Panera Bread

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OPEN NOW - Closes at 9:00pm

I ordered lunch for myself and colleagues using the Rapid Pick-Up Service. Today, 06/10/15, I placed my order at 12:50 PM for pick-up at 1:15 PM. I entered this location at 1:15 PM and went to the pick-up shelf and my order was not ready. I stood next to the shelf for 5 minutes before one of the cashiers asked if I was ready to order. My response, "Oh, I'm just waiting for a Rapid Pick-Up order." She turned to the counter behind her and told the location's Manager (Josh) and he looked at the screen and replied "It was submitted 1 minute ago this isn't Jimmy Johns (as he scoffs). Tell him we'll have it done in a few minutes." Josh did not realize that I could hear him and when his cashier staff (3 team members) heard his response, they all laughed with him. From my perspective, as the customer, this type of response is completely inappropriate and was unappreciated. It reflected weak leadership and promoted an unfriendly or unaccommodating environment.



When Josh realized I had been standing there, he walked away and came back another 5 minutes later to tell me, "So what time did you order this? (My response 12:50) Well, ya know, there may be something wrong with our system but it's unbelievable the amount of people who will order from their iPhones while sitting in the parking lot and come in expecting their food to be ready." Offended by his previous comments and his current insinuations that the situation was my fault, I replied, "Yeah, as a customer I don't think this should happen, so hopefully someone can fix it. I'm okay with waiting." My order was completed by 1:35 PM and I left the store.



On my way back to the office, I called in to speak with Josh about his comment. However, he was unavailable so I asked to speak with another Manager at the location. A female manager answered and I explained to her that overall, I appreciated Josh finally approaching me but that his Jimmy John's comment came off as offensive and unwelcoming, as a customer of her location. Her response, "I'm sorry to hear that." I said, "I am a frequent customer and his comments were unappreciated and that this has tainted my Panera experience." She replied, "Well I hope that you have a better experience next time." I said, "Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there will be a next time." Ending the conversation she replied, "I hope that you have a nice day." and she hung up the phone.



When I arrived back to the office, a few pieces of our order were either missing or incorrect. We were missing a french baguette, were given a cup of lemon chicken orzo soup when we ordered a bowl, and my kale Caesar chicken salad did not have Parmesan cheese. I know that with the Rapid Pick-Up service "accuracy matters" and the slogan is inviting to speak with managers of the location so that they can amend the mistakes. However, after the aforementioned experiences occurred, I do not think I can approach these individuals with anything related with a customer service goal and I am confident that Panera's Corporate members would agree with me.



I hope that there are measures that Corporate can take to ensure that my office can comfortably order from this location again, as we have ordered at least twice a week since their grand opening. A personal apology from Josh would also help, as I am not a strange face to him. Providing the members of this new location, of both team members and leadership, with proper guidance in communicating with their customers may also help so that this does not reoccur. As a professional myself, I am hopeful that this feedback will be useful in maintaining the quality that comes with the Panera brand and continued success of its newest locations throughout their expansion. My colleagues and I do not require compensation or additional gift cards for future visits, but I'm sure that those would also be helpful in reconciling this negative experience so that we can welcome future experiences at Panera into our business.