Panera Bread — Restaurant in Milton

FOOD FOR THE SOUL...

I walked into my neighborhood Panera Bread Cafe located in Milton Georgia, store 1378 on Friday night February 9, 2018. I needed to catch my breath. You know when you feel like everything is closing in on you and you can't breathe, I found myself in this kind of situation. A situation I never wanted or needed to be in and I felt invisible. It was that kind of night. I was looking for a place of PEACE. I was craving a good cup of coffee or tea and something sweet to fill my MIND HEART SOUL. I needed to treat myself with the LOVE that I give everyone else this TIME. For this SECOND. For whatever it needed to mean.

I walked into Panera that night, holding my DIGNITY so tightly in my GRASP and trying to hold back tears. Tears that were ready to fall at any second in front of a room full of strangers I didn't know. I can say I never do that. I never cry in public. I was still thinking that I am invisible, but this experience has taught me that I am not. I am sharing these personal details because they are necessary to include in an IRREPLACEABLE message of HOPE. At my local Panera Bread Cafe that a gift was given to me by a gentleman behind the counter named Eddie. His actions and words met me where I am, rooted in EMPATHY. This showed me that the act of KINDNESS is POSSIBLE even in the midst of the impossible. This message I send is a REFLECTION of that moment and I write with ADMIRATION, RESPECT and a TRUE heart.

Eddie completed my order with THOUGHT PATIENCE PROFESSIONALISM. He carefully put each sweet in the box with care in mind which I APPRECIATED.I thought this is the kind of person I am as well, when treating people the way you would like to be treated this made a POSITIVE impact . His OUTGOING and GENUINE personality definitely didn't go unnoticed.

I needed to pay and go. I needed to leave the counter before all the tears I was holding back fell. They did after all. They fell. I couldn't keep them in and under this circumstance didn't want to make a scene. Eddie kept his COMPOSURE. He asked me if I was ok and I said "I am trying to be". He then asked, "What are you going to do" and I said “I need to sit down and try to gather my thoughts". Eddie said “that sounds like a good idea, sitting down" and I said "Yes thank you".

As I walked away from the counter and Eddie helped the next guest that walked in, I pulled myself together and made my good cup of hazelnut coffee. I REFLECTED this moment that took over and my tears that now were no longer invisible. Eddie saw my tears and this time they were real and stood out. I was embarrassed and didn't know exactly how to come back from this emotional breakdown. Eddie's eyes and his smile were so sincere. I now gathered my COMPOSURE and sat at the closest table by the window to REFLECT on my next move as I sipped my good cup of coffee and looked out the window.

Eddie walked up to my table minutes later with a tray in his hands and that SINCERE smile he had introduced to me behind the counter earlier. His WORDS met his ACTIONS and I IDENTIFIED instantly when he said "Here is a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup, it is [FOOD FOR YOUR SOUL]. Something healthy, that's good for you. I thought you needed this". Then Eddie paused and spoke one more word to me "SMILE". It is interesting that when you least expect it, a blessing unfolds. How the SIMPLE things we can do for one another make such a DIFFERENCE and completely change the PROSPECTIVE. That something small does bring HUGE provisions.

I share this one of a kind experience with a GRATEFUL heart. I share it with you and with a gentleman named Eddie. I would like to thank you at the Panera Bread Cafe for hiring a Genuine Assistant Manager. I can say with CONFIDENCE that his addition to your team will only continue to have a POSITIVEPROSPEROUSEMPOWERING impact for this company that is GOOD and remains GOOD.

"SMILE"...

So I'm only writing this review based on my own personal experience, and this is the first time i've ever come to this location, so i guess take this review with a grain of salt. Right before posting this, i briefly glanced over some of the other bad reviews that were posted, and if those reviews are accurate, then I don't know how good I feel about posting this one. But hopefully this will be helpful to someone.

First of all, this location is BUSY. And not just during peak hours, like always always busy. I only know that because I live in the area, and every time i drive around it, it's very obvious. Parking is really, really annoying to find, ESP at peak hours. Right now, it's the Wednesday lunch rush, and I had to drive all the way to the other side of the building to park and walk all the way back to the entrance on the side i started. I'm wondering if this could be part of the reason for some of this bad reviews... i'm not really trying to use this as an excuse, but everyone knows that the more people a business has to please, the harder it is to not piss someone off. This location is certainly not understaffed at all, in fact i feel like it is one of the most adequately-staffed Paneras I've seen. As far as I can tell, despite this gigantic rush of customers here right now, everything is flowing super-smoothly. There's really no line at all, no customers are noticeably just standing/sitting around waiting for things... I've been to several other Panera locations where this is certainly not the case. So I think they deserve some credit for being willing to equip their franchise so sufficiently. There are at least a few self-service kiosks in the front lobby, there's a full-service drive through, and I didn't have to wait for my online order at all.

The only problem was that even though my online order was neatly packed and waiting for me when I walked in, they forgot to include a cup for the soda fountain which i ordered. I was a little frustrated bc of inconvenience, but when I asked a lady behind the service counter about it, she was super kind and considerate. First, she apologized genuinely, then she asked me if it was a kiosk or online order (so her staff could correct the mistake in the future... keep in mind i'm pretty sure she was a manager or owner, esp due to what she was wearing, and she was just helping out back there), and then after giving me the cup, she offered to give me anything out of the bakery for free as a further apology. I politely declined (i came here to eat a little healthier than usual haha), and i think she was disappointed about it so she just very nicely apologized again and said if i changed my mind before i left, i could come get it from her at any time.

Since I sat down to eat and write this review, I've also been listening and occasionally side-glancing to how the staff has been doing around me, and as far as I can tell, everyone seems very diligent and kind. Again, my first time here, so I could be wrong, but that's as far as I can tell.

The facility itself is not the greatest, but not the worst either. For the amount of customers they get, it's probably not big enough, but overall it's adequately roomy. Relatively clean, but not the cleanest either.

But I'll definitely give 4 or 5 stars without hesitation if I feel like the people there are, beyond anything else, just genuinely trying to be good to their customers. And that's just the impression I personally received in...

DON"T GO HERE EVER!!!! GO to McAlister's Deli or Atlanta Bread Panera Bread at this location at this location DOES NOT care about it's customers at all!!! I place a delivery order and they got it wrong. I'm buying lunch for my staff rewarding them for their hard work and three of the four order are wrong, on is missing soup, one is missing a bagel and the third was to be extra steak and it barely hard normal servings. I called to speak with the "manager" I got Kay on the phone. she did apologize but then told me she'd give me a credit for the missing food or I I could come and get replacement food. FIRST, If I could come and get the food, wouldn't I have done that in the first place. While being interrupted several times, I explained we are working through lunch, my staff needs their food and we can't come out to get it. She said what do you want me to do, I gave your options (refund or come and get it) what you want. I said I want my food, delivered as it should have been. I reiterated that they made the mistake, the receipt reflects the correct order but they gave the wrong food to the driver. She said we don't deliver from the store. I asked her if she cared about me as a customer and my continued business. he exclaimed "I'm just giving you a full refund" I ask and how do you know who too, she said it's on caller ID. I asked for the manager, she said I am the manager, I asked for her boss, she said this is a franchise, I repeat my request for her boss, and she hung up on me. I called back, asking for the contact info for the owner, the person complied with a number that just goes to voice mail, I called back to verify the number and a guy in the back ground yelled it's just the same guy. I am sick and tired of NO CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! businesses in the large communities don't give a damn about their customers or their...