stick with what you got - Panera BreadAssociate Panera Bread Employee Review

1.0
Dec 16, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I loved working at Panera when I first started. The people were good, the food was great, and the customers were, on the average, much less annoying than what they could have been.

Cons

This company, for a few years now, has put a huge restriction on raises for its Cafe's, meaning that what you get paid is what you get paid, and once you have been accredited to all the modules you can be, you get a dollar raise total, and the rest depends on your yearly share between you and all of your coworkers out of the 4-6 dollars of raise each cafe gets. They very much like to stick you to where you are, and to squeeze out what they can out of you before you realize what's going on and move on.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
Jul 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everything is great here! The food, the people, the atmosphere. It’s a wholesome company.

Cons

Have only had good experiences here.

3.0
Apr 18, 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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