Panera Bread — Restaurant in Concord

Management team is extremely rude and doesn’t know how to handle interactions not panning in their favor and or how to properly train staff on when they should hand a situation over to management especially in regards to an order that’s not accurate and what to do to replace it. I called the restaurant to let them know they had given me a southwest chicken tortilla soup that I cannot eat due to the spice Combo severely agitating my ulcers I asked the team member on the phone if they could bring a new one over to my location which is literally less then a minute from them and as they offer delivery, she tells me no. At this point I tell her she should probably hand the phone to management so I can just quickly get this handled and replaced. I stayed on hold for a good minute before just going back to the location quickly myself. I approach the counter where the food is being made and simply say “who would I speak to about getting my soup corrected quickly” and the manager on duty in her green shirt gave a a quick “Uhm hi you must have been who is on the phone” RUDE instantly right off the handle, to which I reply yes it is me I just would like to get this replaced with the summer corn chowder and she starts being snappy with me yet again saying she can’t take the bag back I put on the counter(understandable) so I just then say oh ok that’s fine I just wanted you guys to maybe be able to tell Me which one this is because if it’s southwest tortilla I can’t have it at all “ and she goes “well it will be a nice surprise for you later” RUDE again because I obviously am bringing it back as I can’t eat this one in the first place. Unbelievable. If this wasn’t the close restaurant to me I wouldn’t even patron it. This would have resulted in a positive review as she did correct my order but she just couldn’t seem to help herlself with the slightly off/back handed comments she was making about replacing the order to which I caught right on to with her voice and sarcasm. So worth the 12.40 everytime I order for myself or staff..not. Also worth noting the rest of their staff has always been great but their management is terrible. 5 stars for the rest of the staff, always love kegans upbeat attitude. He should be...

Food is usually fine (for a fast casual place that likes to pretend it's more organic and sustainable and handmade than it really ever was, and that part doesn't bother me because if you fell for that line you really don't know anything about professional kitchens). Love the grilled cheese, and have always loved the tuna melt. But the Concord location is absolute chaos while simultaneously extremely slow. Nobody in there has a clue. To Go orders are often left at the register, not even taken over to the "To Go" shelf, so you have to go get it yourself anyway (don't even bother waiting in your car for Car Side to Go, no one will remember to bring it out).

I understand that many places are short staffed right now. And I understand that many places are avoiding having their staff handle cash because of you know what. But IF YOU ARE GOING TO suddenly or temporarily be a "no cash" establishment and make your customers do all their ordering on a tablet at the register because the cashier is nowhere in sight (and then wait for the overwhelmed bakery counter to sort out who ordered what), then PUT UP A SIGN. Customers were getting all the way to the front of a long line, only to discover they weren't allowed to use cash and there was no human being to take their order. Or at least, that's what appeared to be the scene when I tried to eat there today. Nobody knew which line was for ordering and which for picking up, nobody knew if there was a line for those who wanted to use cash and everyone who got to the front of the first line had to figure out on their own that they were supposed to order from the tablet. "Why not just use a card?" Sometimes I'm okay with that, sometimes I'm not! But I have to know before I get all the way to the front of the line. And people who can't, for whatever reason use a card, will just, you know, leave and never come back. Ditto any elderly customers who get anxious about having to order on a computer. "Why not just do a mobile order?" I've done that too. But it means I still have to go in and search for wherever they felt like leaving my order anyway, if they remember to tell me it's...

This was not a good experience perhaps it was in part because I was very tired so I was less tolerant. There were clearly not enough people working there. The woman that assisted me was busy and not a happy person. She took a very long time to help the person ahead of me. Whatever they ordered took a lot of effort. It may have been them that ordered the Hot Chocolate but whomever ordered it I hope it was the best one ever because she took an extremely long time to make it. When she was finally koo moo is in free to help me she could not have been less interested. I had asked her if I could get regular food because there was only one person in the area and I was not sure if they cleaning up or fixing themselves a snack. They were filling an order. She never answered my question or acknowledged that she heard me in anyway. I got out of line and discovered I was supposed to place my meal order with her from another customer. So back online I went. Once I was in front of her again she took my order. Happily it did not take as long as I had thought it would. Once my order was ready the only worker there with a smile anywhere near assisted me. She gave me my order and asked if there was anything else. She did it with a smile and a warm face. Everyone else looked like they were in pain and were there because they would be shot at dawn. Panera Bread is very expensive for what you get and add that to the less than happy people and you have a lousy experience. The food was decent just over priced, My advice stay away in the evenings There was a gentleman wandering around cleaning but he ignored everone. He seemed as unhappy as almost all of the rest of the group. But he was the most dedicated worker . That unfortunately in this case at least is not a compliment he was busy doing a lot of nothing. Not a pleasant...