Panera Bread — Restaurant in North Ridgeville

I went to this location for an early dinner (4:45) because they sometimes run out of items. Well, they did. No strawberries, strawberry dressing or sliced tomatoes. That eliminated the items I was planning to order but there were other perfectly acceptable alternatives, disappointing but no real problem.

I tried to order using the mobile app but it kept having issues when there were elements missing from an item so I went to the in-store touch screen. Ordered a Pick Two, drink and a pastry and asked for a text notification when it was ready. After I paid, the screen told me to go to the counter to get the cup for my drink. When I asked for it, the manager (I assume that's who it was) said I would get it when my food is ready and it's "not their policy" to give it out before. I replied that I thought that was not the policy at other locations but she ignored me. It also appeared that other customers who ordered at the counter got cups. Folks, you need to get your story straight.

When I picked up my food she said "have a nice day" or something like that, so I ignored her back. While I was filling my drink I heard her make a comment to another customer like "well, some people are like that". A snarky remark like that is totally unprofessional. I work in retail and have had many customers who are challenges but I would NEVER say something while they were within earshot, if at all. Frankly, if a member of my team behaved like this I would write them up if not fire them on the spot. An organization that prides itself on customer service cannot tolerate these antics.

Oh, I got the text alert 5 minutes after I picked up my food. Minor annoyance but not surprising given everything else :)

The food was good (as always) so that's why you got a 2 stars...

Great food and great customer service!! But something has to be done with the drive-thru immediately!! 4 cars in line, including me, who ordered only a bowl of soup. Total time waited for that one bowl only was over 50min. That's just unacceptable folks. I completely understand that a lot of your items are made to order, and that's great. But there has to be some solutions to fixing this. They could have easily walked that soup out to me, and I'm on my way. On the same note, people are ordering very large lunch orders for the office and shops nearby as well as the college. These orders should never be in line as they take a very long time to make. And it's very easy to see these are huge orders by the number bags handed over. I'm in at least 3-4 days a week, and I've been late to meetings from just getting a soup and cookie. And if that's not bad enough when I was in Friday, the lady in front of clearly had ordered for many people and was paying for each order separately! I spent 20+ years in the full service restaurant until it burned me out horribly!! Any current or former restaurant worker understands this. I've been a Kitchen Mgr and a General Mgr most of my career, and I just want to help because this is beyond out of control. And not to sound petty, but it sure would be nice to hear once. "Sorry for the wait," Thanks for taking the time to read this. I am one of your biggest and loyal fans, and I absolutely love the food, but as I watch people pull out of line because they can't wait any longer it has to be said, and fixed, please!! You're more than welcome to reach out to me thru my email.

Best...

Today my family and I came in around noon. Before ordering I tried to look for a notice on when breakfast items stopped being served. It wasn't until after my interaction with the girl taking our order did we even find where the notice was listed...in tiny writing at the bottom of one of the signs that didnt have a majority of breakfast items. So when I went to order, not knowing we were past the cut off time, I asked for a breakfast sandwich. Instead of an acceptable response of "I'm sorry, Panera stops serving breakfast related items at such and such time," or something similar, I was met with a scoff followed with "um no. You need to choose something else." It wasnt until she probably saw my face and realized her response was rude, that she followed up with, " All breakfast sandwiches are done being served by 10:30." Aside from that interaction, she was also rude to my mother-in-law when she was placing her order as well. Not sure who trained this girl, with frizzy brown hair, glasses, close to 5' tall, receipt said Allen (not sure if that's her last name or if she hopped on someone else's register), but she needs some retraining on customer service. It wasn't just our interactions, but she continued to talk with the other girls about matters that pertained to the store in a complaining matter. Not something you should be saying out loud to where customers can hear. Management, please speak to this girl and tell her to think about what she says and if it will come off snarky. She is technically the first interaction customers have with your Panera store. Not something worth looking...