Panera Bread — Restaurant in Woodstock

After the fourth time, out of four visits, orders have been delivered incorrectly at the drive-thru, I not only cannot recommend this location, but will also no longer patronize it myself. I don’t usually post reviews online, but instead prefer to take my compliments or complaints directly to staff/management, as I did today. But the response from this Panera manager was so unsatisfactory in dealing with my complaint that I’ve decided to go a step farther.

Because there have been so many mistakes and omissions to my orders there recently, today I took the time, before driving off, to check the sealed bag. As has happened in the past, after waiting a very long time at the window, chicken ordered to be placed on the side ended up in the bowl. When I returned the item to the cashier and asked how long it would take for them to correct the error, I was told to drive to the parking area and wait for someone to bring it to me. I handed him the frozen cold brew that they had prepared and delivered first to me, and suggested that they keep it cold in the meanwhile or prepare me a fresh one while I waited. And waited.

I finally went into the store and waited some more. Two women, waiting to order, said they’d been waiting for a while, but there had been no one manning the counter so they’d asked a food preparer to fetch someone. That someone was eventually the manager who took their order. While waiting to talk with him, my “corrected” order finally appeared and, as I began to air my complaint to him, I checked my food. The chicken had been plucked off and put on the side, but it was now missing the hard-boiled egg I’d been up charged for. Frustrating as it was that even my “fixed” order was wrong, the worst part was the response of the manager who looked at me and said, “what do you want me to do… cancel the order and refund your money, or give you the egg?” No acknowledgement of the time I’d had to waste and the frustration caused by his staff. Not even a simple, “I’m sorry for your inconvenience.” He eventually offered an insincere apology as I was walking out, but it came with an admonishment that I had demeaned his staff with my comment that some of them appeared useless at their jobs.

He had told me, “mistakes happen”, and I don’t disagree, but the true measure of a good business is how those mistakes are handled, and whether or not steps are taken to avoid them repeating in the future. How funny is that excuse when, right in front of him, his worker(s) couldn’t even fix the mistake without making more mistakes? Maybe the poor performance by staff here has something to do with a manager who defends their right to do...

Went into the drive-thru at about 7:45 a.m. on Friday morning had two cars in front of me. It took them 25 minutes to take the orders for those two cars. I then pulled up to the screen to place my order and waited for someone to take my order. After 10 minutes the person behind me honked the horn and someone finally asked if they could take my order. I had already placed my order online while sitting there in the drive-thru, so all I had to do is give them my last name. I drove around and no one was at the window waiting for their food so clearly they had served them off. I let the gentleman know that came to the window that there was a very long line of people waiting to be served behind me. He said that he didn't realize that anyone was waiting to place an order which seems odd given that they have a sensor that you drive over and he heard the honk so he must have been able to hear we were there. My total waiting time was almost a half an hour to get an order that was placed online while I was sitting waiting in the drive-thru. I realized after I pulled away and was at my destination that they had given me the wrong item for my order and had to turn around and drive back to get it fixed. The apology...

3/29/2022: Decided to try breakfast for the first time at Panera. My daughter and I both ordered the Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg & Avocado Wrap and the Madagascar Vanilla Lattes. Like my previous review, there was barely any chicken on these wraps. Still we agreed that the wraps were delicious and we would order them again. The lattes were decent enough, but we agreed we preferred the Madagascar Vanilla Iced Latte better.

2020: I was a fan of Panera from first bite so many years ago at the Kildeer/Deer Park location. Service and food was always spot on. I have been coming to the Woodstock Panera for the past few years. While the service itself has been pretty good, I have often ended up with cold food when ordering for pick up. Also, not sure if it is this location alone or all Paneras, but they really seem to skimp on the chicken on everything we order. Because of this, Panera is a bit pricey. I can get so much more food at Cafe Zupas for the same price...unfortunately there isn't a Zupas close by.

Favorite Panera items: Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt, Toasted Frontega Chicken, Baja Chicken Bowl, Mediterranean Bowl with Chicken, Pastry Ring, Bear Claw, and Lemon...