Panera Bread — Restaurant in Providence

My mom ordered take out and dropped it off to me. Asked for no red onions on sandwich and 2 extra baguettes with 2 pick 2’s. It was all written out correctly on the receipt. She dropped it off and I opened the bag, realizing there were red onions on the sandwich and no baguettes at all. I called and the lady said they ran out of baguettes but only give something else when asked to. Offered to remake sandwich and give me other sides if I come in. I also dropped one of my smoothies but I didn’t even mention that since it was my own fault. Drove all the way back to get the baguettes, get the sandwich fixed, and order another smoothie. The manager, I believe, was super helpful and friendly. She gave me the 1/2 sandwich, smoothie, and a whole baguette for free! I had just told her I wanted to order another smoothie because I dropped my other one. I even offered to pay for the baguette and smoothie but she said it was fine, which was very nice of her. I also ordered another you pick 2 to-go. Got home and realized this sandwich was once again wrong; this time the sandwich was ordered as-is but was missing cilantro and pepadew peppers. The smoothie was chunky but it was free so I can’t complain at all about that! Both times the receipts were correct.. The food...

My fault for stepping in and not checking the reviews. If you're hungry, please don't go. The service here flows at a glacial pace. I've been a restaurant worker in the past, so I tend to cut a lot of slack, but 30 minutes for a cup of soup is beyond the pale. When I ordered at the kiosk, I was fourth on the "preparing" side of the monitor, in the 30 minutes I stood there only one name disappeared. Don't expect anyone to call your name - I watched multiple people walk up and try to discern whether the newly added order might be theirs. My hat's off to the gym that took his melted smoothie that had been sitting for at least 15 minutes before he got his sandwich. The toughest part to watch was what seemed like a lot of closing activity like restocking, the very careful placement of stickers on bags, and absolutely no sense of urgency though I was standing in a crowd of 10 people. I completely get it - this is not a fulfilling job, at least not to the folks at this location. That said, if you have an expectation of getting a fountain drink and a cup of soup in under 30 minutes, this is not the place for you. I have some serious concerns about automation eliminating needed and wanted jobs. Panera Bread is one place that will benefit from a robot...

If you do rapid pick up, you need to order 45 minutes in advance to get your order. I would say about 50% of the time my order has something wrong with it (something missing, not told they were out of the side and give you nothing, or the amount of times you order a cup for a drink they just don't give you the cup).

The location is downtown PVD and one of the few locations around here you can walk over to get lunch at if you work in the area. The food is mostly good, but there have been times it tastes stale.

It would be great if Panera PVD location had corporate revamp it or something. There seems to never be enough employees working, ingredients are constantly out of stock, and the grubhub / uber eats always seems to take up all the time and priority.

Most of the employees and managers are friendly (others seem like you are bothering them by asking for an item you PAID for and didn't get), but there are a lot of times you have to stand at the counter and wait for them to finish their personal conversation to help you. With being on lunch break and having only so much time to spare, this is really discouraging.

I hope it eventually figures out its flaws and...