Panera Bread — Restaurant in Washington

5/2/25 Update - it has been almost three years since we ordered from the Hazel Dell location. The hope was that they had the bugs worked out that post COVID staffing had caused them. Not the case. I called and spoke to a very patient, polite and courtesy female manager who, by the time of my call, already realized one of the issues and was in process of correcting it. We spoke about the other two and came up with a plan. She handled the situation with professionalism, class and integrity. A half hour later, the missing part of our order still hadn't shown up so I called back. The male manager who answered was the epitome of the worst customer service known to man. He called me a liar, said that my order was not prepared incorrectly, that he was going to black list our company for future orders. I asked to speak with the first manager, he refused saying she was on a register. Continued to interrupt and berate me, calling me a liar twice more, saying that the Doordash driver watched as I went through my order upon delivery, claiming that everything was delivered properly (that didn't happen, he bolted as soon as he realized I wasn't giving an extra tip). When I asked to speak to the other manager again, he said she left for the day after my first call. Now he's lying to me. 20 minutes later, the missing items show up just as the first manager promised. The Doordash driver (a different one) mentioned that the male manager had yelled at him too, questioning his credentials as a DD driver and continued to be rude after he was verified.

The quality of the food was great but like before, there was inconsistency in the preparation. The sandwich's were full while the half salads were half the size they should be, filling only half of the container. In the past, those containers were full. I would have given the food four stars but it made my overall review more than the one star it deserves. I spent $535 to feed 23 people and get yelled at by a wildly unprofessional person in charge. I hope the owner reads the reviews and addresses the issue.

Original review - Sad and unfortunate - that's how I'd describe my last four experiences with this location. Quality and consistency has plummeted to an all time low. A coworker and I ordered the same half salad. Hers came as a 1/4 salad and mine came as an 1/8. My 1/2 sandwich had half the ingredients it should and her cup of soup was half full. Another coworker got this huge, beautifully crafted sandwich. What used to be an awesome, slightly expensive but still a valued meal is now rated as a 7-11 hot dog that's been in the warmer all day. At least 7-11 doesn't charge me $20 for it's crappy meal. Oh and the DoorDash driver they used to help out had pajama's on. PAJAMA"s. Nice kid but extremely unprofessional attire.

I've spoken to the owner of this franchise location before. They were very attentive/apologetic to a different complaint as was today's assistant manager. That's great but the food leaving their restaurant is still substandard and they are charging a fortune for it. This will be our last order for this location. I guess they don't value our many $180 orders for...

I recently got a job at Panera bread only to be told on my start day that they chose someone else!! Let me start from the beginning……..So I applied there on the march 25th 2024 and got an interview 1 of 2. My first interview went great other than the fact that I had to wait for 20 minutes for the team manager to come assist me and start the interview. That interview went well, than they moved me to the second stage which was to meet with the assistant manager and have an interview with her. The interview went great and I was told I got the job. After I was told I got the job it went all down hill from there. The assistant manager told me my start date and gave me paper work to fill out and bring back. They were very adamant For me to put in my 2 weeks at my current job. I was also told to contact the assistant manager if I had any questions about my start date. 2 days later I had called to confirm some things about my start date. I was told “someone will call you back in about 2 to 3 hours” They never called me back so I called the next day to check for any updates. I was told “someone will be contacting you later today”. BIG SHOCKER they never once called me back answering my questions. One day before my start date I thought I might aswell call again so I did and then FINALLY someone answered my questions. I was cleared for my shift then here comes start day. I was supper excited and had worked my last shift at my old job the day prior. I showed up for my shift and the assistant manager walked over to me and said “I have some bad news” we talked some more and then she said “I’m sorry I was meaning to call you earlier today we ended up hiring somebody else”. Now let’s put you into my shoes I was expecting to start a new job and now I am jobless because someone was so unprofessional as to not call you and let you know they decided to revoke you’re new job that you were offered. I had also asked if I did anything wrong or if it was an issue with my referances and I was told no everything went great and was fine. They played a very unprofessional game I WOULD NOT TRUST...

Review of Panera Bread - Hazel Dell, Vancouver, WA

I am incredibly disappointed with the service I received at this location. The experience was subpar from the start, with major cleanliness concerns. The hot water dispenser was producing not only brown, bubbly water but also chunks of black debris, which the staff claimed were coffee grounds. However, I had serious doubts about that explanation and decided to keep an eye on the situation. While the hot water quality eventually improved, the staff stopped making the coffee I prefer. When I asked about it, they repeatedly had to go to the back to get it, which I absolutely do not trust, given the earlier issues.

Service inconsistencies were rampant—cups were slid upside down across the counter, tickets were placed in cups, allergy info ignored and employees were eating while handling orders. Worse, there was an employee shouting curse words repeatedly, which was highly unprofessional and disturbing. These small issues quickly added up, revealing a larger problem with how this location operates.

The worst part of the experience came when I tried to place a simple order after being left dehydrated and frustrated. Despite having money to pay, I received nothing but lip service from the manager, Stanley, who completely failed to respect me as a customer. Instead of offering a simple remedy, like a multigrain flat on the house to address the multiple issues, Stanley dismissed my concerns and wandered off to deal with trivial matters. His / Her complete failure to provide a solution was unacceptable.

Panera Bread's current marketing about a "new era" is nothing but false advertising. This location, in particular, is a waste—bricks and effort wasted on a café that can't even deliver basic service. Their irresponsibility is alarming, and they clearly don’t care about their customers. I will not be returning and urge others to avoid this...