Panera Bread
reviews and complaints

I ordered a chocolate chip muffie and I was 1/2 way done eating it when I felt a hair in my mouth. I pulled out the hair, and I knew it wasn't mine because it was brown and I have blonde hair. I highly doubt this "fell" onto the food, I'm pretty sure it was baked in that way. I also ordered a You Pick 2 with a chipotle chicken sandwich. The sandwich has a bad piece of chicken in it. I was highly disappointed.

I had purchased two $50 gift cards for Panera Bread.
I kept them in my purse I had used one a few times and had about a $10 balance and the other I had never used.
Just from the cards being safely in my purse for about a year using the one here and there the numbers rubbed off, and the strip didn't work.?how does this happened?
I contacted corporate and sent them the cards and guess what they couldn't get the money off either, supposedly they tried everything.
How did this happen anyway.
I have lots of credit cards, store cards and other cards for years and nothing like this has ever happened.
The cards are not made to hold on too, go figure.
Don't ever risk purchasing a Panera Gift Card.
I lost $60 that was uncovorable. I will also never visit a Panera Bread again for as long as I live.

I have filed a number of complaints in the past. This is a new or updated complaint, which ever way you choose to look at it.

Panera Bread HQ permanently deleted my MyPanera card out of retaliation for 1) being disabled and 2) having the nerve to complain about their discrimination. As I said in the past, I fought them in the past for that Birthday treat not because I wanted free food, but, to make them keep their advertised word. If a mans word means absolutely nothing, then his word is worthless, and the same goes for a woman' word.

Last year and this year I decided to not say anything to them to see if they would somehow miraculously grow a professional and scrupulous backbone and honor their advertised word. Sadly, they haven't. I am still waiting.

Maybe next year, but, I'm NOT holding my breath.

The general manager has a history of a temper. Recently he told employees to pick up food that fell on the floor & re-shelve it for sale. He also told the employees to put cups that fell on the floor back up for customer use.
He then threatened any employee that threw away the cups that he would take them out of the trash & force that employee to drink from them. This constitutes a physical threat against the employees.
I contacted the national office with this complaint, only to be ignored. They don't care about customer health & safety, nor employee safety. As long as the store makes a profit.

While visiting the cafe at the waterfront in Pittsburgh(3494), my boyfriend had ordered a breakfast sandwich. While in front of pick up area, and waiting for the food, we witnessed a young male with black hair and thick rimmed black glasses, not only adjust/ play with his hat while having gloves on and making food(he didn't change them), we also then witnessed him cleaning his glasses again, wearing the gloves and going back to making food. He was really unsanitary and could have gotten hair in food with all of the hat adjustments he was doing. But even then just touching his personal items and going back to making food is enough to make me not want to eat here again. The manager/ supervisor was right there when this was happening and did not say a thing!

In addition to the cleanliness issue, the breakfast sandwich was not made correctly. He had ordered for a whole egg ( not just the egg white) and got egg white instead.

I received a Half Off Smoothies or Iced Coffee All Summer key chain from a Panera Bread employee. The employee stopped into my place of employment and passed them out to everyone. She told us that we were able to use the card as many times as we wanted and for as many drinks as we wanted at our local Panera. We were excited because we go there about 3 times per week. Today I drove through to get everyone's smoothies, iced coffees and pastries. At the drive-thru I mentioned the card before I read my order. They informed that I could only use the half-off on one item. I politely reminded them that it does not say that anywhere on the card and the employee who gave it me did not tell us that. The employee quickly responded with "Well that is what my manager said" So, I only ordered half of what was on the list & pulled up to pick-up. The woman who took my money was clearly agitated with me! No smile, no apology, NO THANK YOU I am very upset. I read the card, listened to what the employee told me when I got it, spoke politely to the drive-thru staff and was treated like I did something wrong! Needless to say my co- workers were disappointed. I honestly don't think we will go back. I think the wording on the card should be accurate for the promotion, education of employees presenting and training in customer service are need at this store! Card read: present this key chain to receive half off smoothies or iced coffees throughout the summer of 2014 Offer expires August 31, 2014 Valid only at participating Panera Bread bakery-cafe in Northeast Ohio Not valid with any other offer. Valid only on regular priced menu items. There is no name after Cashier:
Receipt ID [protected]-9298-44
Please reply

My wife and I went to panera in Oneonta Ny and ordered a greek salad with pesto pasta. At the end of the order I said please double check, no bacon. Were allergic. The manager says "i know theres no bacon in these dishes. I said I m just letting you know and he says better safe than sorry.
Im almost at the end of my meal and a chunk of bacon is sitting in my greek salad.
I took my bowl to that same manager and said what is this. He tried to say its sun dried tomatoe. I know what a sun dried tomato looks like Im a restaurant owner. Im highly allergic. Hopefully they take precaution for their customers. It can be a health hazard and all they will say is i know!

I dined in panera last night in Round Lake Beach and was very annoyed. I've been there before and enjoyed my visit very much. However on this visit I thought I would bring my family, they didn't enjoy It at all In fact they were very annoyed at one of your employees I had to get up to read his name tag, his name was Sergio. I stood back and observed him running around, back and forth. Leaning against the counter and laughing and talking very loudly to the ladies in the line I'm assuming. My family was very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. The yelling in Spanish and just unnecessary behavior. I'm not looking forward to coming back unless something Is done. He is very childish, my Mother observed a mean stair when she looked at him.

Very Unhappy!

Kim Quinn

*update*

Well, a couple minutes ago, I finished contacting them when a message showed up on top of their microwaved tortellini saying that I "may have a surprise". so, I went and checked. guess what my surprise is? a message that says "no surprises at this time but keep checking back". I wonder how delicious taunting and mockery are? probably just as delicious as that carrot that the farmer dangles in front of the donkey only to jerk it away before the donkey gets it.

I suspect panera bread is run by people who have no joy in their life and taunting and mocking disabled customers brings them that joy that they crave.

But, what can I expect? afterall, we are dealing with panera bread. if they have done what they have done so far, why should this "surprise" surprise me?

Pervis Patrick
Panera Bread (River Forest)
April 18, 2013
I would like to start off by saying my name is Pervis Patrick and I am writing this letter to express my disappointment in my managers’ actions yesterday April, 18, 2013. To start things off I was taking clean and dry dishes on a cart to the prep line to restock them. Out of nowhere my manager Becca is fussing at me to take a break. It’s so out of the blue that I didn’t recognize at first that she was addressing me about taking a lunch break around 10:15am as I was stocking dishes in their respective and designated areas. I hear Becca call my name and demand that I go on a lunch break in front of my co-workers who were no less than two feet away from me. At this point I am looking at Becca confused as to why she is aggressively and borderline yelling at me to take a lunch break. Once again this is taking place in front of multiple co-workers and customers just right in front of our coffee station so this is definitely out in the open for others to witness. As far as my judgment, I did assume that my manager Becca would do the appropriate thing and disclose the matter in the office which she didn’t do at first. I am still trying to process the situation in my head and couldn’t find a logical reason why it was a situation in the first place. I proceeded to help a co-worker make sandwiches for a catering order and once again Becca responded and said “no!, your going on break like I just told you too!” Now Im definitely offended but I said not a word to Becca and took off my latex gloves and went to clock out for break. I did this quietly. I pull my break out slip from the printer and that’s when Becca uttered another inappropriate statement and told me” to do what Im told, when Im told to do so”. At that point I responded to Becca “you do not have to talk to me this way at all in front of everybody, Pete wouldn’t have talked to me this way in front of my co-workers “. Becca responded by saying that she would give me another break later because she was aware that even though my scheduled shift was from 7am to 2:30pm, I was staying to maybe five or six o’clock to help out on the line. I responded to Becca by saying that I didn’t want to take another break, I wanted to be paid for it. That was the main reason I agreed to stay past my shift for extra hours and not to take another un paid lunch break. Becca responded “ Matter of fact…..dont return, you can go home!”. Im completely shocked as I feel that I am being singled out and I still don’t have a clear cut reason as to why this whole ordeal is happening. Once again, this is taking place in the dining room and not in the office where it should have been in the first place if Becca had a problem with me at all. This brought shame and embarrassment to me that was un warranted and un called for. Becca finally says “lets go to the office” and we go to the office to talk. Once inside the office Becca is screaming at me saying that I shouldn’t have yelled at her in the dining room because other co-workers would feel that they could do the same. As I stated above I did not yell at Becca but I did respond to her tone of voice talking to me like a child in front of my co-workers and customers. I told Becca that she was the one that started this and that she was yelling at me. She was almost hostile in the office as I had to tell Becca twice to stop yelling at me and remove her hands away from my face like she wanted to fight me. I felt disrespected in not even being able to respond to her inside the office as she just continued to yell and over talk me. I still attempted to ask Becca if I could take a lunch break when the next co-worker came in at 11:30am to cover my shift.. I was told that I had to leave and that I could not finish my shift. I clocked in at 7am and I clocked out for my lunch break at 10:23:06am according to my breakout slip. I asked why do I have to leave and that I didn’t understand what was going on. It happened extremely quick. I was told that she didn’t like “my kind”. I instantly got a racist vibe from that comment and soon after I got the feeling that it was more on her mind than she was revealing. It felt pre-meditated, it felt like this was something she wanted to say to me all along. Im not making the case that Becca is a bad person because I have seen her interact very well with others but this situation I didn’t see coming nor could I understand it. I asked her what she meant by “my kind” like she’s trying to stereotype me or categorize me in some shape or form. She said “you guys are ignorant” and I said “what guys!” I told Becca that she wasn’t being fair at all in making these claims and sending me home without a clear cut reason and I am extremely hard and dedicated worker. I told her she was making me uncomfortable. I asked her if she could contact Pete for assistance and she refused and told me “ Im not any of the other managers and I don’t give a ### about you.” Im pretty sure the other co-workers still heard her screaming at me. At this point I totally do not feel that it was a safe work environment. Becca told me that if I didn’t leave that she was going to call the police or security on me. I left the office, put my coat on, said good bye to other co-workers around me and I left calmly and peacefully. Confused still but none the less I left in a calm matter. I absolutely feel that she should be held accountable for her actions. You just can’t talk to people anyway you want to or feel like it. There’s two sides to a story and this is mine. I want to use Kevin, my fellow co-worker as a reference to what happened between me and Becca yesterday morning as Kevin was the closest to me and Becca. I am using Kevin as a reference because Kevin is a fairly new employee and I felt that since he doesn’t know anything about me or Becca that if he was asked to tell what he saw and heard that he wouldn’t have a biased opinion about me or Becca. I am hoping he tells the truth as well the other co-workers on the floor who witnessed it. I didn’t do anything wrong to warrant the way I was treated. I want Becca to be held accountable for actions and not her authority. I do not think she is a bad person by any means but I am not excusing the outrageous comments said to me by Becca inside the office. I mean threating to call the police on me and no single camera will show you anything about me being hostile to Becca, is over the top! Also, as I am leaving the café nice and quiet a few co-workers asked me why am I being fired and I responded by saying that to my knowledge, I am being sent home over a lunch break I believe this was about. I left and then I thought to myself why would someone ask me am I being fired. If that was the case I felt a co-worker shouldn’t ask me that question. Something like that should be confidential. I left the café feeling like my job security was into question for no reason. I can’t accuse Becca of telling co-workers that I am about to fired but it’s just raises the question in my eyes why I would be asked that as I am leaving the café. I was already planning on talking to my general manager Pete about this incident but with careful thought I believe I have a right to be heard and voice my displeasure. I would like to file a complaint because you can’t treat people that way and we do have rights.

Pervis Patrick
April 19, 2013
My name is Pervis Patrick and I writing an up-dated letter to follow up my formal letter to my general manager Peter Ransom which was given to him yesterday morning April 18, 2013 at about 6:30am. I got to work yesterday morning April 18, 2013 at 6:20am for a 7am start to my shift. Immediately the first people I see is the district manager Kristen, my general manager Peter and another manager Reagan Perry was also there. I sat at the table with Kristen and Peter to have a conversation about what took place yesterday April 18, 2013 between me and another manager, her name was Becca. I stated in my letter given to Peter and Kristen that I believe Becca may have told other co-workers that I was “done, finished, and fired” as I was attempting to leave the café yesterday after being sent home by my manager Becca. Surely enough and before I could plead my case, Peter says to me that I was terminated and there was nothing they could do to help me. I didn’t flinch, interrupt his speech, or make any facial expressions. I was thinking at the moment about when Becca told me in an argument in the office about how she didn’t like “my kind” which I documented in my letter given to Peter and Kristen yesterday morning. I was thinking how she set out to have me fired and here we are. Peter pretty much said to me that I will not be allowed to present my side of the story in so many words in front of the district manager. I have spoken to Kristen about some things I deemed to be illegal and how I was treated in a talk with her sometime before summer was over last year in 2012. Nothing happened. I got the feeling that Kristen and Peter wanted to rush me out of the café and that was wrong. Kristen also told me in that conversation that Becca kind of had a right to embarrass me in front of my co-workers. That’s when I pulled out my letter of documentation for them to file. This updated letter I would like reach corporate office. Kristen and Peter seemed on edge of my readiness and calmness in the meeting and I do believe they wanted to rush me out of there. I just want what’s fair. I hope that they are doing a investigation because I had to lose my job because one of my managers doesn’t like me at all and used her power and authority to have me fired. Also, I said to Peter and Kristen that I got the feeling that other co-workers in the café yesterday morning, April, 18, 2013 may have spoken too loudly on Becca’s thoughts regarding my job security and I felt she was trying to have me fired right after she sent me home. I said to Peter and Kristen on that notion alone that I thought Becca was wrong if she indeed said damaging things about my character to my co-workers or my job security and if that was the case I felt that information should have been keep private and they both agreed to that. I believe that Kristen and Peter got the feeling in the meeting that I truly did see it coming just paying attention to what I heard leaving the café yesterday and I prepared that way. I hope they realize that since I was prepared and I didn’t walk in to that meeting blindly that it should be some truth to the claims of Becca going around spreading private information about me after I was sent home yesterday. Becca should held accountable for that. I told Peter off the record in front of Kristen that I was thankful of him giving me a job and for him and Kristen to enjoy their days. I left right after that. I hope this letter can reach the right people and that Becca be held accountable for actions. It’s two sides to every story.

I have a My Panera Card. You all know how it works, so I do not need to explain it. What I am upset about is that Panera Bread has blocked me out so I cannot log into my account. Maybe I am being silly, but the timing that they chose to block me out and possibly cancel my card is after complaining and right before my birthday. They do not have an email address for me but I can still contact them with compliments/concerns which I have done. The first time, which was around December 2012/ January 2013, I sent them eight (8) compliments about their Gainesville, Virginia location and one suggestion that the headquarters consider building another Panera Bread in Haymarket, Virginia because Gainesville, Virginia Panera Bread being overcrowded is an understatement. The second comment was a couple months ago: they do have a problem with the disabled with carrying their food to the table but there was an incident where four able bodied wealthy men were sitting nearby the disabled woman gloating about all the wealth they had and a Panera employee brought them their food. The third comment was about a month ago. I was upset with Panera Headquarters raising my total price by forty cents, and telling them that this would cause me to reduce my visits to them. The fourth time I complained to Panera Bread Headquarters was yesterday and today about not being able to log in. The last time I have been to Panera Bread was on Resurrection Sunday.

I have read some of the astounding complaints on this site by others about other Panera Bread locations and it horrifies me. I have never experienced that at Gainesville, Virginia. With the exception of the one complaint about their bias towards the disabled, I have had NOTHING BUT COMPLIMENTS about Gainesville, Virginia, and yet, I am blocked out and possibly my card cancelled.

If retaliation is how Panera Bread thanks its loyal disabled customers, then they're not going to be in business very long, especially when they price gouge and are biased to those loyal disabled customers..
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went to panera for lunch on friday march 15th order a sandwich sat down almost bit into it and hair was baked in the bead took it to counter girl saidjust throw it away made me a new one which i could not eat after thinking about the hair in the bread wad yelled at by employee caused i threw the sandwich in wrong place i am disabled and usually dont sit down and eat their i usually get somethng to go. would have been nice to offer me a manager to get me something else or just give me my money back never had this problem before but will think twice about getting anything from that store agan

Do bother signing up with "My Panera" card. I just spent some "serious" money all of which was on my Panera Card and received nothing. I complained to their online contact site. I received 2 emails from a "###" named Stella. She is the fool they have respond to you. I now see her name all over the complaint websites. I cannot tell you how many times I have there in the morning right when they open and the tables have been dirty! ( the Mobile location on Airport Blvd / Montilmar location) No joke they still have empty water bottles and garbage sitting on the "outside"tables from the previous night! . Panera doesn't care about your patronage. You should see the emails I received back from them. They are a worthless phony company

Not only does it smell like sewer there but, the managment is extremely rude to there employees. I have always had a great service when bill worked there. Now a cocky woman is there. I just want everyone to know that it smells bad there and the management is down right disrespectful to there employees. I will not be going there anymore!

So, we weren't specifically looking to complain just curious if anyone else thought the prices were nuts or if it was just us. Just went to one for the first time. Agree with a number of others here, prices are out of hand. After reading a few of these we decided to post our experience as well. Here is our example: two cups of chicken noodle (4.19 a cup) and one turkey panini (8.59), total being 18.16 after 1.19 in tax (no drinks). Details: Monroeville PA, Check #525937, Order #537, 10/16/2012.

In summary the food was good but the prices were too high, we won't be going back for a good while. If the panini was larger for
9 dollars maybe but it wasn't anything special. Total size was about as long as a hot dog bun and not quite as wide as a regular piece of sandwich bread. It was cut in half and we each ate 1/2, had a little chuckle (at our expense) at how much each bite was costing us. Got the soup to go, a cup is a cup literally here, that said neither of the to-go cups were full.

We were excited to go but after our first visit have no clue why this place is so special, it was very busy. Maybe we just
didn't order the right things. The salads looked like they were bigger and some of the pastries looked good, not sure of
the prices of those items.

I entered the restaurant for an interview, and the vibe of the place just wasn't welcoming and friendly. I noticed that the entire staff consisted of females, and only caucasian employees. It caught my eye, but I didn't think much of it until I was told that I didn't get the job. I was well qualified for the position, and my first interview went very well. I didn't get a reason for not receiving the job, which was very unprofessional in my eyes.