Underpaid, overworked and at the mercy of management - Hourly Associate Panera Bread Employee Review

2.0
16 Jul 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There is a 65% discount on days your work. The food is great and you often get free pastries at night. If you have other commitments there is some flexibility regarding your schedule.

Cons

The store didn't make enough to hire the right amount of people. Their way of handling this was to make one person do dishes and dining room at the same time. Management refused to rotate jobs so I would get stuck doing that constantly. When jobs occasionally changed, there were still a chosen few who never washed a single dish. I was also consistently assigned the tasks of other employees while they stood around and had conversations. I was on the schedule for my first eight months of employment with only one skill. Once I finally did have five certifications, I was promised a promotion and was blown off for seven months while other people were allowed to move up. When I was allowed to perform, even the district manager saw me as a leader. Once new management came in, the turnover rate increased, customer satisfaction went down and it seemed as if my workload doubled.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
29 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

very flexible and accomodating to my school schedule

Cons

was very unorgaized at times which made things difficult

3.0
18 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

GM at this location is very on top of things, because it's the busiest Panera in Queens. Consistent hours. Shifts go by very quickly, especially in the morning.

Cons

Location is extremely busy so it gets very stressful, especially in the morning when someone is out / there is no second cashier scheduled so the single cashier in the morning has to clean the coffee counter, refill coffees, make drinks, stick bagels in the oven & serve those bagels, check and bag up RPU/delivery orders, get bakery items for barista screen, and ring up customers. It can get really intense when many people come in, which is most of the time. You will be running back and forth like crazy. Customers can be impatient, rude, demeaning, and nasty when the line gets too long. Not recommended for people who are sensitive, with high anxiety. As for Panera the company, this chain keeps making bizarre and difficult changes to the menu, all of which make employees' lives harder and harder. With every change comes strange, dismaying, and borderline impossible expectations for frontline staff that cascade down through management who cannot do much to alter the hard policies. You can tell the company is struggling greatly to keep itself relevant with the younger crowd (a solid 80% of customers are old people). The CEO and everyone making company decisions at Panera is extremely out-of-touch. EXTREMELY. With every nonsensical menu & operations adjustment, you can tell these people haven't actually worked at a food service job in like 40 years.

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