Panera Bread — Restaurant in The Colony

Let me start by saying that I LOVE PANERA. But this is by far the worst Panera I’ve ever visited. I’ll start with the customer service: I mostly use the drive thru and every time I go it seems as I have bothered the employees by interrupting there day. They sound frustrated and annoyed at the fact that they have to help me. In particular, the girl with dark blue nails which seem more like claws because they are so long it seems like a health code violation. She was extremely monotone and she kept on gazing at me angrily as if I was bothering her. The kids in the back making food were not using hair nets or gloves all the while touching food. They were more like having fun and yelling and laughing. It seemed more like a hang out/party place for the employees instead of a place to work. And every time they got someone in the drive thru, they would make faces or seem mad, I couldn’t tell what they were saying since the window was closed. I’ve never gotten a “Welcome to Panera” greeting or a “Thank you, have a great day!” After getting my food. It feels as if a fast food joint at 3am has way better customer service than this store, and that’s saying something. I feel the employees are there more to have a good time than serve the customers. If you don’t want to work, you don’t have to, but if you are, then make sure youbare working! I think these kids forget that the only reason they have a job is because of the CUSTOMERS. Moving on to the food: the food itself was very mediocre, and it looked like it was rushed...from what I saw by the window, the food was made by people who were not wearing gloves (I threw out my food and went to McDonald’s) I feared saying something would end up with someone spitting in my food. I got a latte and the cup was half foam and half coffee? Was this on purpose?? And the wait time to receive the food was ridiculous...just notice how much I wrote and you’ll get an idea of how long I was there. I think they either need to clean house or change...

First, the drive thru person pretty much set the tone of what was to come. So I am not surprised and I should have checked Yelp before I came here. I firmly believe your location is only surviving from residual business from In and Out guests, that don't want to wait, like we did tonight. But, back to the drive thru person. She is the face of your drive thru and she has zero personality and more interested in what's going on with her phone. I still tried to be nice and spoke to her twice, and she literally didn't say ONE word to me. But, let's move on. Second, we ordered the Green Goddess Caprese Melt because it sounded delicious, but upon my wife eating it, she knew something was missing. Upon further examination of the sandwich, it was missing FRESH Basil and the Green Goddess dressing, so I made a u-turn to go back to the location. I spoke with the manager about the long wait and how the sandwich was not made properly. This encounter let me know he doesn't have the customer service gene, as he asked me would I like him to make me a new. Well duh! Did you think I just came back to let you know as a Good Samaritan? And NOTHING above and beyond was offered to kinda apologize for the inconvenience, so of course we won't be back. Also, your Rapid Pick Up area inside the restaurant is an awful idea, as it is unmanaged and allows guest to reach over any and all orders sitting on the counter, but I guess this cuts costs and eliminates the need for order delivery staff. 1.9 stars for this location is pretty accurate. The one star I gave, is for the guy in the orange shirt that was working his hardest to run the HOH, but just couldn't do it all. You're probably going to lose him, as he works too hard, can't do it all and he's trying to support a team that doesn't really care. Good luck, I hope you...

THE BEST! MY hubby & I travel a 4 state region on a fairly regular basis (OK, KS, MO & TX) on a regular basis. Often we will seek a Panera location for breakfast & coffee because we can generally count on them being dependable. A particular employee at this location in The Colony TX has just raised the bar for ALL others: Laura Tilton. is friendly, professional & compassionate. Beyond that though, she is genuinely good person. I feel like God put her in the right place the day we stopped in…

We were in town to visit my elder Dad who has been in the hospital & physical rehab, recovering from an accident. My mother had passed away just 2 weeks before he got hurt… & I had learned that her urn at the crematorium had not been picked-up. I am dealing with details regarding Dad’s move to my state once he is better; Dealing with his home so it can be listed for sale; Taking care of his finances… So many things. Needless to say I was a bit flustered.

Laura was on my side of the counter while I ordered. She asked how I was doing… & I actually told her instead of just saying “fine”… & she listened. The encouragement she shared & kindness she showed were really uplifting. Then she personally brought out our order… & gifted us a small bag with 2 cookies for Dad.

She exemplifies the leadership traits that unfortunately not enough business display these days. Bottom line, Laura is the ideal ambassador for the Panera brand…. Especially with the “New Era of Panera”...