First of all, the Paneras on Long Island are all franchised, so I don't know how they are nationwide, but they treat us great! Whenever new stuff comes out, we usually have a meeting sort of thing (we used to call them “bread bashes” but I dunno anymore, we stopped for a little while but then started again) where we get to try the new stuff and learn how to make it. At the one I work at in Hauppauge, the management tends to be very laid back, but still assertive. Meaning, if you do something wrong, you know about it, and if guests complain, they tell you what's going on and expect you to know how to fix it. But other than that, it's a great environment full of fun people to talk to while doing whatever you're supposed to be doing. For instance, I work on the line, so while I'm making sandwiches/salads/giving people their orders, I also tend to talk to the guests or other people who work with me, and the managers do so as well (and they're good to talk to as well). We have regulars, and we generally know what they're going to order before-hand. Also, between the people who work on the line, we like to try to guess what people are going to order, do things like that. I have fun working there, and I know a lot of my coworkers do as well. I'd work during school too, but I don't have a car to travel to the nearby Panera (I go away to school).

There will always be people who aren't motivated, or people who don't like their job, no matter where you work. I tend to get very annoyed when my coworkers do dumb things like halfass an order. But stuff happens sometimes. Occasionally the computer malfunctions, or an order gets “bumped” early and we have to ask a guest for their receipt or verify their order. A lot of the time this happens with to-go orders, because while the computer lets us recall to-stay orders, it doesn't let us recall to-go orders, and if one of us accidently “bumped” one off the screen, there's no way to get it back. That usually explains the few times we forget about an order. We tend to pick up on those rather quickly, though, unless you sit down (in which case, we have a bunch of bags behind the counter, but don't know where they go because there's nobody waiting for them, and the order got bumped from the screen). Another thing that happens sometimes is confusion with the trays on the counter. This happens because when it gets busy, two people will “consolidate” the orders. One person generally sets up the trays, and the other will put soups on them. Sometimes the first person knows what he/she's doing, but the second person isn't aware that the first person went slightly out of order because someone ordered something that'll take longer than the others, and will put the wrong salad on the wrong tray. This is almost always fixed before we call your name, but people tend to take the order before we're finished with it (which is usually fine), which causes confusion for us and for you.

That's about all I have to say. I'm happy to hear you're happy with us (:

I'm not the only diehard Panera fan. Some combination of food, style, and setup is very appealing to me as a consumer. Totally respect that this is not the case for everyone though.

I like Panera. I think my wife and I go about two times a month.

I think the food is good. It's not great (it's too salty, for one), but it's good. It's certainly better than many other fast food restaurants' offerings. But I really don't have any trouble finding similar quality anywhere near me…I just have to avoid chain restaurants.

I am really struggling to see how the customer service is anything special, however. They take your order, you pay, then you go to the pick up counter where you can see the order prepared, if you know which one of the 100 they're making at the same time is yours. Then you pick your order, fill your drink and fight for the other million customers for a table. This is in no way different from McDonalds, except that the surroundings are cleaner and more attractive.

I've seen my food get dropped on the counter.

I've seen my order put on another customer's tray, then transferred to mine with some of the fillings left on that other customer's tray.

My order's been wrong more than once.

They've forgotten about my order until I reminded them about it.

There is absolutely nothing special about their service. It's typical minimum wage service…sometimes you get lucky and get served by someone who gives a s***, sometimes you don't.