On September 2, 2026, at approximately 12:30 PM, I had one of the most disrespectful and frustrating experiences I’ve ever had at this Panera Bread location.
I was picking up an order, something I do regularly. Normally, I go to the pickup area, collect the order, and if it isn’t ready, I wait. Until today, the employees I’ve encountered here have generally been friendly, professional, and helpful.
Today was completely different.
The team leader working at the delivery/packing station displayed an absolutely unacceptable level of unprofessionalism. My order consisted of essentially soup and bread, yet I stood there waiting for roughly 20 minutes while she moved with absolutely no sense of urgency and repeatedly ignored me. The restaurant was not busy enough to remotely justify that kind of delay.
What made the situation worse was the attitude. I genuinely felt as though my order was being deliberately delayed and that I was being treated differently because I do not speak Spanish. Whether that was actually her motivation or not, no customer or delivery driver should ever be left with that impression because of an employee’s behavior.
It eventually took a senior manager stepping in before my order was finally packed. That alone says plenty.
This is America, and customers should be able to expect basic professionalism and respectful service regardless of what language they speak, where they were born, or what their background is. I am an immigrant myself, and I have always understood that working with the public means respecting people’s time and treating everyone fairly. Language diversity is not the problem here. The problem is arrogance, indifference, and an employee apparently believing that another person’s time simply does not matter.
If you are a team leader, then act like one. Leadership means setting an example—not ignoring people, dragging out a simple order, displaying an attitude, and forcing a senior manager to intervene before doing your job.
People picking up delivery orders are working too. Every unnecessary 20-minute delay can affect another delivery, another customer, and ultimately someone’s income. Nobody should have to stand there begging for basic acknowledgment while an employee behaves as though serving them is an inconvenience.
Panera Bread should review who was assigned to the delivery/packing station at approximately 12:30 PM on September 2, including the circumstances surrounding this order and why management had to intervene. If this is considered acceptable behavior from someone in a leadership position, then there is a serious management problem at this location.
I will not return to this location after this experience. What happened today was disrespectful, unprofessional, and completely beneath the standard I expected from Panera Bread.