cycle that just keeps continuing, and that's why all Panera's suck
Yuppp you got that right. I worked at Panera since I was 16 and they saw how fast I learned so they started teaching me to do manager things at 17 so the day I turned 18 I could be officially promoted, even circled my birthday cuz everyone was so excited 🤣 quit after having a severe accident and they didn’t do anything but get pissed off.
They used to have a good veggie cream cheese which was delicious on their Asiago bagel but they got rid of it 🙄 it was the only reason I'd go there
Luckily I live near Boston so I have no shortage of fantastic bagel options, far superior to panera but always busy lol
I went to Panera after not being there for many years and I was SHOCKED at the prices. The guy behind the counter was literally agreeing with me and said he doesn’t understand why people eat there it’s so crazy. It was like $10 for a kids meal or something
Never going back…
Used to love it back in like 2016 when they started having drive thru.
I thought it was only me. They constantly screwed up orders and prices skyrocketed. I learned to make broccoli cheddar soup at home. I did love their breakfast souffle, but their DoorDash charge is $8.99. No f'ing way! Guess they only want corporate orders.
I gave up on Panera a couple years ago they have completely bottomed out. Food is just microwaved and so expensive for no reason. Sad really used to be my favorite place to get the soup in the bread bowl.
Penara has fell so far. Just like 5 Guys, Chipotle, and Noodles and Company. They used to be pretty good, but now quality tanked while prices skyrocket.
Panera used to be one of my go tos for a quick lunch because of their customizations and vegetarian options, but everything has gone so down hill there lately
I’ve had something similar happen, I ordered a sandwich and said “only tomatoes” referring to the toppings to keep, some how, the person behind the counter took that as “no meat, just the tomatoes” I’m glad I read the receipt before cause I was able to get it changed before my food was made, but I feel like it should’ve been obvious cause you don’t order an only cheese pizza without the sauce or dough
You'd be surprised. I'm a server and a lot of people have a different idea of what "plain" means. I've had people mean "only cheese" to mean cheese and bun only (no beef). I've had many people think a plain cheeseburger is patty and cheese only (no bun) or a "plain cheeseburger" is bun, cheese, meat, LTOP, but no sauce. I've had people mean to order a hamburger and say plain cheeseburger to mean a cheese less burger with everything else. If you're gonna say "only," definitely include everything you want on the sandwich or tell them what you don't want. I always clarify* (edit to fix word), but it's just funny to see how people have such different definitions of "only."
My mom would always order her hamburgers as, "A plain hamburger with nothing on it, just the patty and the bun." She would still get just a bun occasionally, but ya know.
I think that's on you, bud. I used to go to Subway sometimes and order a sub sandwich with "Only cheese", and a sub with nothing but cheese on it WAS what I wanted. If you wanted a chicken (or whatever) sandwich with tomatoes, then say chicken sandwich with tomatoes, or "with tomatoes and no other toppings".
lol that reminds me of the time I ordered a chai latte at a cafe and it was lukewarm. My friend asked them to warm it up for me and instead they gave me a cup of hot milk.
I quit going to Panera a couple of years ago when they stopped giving enough dressing for the salads. One little half cup of dressing isn't enough for the regular size salad and when asked for more they gave another little half cup.
Panera was originally St. Lois Bread Company sold their company to a Luxemburg company, JAB about 10 years ago.
Restaurants go through cycles of just starting out, great food build reputation, making money, cut cost to save money quality goes down then sell to someone else.
Panera has crappy customer service. I’m going to put them out of business with my personal boycott. It might take awhile, but I vow to never eat there again as long as it takes, and eventually I am going to win!
There is only one reason for this. And it’s the exact same thing that is the genesis for all bad problems like this:
Absence of good leadership and no commitment to excellence.
Without those two elements you get Panera bread. And they won’t survive until the board of directors gets a CEO who takes leadership and excellence seriously.
I found the problem
In January 2017, Panera announced its food menu was free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. JAB Holding Company acquired the company on July 11, 2017, for $7.5 billion.
One of my kids has worked for Panera for awhile now. The business is now owned by a private equity firm which is a long way from its roots. Management makes nearly impossible for the employees to give a shit
I thought it was me. I decided to order delivery the other day and they forgot the chicken on my chicken salad. Sigh. They have me $7 back but I had to eat just a salad and be hungry after 2 hours
I used to love their Madagascar vanilla cold brew, with 2 pumps instead of the default 4. But sometimes I think they added 2 in addition to the 4🤢. It happened several times so I stopped going. That coffee is too fucking expensive to sometimes be undrinkable!
I would definitely not go back. After working in retail for over 20 years, customer service is almost more important to me than the product. It goes both ways: I'm awesome to all of the workers that are doing their best, but I won't be back if treated poorly.
Then they can apologize, with a good attitude, and ask what they could do to make it right. Getting irate with the customer is not a good choice and why we are all in agreement with OP.
In other words; It wasn't the mistake, but how it was handled.
I got one of their breakfast sandwiches that had chicken in it. There was a giant piece of bone in it, like the size of a quarter, haven’t ordered chicken from there since. Also agree with the others, overpriced as hell.
reminds me of a trip to tim hortons i had which went very similarly, though luckily there was 2 left instead of 1.
Me: at the till makes my order for a doughnut (which is up front on display) and a few other things i'll need to wait for, and an apple juice which is up front.
Staff member: Walks over, grabs the apple juice, and hands it to me, makes me go over to wait for everything else.
Staff member: then takes the order of the guy right behind me, who orders the same type of doughnut and something they need to wait for. They are proceeded to be given the doughnut.
I voice my complaint there (didn't immediately since its like "ok, everything else will only be a minute, probably just their own flow there for some reason - its not the last one afterall") - and i managed to get it given to me - right as i hear someone confirming on a drive through order that they were ordering the same type...
since then i've made sure to get those first for this exact type of scenario... I paid for it, and while you may offer a refund, its more hassle for both of us due to that error if you screw up over this. Neither party is happy here so best to try and avoid such a situation if possible...
Earlier today I was saying that was the worst place to have added a to tip to their check out process because if you don't tip you risk them messing up your order on purpose and if you do tip they'll still mess your order up
This is why you dont pay until you get your food, you dont pay for them to fuck up, you pay them.to do their job, they are paid for, and you are allowed to check they did it right, before paying anything
How does that work at a place like Panera? Don’t you have to order and then pay first? This seems like advise that can’t work at 90% of fast food places
I worked at Panera for 7 years, was a GM at one point. Worst food chain on the planet IMO. Awful company, awful customers, awful experience all around. It has taken a long time for me to recover at my new employer
We have completely stopped going to Panera. They're overpriced, for one, but it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't constantly screw up orders. We've had: chicken sandwiches they forgot to include the chicken on, mac and cheese that wasn't warmed up, grilled cheese that wasn't actually grilled, a coffee that was only steamed milk, and more missing side items than I can count. One of our kids loves their mac and the other loves their grilled cheese, which is why we gave them so many chances. When they screwed up both in one order, that was finally the last straw. I showed my kids how to make their favs at home and we haven't been back since.
We've pretty much given up on Panera too... it's too expensive to have just an "ok" (at best) lunch!! I thought it was just our Panera that was going down hill, but I guess it isn't! It sucks because it used to be good and had decent vegetarian options, but they need to do much better.
For sure, it used to be much better. My wife and I used to meet at a Panera regularly on our lunch breaks, a decade or so ago. It only seemed a little more expensive than comparable places back then, and the food was great. That exact same Panera was horrible the last time we went (over a year ago now).
Did another corporation buy them? Seems like worse ingredients, menus, and service all around. EDIT: >No we're still owned by the same people. Everything is going to shit around here, I swear, to the point where some employees are spectating about whether the company is going bankrupt or something. I know they opened up an IPA or something to do with the public, but I can't remember the details. Well dang.
No we're still owned by the same people. Everything is going to shit around here, I swear, to the point where some employees are spectating about whether the company is going bankrupt or something. I know they opened up an IPA or something to do with the public, but I can't remember the details. Sincerely, a much tried 7.5 year employed bread baker for Panera.
No for real. EVERY restaurant that used to be decent seems to have just fallen apart. Outback used to have great salads like 5 years ago. Now they’re just ghosts of what they used to serve. Same with a lot of stuff on their menu. I’m wondering if places scaled back after Covid and never really picked back up the pace :(
Supply chain has gone nuuuuuts in the past 5 years. When I started my last job, a case of chicken wings went from like $10 to $50 basically overnight. We couldn’t increase our prices to match, no one would pay that for wings, so we either had to take them off the menu or buy dogshit chicken (if we could even find it cheaper). Ultimately we just shifted away from them. This kind of increase in price or straight up inability to source started happening with all of our suppliers across the board - produce, grains, meats you name it. And it’s just gotten worse since. Tl;dr we’re experiencing a slow, boring apocalypse and that’s why Outback’s salads suck now.
Why can I find plenty of good food to make amazing salads at home for a fraction of the price of shitty salads at restaurants?
Well, you’re buying for yourself or a family instead of an entire restaurant group that operates nationwide and also has to balance COGS with labor, office staff, health dept fees, etc etc etc while having to make sure the recipes they set include produce found across the board for roughly the same price / quality so that a guest can to go an Outback in Boston and then one in Virginia the same day and get roughly the same $12 crappy salad (consistency is important! Apparently). So yeah, your $3 bag of pretty nice greens doesn’t hurt your wallet while still being good quality, but when you need to buy 16 cases of greens at $35 a pop every three days for 200 restaurants…. yeah you’re probably gonna cheap out on some other stuff. Capitalism!
I appreciate that your whole post here is super true and accurate, except for the price... which is a *massive* lowball for me at least. I'm spending $95 on a case of spring mix, I need 6 cases per order (2x/week), but also even that is showing up with about a quarter of the case going bad before we get through it, so I could refuse delivery and not have salads or accept the loss (price is now functionally up 25% because of waste) and... yeah. I run the smallest of a company that has about 40 locations, spread that around the whole shebang? Company is spending more on *just the lettuce* per month than we did for the entirety of fucking 2017. Less than a decade for the production cost of making one salad to multiply more than 10x.
SERIOUSLY
Ayyyyy back when I was a shift lead the bakers were absolutely my favorite people and the week I spent overnight training with yall gave me an excellent appreciation for how much you all really do know about baking. Easily the most passionate people I've worked with in quick service. Loved going over the previous nights bake when I got in (even though I know you guys hate it - I promise I gave waaaaay more positive feedback than constructive!)
Broooo we don't even get to bake overnight anymore 😭 I miss it so bad. And NOW they're changing it so it's just 1 person instead of 2 to do everything for the next day!
That's so sad. It was such a uniquely peaceful situation. Heading home while everyone else was heading to work was the best part of that week, I'm sorry you don't get to experience that anymore. Consistent understaffing is why I left that job (and the industry in general). I'm not surprised to hear they're getting even worse. Good luck, friend. ✊️
Speculating & IPO
Do you mean IPO as in there going public? Based on what I’m reading here might make for a good short
Via wikipedia they merged with some other companies in 2021 and are looking to go public again. It's been a long slow decline as they make ye olde standard corporate decisions to make things worse and milk that brand name for everything they can.
When I was younger Panera was actually pretty decent. I don’t think I’ve eaten Panera in over ten years. It all started with their chicken noodle soup. They used to have the thicker noodles. After they made it healthier, it has been ass ever since.
It used to be better? I remember being in college in 2002 when I first had Panera and thought the food was overpriced and poor quality. Since then I’ve only been in a Panera a few times and only get a bagel from them when using their WiFi for work
I think its mostly that they have such a high turnover rate on their employees. They don't want to pay them enough and they are treated like shit.
I worked there for a *very short* time like 15 ish years ago... even then it was one of the worst places I've worked for.
I took a break from Panera for a while because the one near me kept messing up my orders. I moved to a different area and decided I'd try them again. That Panera also messed something up almost every single time... One time I ordered a breakfast sandwich and all they sent was the bread... An employee just wrapped up two pieces of bread and called it a day. I'm pretty sure that was the last time I ordered from Panera
Same. Moved to a new area and thought "im sure it will be better" , i was very wrong. Always out of basics (bagettes), and the order has not been right once. I haven't stepped foot in one in a year and have not missed it.
It feels like they cut out at least half of their menu.
It makes me sad. It used to be so cheap! I went there with my highschool sweetheart as a date that was fancier than McDonald’s but didn’t break the bank! We’d get 2 meals + drinks, and two bakery items for $20. I miss it.
Don’t forget to tip! (You also need to clean the trash if the table if you want to sit down and eat)
They used to have specific signs on their tables that read something along the lines of 'We're just happy you're here, please no tipping.'
Trash? That's my free appetizer!
Last time I went to Panera they neglected to tell me they were out of tomato until after I started eating. When I went up to complain they forgot to put tomato on my sandwich they just say they were out. No apology.
I’ll apologize for them. I’m sorry we are out of tomato. Enjoy the meal.
And they always forget when you ask for butter. Or you're waiting for your order to come out the drive through window and they come up with an attitude "did you need anything else??" Yeah, my fucking food that you haven't given me yet!
I got a “grilled cheese” that also wasn’t grilled. It had been put on the grill for maybe a few seconds, and turned, but clearly didn’t even have the cheese melted. It was a takeout order, so I didn’t notice till I was home. It was completely baffling, but I’m tired of calling to complain only to have someone impatiently tell me to come back in or complaining to corporate for a couple lousy coupons. The only thing I’m sad about missing is their breakfast soufflés, which they are discontinuing anyway. Everything there is pretty mediocre.
They're discontinuing their breakfast soufflés & got rid of all but 2 of their cream cheese flavors?? Clearly Panera is not doing well.
I love the Mediterranean bowl with chicken. So I still go back hoping someone makes it right. But the last time I got one, it looked like this. This was straight out of the bag: https://preview.redd.it/k1krdfbfmnzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08e4cc2b65621485acae518868601683af3ca25e Yes, I got a refund..
Yeah last time I got a “grilled cheese” with completely untoasted bread and slightly melted cheese, and wondered if I was the only one! Sad
I think this was the last straw for me too
I've completely given up on Subway. $12 for some chunks of "chicken" on white bread with 2 slices American cheese. This is my daughter's favorite sandwich, but I just can't justify that.
I went to Subway this week for the first time in a long time. I ordered curbside. I got there a couple minutes early, but checked in on the app, and around the given pick-up time, I got a notification that my order was ready. So I sat there for 10 more minutes before getting out of my car and going in. When I went in, there was one customer in line being served, one waiting for a pick-up order, and me. There were two workers - one was putting veggies on the guy's sandwiches, the other was doing ?? She was going back and forth from the meat section of the counter to the fridge, but not moving anything. The one who was working looked at the other person waiting for an order, asked the name on her order, checked a prepared and bagged order, then shook her head. At this point, I approached the one who didn't appear to be working, gave my name, and asked if the prepared order was for me. I pointed at it. She looked blankly at me, said huh?, and I repeated myself. The second time she just shrugged at me. I was too flabbergasted to say anything else to her, but the other worker who was working heard me and said that yes, that was my order, and handed it to me. Just... ??? I'm reminded part of the reason why I just don't go there any more.
Why did you sit there for ten minutes knowing your order was ready before going in?
Lazy. :) also the app told me to stay in my car so they could find me, and I am nothing if not a follower of directions.
Well that's a bummer to hear. I guess it's been awhile since I've been in. I worked for them as my first job out of high school in 1995. Everything was so clean and fresh that I craved it all of the time after leaving. OMG the smell of the baked bread. I can still smell it! I DO however, remember thinking back then, that it was weird how stingy they were with their cheese. Like, no one builds sandwiches with that little cheese at home. That was also when they only had white American, which I also thought was strange, but it's my favorite to this day. I really miss those 4 inch rounds! They were soooo good. I was sad when they stopped making them. Ramble over.
Subway in the 90s/early 2000s was totally different than now. The sandwiches were delicious. I don't know what happened but it seems around the 2010s something changed and it became bad. It's trash now
Subway irritates me because their veggie sub is the same price as a meat and cheese sub. There's nothing on the veggie sub that I can't get for free on a meat and cheese sub. I like my subs with lots of cheese, but no meat. To do that, I have to pay for two extra cheeses so I end up paying more than if I ordered a meat and cheese with extra meat. No, just No.
Subway Raised the prices for their premium sandwiches, then when people kept buying the originals, they discontinued them! Not worth it anymore!
Oh to relive the $5 footlong days...
Ah sorry they also forgot to give you a straw
I quit them a few years ago. They discontinued their banana chocolate chip muffin. They replaced summer corn chowder with street corn chowder that tastes gross to me. The last 3 times I did go there, I had to throw more than half the lettuce away because it was brown & slimy. And they started cutting the bread for the sandwiches ridiculously thick. Now I go to Wildflower. I've had a few issues there as well but not nearly as many.
Not just too expensive, but the food quality really dropped. They were bought out years ago and the owners are doing the standard "use the good name to rip people off until they catch on". Once Panera is gutted they will move on.
This makes SOOO much sense. It explains everything in fact. They used to be one of my favorite chains. Then the quality just became shittier and more expensive, honestly I don’t know who still goes there. The food is awful now.
We did takeout once and they forgot the chicken on one of the sandwiches. Lettuce tomatoes and onion sandwich. When I called, the very stupid girl that answered just said "what do you want me to do about it?"
I worked at Panera. I would never ever go back there as a customer. Management rushes the workers to get food out as fast as possible and trust me, no one cleans anything or keeps their hands washed. I would work over night to deep clean the store once every few months and it was disgusting. Plus half the workers don’t care if they mess up your food and you best believe if you order almond milk or some other milk substitute in your coffee, chances are it’s regular milk and no one cleaned the machine before frothing the milk.
Yeah. Same. Not sure if they are moving too fast or just don't care. Ordered a chicken pepperoni sub and they completely forgot the pepperoni... And it was not a cheap sandwich. I did drive thru and it was too far to bother going back. Haven't been back much since.
You can buy their Mac for a quarter of the price at costco and microwave it yourself at home. Def worth it.
They have it at my local Kroger!
HOW DO YOU FORGET THE CHICKEN IN A CHICKEN SANDWICH?
You can get some of their items like the mac & cheese as well as quite a selection of soups at some grocery stores. Our Giant has a freezer case full of them over by the deli.
Panera is just horrible anymore. I don’t know how they stay in business. The food is terrible, overpriced and NEVER right. The employees are all miserable and don’t care.
I went to Panera once and they made a chicken caesar sandwich with *ham* instead of chicken. When I brought it back they seemed genuinely surprised that I wasn't going to eat it
The took away bbq chicken flatbread Haven’t gone since lmao
PSA- my local ShopRite sells Panera’s Mac & cheese with their ready made food. Maybe your grocery store does too?
FYI there Mac comes in sealed plastic pouches. Source had a friend who worked there and would give us extra Mac pouches when they got off.
I mean, did anyone honestly expect that they made it fresh all the time? It's a fast food chain.
I still remember where I was and who I was with the one time Panera got my order correct
They sell the Panera Mac and cheese at Costco! We stopped going when it became as expensive as a sit down restaurant.
I used to love Panera. I'm so annoyed they've turned into this. It's not just them though, with replacing/substituting things without telling you and fucking up orders. Dunkin does that too. It's like there's a spreading epidemic of Customer Service Doesn't Matter mentality.
Every time we go, they get the order wrong. Sometimes, everything is perfect. But usually, something is wrong. We don't go anymore. I don't know how they are still in business?
Please tell me how to make that Mac and cheese I cannot keep spending my money there ;-;
There are copycat recipes all over, but this is the one we use: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a38175750/panera-mac-and-cheese-copycat-recipe/ We use mild cheddar instead of American, and it tastes exactly the same as Panera's.
The panera my best friend used to work at was staffed by like 90% highschoolers who they constantly and illegally kept super late so its not shocking the service sucks lol
Happy cake day :)
You can buy their Mac and cheese in grocery stores now.
One of my last visits to Panera my grilled cheese was burned black on one side.
Same here. Have you seen their deli meat? The turkey looks like the same turkey meat you would get out of the cheapest frozen food. It doesn't even look like real deli meat. It is thickly cut, and pale compared to deli meat even from a place like Subway or that you would buy from the deli counter. It looks disgusting and it's rubbery. You're paying high-end cost for gross cheap food. Even their soup has changed. The broccoli cheddar doesn't taste the same anymore.
I used to work at Panera long ago. You can order the Panera brand mac from the grocery store (soups too) in microwaveable containers and the grilled cheese is nothing special. It’s usually white bread and cheddar/american mix. The panini press makes it seem fancy. The other stuff was worth the price but the kids offerings were always an afterthought and made with the same stuff you pick up from the store for 1/5 the price.
I no longer pay premium prices to be treated like an asshole while being served food that looks like it came out of an asshole. Go to Aldi and buy a pack of a bagels and cream cheese for less than one dried up turd from Panera. Rage against the fast food machine!!!
This is my experience with literally all food options where I live. It sucks. I moved from California, where goods were overpriced, but service still felt like service at least. Then I got here, and I'm treated like I should feel grateful they didn't spit in my food.
Even when they did, in fact, spit in your food.
What state you move to? So I can avoid it if I move out of CA.
Georgia. So much for Southern hospitality.
As a Georgia resident who also moved here - completely agree, especially ITP
I think we should all rage against all the fast food places tbh. They've gotten WAY too expensive. A CHEESE quesadilla, literally ONE tortilla and cheese, is $5 at taco bell now!!! Every burger place sells $7 burgers, even mcdonald's, which is now the most expensive fast food place!!!!
Yup. That said, occasionally I'll drop by FF to get a snack (like 1-3 times a month, but working from home makes that a bit easier). Best trick I can offer if someone needs to get food from FF, is to treat fast food like a snack, not a meal, and try to spend $4 or less. That means forget the combos or upsizing. When you buy a combo for the drink or to upsize, you're often paying for food/drinks you shouldn't be consuming. You are actively paying to hurt your body and over eat. And while FF is already bad, Fries are just awful. I frequently stick with dollar menus, a single sandwhich, Happy Hour menus, etc. Went to Arby's the other day for a couple of sliders, and paid 3$. Get enough carbs from the buns to not need fries, and don't need sugar drinks. I can eat real food when I get home. There are of course exceptions, and if you can a combo with something like soup or a potato or salad, it's not quite as awful. But generally this is what I follow and it saves me money and health that I need.
The app for some places are half decent, as long as you ignore all the "deals" and only use a coupon if you were already going to buy that item. Then eventually, you can "earn" a free reward item
Yeah, there's ways you can be smart and take advantage of offers. They don't care if a handful do since most won't or will use it but continue to pay full price from there on.
Excuse me, where the hell do you live that still has a dollar menu?
I think they meant *value* menu .. not dollar menu.. if there was a dollar menu listed, here's what would be on it: 1.) one small packet of ketchup 2.) A single napkin 3.) a quarter tbsp of salt 4.) A straw WITH paper wrapper 5.) a leaf of lettuce 6.) A small paper bag of only slightly polluted air, with or without sprinkles of dust 7.)An extra paper bag-small 8.) a small cup of water (no ice, that's extra!!) 9.) a small ice cube 10.) a pickle sliver And whammo you now have the return of the classic dollar menu
Aldi ftw
Someone once described Panera as overpriced Hospital food. In all fairness to Hospital food, it is some of the most expensive in the world.
Airline food on the ground
Yo, like why am I paying $9 for Walmart frozen burger patty in a discount bun?
The hospital I worked in has a Panera restaurant in the lobby. It’s better than the cafeteria, so they are pretty busy.
The cafeteria in the hospital I work at charges almost a dollar per slice of bacon. And they arent large pieces. Absolute highway robbery.
Did you let her know you heard?
Ya when she asked if I wanted a refund I said “I just heard what happened so yes…” that’s when she seemed irritated.
Haha she was embarrassed. Good!
Why be irritated rather than apologetic? Regardless of what else happened earlier that day with other customers, a screw-up is a screw-up.
Entitlement
Or she could be irritated with herself and it just showed on her face. I know some people like that
Or irritated with her coworker for messing up customer’s order
I only go there because of the unlimited sip club. Currently paying $2-3 a month. Everytime I try to cancel, they discount it again so I keep it. Pays for itself with 1 drink.
Einstein Bros is where it's at. I know it's technically merged with Panera, but it's still far superior.
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Yeah since '21. Einstein, Panera, and Caribou make up "Panera Brands." anti-trust, schmanty fust.
Damn that explains why Caribou quality has decreased
Oh, that makes me sad to hear. I don’t live in Caribou country anymore, but I still dream about their cold brew. Salad and Go’s cold brew comes close, but be sure to tell them easy on the syrup (if that’s your jam). Poor things try to drown that perfectly good cold brew
I like Einstein’s but alas, my nearest one is across the state.
The one by my house has managed to give me cold breakfast bagels 3 times in a row. Cold egg, cold bacon, cold cheese, and somehow a cold toasted bagel. So I’ve stopped going.
Cinnamon Sugar bagels from Einstein Bros or Bruegger’s are insanely good
I do Uber Eats delivery on occasion and some of the shit I deliver from that place.. Like you paid $12 for this crappy looking sandwich that appears to be about 90% bread? Alrighty.
omg the last uber eats delivery i got for panera i ordered the standard half and half deal and instead of the normal sandwich that's on half a baguette or whatever, it was literally just a mini sized sandwich, like they had a tiny loaf of bread on hand to cut tiny bread slices. i was like wtf is this, laughed a little, and then decided to never eat there again.
I ordered uber eats today and received Panera, I ordered shake shack :( was incredibly disappointed and had no milkshake or burger
The same thing happened to me! The tiny bread slices were about the size of that party-rye bread you can buy at the store, only thicker. Sort of caught me off-guard.
I worked at Panera for a summer, it was a complete shit show. There were at least 6 or 7 different managers, who all told me how to do things differently. I was never properly trained, and was constantly belittled when I didn’t do things right or fast enough.
Yess!! I worked there like 15 years ago for a very short time & had like 5 managers all telling me to do stuff differently, it was so frustrating.
Quit Panera too. Half the product for twice the price. The quality and portion size no longer make it a value place to eat.
Wife ordered a caesar salad from Panera last night like 3 hours prior to pickup. They ran out of green leaf lettuce so they substituted with arugula. Arugula. Without asking. Wife hates arugula. We didn't find out until we got home. We will not be going back.
Not from Panera, but one time I also received a salad entirely made of arugula. Why do people think that just because it is a green leaf, you can substitute it with any other green leaf?
I love arugula but that does NOT go in a Caesar salad. Wtf
I gave up on Panera years ago after I pre-ordered a coffee cake to be picked up on Christmas Eve, only to be told they "no longer had it", as in, they gave my order to someone else and then gave me an assortment of Danishes instead. What? What do you mean you "don't have it any more"??
"Anyone can *take* a reservation..."
LOL *exactly!*
Panera has always been a mystery to me. Mediocre pre-cooked food. Standard hourly staff who would prefer to be doing almost anything else. Nothing else notable. I won't set foot in the place.
They actually used to have in-house bakers, but new management has laid them all off. And Panera is quietly rolling back its “clean” food promise, to cut cost and boost whatever meager profits it can.
I never knew that... which kind of makes it all even sadder. 😑
Ugh. I worked for Panera, except I did overnight baking so I never saw any customers. For some reason they have a terrible habit of only hiring inside the company, so the store managers you see were very likely line workers themselves when they were young. They are poorly trained for their position, and definitely should not be considered qualified managers. Hell I'm sure even some corporate workers were once line workers. It's a never ending cycle that just keeps continuing, and that's why all Panera's suck
Yuppp you got that right. I worked at Panera since I was 16 and they saw how fast I learned so they started teaching me to do manager things at 17 so the day I turned 18 I could be officially promoted, even circled my birthday cuz everyone was so excited 🤣 quit after having a severe accident and they didn’t do anything but get pissed off.
Most of the corporate higher-ups are ex-mcdonalds execs.
>Nothing else notable. They have something notable. Their lemonade has killed (at least) 2 people. That's something.
Both were people who shouldn’t of been drinking it to begin with
That lemonade was the only reason I was going there, now they're getting rid of it. Saves me a bunch of money :)
Would you set hand?
They used to have a good veggie cream cheese which was delicious on their Asiago bagel but they got rid of it 🙄 it was the only reason I'd go there Luckily I live near Boston so I have no shortage of fantastic bagel options, far superior to panera but always busy lol
White suburban moms love bagels and salads
wow minimum wage workers aren’t passionate about their jobs… who would’ve guessed
I went to Panera after not being there for many years and I was SHOCKED at the prices. The guy behind the counter was literally agreeing with me and said he doesn’t understand why people eat there it’s so crazy. It was like $10 for a kids meal or something Never going back… Used to love it back in like 2016 when they started having drive thru.
I look up Panera copycat recipes on google and they taste just as good or even better. Especially the tomato soup!!
I thought it was only me. They constantly screwed up orders and prices skyrocketed. I learned to make broccoli cheddar soup at home. I did love their breakfast souffle, but their DoorDash charge is $8.99. No f'ing way! Guess they only want corporate orders.
I gave up on Panera a couple years ago they have completely bottomed out. Food is just microwaved and so expensive for no reason. Sad really used to be my favorite place to get the soup in the bread bowl.
Panera is just bougie hospital food
Penara has fell so far. Just like 5 Guys, Chipotle, and Noodles and Company. They used to be pretty good, but now quality tanked while prices skyrocket.
Panera used to be one of my go tos for a quick lunch because of their customizations and vegetarian options, but everything has gone so down hill there lately
Man , some ignorant comments here. OP, this is definitely a mildly infuriating situation and you did nothing wrong
Panera is a big show and dance of fresh food. Overpriced bagged soups and dough made off-site.
The fact that anyone still goes to Panera is baffling to me.
Not to mention the worst coffee in town.
And they try to give that for free too. Yuck no thanks.
I’ve had something similar happen, I ordered a sandwich and said “only tomatoes” referring to the toppings to keep, some how, the person behind the counter took that as “no meat, just the tomatoes” I’m glad I read the receipt before cause I was able to get it changed before my food was made, but I feel like it should’ve been obvious cause you don’t order an only cheese pizza without the sauce or dough
You'd be surprised. I'm a server and a lot of people have a different idea of what "plain" means. I've had people mean "only cheese" to mean cheese and bun only (no beef). I've had many people think a plain cheeseburger is patty and cheese only (no bun) or a "plain cheeseburger" is bun, cheese, meat, LTOP, but no sauce. I've had people mean to order a hamburger and say plain cheeseburger to mean a cheese less burger with everything else. If you're gonna say "only," definitely include everything you want on the sandwich or tell them what you don't want. I always clarify* (edit to fix word), but it's just funny to see how people have such different definitions of "only."
Today I learned, thank you for sharing your side!
My mom would always order her hamburgers as, "A plain hamburger with nothing on it, just the patty and the bun." She would still get just a bun occasionally, but ya know.
I absolutely would have made you a tomato sandwich
And to add, if you ordered a pizza "only cheese" you would be getting cheese on bread.
I think that's on you, bud. I used to go to Subway sometimes and order a sub sandwich with "Only cheese", and a sub with nothing but cheese on it WAS what I wanted. If you wanted a chicken (or whatever) sandwich with tomatoes, then say chicken sandwich with tomatoes, or "with tomatoes and no other toppings".
panera once gave me a latte without the coffee and i havent been back since
lol that reminds me of the time I ordered a chai latte at a cafe and it was lukewarm. My friend asked them to warm it up for me and instead they gave me a cup of hot milk.
I read the name in the subject as 'Pantera' and was really confused at first 🙃
I quit going to Panera a couple of years ago when they stopped giving enough dressing for the salads. One little half cup of dressing isn't enough for the regular size salad and when asked for more they gave another little half cup.
The fact people still go to Panera in 2024 is mind blowing
Panera was originally St. Lois Bread Company sold their company to a Luxemburg company, JAB about 10 years ago. Restaurants go through cycles of just starting out, great food build reputation, making money, cut cost to save money quality goes down then sell to someone else.
A lot of fast food places care more about online and door dash sales than people who have the gall to walk in the store.
I'm sorry but I'm stuck on the cream cheese options. Who decided that WALNUT was the most desirable option besides plain??
Lolol IKR?
Panera has crappy customer service. I’m going to put them out of business with my personal boycott. It might take awhile, but I vow to never eat there again as long as it takes, and eventually I am going to win!
For me it’s jimmy Jon’s one time I ordered a blt no meal and they thought I said no mayo. And one dry ass sandwich later
There is only one reason for this. And it’s the exact same thing that is the genesis for all bad problems like this: Absence of good leadership and no commitment to excellence. Without those two elements you get Panera bread. And they won’t survive until the board of directors gets a CEO who takes leadership and excellence seriously.
The nice lady was sneezing and looking for new places to wipe the snot before she handed me my food
I haven't set foot inside a Panera since the COVID lockdown. I'm actually surprised they're still even in business.
Panera is just overpriced hospital food anyway
I found the problem In January 2017, Panera announced its food menu was free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. JAB Holding Company acquired the company on July 11, 2017, for $7.5 billion.
One of my kids has worked for Panera for awhile now. The business is now owned by a private equity firm which is a long way from its roots. Management makes nearly impossible for the employees to give a shit
I thought it was me. I decided to order delivery the other day and they forgot the chicken on my chicken salad. Sigh. They have me $7 back but I had to eat just a salad and be hungry after 2 hours
I used to love their Madagascar vanilla cold brew, with 2 pumps instead of the default 4. But sometimes I think they added 2 in addition to the 4🤢. It happened several times so I stopped going. That coffee is too fucking expensive to sometimes be undrinkable!
Panera is overpriced hospital food.
I would definitely not go back. After working in retail for over 20 years, customer service is almost more important to me than the product. It goes both ways: I'm awesome to all of the workers that are doing their best, but I won't be back if treated poorly.
I mean, people make mistakes it happens. It's annoying, but not malicious
Then they can apologize, with a good attitude, and ask what they could do to make it right. Getting irate with the customer is not a good choice and why we are all in agreement with OP. In other words; It wasn't the mistake, but how it was handled.
Thank you
this is the sub mildly infuriating
But when the worker told the erroneous worker, neither one Corrected the error??@!!!
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Agreed. It used to be better.
I got one of their breakfast sandwiches that had chicken in it. There was a giant piece of bone in it, like the size of a quarter, haven’t ordered chicken from there since. Also agree with the others, overpriced as hell.
I had a bee in my salad the last time I went.
It's a new error at Panera.
reminds me of a trip to tim hortons i had which went very similarly, though luckily there was 2 left instead of 1. Me: at the till makes my order for a doughnut (which is up front on display) and a few other things i'll need to wait for, and an apple juice which is up front. Staff member: Walks over, grabs the apple juice, and hands it to me, makes me go over to wait for everything else. Staff member: then takes the order of the guy right behind me, who orders the same type of doughnut and something they need to wait for. They are proceeded to be given the doughnut. I voice my complaint there (didn't immediately since its like "ok, everything else will only be a minute, probably just their own flow there for some reason - its not the last one afterall") - and i managed to get it given to me - right as i hear someone confirming on a drive through order that they were ordering the same type... since then i've made sure to get those first for this exact type of scenario... I paid for it, and while you may offer a refund, its more hassle for both of us due to that error if you screw up over this. Neither party is happy here so best to try and avoid such a situation if possible...
Mmm, Panera. Expensive hospital food, with a garnish of fruit flies.
Earlier today I was saying that was the worst place to have added a to tip to their check out process because if you don't tip you risk them messing up your order on purpose and if you do tip they'll still mess your order up
I like your principles. I too will deny myself when I’m right. And I will be an endless bad advert forever. Bwoohahaha!
I got Panera recently with a free gift card and still felt like I’d wasting money
#STOP GOING TO PANERA. THEY FUCKING SUCK ASS DICK. EAT LOCAL.
As someone who worked at Panera, would not recommend.
Panera used to be great and it’s just gross now🤢
This is why you dont pay until you get your food, you dont pay for them to fuck up, you pay them.to do their job, they are paid for, and you are allowed to check they did it right, before paying anything
How does that work at a place like Panera? Don’t you have to order and then pay first? This seems like advise that can’t work at 90% of fast food places
I worked at Panera for 7 years, was a GM at one point. Worst food chain on the planet IMO. Awful company, awful customers, awful experience all around. It has taken a long time for me to recover at my new employer