Kneaders Bakery & Cafe — Restaurant in Mesa

I emailed this to Kneaders Customer Service the day after it happened ... NEVER HEARD BACK!

Last evening on my way home from work I decided to stop by my local Kneaders to grab some brownies as a surprise for the family for dessert. My local Kneaders is on Signal Butte and Southern Avenue in Mesa, AZ.

There was only one customer in front of me and the wait was pretty long as the person taking their order did not seem to know what she was doing and she was not friendly. Another woman then appeared and put a headset on and the first person stepped aside and I presume started gathering the items for the other customer's order.

I then ordered. I ordered 3 fudge brownies and 3 German chocolate brownies. I waited close to 10 minutes before the first woman came over to the bakery area and started to get brownies. Someone before me must have ordered brownies too because she grabbed 2, put them in cute little pastry (cupcake style) cups and packaged those up.

In the meantime, an older lady came in and was also interested in purchasing baked goods and we were chatting. She brought up how long it was taking and I agreed with her that it was taking a long time. It had been a long day and I wanted to get going too.

So then the first woman started working on my order. The brownies were all precut on the pans so I have NO IDEA why she would do this but she took the spatula and started cutting the German chocolate brownies in half! Then when she picked one up, half of the bottom fell on the tray and she just left it there! I asked her what she was doing and she snarkily replied, "They weren't the right size!". I told her that they were precut and there was no way that I was paying close to $3.50 for half a brownie that she left the guts laying on the brownie sheet. I told her to give me 3 of the precut ones which she did with MUCH ATTITUDE. She then got the 3 frosted fudge brownies out and then handed them to me in a plastic box in which the frosted ones were sideways and touching each other. They looked horrible! No cute pastry cups for my brownies or even boxed nicely.

The older woman I was speaking with saw all of this and decided to leave because she didn't want to deal with the attitude or quality. She said exactly that and did leave.

I had to open the plastic box and rearrange the brownies, getting frosting on my hands, so I could get them home. I told the first woman that she had an attitude problem and needed to do better. She never apologized, never smiled.

The woman taking orders happened to be the manager so I told her what happened and she said she would talk to her. We have faithfully been coming to this Kneaders since it opened and I was so disappointed. She did give me a free croissant for my trouble so that was nice.

HOWEVER, when I got home and we ate the brownies, the fudge ones were great but the German chocolate ones were so stale and hard that they were inedible. Really sad that my surprise treat ended up...

So I went to this lovely shop because I was told they had fresh baked bread, and indeed they did.

I walked in at approximately 3:30 PM and asked this nice gentleman, whose name I can’t remember so please forgive me… I asked him if they had fresh sourdough bread. And with the greatest of cheerfulness and approachability, he said, “Absolutely ma’am.! We always have fresh bread for you.!”

I was Soo happy to hear that and began telling him how grateful I was as I needed it for my sister…

And suddenly, silly, emotional me started tearing up as I blurted out that the bread was for my sister who is fighting cancer and she had a craving for sourdough bread. “…So I came here.” ?!?

I never in my life intended to spill my personal situation to this captive gentleman and his co-workers, but without hesitation, he simply grabbed a loaf of sourdough bread and then asked if I want one loaf or two? I responded, “Actually, why don’t you give me two for her. She’d love that!. “

With utmost professionalism he immediately bagged them both up for me,… and then refused to let me pay for it….!?#%&!???

(I pray I’m not getting anyone in trouble by sharing this..).

Despite my resistance, he would not relent, and graciously smiled and handed me the loaves of bread. ❤️

I have to say that this intense, random act of kindness ABSOLUTELY took both my breath AND my heart away…!!

Quite obviously I had every intention of paying for the bread I ordered and didn’t share my story with him for any other reason, except that my heart was clearly heavy at that moment.

I then proceeded to buy a beautiful napkin that had some hearts on it and a cute saying for my sister, and with the $12 in change they gave back to me, I attempted to offer all $12 as a tip to the man and his two co-workers as a show of gratitude. However, the gentleman adamantly refused, stating that company policy wouldn’t allow them to accept gratuities.

So, I asked if I could, instead, pay my change forward to the two people in line behind me… which they graciously allowed!

💕 You just never know who’s life you’re going to encourage in your day and I just want anyone who reads this review to know that these people at this lovely bakery did a thing that I’ll never forget.!

This review is not to highlight anything regarding me, but rather to highlight how kind and tender these people were to me…(and, in part, to offer my apology to these workers for being unexpectedly- emotional lol).

Thank you to all of your employees, but most especially to the gentleman who first approached me! You definitely have a customer for life with my family and I would recommend you to the world!

With all my...

I went to this location on Monday and had a fantastic experience! I ordered a turkey sandwich for the first time, and it was SO good. The girl working that day was kind, patient, and super helpful since it was my first visit. I left really impressed and excited to come back.

Unfortunately, when I returned today, it was the complete opposite experience. Sofia (or Sophia) was working the drive-thru, and from the start, she was extremely impatient. Before I could even finish saying “turkey sandwich,” she interrupted with “Is that it?” Her tone made me feel like I was a burden for simply ordering. I’m already a pretty shy and anxious person, so her attitude immediately made me uncomfortable.

I wanted to get a meal, but since I wasn’t sure about the side options, I hoped she’d help me out, but she clearly didn’t have the time or interest. Feeling rushed, I just picked a random side and pie to get it over with. The customer service from Sofia was shockingly poor and completely unprofessional.

Then came the food. I specifically asked for no onion, and instead I received a sandwich with extra onion and no turkey. For a $22 meal, I don’t mind paying that if the quality and care are there, but this felt like I got the scraps from the bottom of the pan. It was honestly insulting for the price.

I tried calling to speak with a manager, and Clarissa answered. Unfortunately, she had the same dismissive attitude, which only added to my frustration. After how rude Sofia had been, I didn’t have the energy to deal with more attitude, so I hung up.

Overall, this visit was extremely disappointing. What started as a new favorite spot quickly turned into a place I don’t plan to return to. Both Sofia and Clarissa could really benefit from proper customer service training. The experience was unacceptable, and the quality of the food did not...