Panda Express — Restaurant in Plainfield

My daughter worked at Panda Express and unfortunately had a very negative experience due to the poor leadership and unprofessional behavior of her team leader, Adele.

Recently, my daughter called in sick for the first time and notified them in advance. Despite this, Adele demanded a doctor’s note, even though it was just a mild cold and not necessary to seek medical attention. We chose not to go to the doctor in order to avoid unnecessary medical bills.

Adele threatened to issue her a warning for "excessive absences," which is simply not true. My daughter only missed work on three other occasions, all of which were justified and documented:

Final exams at school (she is a student).

A previously approved vacation for her grandmother’s funeral.

A medical emergency involving me, her mother, where she was the only one available to accompany me.

Shockingly, during that emergency at 1 a.m., Adele even demanded that my daughter find someone to cover her shift—completely lacking compassion or professionalism.

On the Saturday following her sick day, when my daughter returned to work, Adele yelled at her in front of other employees, causing her to have a panic and anxiety attack. Instead of helping her, Adele dismissed her reaction by saying she was “too sensitive.”

My daughter had to call me in distress, asking me to come and get her. As her mother, it broke my heart to see her treated this way. I went to the store and asked for the contact information of the general manager.

No one, especially young people balancing school and work, should be subjected to this type of mistreatment. I truly hope Panda Express investigates this issue and holds this individual accountable. A team leader should lead with empathy, respect, and professionalism Adele’s behavior does not represent the values that a brand like Panda Express should stand for.

To all young workers, new employees, or parents of teens entering the workforce: please be aware, and don’t stay silent. A title like “leader” should never be used as an excuse to mistreat or intimidate others especially when there is a large age or maturity gap. Leadership should model maturity, empathy, and professionalism in...

The employees are the Plainfield Indiana location are idiots. That's about the nicest way I can put it. Absolutely no organization or problem solving skills. I ordered online. Order was quoted to be ready at 5:49. I got there a couple of minutes past that time and of course it wasn't ready. We were JUST waiting on noodles, it'd be about 4 minutes. I saw they were using a lot of the teriyaki chicken, which i has 2 orders of, and thought hopefully im not going to be waiting on that next. Now a line was forming and I saw the noodles come up, so I asked the girl if she could please finish my order next because the noodles are done and I was in a hurry. She looked at it and said, we're waiting on teriyaki chicken. It'll be about a minute. I could not believe it. I stopped myself from making a scene because I'm trying to get better about being nice to people. But I just want to rant here because I could not believe how ignorant the whole experience was. I wish I could say I was surprised. Sadly, I'm not. This has pretty much come to be expected of their...

This location is one of the BEST Panda Express I have been to. I think mostly impart to there not being a drive through and the focus is on making sure the food is fresh for a great in dining experience. The food is ALWAYS hot and delicious and the staff's number one priority is customer service - The servers and cooks work very hard to ensure everyone is taken care of, even when there is a longer wait time. And the manager goes above and beyond working different stations when an extra hand is needed. I am most impressed by their dedication to the store after hours. I have seen the staff work tirelessly after their shift for 2 or more hours scrubbing the whole store down from ceiling to floor. I have never seen this in a fast food restaurant. Ever. So I appreciate and commend efforts on all parts to ensure this store is in the best shape possible for customers to come and enjoy really great food! Thank you Plainfield, IN Panda Express! You all get gold...