Panera Bread — Restaurant in Delavan

This was almost the worst experience of my life. I rarely go to Panera Bread, but I had a gift card, so I decided, "Why not?" I went yesterday morning and ordered a chicken noodle soup bowl, a whole cheddar turkey sandwich, and a large Pepsi. Let me tell you, the only thing they got right was the Pepsi.

When I first got my order, I drove all the way home and opened my food. I always go for the soup first, but when I did, it wasn’t even the soup I ordered; it was chicken with white rice. I called to complain, and by the way, I didn’t have a chance to check my sandwich; they didn’t even give me a receipt. I explained that my soup was wrong and had to go back to get a new one.

When I got the replacement, they gave me the right soup, but it was a smaller cup. The manager tried to claim that I said it was a cup, but I didn’t specify a size at all over the phone. She mentioned she had already seen me in the drive-thru and even acknowledged that I had a gift card, so I assumed she would have known. I drove all the way back home, and when I opened the soup again, I noticed it was smaller than the previous one.

At this point, I didn’t care; I was done going back. I just wanted to eat my sandwich and enjoy the rest of my day. But when I opened my sandwich, it was tuna! I had ordered turkey cheddar. I was beyond mad at this point. I drove back to complain about the soup being small and my sandwich being completely wrong. The sandwich that they finally got right tasted weird, like someone put peanut butter on it. It was gross. I was so done...

Earlier this summer, I stopped by for dinner. They were out of ingredients for half of the things that I wanted to order, which I didn’t find out until after I ordered and paid. No biggie, I know a lot of places are experiencing shortages. The kitchen seemed pretty chaotic and busy, but I know it’s normal to have an off day. However, I’ve since been back twice, and both times had negative experiences, including incorrect hours being posted online and on the door. This morning, I went to get some bagels around 7:30. There was a sign on the door, saying that their hours were 7-4 (one of the times had been written over with sharpie) and that the dining room was closed, but to use the drive through. The drive through had orange cones blocking it and was clearly not open. I ran a couple of errands and came back an hour later, waited in the drive through line for 15-20 minutes, only to be told that the only bagels they had left were cinnamon crunch. At 8:30 in the morning. Delavan Panera is clearly struggling. Anyone know of another place to get good bagels...

I placed an order online for rapid pick up. When I got to the drive thru ten minutes later, my food was ready as expected. At the window, a very polite gal said they are out of soft rolls so she gave me an extra spring grain roll and an extra baguette. I said "no worries, thanks" and drove home with my order.

As soon as I opened my bag at home, I realized they had forgotten the bread bowls(3) for our soups. So I call. I'm promptly connected with a very apologetic manager. Not only did she bring me my bread bowls, as in drive them to my house ten minutes away, she also brought me fresh hot soups and chips. On top of that,she also brought us an entire cherry apple cheese kringle looking thing(absolutely delicious).

The staff at this Panera are one of the main reasons I will continue to frequent this deli/bakery. Their commitment to customer satisfaction is unrivaled in Delavan's fast food ring. Not to mention the consistency and quality of their foods are top notch!

Thank you Panera of Delavan for NOT being "just another"...