Panera Bread — Restaurant in Springfield

Extremely Disappointed – Hoping Management Will Take This Seriously

As someone who frequently orders from this Panera both as a loyal customer and as a DoorDash driver who helps keep consistent traffic flowing to this location, I’m genuinely shocked and disappointed by the treatment I received today.

I walked in with another guest approaching the counter. I got there first—and simply needed the restroom code, intending to step aside immediately so the other person could be helped without delay. Instead of being greeted with basic courtesy, I was completely ignored—treated as if I were invisible. Worse, the woman behind the counter dismissed me in a way that felt intentionally humiliating. In front of others. No kindness. No professionalism. No acknowledgment whatsoever.

This wasn’t just poor service—it was deeply disrespectful. I left feeling unwelcome, embarrassed, and genuinely uncomfortable about ever returning.

To the owner or management: I urge you to look into this. I support your business regularly, and I help drive revenue to your store through my DoorDash deliveries. The way I was treated today doesn’t just hurt me—it hurts your reputation.

Please don’t let this go unchecked. Respect and kindness should be a non-negotiable standard. I hope you’ll make this right, not only for me, but for the many others who walk through your doors every day expecting simple human decency.

—A disappointed customer who genuinely wants...

The people who work here are nice. Let me just get that out of the way. The bread is either a gluten glob of pinchable, rollable dough, or a hard tack level stone that weighs down your feeble paper bag. The only way to properly eat Panera bread is to soak it like some 14th century peasant in a soup. Which, by the way, you better hope they have.

Alright, so bear with me. I get the "Warm Mediterranean Salad", the one you can add chicken to. I never add chicken. Firstly, "warm" is an overstatement. I assume the company believes that if you microwave rice and place it at the bottom of a bowl then add about 3 lbs of ice cold verging on ice cubed vegetables on top, it makes it "warm". That's not the case. Its cold. It's a cold salad.

Like I said, the people are nice. But holy hell the flavor of their arugula is horrible. It tastes like bleach and grass. They couple this with a massive glob of "hummus" which, again, its nearly frozen ice cream at this point so you can imagine how easy it is to mix with the rest of your salad. Imagine bleach and grass flavored tissue paper that you try to mix with frozen peanut butter. It's a horrible time. Anyway, add some other polar express frozen veggies on top of some rice that was warmed up for 15 seconds and you the basic "warm" Panera Salad. Everything tastes cold, like bleach, or ear wax.

I can't recommend the menu items at...

Maybe I'm biased because I remember when the St. Louis Bread Company first started and the quality was insanely good. I got the pick 2 Toasted Italianio sandwich and the Balsamic Chicken Greens with Grains to go. First of all the sandwich was mediocre. In Springfield the best place for an Italian sandwich is the Queen City Deli. I'll go there next time. The salad had limp lettuce and a teeny tiny amount of dressing and gobs of grains which went into the trash. The final cost was just over $17 which is crazy. For $14 I could have gotten a Muffaletta at Queen City Deli which is big enough for two people. Or I could have had the Southside Sicilian for just under $9.00. Both of those sandwiches are insanely good.

Panera needs to up their quality if they want those prices. I'm not holding my breath over that.

Additionally I resent the tip screen. Panera is a fast food restaurant. You stand and place your order. You stand and wait for your order. I especially dislike when the only thing I've ordered is a coffee and I'm handed an empty cup to make it myself. Exactly what is the tip for? Doing the job they're paid to do? Nope.

I will probably get coffee there from time to time but I will never eat...