Panera Bread — Restaurant in Columbia

In my experience, this company enjoys forceful sales tactics and they do not pride themselves on customer service.

I have visited Panera Bread twice in the past year and these have been my experiences. Experience #1 At the Jefferson city location my service was adequate but multiple light bulbs were burnt out, the tables were dirty as well as the floors. This deterred me from Panera Bread as a whole because I am someone who value cleanliness when it comes to the place where I am going to sit and eat my food.

Experience #2 I had a gift card issue that I was unable to resolve online or by using the automated call line so I called this Panera Bread. After explaining my situation of having a gift card issue and shift manager Tyler told me to come in so that it could be sorted out. I informed Tyler that I would have to make a 20min (40min round trip) out of the way trip to have the issue resolved but he said to come on in so I did. My issue was having 93cents on a gift card and wanting to have one gift card with $25 on it. When I arrived I was told I could not reload my gift card and that there was not possible way to transfer balances between cards. I posed 2 possible solutions to the issue that I had used in the past when dealing with this type of situation when I worked in a franchise cafe, but my solutions were immediately dismissed and no additional solutions were suggested on their end. I was very angry at spending $5 in gas just to be told I was SOL when I had originally been told that my problem could be handled if I came into town. So, I decided to call the manager line from my car instead of dealing with the issue in the cramped lobby and showing my displeasure in front of customers. When the call ended I was told there was nothing that could be done. I tried calling back to ask for a way to reach someone with a little more power in the situation but the general manager Brian could not hear me and hung up. I called back and he could not hear again, this time he threatened to give the police my number and told me not call anymore before hanging up.

I would recommend making your purchases at a local company or at the very least one that cares about cleanliness and...

I am very frustrated with this Panera location. I have eaten at Panera many times over the years and have never experienced this type of service. This is a convenient location to many kid's activities, so it makes a great place to grab a quick dinner. We have been having problems each time we have gone, but last Wednesday's was the absolute worst. I have learned to make sure I set my pick up delivery to be done 10 minutes before we are actually going to be there, because it is never done the time you specify. This time was no different, I had put the order in at 9am to be done at 4:55pm and by 5:10p it was still not completed. When I did receive my order, I had ordered chips and they put bread in it. I can understand you being out of items, but please let me know. When I checked on my meal, I went back up there, and the lady explained they are out of chips. The person I was eating with received her salad, and it didn't have chicken in it. She was not told of this either. We understand places will be out of specific foods, but please let us know. A gentleman ordered his food when we got there at 5pm, and when we finally left at 5:40pm he still hadn't gotten his food. It was not a good atmosphere, with hungry, slightly agitated customers. We gave it a fair shot, and have visited every Wednesday for 5 weeks, and the service continues to worsen. Anytime we mention this location to friends, they have experienced the same. This is an excellent location for a Panera, please help out so we can...

The last time I went to Panera was a week ago at the Mall. I stood at the register for a good 30 seconds before the cashier got off of her phone to take my order and she spaced out the whole time re-asking me my order several times.

Today, I went to the Panera on Nifong and no one was at the register. I saw someone baking looking for someone to assist me. Props to that guy. He had a smile painted on and was delightful to watch while I waited for someone to take my order. Chloe emerged from the back to assist me. Her coworker was clapping and she shot him a death stare. I ordered two soups and then I ordered a drink. She asked “for both?” It didn’t occur to me immediately that she meant one for each soup (I was by myself and asked for A drink) so I responded with, “pardon”. That really upset her. She raised her voice and asked me if I wanted one drink per meal. I said that I just wanted one drink total. When that answer didn’t make sense to her, I explained that both soups were for me and she signed and rolled her eyes. Honestly, the first time someone in the food industry scolded me while taking my order and the first time in my life I didn’t leave a tip.

I am so very sorry, Chloe, for disturbing you. I hope your day gets better. Panera may need to do a corporate training. Lazy and angry employees and a dirty...