Panera Bread — Restaurant in Maryland

Panera Corporate Management

I am writing to share my recent experience at one of your locations, which unfortunately did not meet the standards that I have come to expect from Panera.

From the moment I entered, it was clear that the facility was not being properly maintained. The floors were greasy and sticky, trash cans were full, and tables had not been wiped down. The environment felt unclean and unwelcoming, to the point where I did not feel comfortable sitting down to eat.

In addition, the staff appeared overwhelmed and unorganized. Several customers, including myself, waited a long time for our orders while employees struggled to keep up. They did not seem unfriendly so much as overworked and unsupported. At one point, a manager had to be called simply to help tidy the space — something that should have been done routinely without needing intervention.

This visit left me with a failing impression. Cleanliness and customer service are fundamental, and both were lacking. As a loyal Panera customer, I left disappointed and with my appetite ruined.

I respectfully recommend the following improvements: • Stronger staff training and better scheduling support. • Regular proactive cleaning, possibly through professional deep-cleaning services. • Improved organization during busy periods to maintain service quality.

Panera is known for being fresh, comfortable, and welcoming. I hope this feedback is received in the spirit intended: to highlight urgent areas for improvement so that future visits reflect the Panera...

My second time visiting this location today (yesterday was the first) and items were missing from our order and we received no apologies whatsoever. I’m visiting from out of town and we decided to order breakfast and lunch so we didn’t have to drive there twice. Guess who had to drive there twice? We didn’t check the contents in the bag and just ate the breakfast sandwiches. Around lunchtime we noticed our parfaits were missing and we called the store and the person we spoke to first denied the order was from his store until I had to read the receipt and quote his store details and the cashier who took the order. He offered us either a refund or the parfait. I informed him I wanted the parfait. He said we can go into the store. No apologies. Said the parfait was self serve which turned out to be a lie because I checked the store when I went back and there was no such thing. We ended up having to drive back to the store and I explained what happened and the lady I spoke to also gave us the same options and yet no apology. It was a cold, awkward exchange. I’m not sure if she was expecting a thank you after being so ‘generous’ for giving us the parfait we rightfully paid for. I was definitely expecting a sorry and didn’t get it. Stole 45 mins out of my day. I don’t want any freebies; just an apology. I like Panera and will still be eating Panera but I’ll be staying away from this...

Good, professional service, but the urinal is terrible. For a cafe with endless coffee, you’d expect a restroom built to accommodate the guest’s need to pee. But the urinal is small, and poorly shaped, that it actually encourages people to end their urine stream on the floor. You see, there is about a 3” lip on the front of the urinal which is completely flat. And the urinal has bad angles so unless you pee just at the right angle on the side, you will experience a significant splatter of urine on your legs.

The lip also causes you to need to stand back to avoid rubbing your pants on the urinal, encouraging you to pee on the floor during the last of your pee stream. I do my best not to, but someone inevitably will pee on the floor due to this bad urinal shape. I suggest getting a better shaped urinal to accommodate guests who come to the cafe to drink coffee, which is a diuretic, and large amounts of fluids.

The employees who maintain the bathroom also would benefit from not having to clean as much pee off the floor and having a better restroom experience.

The food is pretty good, fresh bread and fresh ingredients, and flavorful recipes bring new flavors to the palette. It is however not the best value when it comes to serving sizes. But the loyalty program can provide...