Panera Bread

I found a fly in my sandwich, not once but twice. I know what you’re thinking, “well why order from their again?” well I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. This time has definitely made up my mind. This will be the absolute last time I order from Panera, and I will definitely be telling my friends and family about my experience so they don’t have to experience this!

Not at all what I expected from a Panera bread location! I tried to call customer service and let them know that the bacon was missing from my sandwich and the egg and cheese didn’t look as it had in the past. Customer service told me this is a franchise location but they will ensure that my email makes it to this location. They also informed me that if I would like to go back to return the sandwich for a refund I am free to do that. So do I let the sandwich sit in the car for two hours while I’m at my nephews recital? Or do I skip the recital turn around and go back for a refund? I would think they would be able to easily refund me or give me a credit towards a future purchase. Neither were offered.

I go to this Panera almost every day for lunch. This is really the only place nearby that offers a great lunch deal with a low calorie count. However, I have been having issues with their salads. I usually get the pick 2 with a sandwich and a half salad. Recently, the quality of the salads have taken a down turn. The first few times I visited, the salads were green, leafy, and full of color. Now, they are half green/half yellow and have a lot of white lettuce stems that offer little to no nutritional value. The soups and sandwiches are almost always up to par. That is the reason for the 3 stars. This Panera would get a better review if they would step their salad game up.

Ordered take out, arrived to find a large bag sitting on the counter. When I asked "is this order complete?" I got the world's most unconvincing "yeah" back. So I decided to check on that- missing 3 out of 4 sides. Staff was diffident, had to flag down two different people to get everything. I get that there are staffing shortages, difficult customers etc. (I took the kill with kindness approach, don't worry), but this was far below any expected standard of service. I will say, my salad was good. It was definitely a little smaller than our usual Panera but the quality was better.

We love Panera and regularly order bread from the Sunbury location. I normally call ahead and lewis center is ALWAYS out of sour dough and country loaf or have been rude about ordering only a loaf of bread from the drive thru. Sunbury is actually out of my way most days but sells all their items through drive thru if requested even pre-pandemic. Monday August 8th I decided to try again with this location. I parked and went in because (see above). I waited at least 5 mins and no one came to the register. I went to the pickup counter and asked if anyone was working the register. The girl said someone would be with me shortly. I waited at least another 5 mins and left. Drove through the drive thru. Was helped promptly. Gave my complaint about waiting on the front register and asked why no one was there. I was told that the manager was covering it. Then my bread looked like picture. Mangled and cut down the center. First time Panera cut my bread both directions. We couldn't eat it fast enough because this cutting method made the loaf dry out faster plus I couldn't use it for nice big sandwiches. Worked great for my preschooler. :/

Just being honest... because of a labor shortage, they have signs that say you must order at a kiosk. Did the order once and went to pay... screen said, "Oops, something went wrong." Moved to a different kiosk and did the order again and went to pay... screen said, "Oops, something went wrong." On the third kiosk and the third time ordering, it worked! Ordered oatmeal. It was slightly above room temperature with an amount of brown sugar on top that would put anyone in a diabetic coma. I complained to the kiosk, but it did not respond. By the way, when you order at the kiosk, you are invited to give it your phone number to receive texts. It texts you that your food is ready several minutes before it arrives on the counter. Maybe they want your food to be nice and hot so you're standing there the moment it arrives, but then I remember the oatmeal. For breakfast, Scramblers is across the street! I'd recommend that route.