Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Service at Panera Location 6391 Carlisle Pike – September 7
I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment with the service my husband and I experienced at your location on Sunday, September 7, at approximately 11:15 a.m.
Upon arrival, there were seven guests seated in the café and five customers waiting at the counter. No employee was present to greet or assist anyone. Although five employees were visible in the kitchen/prep area, none acknowledged us. In addition, a visibly pregnant employee restocking the beverage station walked past us four separate times without a greeting or acknowledgment. After waiting for about five minutes, we eventually noticed a self-order kiosk and placed our order. Other guests, many of them older, clearly struggled with the kiosk and appeared uncomfortable using it.
This is unacceptable and reflects poorly on the Panera brand. When multiple employees are on shift, there is no justification for ignoring customers at the counter and forcing them to use kiosks. This creates an impersonal and frustrating experience for guests who come expecting hospitality and service.
Furthermore, I attempted to order a bacon soufflé that was prominently displayed in the case. I was then informed the item had been “retired.” If items are no longer available, they should not remain in guest view, as this misleads customers and adds to the dissatisfaction.
It is important to note that the café was not busy at the time. The lack of acknowledgment and refusal to provide basic service were not the result of volume but rather a failure in staff training and engagement. If employees are being paid for their time on the floor, they should be consistently attentive to the guests who make their employment possible.
As loyal customers who work hard for the money we choose to spend dining out, this experience was both disappointing and disheartening. Based on this visit, we will not return to this location and are now reconsidering our support of the Panera brand altogether.
I urge Panera to address these service issues at this location with urgency. Guests should never be left feeling ignored or undervalued, especially in an industry where hospitality and service are paramount.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Ella Herbert
I came here at 6 pm. The service was friendly and food delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Blurgletur
As a broke student with a sweet spot for coffee, the ability to get caffeine at a low cost through the Sip Club promotion is phenomenal. I go to lots of different Paneras to study, and this one is a good place to be productive. Not too busy, and there are ample outlets if I need to charge my laptop. Atmosphere is nice, and the eating areas and bathrooms are clean.
Prices on the food itself should be lower, but that’s an issue with Panera Bread at any location, not specifically this one. Their rewards program is a must if you eat here on the regular. Will definitely come back to grab a drink and study! 👍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Raymond Ng
Food is good, but it’s the slowest penera I’ve ever seen! Compared with the old location, this new location take forever to come out a sandwich! Make sure you have at least 30 mins to spend at the restaurant before you order it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
John Mulder
The food here is good when it’s made properly. Today was the second time in a row where we made a mobile order (where the specifics of our order were written down) and the order was still messed up by the assembler either ignoring my wife’s modifications or giving us the wrong order Only reason they didn’t get one star is because the food actually is decent and because management corrected the issue. However both times we were in a rush and really didn’t have the time to go back and wait for our food to be remade Please do better. It’s not hard to copy instructions written right in front of you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Laura Strunk
The French Onion Soup was really good. My husband got a sandwich that was incredibly small...
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Michael Taylor
One star. Even though the food was good, I’ve never waited so long for a soup and salad in my life. If you don’t get an 82-minute lunch break, go somewhere else.
Jason Boushard
Slow as Molasses no wonder they have 2.5 stars on Yelp.
ida foltz
Clean great staff and the pastry really good
Lorette Cale
Ordered sandwich w/out onions, but came with onions. Had to ask for cups for our drinks and had to produce our receipt to get them. We were there for an hour +, no one cleaned any of the tables.
We frequently order dinner for the family on Friday nights from Panera on the app. Not again. What a fiasco. Ordered at 6:30 via the app for drive thru pick up, got another email at 6:45 that it was running behind, went into the store to check on it at 7:00. She says she's making the sandwiches now. No problem. Never got an email saying the order is ready. Go back in at 7:15, the order is ready now but they say they didn't know I was there cause I didn't go thru the drive thru. She said I needed to go thru the drive thru so they know I am there then they make the food....what??? When I get back to the car, the email says its ready and to 'Enter the drive thru'. Not worth the aggravation or the $60.
Mischelle Y. Moyer
The $15 meal was very mediocre. Onion soup was just that--3 croutons and very little cheese. The Greek salad was mostly all lettuce. Very disappointed. 🫣
Barbara Meier Weeks
Food was mediocre. I had a gift card and could not use it because the cashier said he had already totaled my order. I did not have time to speak to a manager, but this place is over priced for the quality of food.
P A
I ordered the You Pick Two: a Greek salad with chicken and a Frontega Chicken Sandwich, along with a side of chips. My food was delicious, and I thought the portions were good too. I also ordered hot chocolate. The total came to around $19, which I do think is a bit pricey, but at least the food tasted great. Sometimes you pay this amount for poor quality and service, but that wasn’t the case here. Overall, my experience was good. I would definitely go back, though I can't afford to as often as I’d like
Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Service at Panera Location 6391 Carlisle Pike – September 7
I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment with the service my husband and I experienced at your location on Sunday, September 7, at approximately 11:15 a.m.
Upon arrival, there were seven guests seated in the café and five customers waiting at the counter. No employee was present to greet or assist anyone. Although five employees were visible in the kitchen/prep area, none acknowledged us. In addition, a visibly pregnant employee restocking the beverage station walked past us four separate times without a greeting or acknowledgment. After waiting for about five minutes, we eventually noticed a self-order kiosk and placed our order. Other guests, many of them older, clearly struggled with the kiosk and appeared uncomfortable using it.
This is unacceptable and reflects poorly on the Panera brand. When multiple employees are on shift, there is no justification for ignoring customers at the counter and forcing them to use kiosks. This creates an impersonal and frustrating experience for guests who come expecting hospitality and service.
Furthermore, I attempted to order a bacon soufflé that was prominently displayed in the case. I was then informed the item had been “retired.” If items are no longer available, they should not remain in guest view, as this misleads customers and adds to the dissatisfaction.
It is important to note that the café was not busy at the time. The lack of acknowledgment and refusal to provide basic service were not the result of volume but rather a failure in staff training and engagement. If employees are being paid for their time on the floor, they should be consistently attentive to the guests who make their employment possible.
As loyal customers who work hard for the money we choose to spend dining out, this experience was both disappointing and disheartening. Based on this visit, we will not return to this location and are now reconsidering our support of the Panera brand altogether.
I urge Panera to address these service issues at this location with urgency. Guests should never be left feeling ignored or undervalued, especially in an industry where hospitality and service are paramount.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
I came here at 6 pm. The service was friendly and food delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
As a broke student with a sweet spot for coffee, the ability to get caffeine at a low cost through the Sip Club promotion is phenomenal. I go to lots of different Paneras to study, and this one is a good place to be productive. Not too busy, and there are ample outlets if I need to charge my laptop. Atmosphere is nice, and the eating areas and bathrooms are clean.
Prices on the food itself should be lower, but that’s an issue with Panera Bread at any location, not specifically this one. Their rewards program is a must if you eat here on the regular. Will definitely come back to grab a drink and study! 👍
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food is good, but it’s the slowest penera I’ve ever seen! Compared with the old location, this new location take forever to come out a sandwich! Make sure you have at least 30 mins to spend at the restaurant before you order it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 1
The food here is good when it’s made properly.
Today was the second time in a row where we made a mobile order (where the specifics of our order were written down) and the order was still messed up by the assembler either ignoring my wife’s modifications or giving us the wrong order
Only reason they didn’t get one star is because the food actually is decent and because management corrected the issue.
However both times we were in a rush and really didn’t have the time to go back and wait for our food to be remade
Please do better. It’s not hard to copy instructions written right in front of you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
The French Onion Soup was really good. My husband got a sandwich that was incredibly small...
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
One star. Even though the food was good, I’ve never waited so long for a soup and salad in my life. If you don’t get an 82-minute lunch break, go somewhere else.
Slow as Molasses no wonder they have 2.5 stars on Yelp.
Clean great staff and the pastry really good
Ordered sandwich w/out onions, but came with onions. Had to ask for cups for our drinks and had to produce our receipt to get them. We were there for an hour +, no one cleaned any of the tables.
Restaurantji Recommends
We frequently order dinner for the family on Friday nights from Panera on the app. Not again. What a fiasco. Ordered at 6:30 via the app for drive thru pick up, got another email at 6:45 that it was running behind, went into the store to check on it at 7:00. She says she's making the sandwiches now. No problem. Never got an email saying the order is ready. Go back in at 7:15, the order is ready now but they say they didn't know I was there cause I didn't go thru the drive thru. She said I needed to go thru the drive thru so they know I am there then they make the food....what??? When I get back to the car, the email says its ready and to 'Enter the drive thru'.
Not worth the aggravation or the $60.
The $15 meal was very mediocre. Onion soup was just that--3 croutons and very little cheese. The Greek salad was mostly all lettuce. Very disappointed. 🫣
Food was mediocre. I had a gift card and could not use it because the cashier said he had already totaled my order. I did not have time to speak to a manager, but this place is over priced for the quality of food.
I ordered the You Pick Two: a Greek salad with chicken and a Frontega Chicken Sandwich, along with a side of chips. My food was delicious, and I thought the portions were good too. I also ordered hot chocolate. The total came to around $19, which I do think is a bit pricey, but at least the food tasted great. Sometimes you pay this amount for poor quality and service, but that wasn’t the case here. Overall, my experience was good. I would definitely go back, though I can't afford to as often as I’d like
Service is extremely slow.
Loading...