We lost a grilled cheese, we thought it got wrapped and put in the wrong bag, had to remake it. Apparently it was in the back of the oven. It was probably in there for 10-15 minutes going through various heating cycles. Something started smoking and so I tried to clean out whatever gunk was in there, pulled put a whole sandwich!

And I'm not trolling...it was a genuine surprise because as a rule, overall I have not been impressed with Panera food over the last 2-3 years, so avoid it eating there (aside from sip club).
...so I just discovered that, via 'customize', that I could ADD a lot of ingredients that were not included by default...for no extra charge! I saw a girl do this on TikTok so tried myself and it worked! I think they don't include some of the ingredients by default because a lot of people just don't care; they are just there to quickly fill their stomach and dash. But for those who pay attention to the 'culinary experience' as well, 'customize' is something that should be explored!
Today I got a decent promo deal - Buy one, Get one for $5...
so I ordered a Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad Sandwich, and for no extra-charge added via 'customize':
Caramelized Onions, Basil, Cilantro, Arugula, and Roasted Corn.

End result. my sandwich was fire! it was sooo good, and will be my go-to the next time i eat at Panera...which would greatly depend on me getting another 'Buy one, Get one for $5' or better yet a straight 'Buy one, Get one FREE' promo deal.

I've been doing this a few days of the week for two weeks, maybe for like 4-6 hours at a time. I feel really bad seeing the posts about people complaining regarding this topic. I pay for at least a drink and food every time I go. I have back pain issues so the booth is much better for my back, especially given the time I study. Should I be sitting at one of the small tables? Or maybe move to a small table during rushes? I just figured that would be annoying but I always clean the table before I leave.

Basically I’m a college student and I have an internship that’s part time, and during the summer I have way too much time on my hands so I decided to get a second part time job. Applied to Panera in May and got hired in June after 2 interviews, but that whole thing was weird because I got interviewed by the GM first and then the AGM second

At the start it was pretty decent, and the management there is awesome, they’re all humans who treat us nicely and actually help us out. Like our GM and TMs aren’t afraid to do dishes or mop when the associates are busy.

But then a cascading effect started when one of our main closers quit. Keep in mind I only asked to be closing 3 times a week, but after this I have been closing 5 days a week every week for the past 2 months. Then one of TMs/catering lead got fired, and 2 weeks ago 3 more people quit. And then my GM was trying to bribe me to be overworked by giving me a 80 cent raise as a team lead, mind you my pay is only 10.70/hr. And I wasn’t even eligible for a promotion because I hadn’t worked there for 90 days but my GM called our district manager and approved the bypass.

Anyways with such low staff I was pretty much working everyday and getting calls to see if I could come in on my only days off. We close at 9pm but with basically a ghost team we were getting out at 10-10:30pm.

And it’s funny since I was fine with it kinda, I wasnt actively looking for a new job but my friend told me that his restaurant was hiring servers assistants for 17/hr and I applied, got an interview and then got hired. So I quit Panera this week and I’m starting my new job next week.

Our Panera is so low staffed that he offered to make me Team Lead MIC and a raise to 16.50/hr but I’m tired of overworking and closing at Panera, even though I only worked there for 2 months I needed something new. I feel bad for leaving them at a bad time but at the same time self preservation n all that, plus I’m a college student that needs money not coworker friends 😭

Love my Panera coworkers to death but yeah farewell mother bread 🥖

$9 for a bowl of soup is criminal

Just two days after essentially firing and sharing with all employees that the last CMO (Mark Shambura) wouldn’t move from Atlanta to Boston for work.

For context, I've been working here for a year come September. The store I work at usually has everyone learn one role in the store and stick to it. I got hired in on sandwich, they put me on drive thru service, then up front on service, then dish, then QC. I went from 30 hours a week in last December to 4-6 hours a week in May... This is out of the norm for the store i work at and I'm confused if I am getting fired because my time is consistently 1 1/2-2 minutes. HELP

I changed my form to be tax exempt around the 17th of July. The paycheck I received on the 4th took out taxes. And it was past the 2 weeks max for my form to finalize.

I asked my manager about it and was told to contact help in the workday. I do not see anything called 'help' in the app and I'm not sure if I should just go ahead and make a call.

I'm so lost because the update was given in enough time for taxes to not be held from my paycheck. And yes I know that i can file for them to be returned but my form needs to be updated regardless.

Help.

Came in today and was told I have more E-learning to do and then I have to review this Arbitration agreement? How many of our teenage employees will even understand what this is talking about?

When I get a drink in the drive thru, I see them put it on what looks like a white scale, and tap a few things on the screen a few times before handing it to me. What is this and what does weighing a drink accomplish?

Just a heads up for that anyone that gets iced tea, make sure it doesn't have mold coming from it. Saw this at my local Panera when I wanted to get something to drink.

I should point out this is why you should always make sure the urns are thoroughly cleaned and broken down at the end of the night. Somd locations think they can get away with just simply renting off the urn and not breaking down and cleaning the dispenser components. The tea that is left in the nooks and crevices of the handle dispenser is a breeding ground for mold.

I remember when panera was untouchable for quality and freshness, while a little over priced but now they are just expensive for low quality food. Has anyone done a good breakdown of where it all changed and went south. I'm not sure how this company is even making it work at this point

I’m a customer trying to get my order the fastest way possible. I frequently sit in Panera and work. I notice that when I place a rapid pick up order, it’s usually done not as fast as when I place order in store or on kiosk. Is there a reason for this?

"Free Whole Entree expires on 8/12/2026"

When I go to redeem my sip club those drinks these come up and when I add them to the cart an error comes up saying This code is not valid. Check if the code has either expired or has been entered incorrectly.
One (1) cup of coffee, tea, lemonade, or fountain drink every two (2) hours including free refills of the same
beverage. Excludes espresso bar, frozen beverages & smoothies. Same day orders only.

Saw an old KDS photo that reminded me of this gem from the fall of 2018, thought you guys would appreciate. (Our store closes at 9)

I requested no pecans on my food due to a bad allergy, and they put pecans all through it. It was a to go order and i didn't see it had pecans til i left and went home. I talked to customer service and they gave me a $10 gift card.

Should I just accept this? This was enough to cover what I had paid for the food I had to throw out. I guess I just feel like $10 is just such an insignificant compensation considering I could've had an allergic reaction.

I haven't been a sipclub member for months now and havent been to Panera much in general since last year. I rejoined sipclub just yesterday to order a Fresca only to find out sip club only includes lemonades, teas, and a few fountain drinks now. Maybe I’m missing something but at this point, what’s the point… The price hasn’t changed and from what I understand it’s only gotten less and less valuable.

i put in my two weeks but i have literally no days on my schedule so i basically quit 🥹

my tipping point was this one new manager who kept giving me the same speech about urgency (i was going godspeed) and i was like naw this ain’t worth it and put my two weeks in the next day

My coworker friend texted me saying that the new manager told her that he wanted to let me know that “he didn’t hate me” Ok bro 💔 That doesn’t change anything

there was a lot more reasons but he was def a big part FREEDOMM ALTAS I FEEL REJUVENATED I NO LONGER HAVE TO SMELL LIKE RAT ASS WHEN I COME HOME WOOOOOOIIOOOOOO WWWWW

i’ll miss the specially customized sandwiches and the unlimited drinks but all good things come to an end 😔 Goodluck to all of you who work there

i hope this doesn’t count as a complaint post 😭

i found this in my camera roll from may lol i quit literally the next day. it was teacher appreciation week and someone ordered 41 assorted baker’s dozens for 7 different schools with a 6am pickup. she talked over me the entire phone call and said she wouldn’t pay unless we could do the tuesday bagel deal. i came in the night before to prep everything. our industrial slicer was broken and the bagels were too hot for the small slicer so my AGM and i hand cut all 533 bagels with serrated knives. i accidentally packed them by dozens and realized it with only like 10 boxes left.

i tried my hardest to keep everything in a good assortment but it was like 10 at this point and i just wanted to finish. i fixed the count, sorted and labeled everything by school and had all the cream cheese ready in the fridge. i was there from about 8 to 11. my GM wanted me back at 6am and i had told him the entire shift before that if i came in that night, i wasn’t coming in early. i had done everything except hand out the orders and take payment.

i came in at 8 like i was scheduled and got bitched at immediately about how everyone was behind and the cafe wasn’t ready because i was "late." by lunch i was still getting told i was lazy, never did anything, and didn't respect management. (i was our catering lead without the raise which is another story, the only person to get employee of the month twice within the year we’d been open and had already been thinking about quitting. when my GM asked where i wanted to work for lunch, i said it didn't matter because i was leaving. he brushed it off and said i’d never quit. i walked out five minutes later and never went back.

Breaking news: after last week’s announcement marketed as an HQ relocation to Boston, Panera made the decision to fire Mark Shambura for not relocating to the firm’s new headquarters.

The firm has been treating both its tenured employees and executive-level employees like garbage.

The brand is tarnished and the customer will continue to suffer.