Panera Bread — Restaurant in North Carolina

Yesterday I visited the Panera Bread located in Denver, NC. This location had just opened and we were excited to have another restaurant option in the area. We used the drive-thru and ordered two broccoli cheddar bread bowls with a side of chips and a mac and cheese kid's meal. I pulled forward and there were two vehicles in front of us. We waited 20 minutes in line and once I paid, I was told that it would be an additional 10-minute wait because they were understaffed and backed up on orders. She told me to find a parking space, and they would bring the food out. I attempted to find a parking spot, but the entire lot was full. I had to park down the street.

I decided to walk into the restaurant because I didn't trust they would find me since they didn't ask for vehicle information. I told the worker that I had gone through the drive-thru and had been waiting for over 20 minutes. She said that orders were taking 30 minutes, which is ridiculous. After 35 minutes, I finally received my order. However, there wasn't any bread in the bag. I returned to the restaurant and was told they were out of bread bowls. I told her no one said this when I ordered, and she said they should've. She went to the back and provided me with four baguettes. There were several upset customers inside and in the parking lot.

There is absolutely no reason why it should take 35 minutes to receive an order. If you're understaffed, don't open the restaurant. If you're out of bread bowls, don't let me order the meal. If it's going to be a long wait, tell me beforehand instead of waiting until you swipe my credit card. My food should've been heavily discounted or free for the complete inconvenience. We will avoid this location for the...

Called on Sunday evening to place an order was told it would take 10 min for food to be ready, arrived to pick it up 25 min after placing the order. Our food was not ready, the workers Andrew and Collin were very rude, ignored us, than complained that the order was too big (which was not an issue when placing the order over the phone with them), when we asked when it would be ready because we were in a rush and needed to have the food taken to a church event they took off their gloves pulled out their phone and just stood there with their phones completely ignoring us. The order was placed at around 5:45pm but wasn’t ready until a little after 7pm. The order only included a few sandwiches, a couple soups, and 2 big things of coffee. This is the absolute worst service I have ever received and will not be back. I do not recommend this place to anyone due to the...

My sandwich had a long piece of brownish/blonde hair in it. I called to express concern, the response I received was, "We don't have anyone with that color hair working". I have jet black hair and it was tied up when I opened my sandwich. I wouldn't have made this a big deal if the manager on duty was more empathetic. I took it upon myself to go to the restaurant and show them the sandwich. She continued to say "No one has this color hair that's working tonight".

Again, now empathy for me biting into someone else's hair. She proceeded to refund my one sandwich. Not the entire meal. Yes, my toddler still ate her food, but I honestly didn't want her to, and I should have been given back all my money. I'll also call corporate, that...