Panera Bread — Restaurant in Lower Providence Township

I've been to this Panera a few times, and it's been pretty disappointing each time. It's a convenient stop for my lunch break, but it seems like they're always understaffed and they always miss something in the bags. If you go during lunch, expect to wait a while, they're certainly not quick about getting food out to you. The lady who bags up the food (at least when I've visited) is very dismissive, rude, and condescending. When you try to explain something was wrong, she cuts you off or talks over you just to tell you to go to the cashier or tells you it's your fault and before fixing the problem or pushing it off onto someone else. Look lady, I don't care who's fault it is, all I know is there's a problem. The young ladies who have taken my order are very sweet and helpful, and the older gentleman (I'm assuming the manager?) always seems to be running around, but is quick to step in when there's an issue. It's a shame they have the lady they do bagging up food, if you can't be professional, maybe step back and let someone else talk to guests, your behavior is very immature, especially for an older woman. It sours the whole experience, and I always dread interacting with her. There are other morning staff, but they really aren't that noteable. It seems like the same woman is there during the week and she always does a good job making the sandwiches or salads, but I've never interacted with her. I also can't say much better about the night shift. The young lady who I have seen working is friendly, though a bit soft spoken, which makes it hard to tell if she understood my order. It is a bit frustrating, but I deal with it because she's polite, I just wish she spoke up. There's a young man, maybe two(?) who seem to work at night a lot who seem angry to be there. Nothing is quite as frustrating as listening to banging and clattering as they throw their dishes and what not around. If I'm trying to have a conversation with my wife, it makes it far, far more difficult to do so and is just very unpleasant to listen to. Maybe these boys need to be taught how to put things away properly, if it's that loud. How are you supposed to relax and enjoy your meal? They're old enough to know not to throw things around, it's a shame management doesn't correct the behavior. Though, it seems like management may be stretched pretty thin. It seems like they keep getting and losing managers. I believe they lost a young lady and a young man since I started coming, both of whom seemed like very hard workers and were always extremely helpful. Makes you wonder what the culture must be like if they're dropping so quickly. They also tend to run out of pastries at night, though sometimes in the day as well, which can be infuriating when you already placed your order and find out afterwards that they don't have what you want and now you have to pick from their limited selection. It's gotten too expensive to have to pick a sub-standard pastry. They also keep removing their best items, which I understand are only limited time, but come on, why keep changing it up when what you have is good? The strawberry basil lemonade was fantastic, I hope they bring it back next summer. Overall, I have visited other stores and found better experiences there. I have no motivation to visit this Panera with my hard earned money if I'm going to deal with long wait times, a dirty lobby, rude staff, and...

I am not one to normally complain but this was the worst experience I've ever had. First off the girl taking my order was horrible! She had a really bad attitude and didn't even know how to properly take my order. I ordered a tomato mozzarella flatbread and she had no idea what I was talking about. Then I asked if they had any summer corn chowder left and she said yes so I ordered that in a bread bowl. I handed her a $50 bill and she only gave me back $25 instead of $35. I go to pick up my order and they said they don't have summer corn chowder anymore. I was very disappointed since the girl taking my order said that they did but I just ordered a different soup anyways. Then I take my order to go and once I get in my vehicle I realized they never gave me the bread bowl that I ordered. So I went back in with my receipt and asked for the bread bowl I ordered. By the time I got home my flat bread was all soggy and gross and my smoothie tasted sour. I was really unsatisfied...

Excellent service here from the cashiers and the ladies preparing the food. I asked for a certain drink and the woman at the register informed me they didn’t have what I was looking for which was fine and she said but “feel free to try the other drinks we have and taste test them until you find a drink that you like.” Which I felt was a great suggestion so I did just that. However, another worker came around to watch me as I did this and I felt that was strange because I’m sure this wonderful woman who recommended I did this offers this to anyone searching for a drink they’d like with their meal. That’s my only complaint. The woman who came to watch me treated me as if I was stealing which wasn’t the case. I’m a paying customer with a Panera cup and a receipt in hand. Obviously I’m not stealing. In better news, I got the chicken Caesar salad that was amazing and ended up getting a chocolate chip cookie and chips come...