Potbelly — Restaurant in Glendale

03/02/2025 @ 12:24pm I experienced an incident at this location on Sunday 3/2/2025. The experience was unacceptable. I normally have a great experience at Potbelly. But on this day I didn't. The line was longer than usual in which I was okay with waiting. But the encounter I experienced was with another consumer. I was waiting in line and she was invading my personal space greatly. She didn't reflect any sentiment with spacing and preexisting flu and covid protocols. The line was moving slowly but surely. But I got to the service area of placing my order for my sandwich and she was now on facetime with someone and was being absolutely inconsiderate of people placing their order in which the general manager by the name of Juel. I believe was helping because they were short staffed. He had to ask me to repeat my order due to not being able to hear it because of the surrounding noise of the person behind me. Now we are headed to the next station where toppings of the sandwich are now being placed. She is now at the chip line consuming chips she didn't purchase and she's still in close proximity of me. Now we are at the check out area in which I'm purchasing my food. She is then again - right in my space in which if I complete my transaction she could see the entire process. That's where the issue arose. The customer became unruly, extremely disrespectful, and very defiant. As I finished my transaction, "she stated there could have been better way for me to say that I needed space." That was explained to her that she was told nicely. The situation escalated after the encounter between I and the other customer. But management didn't handle this correctly at all. Juel came from behind the counter asking what was going on and did we need anything? What should have occurred was separation and communication with the consumer of the guidelines of the restaurant and that I was correct and I have a right to privacy. He refused to interject and rectify it. He brushed it off with his statement of, "have a nice day." Management doesn't do that. I understand worldwide businesses are short staffed but there is a way things she be done amongst consumers and their rights a people. I'm very disappointed. Hopefully this encounter that was had will shed light on somethings and they revisit spacing parameters for privacy and consideration of those...

I’m not one to always leave a review, but I figured this would be a way to let the staff know at this location that I’m deeply disappointed in their management. There was one staff member behind the counter working on my sandwich, and when more people came in, she said to her manager that she needed more help. Then the manger began arguing with her (almost struggling to NOT raise her voice at her) and demanded the staff member go home for “being disrespectful.” This was all in the middle of me waiting for them to finish my order while there was a long line growing behind me. I then told the staff member that it was okay for her to finish and that maybe this can be discussed later. The manger then told me that she was in charge and will take over, I said I didn’t think it was that serious. So then the staff member was sent home, only for the manager to immediately leave the counter & go outside to make a phone call, ranting about what had just happened (very unprofessional and frankly, hypocritical). I gave the staff member who was told to leave an extra tip because I found the manger’s behavior inappropriate & disrespectful. Just because she’s the manager doesn’t give her the right to embarrass and ridicule her staff team, especially in front of a restaurant full of customers.

Edit: I would also like to add that my sandwich was made incorrectly because the manager INSISTED that the original staff member was incapable of finishing my order. Had the first staff finished my order, there likely wouldn’t have...

Went in this potbelly to get my kids, 2 kids meals, one kid was with me and the other was in the car. While ordering the kids meals, the employee had the audacity to ask me "and are these for you?" I ignored him the first time and kept proceeding with my order. He asked me again, "ok, but what's for you? I Ask him does it matter and reminded him he shouldn't be questioning customers in that way. He then told me I'm not gonna argue with you and I told him you're right. I'm not about to eat here. I then asked him for his manager's information and he refused to give it to me and the other two employees refuse to give it to me as well. As I was walking out "he then says all this for a five dollar sandwich?" I turned around and asked him what he said and he said, "I said have a good day!" I then told him it's the principal you don't know how many kids I'm feeding. You don't have the right to ask me is a sandwich for me or not. To experience this at Bayshore is wild. I would say it's because the color of my skin, but there was a whole black employee laughing in my face like he was at the Circus laughing. At the end of the day, customer service is at all time low and I refuse to spend my money where I'm not welcomed. Funny thing is, I called another Potbelly to get the general managers information and to also ask them what their policy is, and she reassured me that he should not have been questioning me about who I'm...