Panera Bread — Restaurant in Augusta

Panera Breadless - 7:30PM on a Saturday night this Panera Bread...had no baguettes.

It was explained that an earlier employee did not set the timer on the baguette oven, and burned TWELVE BAGUETTES! Apparently, twelve baguettes is all Panera Bread thinks can feed folks on a Saturday night.

Ok, I can deal with this, fine. I'll get the chips.

I asked for a cup of French onion soup. Not only did the French onion soup come without cheese, but it also came without croutons. It was straight up onion broth with some floating blanched onions. If I were to judge, I would dare to think, that the staff heard my surprised comments about a bread store without bread (they also had no bread bowls, or rolls listed) and stiffed me with no cheese or croutons in my French onion soup.

I asked two separate staff members if they could slice an asiago bagel in half (they had been sitting there all day, and would most likely be thrown out) but I was told that they don't have the authority to perform such a transaction without paying for it.

I inferred that they should have fired the person who did not set the timer on the baguettes as a joke (kind of) - the staff inferred that the said employee was her best friend and is a wonderful person. Whatever. This is your job, your one job, set the damn timer on the baguettes.

This is a terrible review, and I'm sad to this leave this (not really). I wouldn't be so visceral if I hadn't come here for the past ten years on my way to Orono and always have encountered ZERO amount of breadbowls (they say they're always sold out, no matter what time of...

I ordered their lobster roll and asked for no lemon in it. (You know because they use lemon to cover up the fact that it's not fresh, also they would have to make it separate without the lemon. I grew up on the coast of Maine, so I have a major sensitivity to citrus in my seafood. They literally only do that to cover up the nasty taste and smell of old seafood.) I took my lunch break to go pick it up, when I got there, I was told they cannot make it fresh, it comes already mixed with lemon 🤮. So first of all, their lobster IS NOT FRESH. I waited 10 minutes to speak to someone because my food was not ready for pick up, although I got an email that said it was. The restaurant was empty, and there was no one else in line, they simply ignored me for 10 minutes, as I was looking for food and standing in the correct place to order. When I finally was able to talk to someone, that is when they finally told me that they couldn't make my order because the lobster comes already premixed with lemon. I told them I wish they would have called me so I didn't miss my entire lunch break. They told me they called me and left a voicemail, which is a lie. The man working was either a manager, cook, or a janitor because his outfit did not match the rest, and he was rude. They did not leave me a voicemail. I actually check my voicemail and do not have a full inbox. I didn't even have a missed call from them. So I missed my lunch break, and never got food. They did not care one ounce about the customer experience. Do not...

We have been coming here for years, always on our way to and from Canada through Boston, way prior to Panera ever expanding into New Mexico where we live.

It used to always be bustling with patrons, clean, and with friendly staff. This time was definitely a stark contrast to that. Hopefully it's not like this everyday, but even though there was hardly anyone there, it was hard to find a clean table, and the staff was too busy to pay any attention to the customers. Granted, the help-yourself tablets encourage the staff to be hands-off, but at other Panera establishments that have adopted that, it's across the way from the cash registers and they are happy to let you choose whether to use the tablet or take your order for you. It seems like they are understaffed, overworked, and were just plain tired.

The food was still exactly what Panera always offers, even if they did make one mistake on one of our sides, that's typical and they are happy to fix it once you get their attention. I like to get the lobster roll on our drive up this time of year since they are generous with it and it's not finely chopped nor covered in too much dressing. Their bread bowls, sandwich bread, and baguette on the side is...