Panera Bread — Restaurant in Wilmington

There are several operational and customer service issues at this location:

In-Store pickup is rarely available on time, irrespective of the time of the day that you pick up the food. Even in non-peak hours, the food is frequently delayed. I often get the "Your order is taking longer than expected" emails. And I only ever order one meal, so it's not like I'm ordering several meals.

It's common for the status screen to show that your food is ready, except you don't get the corresponding email confirmation or text message. And the food isn't actually ready. Or you get the text/email but your food isn't on the shelf. So you see that your food is apparently ready, yet you still have to wait several minutes or longer to actually get your food. The status screen is not synced with the actual activities happening behind the counter. I observed a customer this evening who went to the counter and told an employee that she had been waiting 15 minutes for her order that was allegedly ready.

You often see your food being prepared and then you see it boxed up or in the bag, ready to go. But then the employees just leave it behind the counter. They don't place it on the counter or on the pickup shelf. So you frequently have to ask for them to hand you your order. If you don't speak up, the employees will go on about their business for a while before they finally put your meal on the shelf. And by then, it's cold.

I ordered a Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Flatbread Pizza this evening. I got the email that it was taking longer than expected. I noticed that the employee preparing it was taking her good ol' sweet time. When I got back to my office to eat the flatbread, I noticed that the cheese was runny and there were far too many tomatoes. The box was taped shut, otherwise I would've opened it at the restaurant before leaving. They didn't cook the flatbread long enough and/or at the right temperature. So I waited all that time for the food and it still wasn't cooked properly.

I've learned my lesson. I won't be ordering from this location as much in the future. I've ordered food from this location a few times a week because the location is convenient and the food is usually decent. But I've been disappointed with the results for a while, including this evening.

I don't know what the solution is: Hire more staff, pay the existing staff more, etc. All I know is that we can't blame Covid anymore for operational deficiencies. At this point, this Panera location just doesn't seem to care about its quality. While the employees may be working hard, it doesn't appear that way. Things seem in disarray and the customers suffer...

If you like Panera (which I do), this is my favorite one in the area. Beware, though. In peak hours, there can be problems getting out of the parking lot. But, they have ordering kiosks inside and they keep the lines moving which more than makes up for time lost waiting for people who don't like to wait their turns at getting out of the parking lot. This location seems to run out of things less frequently than other locations. It's also huge, with several dining areas partitioned from one another, so it's a go-to for get togethers small and large. Also, Panera cares about getting your order right. It's even on the receipt! So, for those (like me) who are particular, but don't like complaining, there is a less stress if something isn't right.

Another good thing about Panera is that they have very good allergen information online. But, the people who work there don't often know allergen info off the top of their heads. (That goes for all the locations I've been to.) They can look in their huge book for you, but you are better off looking online before you go in if you have allergy restraints.

If you are gluten-free, try the triple chocolate cookie with walnuts or the coconut macaroons. They are properly delicious whether you can have gluten or not, and for those of us gf-ers, that...

Could do without the "clean food" pseudoscience. Don't buy the crap about "chemicals" or "artificial ingredients." There is no science behind these claims and their food is not any more safe because of that. If you like the food, fine, enjoy. But don't buy here because you think you will be any healthier than any other restaurant. Everything on this planet is a chemical, including you. The "artificial ingredients" keep the food from becoming poisonous. Avoid these things and you will live "naturally" as nature intended, and you will have a nice natural death from a nice natural disease.

Also bagels a little stale for $1.50.

P.s. The main things they sell at this restaurant are the same things that they serve in every other restaurant. Animal and plant products. The bread is just grass seed and the salads are just edible plants. These are things that people have been eating at least 10,000 years. There's nothing clean or unclean about it it's just stuff people eat. Not saying that Panera is not a decent place to eat. It is. But there's nothing any more clean about it than any other restaurant that passes the...