Panera Bread — Restaurant in Sacramento

Originally Posted on Yelp but also Posting on Google for Visibility TLDR: Inaccurate Takeout Orders - Missing Items and No Compensation/Apology for Wasting Your Time and Fuel

This is the only Panera Bread location that I've been to because it's only about 2 miles from where I live, but man, is this location terrible. I'm reluctant with tipping for takeout because of places like this. You don't even have to serve me the food or act polite when you ring me up but PLEASE at least be ACCURATE with my order. Come on, it's listed on the receipt! I already have to deal with the uncleanly appearance of trash littered about the parking lot and sketchy people loitering around this location (Sacramento at its finest) but I really also have to deal with employees not performing their job well. I already have to deal with myself being hangry (mostly hungry and pretty irritable because of it), which would make some sense why I'd come here, right? On top of that, I'm an [socially] angsty woman of all things, so I order takeout specifically to limit any possible negative/uncomfortable interactions yet it feels like this place is intentionally trying to push my buttons because this visit today isn't my first time with inaccurate takeout orders. The food is fine, depending on what you order. You can't really go wrong with ordering a pastry (okay, maybe it can taste really dry, but I haven't had a problem yet). I enjoy the [french onion] soup (and soups are only available after 10:00am) as well as the soufflés (which are made in the morning so since they don't make many of them, your best chance of purchasing one is within an hour of the location opening). There are some other things I've ordered here (sandwiches, mac&cheese, bagels, drinks, etc.) and they taste just as you'd expect for what you pay for. What I like about ordering through the app is that you get to customize certain items in your order so it's nice that I can substitute ingredients for sandwiches (i.e. different bread, add/remove sauces/veggies, etc.) and this location will at least get all my customizations correct so far (if they don't forget to include the food item with the rest of my order, that is). I'm particularly annoyed with today's visit since I decided to try out the teriyaki chicken and broccoli bowl for $13.69 and of course, that was the food item that I didn't receive. I placed a future order for takeout at 07:40 in the morning and everything else was ready by the time I arrived around 07:33 (because I only ordered pastries anyway). The employee handed me the bag over-the-counter and I thought it felt a bit light but didn't dig too deep into the bag, assuming that I'd be able to trust their customer service (even though they have let me down before on previous visits). By the time I drove the 2 miles home, eager to eliminate my hunger, I open up the bag to realize that the teriyaki chicken & broccoli bowl was missing. At this point, I'm quite infuriated because I had to drive the 2 miles back for a bowl that ended up looking pretty mediocre (and mind you, they did NOT apologize or even offer anything to make up for it - (some places will at least give a cheap drink or food item for wasting your time but not here!). And because I'm a bratty person, I lost my appetite having to deal with these frustrations but still have to live with myself and force myself to eat to survive since I already paid about $40 for my whole order. First-world problems, amiiright? I submitted a case to Panera Bread about this location's issues with order inaccuracy but with my experience of their work ethic so far, I don't know if the company really cares since order inaccuracy seems to occur pretty often here.

Regardless of my experience, the staff at this location should be double-checking all orders to ensure that all customers are being provided with the correct order that they paid for. By no means will order accuracy be perfect all the time, but with how often missing/incorrect items occur, this location is...

Fail. My visit to Panera Bread on Howe Ave.in Sacramento wasn’t the worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant, but I thought it worthy of a comment and a review.

I placed my order without specifying I wanted to eat in the the restaurant. Nothing was said about takeout. They used to give you a number to place on your table and bring the food to you when it was ready, but no longer. If I was expected to pick up my food when it was ready, I expected to hear my name called out or somehow be notified that my order was ready.

My wife happened to notice our order packaged to-go sitting on the pick-up counter as she came back from the restroom. Apparently the restaurant was content to let the food sit on the counter all afternoon until someone claimed it. Surely, they don’t expect a customer to wait at the pick-up counter while the food is being prepared.

The soup had cooled by that time, and the staff gladly replaced it. I asked for a bowl to put it in, but they had run out of clean bowls. I didn’t ask for a replacement for the hot sandwich but it had cooled, too.

I don’t understand why the restaurant would rather replace an order instead of notifying a customer who is in the restaurant to pick it up when it’s ready, but they are free to run their restaurant as they please; just don’t raise your prices because your expenses are too high.

Other minor annoyances: (1) There were no napkins available for customers to take. My wife had to get up and go to the counter to ask for napkins. Now I know to ask for them when I order. (2) The drink dispenser was clear on the opposite side of the restaurant from the order counter; they couldn’t have been further apart. Now, it’s only a few extra steps but wouldn’t you think they would be closer? Isn’t the first thing you do after you place your order is get your drink—even before you look for a table? If this is unintentional, it’s just poor design; if it’s intentional, why? It doesn’t make sense if they want you to have to walk past all the other stations first.

To be fair, I suspect part of the problem is difficulty with staffing—having to use untrained and inexperienced workers. Still, it’s aggravating for the customer.

Sorry for such a long post. I hope management actually reads these reviews and not just use them as a way for customers to vent their...

I should preface this review with the fact that it's been about a year since my last visit to Panera. I dont know if the concerns I had today are just unique to this one location, or if Panera has made these changes intentionally, and nationwide.

1st difference: they no longer offer you a choice of baked goods for 99 cents with your meal. Now that will only get you one of their cookies.

2nd difference: the broccoli cheddar soup (main reason I came today) had the same great taste, but was very watery. Literally the broth was the consistency of water. Not the thick, creamy, satisfying warm-up it once was.

3rd difference: my half sandwich (I ordered the "pick two" lunch) again tasted very good and the ingredients were fresh. However it was so small it was hard to handle, and kept falling apart. I ended up eating part of my sandwich with my soup spoon because the ingredients had fallen out multiple times.

Perhaps these are cost-cutting measures implemented by the manager at this location. Perhaps this is the new trend for all Paneras...I dont know. What I do know is that I'll try one other location and if i experience the same thing, I will not be returning.

Have you experienced this, or any other obvious changes to this once very...