High school and cult mentality stay away - Finance - Accounts Payable Panera Bread Employee Review

1.0
11 Aug 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work from home - flex hours -nothing else

Cons

-No matter how hard you work you won't be considered for promotions. Management already has their favorites picked out to move up -Just like high school is a popularity contest, the people who suck up get awards and move up -Workloads are very uneven- according to favoritism -There is definitely sexism going on. Women working for 10 years no promotion, guy comes in, no office experience at all, 1 year and gets promoted. Another year and promoted again. Surprisingly its the manager's buddy(manager is a guy). -There is NO benefits besides health insurance and its very expensive. They literally get the cheapest plan for them, more expensive for employee. -Don't expect an employee discount! As I said, there is no benefits but health insurance, I guess there is 401K but they literally contribute nothing -When you start they will try to wash your brain - "we're a family,.. diversity,.. blah blah".. none of it is true. Don't drink the koolaid. There is tons of backstabbing going on and they will trash talk you the minute you decide to leave. The CEO is a NUT JOB he plays guitar and sings his songs at company meetings while everybody is obligated to watch. Super awkward. It really does feel like a cult at times. They used to do a bread "homage" at company meetings and they literally passed out baskets and people would grab a piece of bread and pass the basket. Kind of like communion. Super weird.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
24 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible hours/scheduling, straightforward work, and a great work environment.

Cons

Pay could certainly be a little higher for associates but besides that its been a pretty solid experience working for Panera Bread.3

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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