Panera Bread — Restaurant in Madison

Horrible Experience and I hope the owner of this Panera sees this because I am not going back even again until something is done about this. (I used to be a regular customer) So saturday night my family and I went into Panera around 8:15PM for some dinner. The manager was behind the cash register and he took our orders. He never smiled once, was intimidating to the young girls in our group and seemed extremely impatient even though the restaurant didn't have much going on at all. When it came my turn to order I asked him a question about a sandwich and he made me feel stupid for asking saying the type of thing I wanted "was discontinued like 3 months ago" in a pompous tone, even though a woman behind the counter a week earlier was able to help me and made exactly what I wanted. On top of all this, another one of the girls in my group wanted more food later but was afraid of the manager and decided not to get any more. I was mad at this point and when we finished eating I waited until no customers were around and calmly stated I didn't know if it was because it was near closing time or if we did something to offend him (which we clearly didn't) but I said he had been fairly rude to our group. When presented with this he looked shocked and then shook his head again like I was some kind of idiot and said "No man I was fine, I don't know what you're talking about" I was fuming at this point but stayed calm and said "So what you're saying is I'm wrong?" to which he replied "Look that's what you think but I know I was fine." I tried to explain how he was so rude but he kept blowing it off and making stupid excuses and telling me I was wrong. Even when I told him in one example that the lady a week earlier had made me the exact sandwich I wanted (I asked if one of the cold sandwiches could just get put on the panini press and she said it was easy) since the old one was discontinued, he said "No way, that didn't happen" WHAT DID I DREAM IT HAPPENED? THANKS FOR CLEARING THAT UP PAL! Clearly this guy has NO IDEA how to deal with customers. I wasn't looking for any compensation for my experience, all I wanted was an apology but no, what I got was attitude and a refusal to admit a mistake. I grabbed his name before I left, too. I have never been so disrespected in a restaurant in my life. I'm telling everyone I know about this experience. One terrible experience like that can take away a lot...

Today is not Panera’s Day. I ordered Panera salads for me my boss and coworker, in addition I ordered Bagels for the rest of the staff for later. First of all get prepared because their staff does not deliver. They go through door dash and door dash has a reaaaly bad customer service. So bad that they didn’t even have my order. The restaurant did. I ended up going to the junction rd location and picking up all the food. They were very nice gave me coupons and gave me an extra cookie. Awesome! I love how they were polite. We all ate at 1:30. It’s 4:40 and everyone that ate salad today is sick. One girl ran to Walgreens to grab medicine another one threw up in the bathroom and the other feels sick to her stomach. The guys are complaining about no cream cheese for their bagels. This was an expensive disaster! I complained to door dash they say that it’s all on Panera bread and I should get a refund from the restaurant. The restaurant has not returned my calls. It’s before their busy rush. So the automatic machine says anyway. I can’t even right now. I would like a refund at this point, and use the money for peptobismal and some...

I eat at Panera. A lot. When on the road, they are my go-to for breakfast and coffee. When in Madison, there are two PBCs within easy driving distance of my home. I LIKE Panera a lot. It's my go-to place for coffee, breakfast, and reliable wi-fi to get some work done away from home.

Thus I've used the two west-side Paneras in Madison for years. These two places are my go-tos for morning coffee and breakfast, an excuse to get out of the house and get some light work done as I enjoy the morning. Of the two, the Junction Road store manages to keep the bar low and continues to exceed my now-consistent negative expectations. This morning, as in past visits, the line to order was long (6 people) with just one cash register open, and multiple people ordering extensive to-go orders. Once I patiently waited for my turn and made my order, both the coffee urns for unflavored regular coffee (medium and dark roast) were empty.

This store is also consistently unkept looking and moderately disheveled. Though it's a bit closer to my house, I am done with the Junction Road location. Panera, you...