Panera Bread — Restaurant in West Chester Township

I have to say i have been coming to this Panana several times a week for many years. Up until very recently I thought that this one was the best of any of the several other Panara's in the northern part of Cincinnati.

However in the last several month I have noticed several changes, none of which are for the good.. The service is much slower especially at lunch time. Twice I have had to wait over 30 minutes for a bowl of soup. The staff seem to be spending all their time filling "to go" orders which are placed on a shelf waiting to be picked up. I realize they want to expand their business, but they need to take on more staff if they don't want to lose their core visitors. Today while waiting less patiently than I used to, another customer, a total stranger, said to me that she had decided not to come today to Panara because of a previous long wait but just realized that habit had still bought her there today, and again she was waiting. I laughed, because that was exactly the same thought which was going through my head as I was waiting for my soup. Long time habits are difficult to change , but the fact that two strangers thought the same thing and voiced it, albeit in a joking way, should be a concern for Panara.

It is also true that the staff which were among the most customer friendly of any restaurant are not now as much, as has been mentioned in several other reviews. However I suspect this is only because they seem to be continually having to rush to get orders finished as fast as they can , albeit with a line of somewhat impatient customers in front of them.

Finally they are making more mistakes. They always correct them when pointed out, but today I ordered potato soup from the menu board on the wall. After waiting over 20 minutes, I was told that there was no potato soup but I could have the chicken and rice soup. I had no option, but I did notice when I finally left the restaurant , the potato soup was still part of the menu on the wall. I wonder how many other customers were upset too if they had the same experience as me.

I make these points only because I hope someone at Panara reads these reviews. For so many years this restaurant has been my families favorite place to meet. Its not now , and I cannot believe it, but it is true that more and more, especially when I know I haven't got a lot of spare time to wait, I am getting my salads and chili at Wendy's down the road. And they have their chili 365 days a year. And its way cheaper.

Tylersville Panera , please spend some time reviewing what you need to revert to your old...

After visiting the West Chester Voice of America location for over a year now, I thought maybe the experiences would markedly improve. However, customer care and service at this particular location has rapidly declined. I will give the staff the benefit of the doubt on unavailable items like sweeteners, produce, etc. due to the supply chain shortages we are facing. Those things are out of their control, but what they can control like customer care and cleanliness leaves quite a bit to be desired. As far as the ordering process at this location, unless you visit when the “older” staff members are working you are not going to get great service. The teens and college kids who work at this location LOVE to use their phones while on the clock and cannot be bothered with taking your order or providing service most of the time. They seem to make themselves scarce when customers are waiting to order or simply need a to go box, and if you want to complain about ANYTHING (your order included) good luck with that because literally no one cares.

The “Rapid Pick-up” option is hardly ever actually rapid. I stopped ordering Rapid Pick-up because it’s rarely on the shelf when you arrive because it’s sitting on the counter behind the barista station getting cold with no one minding the online orders. You then have to wait until the 1 or 2 people working the pick up counter decide to put them out. The accuracy of orders is generally about 50% correct in my experience, so maybe it will be your lucky day!

As far as cleanliness, I’m not sure anyone actually cares here until it REALLY becomes a problem (see pics below of the bathroom, which has been that way for 3 days as of this review’s writing). It took 3 days for THAT to get cleaned up. I know people are animals, but this is what you sign up for when you open your restaurant to the public. Tables remain messy and uncleared well after patrons leave because there is no one dedicated to keeping the dining room clean and again, it isn’t until it really becomes a problem that it gets cleaned. As I sit writing this at this particular Panera, I can count 5 unkempt tables in the dining room and those are just the ones I can see.

In closing, unless you have no other options, I probably wouldn’t waste your time with this place unless you plan to wait around for 20 minutes for your maybe correct, maybe incorrect order (remember it’s generally 50% accuracy here, at least for me!). Do yourself a favor and go next door to Chick Fil-a where they offer great service with a...

Mistakes on order in every possible way. Manager was very professional and trying his best to herd his team into functioning. I venture to guess that he is not properly supported by corporate to train people properly. Food was fine once the recorders came through. If you are ordering a latte make sure you say hot latte. I just ordered a latte and got an iced latte. You.must tell them exactly what you want. I don't go to Panera, so I didn't realise whipped cream automatically came on everything instead of being asked if one wants it. I asked if the sandwich automatically came on a specific bread and was told yes (I was ordering for someone else). At the other end of the line I was surprised by the bread used because I knew the person wouldn't like it. I was then told one can choose the bread, which is what I would assume would be the xase at a bakery. Again, a few of the staff were functional and the manager was great, but just use queue cards when you order. My sister, a more frequent customer, ordered before me and asked if they didn't want a name.for the order and the cashier emphatically said no. I was next in line and after I ordered she asked for my name. Would have been funny with a few...