Panera Bread: Is it Worth the Wait?

Let me begin by stating that I really love Panera Bread and their menu selection. Their choices of bagels, breads, sweet treats, soups and sandwiches are far better than any other bakery or sandwich shop I have visited and the items are always fresh.

I visit Panera at least a couple times a month and have never encountered an issue with the quality of the food being served. It has always been fresh and served at the proper temperature for what has been ordered. The pricing of their products are close inline with local competitors who are also in the soup and sandwich business and the associates working the location have always been pleasant.

There has been an ongoing problem with the preparation time of my order on more than one occasion. Actually, it is more the norm than an exception to have to wait more than 10 minutes to have an ordered prepared, at least at the location I visit. I personally believe that it is a bit much to expect a customer to wait more than 10 minutes for a soup and sandwich order to be prepared. During my last visit to the Panera Bread location near my work place, I placed my order for a bowl of soup and a tuna salad sandwich on bread, not toasted, at 6 PM. There was one customer being served ahead of me in line, so I expected fast service, but my order was not filled until 6:18 PM. Needless to say, my 30 minute lunch break was more than half over by the time I was able to being eating. Is it too much to expect service in an establishment of this type to be closer to the 5 minute preparation time? The location typically seems to have only one associate available to fill orders during the time I usually am scheduled for my dinner break, so maybe it is just my dumb luck. But, in my opinion, I do not think the management at the corporate level or at this location has much appreciation for their dinner time customer base. I have called the chains survey phone number on each visit date and made the same complaint each time, yet the location has not contacted me or made any noticeable changes to correct the problem.

Although I have continued to visit this location, I am not sure how long my patience will last, or the great taste of their menu items will draw me back.