Panera Bread — Restaurant in Saint Charles

I was extremely disappointed with my experience ordering 2 bagel packs for Christmas this year. I ordered on 12/16 for pick up on 12/21 at 11:30am. No problems ordering online. However, a half hour before my scheduled pick-up time on 12/21, I was called by the store to say my order had fallen through the cracks somehow and would not be ready on time. I had given myself a few days before the holiday to avoid going in on their no doubt busiest days, so I wasn't concerned at that point. Mistakes happen and I recognize the holidays are hectic. They promised my bagels would be put in the next bakery order and would be ready by 2pm at the latest on 12/21. We were already going to the store for lunch that day anyway (as we had planned to grab the bagels on the way out), but they told me they could only promise the bagels would be ready BY 2pm, and couldn't be sure if they would be ready before then. I asked if I could pick them up on 12/21 OR 12/22, as I did not want to make an extra trip to the store on 12/21 after our lunch if the bagels were not ready by the time we finished eating. I was assured over the phone that I could pick them up either day. We went to the store for lunch, and I received no further contact about my bagel order. We went home after since it was about 12:30pm by the time we finished eating, and I assumed they would tell me if the order was ready early. The next day 12/22, we went to pick up the bagels. I was immediately connected with a manager who was extremely dismissive, and told me that the bagels had in fact been ready before 2pm yesterday, apparently at 11:45am, and since we "never came in for them", the bagels were gone (I know they get donated but that does not help me here). He explained that they would "NEVER keep bagels for two days if the customer did not pick up the order", even though I had clarified on the phone that I could pick them up either 12/21 or 12/22. It had not been two days, it had barely been 24 hours for anyone keeping count, and I had gotten confirmation from the associate on the phone that I could pick them up either day. We had been in the store at the time the bagels were ready, essentially at the original pick-up time, and no one called me to let us know. Or at the very least, we could have been called near the end of the day before closing to verify if we were coming for our order since this whole situation happened due to their mistake. I should not have had to double check on my order status when the mistake was theirs, and yet the manager acted as if it was our fault the bagels were gone because we simply "never came" for them. We did come on 12/21 if you'll recall, but were told they would not be ready on time so we did not double check before leaving. That is my only regret but again the onus was on them to notify us the order was ready earlier than they had said. I realize the associate who told us we could pick it up either day on the phone probably made an honest mistake in telling us that, but a mistake is a mistake, and they should have made every effort to replace our order. The manager made almost no effort to resolve the situation, offhandedly offering us our money back when I told him that his barely-there apology did not replace the bagels I had ordered. The bare minimum would be for our money to be returned, considering they had dropped the ball multiple times now. And it concerns me that they apparently weren't going to return my money until I came into the store that day, again attributing the problem to me not picking up bagels no one told me were ready, instead of acknowledging that the error was all on their part for: #1 missing my order in the first place, which created this whole mess, #2 giving me wrong information over the phone about how long I had to pick up the bagels, and #3 not communicating when the bagels were ready before the time they said they would be. Never ordering a bulk order from this location again after this lazy excuse of...

This location is getting so bad.

A few weeks ago I ordered a quiche in a drive up order, but they had run out and the person who brought the food out said they just gave me a different flavor instead. So I either had to just drive away with food I didn’t want or ask them to refund me, order something new, and then wait for it? The manager or supervisor or whoever just made a terrible call. I was at a loss for words and just kept the food I didn’t want and left. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 😂

I met a friend for breakfast last week about 20 minutes after they opened on a Tuesday (the day they offer a deal on bagels) and every single staff was frantic and loudly complaining about the amount of bagel orders…? Like, I wondered if they didn’t know about a long standing deal their own restaurant offers lol. I’ve never even participated in that and just from living in STL I’m aware of the bakers dozen deal on Tuesdays. So, um, that was concerning. Our orders took over 20 minutes and we were the only two people dining in at the time. Luckily we weren’t in a hurry.

Yesterday I waited in line for almost 10 minutes with just two people in front me. (Again a customer ordered a flavor of quiche that was out which, yeah, he could’ve seen for himself but the staff let him order it. Then seconds later she went to get it and told him he was out of luck. Again putting a customer in an awkward position. It was all so cringey.) I ordered a bagel, sliced in half, and toasted. Then I was advised it would be 20 minutes for “anything hot”. Lol what in the world.

I looked for a place on the website to submit some feedback but didn’t find it. So, honestly just trying to do that.

Basically, this location is fine if you’re cool with eating whatever they have the time and energy to make and you’re not hungry yet, bc it’s going to be a while. If that’s not the case… just go to literally any...

I don't know 9if this is true, let me be clear 9n that. I do know that I didn't like my food today from Panera. I absolutely am copying this from another site (not my words), however i felt it explained my unhappiness with my food Here it goes:

The harsh reality is that they have drastically changed their business model. The model years ago allowed for stores to have a sufficient amount of product by allowing 1.75 percent of their sales be allowed for in bakery opportunity costs. This meant a store could have plenty of product on the shelf at all times of day. In fact there were a multitude of items that you were expected to have left over. Some of this cost was offset by the Panera Cares cafes that used day old product and meals of shared responsibility. As they eyed going private in the mid 2010s, they shaved away at this. It created cost savings that made the books look better, but at the cost of product availability. In essence, you can't sell what you don't have (which ultimately impacted sales negatively and continues to do so today). Panera Cares is no more and they are now in the process of completing the removal of all fresh dough facilities in an effort to convert to frozen dough. This may fix the availability problem, but again at what cost? The neighborhood bread company that once had fresh dough every day and skilled bakers is now nothing more than a mindless freezer to oven facility. It is very sad as this used to be the model company that is now a shell of itself having completely removed itself from the concept essence and cultural values that they not only preached, but embodied as a brand. Copi3d from a...