Panera Bread

5/26/22 UPDATE…a month later and still bad. I have ordered this same sandwich weekly since my original review. Every week incorrectly prepared. Please train your people how to prepare the food you advertise. No bacon. Incorrect cheese. Not toasted. I never ask for anything special. I order the sandwich as advertised how hard can that be?!! ORIGINAL REVIEW >>>Thanks Panera. Supposed to be a bacon, egg and cheese ciabatta. One problem the bacon I paid for is missing. I’m over all these fast food places that can’t hear, read or follow instructions. Waste of time and money. Customers deserve to get what they pay for.

Interesting experience today. First off I tried another Panera close on 162nd and the dining room was closed. Likely this Panera’s dining room will close soon because the manager (see pictures) spent 25 minutes talking to a loud, boisterous man sitting at a table about his homes value. How is one Panera so short handed the dining room is closed while at this Panera the manager has time to visit one patron for 25 minutes? And I still had inedible lettuce cores in my salad. It’s a conundrum and unless you’re are hungry find another spot or you might be disappointed like me.

I don't eat at Panera Bread anymore. They used to be one of my favorite places, but a few years ago they changed their menu and got rid of my favorite items like the turkey artichoke panini. The reason I gave them 5 stars is because of their exquisite customer service. This is the only restaurant that lets you grab a cup to get something to drink for free as you wait for your food. Whoever is responsible for training their employees and managers on how to be courteous and professional deserves some kind of reward. I can imagine they create a very good culture that starts at the highest levels of corporate, which stems all the way to the cashiers. Every single location I visit and do deliveries for keeps up this high standard. That mixed with their beautifully decorated and welcoming dining area makes them top of the line.

I posted a similar review n the Matteson location. And their corporate office contacted me about this. They gave me $20 in Panera Reward's so we're decided on Panera for dinner and movie night. This is the 3rd time went gone to this location and there is always a problem with the order! Last night we ordered and my husband drove 16 minutes to this location for carry out. His sandwich was missing and they gave us a small Mac & Cheese instead of the large we ordered. The baguette looked it was half eaten. When he got home, we tried to call the store, but as usual, no answer. They have weak management at both locations because I'm the old days, this wouldn't be happening again and again!

Food was good as always, same as any Panera. However the service here was lacking on my visit. Took over 30 minutes for a rapid pick up, pre ordered salad at 1:30 pm. Did not appear to be short staffed so not sure what the issues were. No comments or apologizes from anyone working either. Staff was also marking carry out orders as “quality checked” without actually looking into the bags to verify full contents.

We just got back home from a ridiculously horrid experience thanks to an unprofessional manager on duty named Cara. We picked up an expensive order from a nearby restaurant which included a free sundae for Teacher Appreciation Week, and decided to stop at this Panera to pickup a complimentary drink as part of the drink promo. We literally waited in the drive thru for 45 minutes thanks to the poorly designed drive through which prevents cars from driving out of the drive in the event that a customer changes their mind or there is an emergency. What angered us is that the car in front of us held up the line for 20 of that 45 minutes but that customer should have been instructed to pull up to a holding space until their order was brought to them. When we finally reached the pickup window, we asked for a manager and that was Cara who needs to be fired for incompetency! She lied and said she did not have staff to take orders to cars, yet we witnessed a worker who did just that for another customer who pulled to a wait space. We showed her the melted sundae and advised that our food was cold but she did not care, only saying "there is nothing I can do." She kept asking what I wanted and when I advised her to compensate me for my food order from the other restaurant, she said, again, she is not responsible for orders from someplace else. Why ask me? Furthermore, we tried calling twice to ask that they instruct the other customer in front of us to pull up but they never answered the phone. I was so mad, I left without the drink and thinking I will never return! Awful manager! Awful decision on Panera's part to hire Cara who is incapable of making common sense decisions.

Got my order wrong twice :( First, I ordered a side of Mac and cheese and got charged for a meal. Second, I ordered two broccoli cheddar bread bowls and they didn’t come with any bread bowls. Third, they forgot my salad completely. Idk they gave me a free danish for my troubles? Pry won’t go here again at least to this Panera location. The bread was good though :)