hazing sabotage & torment is everyday treatment by the managers. it's terrible, humiliating, degrading, de-humanizing. - Anonymous employee Panera Bread Employee Review

1.0
7 Apr 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Serving the customers, making their espresso drinks

Cons

The "Culture/environment." VERY POOR rushed pos training, which is a very complex touchscreen sub-category menu with limitless modifications to each food dish that takes 3 weeks to learn & you are expected to in 2 hours, the line worker sneers at you like little devils if they have to bring you peanut butter, they rip into you to blow off their own stress for no fault of yours, they run out of breads during lunch rush & don't tell you so when you ring up an order they can yell at you again, 10 hour shifts of standing, catering coordinator always interfering with your job & snapping at you, tripping over you, bumping into you, reaching in front of & across you to grab things, no respect of personal space, the supervisor tells you to switch out coffee for them or make barista drink orders, & when you do, the gm scolds you for following instructions & tells you NEVER to leave your register for ANY reason, complete inconsistencies in communication & protocol between managers, they cut your hours to 10 a week to get rid of you, they lie to you about everything, when you call them on the phone they dodge & avoid confrontation claiming to be too busy, the managers are a nightmare straight out of hell & the few employees that they do like are mini-reproductions of them. The hectic hostility creates anxiety, which spills over onto your personal life outside of work & causes post-traumatic stress syndrome & extreme burnout.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
12 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great people management treats you well

Cons

Hours inconsistent pay is low

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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