Panera Bread — Restaurant in Holly Springs

Emily,

When a family comes in at 5:00pm on a Tuesday night take a look for a second before you berate them.

Before I was able to touch my finger to an automatic kiosk, I was loudly called out for not having masked children.

Maybe next time you could pause. Maybe next time, you could note the tired eyes of the mom towing three little kids in on a weeknight. Maybe you could examine their excitement and anticipation for the meal they had been shamelessly begging for since noon. Perhaps you could account for the quick way i ushered them directly to their own seats, brought sticker books along to ensure their containment while we waited for our meal.

Maybe next time before you loudly repeat your store policy which is posted neither on the door nor online nor has been enforced for the last five months we have been visiting trying to keep you on business, maybe you could glance around at the 100% EMPTY dining room, you could note the masked mom using a kiosk to contactless order the food, the father who purposefully made use of the hand sanitizer for every family member upon entering. Perhaps you could register momentarily the ages of the children and acknowledge that masking a two year old, a kindergartner and a 7 year old for the 2.3 second walk from the front door to the table seemed like a fight this mom didn’t want to make.

perhaps you could remember before you usher us out loudly, publicly, without apology or understanding, without kindness or explanation or any sense of humanity- perhaps you could remember that BEFORE THERE WERE MASKS, THERE WERE PEOPLE.

I have been doing my best to keep my head above water for months while the world changes daily around me. I have been actively and purposefully trying to keep your business alive knowing the owner didn’t ask for this to happen.

Well, Neither did I.

Maybe you didn’t make the policy. Maybe you are only there to enforce it. I get that. But when you start valuing policy more than people, that’s when you’ll find yourself out of business.

Next time you see a Tuesday family come in just take a breath and remember, before there were masks, there...

I frequent this Panera, mostly because my gym is next door, I am a Sip club member, and a major coffee drinker. So I have generally been very tolerant of any issues encountered. The past few times I have dined here, my sandwich bread was burnt and my Frontega "chicken" sandwich had maybe 2 tiny pieces of chicken. But again, I am here for the drinks, so I let it slide, that's the way she goes. But my visit this morning might be my last at this location for a while. The cups, the cups, oh my the cups. This is the only location in the area that I am aware of that hassles you over the cups. I walked in this morning to a kiosk (that frustratingly doesn't always register finger taps), placed my order for 1 large coffee cup, hit no receipt sent to email, $0.00 (sip club), boom, order placed. I walk over to the food pick up area, tell the guy I need 1 large hot coffee cup, last name Behrens. This dude looks at me like I am trying to rob the joint, questions my order, says it isn't on his screen. I then have to log into the app (don't use it too often), show him that it shows up in the recently placed orders, he then snarks at me that I have to actually place the order (can't make this up). Astonishingly he still wasn't going to give me the cup. After I object to his patronizing tone, he begrudgingly hands me a cup. Fortunately, the RTP area has an affinity for chain restaurants, and you can find another Panera location if you simply drive in any direction for 10 minutes. But wow, what a hassle this...

Upon entering the Panera in Holly Springs my family and I were greeted by a kind employee named Brenden who took our to-go order. While waiting for our meal there were many staff members in the food preparation area, however, our toast and oatmeal were nowhere in sight. After 10 minutes I approached the manager, Robert, and asked the status of our food, mentioning that we were on the way to a funeral and were pressed for time, to which he rolled his eyes. An additional five minutes passed and Brenden asked if we needed anything, we let him know we were still waiting for our toast and oatmeal. He interacted with Robert, who had quite a rude tone when speaking to Brendan, and nonetheless was able to get our order. Typically I am not one to leave reviews, however, this behavior by a manager to a customer in front of his employees is quite a shame. To be dismissive and rude to a customer who kindly requests an update, regardless of their situation, is uncalled for. It not only belittles the customer but also shows other employees that this behavior is acceptable. It only takes one kind, positive interaction to make a lasting impression, likewise for a negative one. Brendan and Bri, another employee who assisted him as he was learning, were delightful to speak with, however, our brief interaction with Robert left much...