Panera Bread — Restaurant in Alexandria

I frequent Panera at least 4 times a week. I even have it delivered to my home. I say this because I am a loyal customer, a true patron. My usual three Paneras are off 15/501(Durham), Southpoint Mall (Durham) and North Hills (Raleigh). I ALWAYS receive the best customer service. Well, today I'm in the Duke area and decided to stop in. As usual, I go get my water and discover they have the tiniest cups- no biggie. However, upon leaving I ask someone at the counter ( unbeknownst to me it's the manager) if they have the smaller kids for the water. With the nastiest look and condescending tone he tells me they don't carry them. I say ok and walk away. Well I notice one of the younger staff run to the back and get a stack of tiny lids and say here you go ma'am. I thanked the young man of course and asked if the gentleman I spoke to was this locations manger. Unfortunately, it was. I made it a point the ask the manager how is that I am now drinking from a cup with a tiny lid if you do not carry them. He was like oh he must have found a small stack of them and quickly brushed me off. I replied that costumer service was everything for a business and that I frequent this branded establishment frequently and as a manager of a quality brand he needs to do better. I looked at me sarcastically and said ok....

Worst Panera location I’ve been to. Decided to use the bathroom first. One stall was out of order and the other was absolutely filthy. Hair and dirt all over the sink. No paper towels. I was going to leave just after this but my son really wanted food from here. Spent 10 minutes ordering from the kiosk only to find that the card reader was not working. Had some patience and moved to the next kiosk. Spent another 10 minutes there only to find that that card reader also doesn’t work. Left in frustration but returned because, again, my toddler really wanted to eat here. Went to the register to order and told the cashier about my frustrations (in a very calm manner) and she just said “yea”. Did not care one bit nor report anything to a manager to have it fixed or prevented for the next customer. Will not be...

This location is a complete DISASTER. Do not waste your time. Whether you do curbside pickup or delivery, they WILL not accurately fulfill your order. Also, Panera does NOT do their own delivery anymore – its a third-party service that is not connected to Panera at all. So, good luck resolving any issues. Whatever you receive will likely arrive lukewarm because it sat at the store for 20+ minutes and then rode around in someone else’s car for the multiple deliveries ahead of yours.

Inside the location, multiple people have been waiting 30+ minutes for their order to be fulfilled. What a nightmare. While it is irrefutable that Panera in general has taken a nosedive in regards to customer service in recent years, this location used to be better than the average....