Panera Bread — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

I called in a Togo order and she introduces herself and then asks how she can help me... I reply can I place a pick up order...her response ok so I start with my order then she cuts me off saying 727? Without me ever hearing her ask me for my phone number... so I'm thrown off by that so I ask are you asking for my phone number? Her response was as if I should have known by her only saying 727? Yes your phone number with a snicker afterwards so I say ok sorry I didn't even hear you ask so I go through all her questions then I start my order. I say my 2 bowls of soup and I wasn't sure if she got it and was ready for the rest, I didn't want to keep going if she was ready. I waited after that complete silence so I say are you still there? Yeah continue she said rudely,so I continue. At the end of my order she repeats it back and it's the wrong sandwich and an item was not said. So for the sandwich she says ok I have to go get a manager...it's silence whispering in the background by this point I'm a bit annoyed because ice never had an issue with this exact same order, but we order the same thing every time. She comes back to the phone tells me she added the right sandwich and then goes to repeat the order. This time everything was on there,everything was right. So I reply yes all good thank you she says ok then it gets quiet I'm thinking she's working on the computer and finishing it up, when someone gets on the phone hello this is Sarah how can I help you?.... I'm completely thrown off by this point I reply obviously puzzled asking her what do you mean I was finishing up an order with the other girl? Like what the hell is going on!!?? So then she starts asking for my phone number, name, etc.all over again!! I tell her that I have already given all of this information to the first lady and already gave her my complete order so she starts reading my order back to me... my boyfriend by this point alarmed at my frustration gets on the phone he agrees the order is correct he asks what the issue was with our order that they felt it necessary to bring the phone to you. We were in no way being rude or disrespectful and she replies oh no no its not you guys , her eyes were watery.ok. she then asks when we would like the order ready he says as soon as possible and then she tells him they can't do that. So he asks her well when can you have my order ready I can't tell you that..we were both shocked by the issue with placing this order has come to! He then said well since you can't tell me when my food will be ready can you have it ready in 30 to 45 minutes? He then told her usually you guys will tell us in about 15 to 20 minutes your food will be ready. So he said yes I need time to decompress from this so can you have it ready in 30 to 45 minutes. Yes we can ...ok. we show up and the item that was missing when the first girl had read my back the order (bread)which the second lady Sarah had corrected and read back to me was not in our bag and they did not know how to deal with the mistake they made so my boyfriend told then forget about it you have made the expetience of ordering from this location terrible for us. He then still paid for I'm full for our food we didn't ask for anything for free we just wanted what we asked for, he even still bought a Danish. This was a terrible experiences this has completely turned me away from ordering from like location this was our preferred location along with the 4th St location but even though we live 5 minutes from this one, we will drive across town to 4th St then go here again. We buy panera bread a lot just 3 days ago we had a $50+ order our order tonight was 30 bucks. Just mind blowing the lack of communication skills were exhibited tonight in that 8 minute phone call. I work in the restaurant industry in fine dining work atmospheres and if ever I answered the phone and gave such little effort and attitude and lack of intelligence about the restaurant I'm working in the chef would fire me right then and there. It may be Perera Bread but take a little pride and effort...

I used to go to panera all the time when I was in college. Many of my friends worked there- the service was always great and while it's a bit expensive for a college student you got your money's worth in great food and a nice environment to study. So when my mom and I received a gift card to Panera we were pretty excited and ventured out one Saturday for a nice meal. We were very disappointed. First: ordering was awkward. While we were at the front of the line about to order, the girls behind us asked if they could cut us just to get some change. We said it would be all right but then they started ordering. We told them, "hey, you are cutting us now" and they backed off. Okay, so maybe that was a little confusing for the cashier: not a big deal and easily corrected. Then when ordering I noticed a big sticker over the prices for the chai. The only price available was 3.99 for a large. Kind of expensive considering they don't even have any non-dairy options. I asked the cashier if the large was the only size available and she said no, that I could get a "regular"- so I ordered it. Later I discovered that they only had the one size, which was about a 12 oz cup. So- labeled under large, which I'm guessing is about 16oz, is really a 12oz drink. Not sure why the cashier couldn't just be clear with me. Again, not a huge deal since the girl seemed new or really nervous or something. Later when she brought my bagel out, she handed me a plate with a knife, napkin, and cream cheese: no bagel. Awkward. When I went to pick up our food, there was no tray (pretty sure there used to be trays) so I had to wait for my mom to get her coffee to take the three plates to our table. While waiting the girl behind the counter just stood there with another plate staring at me as if it was so inconvenient that I was not able to pick up the food right away. I mean the counter is huge, there was no reason to stand there like that, not saying anything, not offering help. After sitting down pretty confused and feeling uncomfortable I discovered a big chunk of bacon in my Greek salad. I'm a vegetarian, and that really destroyed my appetite. This was also where we discovered that we had just payed 3.99 for 12oz of milk mixed with a powdered chai mix. I asked one of the attendants there for a manager- again, a confused and nervous employee... When the manager came over she was not happy. Not a single smile, not an introduction, just silence. I explained our issues. "So what do you want to do?" She says. Um... What? What do I want to do? You're the manager... How are you going to make this right? The mix up with the chai, like I said- not a huge deal, but she didn't seem to understand at all why I was frustrated- nor did she care. "Okay do you want a refund?" I would have been fine with a new salad, or even a piece of bread or something. Sure, I guess I'll take a refund. She came back with cash and a pile of change that she tossed on the table. No reciept... No eye contact. A muffled apology as she quickly walked away from our table.

I'm sorry but if I'm spending $28 on a lunch for two people I expect the service to be halfway decent and my vegetarian meal to remain vegetarian. Not the panera I knew and loved as a college kid in Michigan. Not the panera I will be returning to. Service was less than what you would even expect at McDonald's- and prices have gone way up- combos have changed- and since when does plain cream cheese cost $1.29? Already paying almost $3 for a subpar bagel ! Maybe I've now been spoiled by the lovely local bistros and cafes downtown. Such a shame to see a nice place go downhill. Place was clean though... I'll...

This is not the best location that I have been to. I ordered thru the online app and gave a decent amount of time to pickup my order. I watched many people go before me, as a young woman repeatedly complained about having to make sandwiches, which of course I had ordered one. They called out names as they bagged the orders while people waited, but never walked over to the shelves where pickup orders are usually placed. I finally had to ask if they filled mobile orders and the young man looked around and found mine behind the work station at the end of a counter. He was nice and personable, but the overall staff was super slow. I left and checked my phone for other nearby stores. I took a few bites of my sandwich and then had to search for a small piece of avocado that I paid extra for. I was about to go to my next destination when I decided to look for the standard accompanying pickle, of course there was none. So I went back in to see if this location didn't include them. They do, just not with my sandwich that day. I'm not a big eater, being vegan. Maybe they thought it was too many veggies. So there were a few crumples of feta cheese included in the wrapper, which I special ordered to exclude cheese. I also asked for a cup in advance with the order for lemon water. Again, not included, but the staff was still kind enough to furnish. I'm guessing they probably clean their doors at the end of the day so I used my shoulder to make my way back out with out touching the grimy prints. I wasn't real inpressed, so I probably won't go out of my way to go there again, since there's another location close to my house that always has my complete order ready and on the shelf for me to pickup. I've never had to wait around for them to complain about their job. I'm guessing it's just not the right job for the one young lady. The food tasted fine and I'm still a Panera Bread fan as I travel...