Panera Bread — Restaurant in Shrewsbury Township

If you like the convenience of using an app on your iPhone, you can’t use it for drive thru orders at Panera’s.

While the app allows you to put in your credit card info, unlike Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts you can’t just go up to a drive-through window, order, and then have your credit card information pop up on your phone to pay. Unless you order on the app and send the information to Panera to process, you have to use cash or credit card and not the app to be on your way after using the drive-thru window.

The Panera app allows only certain types of order pickups, and can’t be used for drive-thrus. Amazingly, the app ordering mechanisms are either “Curbside Pickup” or “Rapid Pickup” (you would expect that to be the drive-through window, but you’d be wrong). When you go onto the Panera website, you’ll find the corporate explanations of these 2 pick up methods - each specifically states it cannot be used for the drive-thru window orders based on some nonsensical excuse about the equipment and the food being stored on that section of the store. I called my local Panera and was told that’s the way the app is set up, it doesn’t work if you want to do order on the app and simply drive-thru to pick it up.

The primary reason I got the app was to get a quick coffee order in the morning, but this apparently is not possible either. If you use the app for ordering the only thing you can get is Black Coffee, and the app says I am to use the ‘customize section’ to add additions to the order. Problem - while every other food item on the Panera app has this customize section, there is not an option for any coffee. So if you want milk and sugar, or whatever, you are out of luck using the app.

Perhaps worst of all, my local Panera doesn’t open for breakfast until 9 AM and cuts breakfast off at 10:30 AM. Despite Covid, the Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, Taco Bell (4 of 5 are within a few hundred yards of Panera) all start breakfast service between 5:30 AM and 6:30 AM like normal stores. A 90 minute breakfast window beginning after everyone is at work? Hopefully this will change...

This location has a lot of issues! I’ve tried many times giving them second chances since they are the only drive-through location near me. Today’s issue (3/9/19): I was turned away from ordering a bowl of soup bc it was 10 minutes till 11am and I was specifically told “we can’t offer you soup until 11”. This to me is complete bogus since I’ve ordered numerous times, whether it be a rapid pick up order or just going inside well before they were going to make the switch from Breakfast to Lunch. I get it if someone slacked off and didn’t put the soups on and they’re not ready. Then explain to me “We are sorry for the inconvience we should have them ready shortly, we can take your order and bring it out as soon as it’s ready!” But NO instead they felt like they needed me to understand that they never offer soup before they switch over and loose my money in the process. I was livid. It’s not even about the soup, the fact that they tell me they never serve soup before the switch but other days I have no issues with it clearly shows you there are management/supervising issues here. They handled the whole situation poorly. I have plenty experience in the food industry, my degree and my career have centered around it. I am not some ignorant customer who doesn’t understand the process of switching menus, back of house help, etc. This location needs some serious adjustments. I do want to note, there has been one employee there, a young gentlemen that works in BOH (I wish I knew his name) in which, his customer service is excellent. He is the reason I’ve still sometimes stopped by there knowing that if he’s there my order will come out correctly. In addition to past issues; coffee not being ready at peak times or having grounds on the coffee (which is more time then not), and getting incorrect orders this has been the final straw for me and this location. I will not be returning and I do not reccomend...

This is not my first bad experience at this location but the first time I feel compelled to write a review.

Placed an order for a salad on the app before leaving Red Lion figuring it would be ready by the time I got there. Went inside, found 1 bag on the Rapid Pick Up shelves but it wasn't mine. Sat and waited ~10 minutes for my order to come out. Finally asked and found out my bag had been sitting on the counter with no receipt/name since I got there. Not sure how I was supposed to know that.

There were 6 to 8 employees around but few we're actually working. Went to the front counter at one point while waiting but there was no one out there.

Finally got home with my order and when I looked in the bag, found the top of my fruit salad cup was not snapped on and the fruit was all laying on top of the salad box.

Food is decent enough but the service and care for the customers is horrendous. They really need to have adult supervision at all times. I'll stick to the east York location...