Panera Bread — Restaurant in Carbondale

It's been a while since I visited this location but shrink-flation hit them hard while I was away. Their Signature Chicken Sandwich (SCS) with bagged chips and Half Asian Crunch Chicken Salad (HACCS, both pictured) ran over 23$ with two waters as our drinks, excluding tip. I enjoyed the asiago cheese crisps as part of the SCS but the sauce overpowered these little ones and appeared to outweigh the greens. I recommend asking for your dressing on the side since the heavy handed prep team continued the generosity in my HACCS - dressing far exceeded the four chicken slivers (see if you can spot them in the pic). Their atmosphere remains upscale casual including real, environmentally friendly utensils and a fireplace (timing is critical for the ambiance experience). The crew is customer focused and supportive on the front end. The overall experience hit my wallet harder than I thought it would but it is a great place to catch up with family, friends, or business associates. Give yourself & crew ample time to enjoy...

Believe me.....I was feeling gracious in giving 2 stars. I purchase lunch orders for meetings at work and the last two times (plus today) there have been issues. Believe me when I say....there will not be a next time. There are simply too many other places that offer the 'gourmet' lunches at a better price that manage to get the order correct without any hassle.

Today's order was called in YESTERDAY for pick up today. The order total was almost 200.00. Once I get there, they tell me they no longer carry flatbread....which several orders contained a flatbread sandwich. My complaint was...why didn't you tell me yesterday when I placed the order or even before I picked it up since you did take my phone number?! When I complained about it.....I got no response - just blank stares and some cashier giving me a 'canned' apology.

I'm done. Next time someone else can have my 200.00 lunch order. At least they seem to...

The cashier rang up my order incorrectly and was trying to overcharge me by $5. I questioned why it was so expensive and she corrected the order. I ordered the roast turkey avocado BLT to go (among other things). I got all the way home and realized they didn't put any avocado on my sandwich at all. None. After paying $45 for dinner and two bagels for me and my 8 year old child, I would expect to at least get the ingredients listed in the NAME of the sandwich! Also, the bagels I got for tomorrow morning are TINY. Not their normal size. The costs have gone way up and the quality and portions have gone way down. I'm totally disappointed and won't be back any time soon.

*Edited to say I did call the restaurant to complain and spoke to the manager. She was very nice and offered a voucher for a free sandwich to make up for it. Raising the service and overall score by...