Bruegger's Bagels — Restaurant in Madison

I stopped in at Bruegger's while returning home from vacation for a quick bite to eat and coffee. I preface the following by stating that I try my best to eat local, love coffee and love a good bagel even more. This had the potential to be the perfect spot to start my day. All of that was thrown away the moment I reached the counter. The two women working were sitting in the kitchen area at a table having a discussion amongst themselves without a care or concern in the world - almost as if they were not at work. While I was standing at the counter waiting a man came in with a to-go order and was standing there hapless with his phone in his hand as we both listened to them continue talking. After another 30-45 seconds I decided to knock on the counter as one would a door to get their attention. The girl closest to us looked up and said "Oh." then proceeded to approach the counter with the worst attitude I have seen an employee have. You are at work, we are not interrupting your conversation, you are interrupting our morning. She asked me what I would like with a hateful tone to which I gestured to the distraught man with his phone out. He informed them that he had a pickup order and she scoffed and shuffled over to the register, claiming the order had "just come through." The look on his face is something I will not attempt to replicate with words but we both knew it had come through long before he got there but they were too busy talking. He stood there as she slapped down some wax paper and prepared to begin making his order. He told her someone else would come pick it up and once he left the two girls BEGAN MAKING FUN OF HIM. She even said "Good. I don't care if he leaves." These are the people working here. When she asked me what I wanted I ordered but they continued to make fun of the man who walked out. I was so disgusted I decided to walk out too.

I HIGHLY recommend you do not come here and take your business elsewhere. I will...

Today, I had an extremely frustrating experience at Burgers Bagels in Madison. The employee behind the counter didn't even bother to look up from what he was doing and rudely asked, "What do you want?" I asked for plain bagels, but he seemed lethargic and uninterested in helping me. He mumbled something incoherent and pointed to the bagels behind him. I asked him to repeat himself, but he responded in a rude and unprofessional manner. When I asked if he would at least move so I could see the bagels for myself the employee, he responded with anger. It was only after he identified himself as the manager that I realized the extent of the problem. When I asked him who his boss was, he claimed he didn't have one. When I asked if he was the owner, he said he was, but I still had my doubts. I have been going to this location for 13 years, and it's disheartening to see the decline of this establishment since Tracy, a truly exceptional employee, left around five years ago. Her departure has had a significant impact on the quality of service, and it's clear that the current manager is not capable of running the business effectively.

I hope that this feedback will be taken seriously and that the necessary steps will be taken to improve the customer experience at Burgers Bagels in Madison.

Update * I would rather this place close than fool me into thinking that I’m going to get a quality product for a decent price with good service.

I know it’s harsh but my son likes bagels…if this place were closed I’d have no reason to be...

One star was too harsh. I was angry in the heat of the moment, but I've edited my rating to reflect the average of the other times I had good service. I know there are supply chain problems but another reason their prices on certain items have increased might be due to the fact that at least couple of their workers allow people to steal. I witnessed a worker hand a bag of food to the woman in line behind me and she just left the building without paying. The cashier brought it up to the other worker, saying "Who is that lady in the green shirt"? Then the worker lied and said "She said she already...." No, she didn't say anything. He couldn't finish his sentence because he knew she didn't say anything. She took her food and left the building and the workers didn't want to get caught for making a mistake that allowed her to steal so they acted like it never happened. I asked the cashier "Did she walk away without paying"? And he ignored me. I will not be coming back to this Bruegger's. They need to wait to hand food to people after they have already paid, as every fast food restaurant already does. This happened at approximately 8:55am on November 10th. I hope the manager will review a tape to see what...