Panera Bread

I LOVE the Panera Bread chain of restaurants… But this unfortunate review comes after some pretty lacking customer service. After the gym one evening I stopped in about 1.5 hours before closing. There was one customer in front of me and one register open. The customer was asking a lot of questions and taking her time with her order… completely fine as its her right to take as much time as she would like. After about 10 minutes of her order placing her order and extending her conversation with the Panera employee, I started making eye contact with one of the two managers that were walking back and forth behind the counter attending to inventory and matters of the like. I was hoping they would jump to one of the other registers after acknowledging to me that they lady in front of me was taking quite a long time. Finally after 17 minutes (Yes, I timed it on my phone) the lady in front of me was finished and I finally got to place my order for a you-​pick-​two.
This 2-​star review is not representative of the years of amazing service I have experienced at other Panera Bread locations, but rather the persistent neglect from the managers at the Reston Town Center location on an evening this past December. How could he keep just making eye contact with me after SOOOO much time continued to pass and not make an effort to resolve the situation? This was just disappointing and an unfortunate experience.

I love the food and the prices and usually don’t have an issue but whoever took our order dodnt seem to understand me or know what she was doing. This was today around 3:30. It was quite busy so that didn’t help. However Greg is awesome even if he hates the Steelers :)

I want to commend the manager on duty today, Andrew, who took care of a catering omission from the Herndon location. He quickly replaced the lunches that were missing from our order, even though it wasn’t his mistake, and even gave me some cookies for my trouble. Excellent service, far and above the norm. Thanks Andrew!

I really enjoyed my sandwich at Panera because the bread was so freshly baked. Much yum.

I came here Thursday after work with a coworker to grab a quick bite and get some homework done.
We almost skipped coming here, because the sign wasn’t lit at all and it was already dark outside. It wasn’t until we walked much closer that we realized people were still inside.
It also isn’t immediately noticeable that the entrance to Panera requires first walking into the lobby of the Hyatt.
I guess besides it’s uninviting, un ‘are you even open’ vibe, service and food were just fine.

Nice healthy tasty food options available, but I’m most excited by their new Rapid Order system. It’s a game changer — order online and your order will be waiting for you about 10 – 15 minutes later at their pick up area. No need to ever talk to a person, and the website (or smart phone app if you prefer) is very user friendly.

Customer service is the worst I experienced in Virginia and DC. Slow, rude, confrontational when asked if the tuna was albacore. The manager stood and stared at me while this went on as I did something wrong. Panaera get it together, rude employees is what will drive everyone away.

Rude, slow service. Stopped in at 8:30 in the morning, they weren’t very busy and still the girl behind the counter was slow and rude. I ordered one of the bagel packs and some pasties. She rolled her eyes at me because I decided not to order a chai tea latte when she explained they were pre-​made with 2% milk and couldn’t make it with soy milk. She took a very long time to gather the bagels. I will drive a little out of the way next time to go to a Panera Bread with nicer employees.

Wrost location ever! Customer service was horrible. The cashier was rude she didn’t ask us what side we wanted and when we asked the server if we could have chips she said no and that they were out of apples. Not only that but when we got to the drinks and expected there to be water cups there weren’t any when we requested one from the cashier she threw it at us. Overall worst Panera I’ve ever been to.

Big Panera Bread fan. But, this location sucks. Been here a few times. Lines are long because they are short staffed. Had a panini today and the bread was hard and stale. Unfriendly staff doesn’t help. Short, limited wifi connection times. Poor management. I live in Reston town center and this would be my go to place. But, they don’t really WANT my business so I’m not coming back.

Great for online ordering! Saves credit card info, always on time, not always hot, but great bagels and always plenty of coffee!!!

This Panera bread location has gone downhill fast. They don’t even deserve the one star. The coffee station is always out of milk. The bakery cookies and desserts Always seem to be a day or so old. When you order sandwiches the presentation is sloppy with the way they cut the bread and just throw it on the plates is unappetizing. The booths are in bad repair and falling apart some have exposed wood and nails. The ladies bathroom is filthy.
They have the rudest manager her name is Trish don’t ever think about doing work here or sitting to have a conversation because you’re not welcome even when you buy lunch. Save yourself the time and money and go to a better Panera location or one of the finer restaurants in Reston town center.

15 minutes in line, 10 minute wait after register to revive what I ordered: a Latte. That’s it. Not a huge elaborate meal. Not a smile from an employee, the most half hearted thank you I have received in years from anyone. The only saving grace is that I didn’t pay for it because I used a gift card. This was not a peak time and the only reason they had a line was because they caused it. Will be avoiding this Panera when I come to Reston Town Center in the future.

Worst run panera I’ve ever been to. Arrived at 9:15 for a cup of tea. Tried to order a coffee cake –which couldn’t be identified because there was no sign. Had to go back and taoist utensils so I could eat it. Coffee service wasn’t being maintained: No hot water, out of cream, no lids for cups. Long order line. Lots of staff, they all seemed to be going out of their way to avoid interacting worth customers. Dirty tables.
Normally, I prefer Panera over competition. Not this time!

This is a solid Panera location! I went in to order tomato soup on a weekday and it was ready quickly and tasted delicious. Their bread was very fresh and the small meal was quite filling. Their service was good and there is plenty of seating both inside and outside (probably one of the biggest Panera restaurants I’ve seen, in terms of seating). I would certainly visit again.

Without a doubt the worst Panera I have ever visited. I work in the town center, so I would appreciate having Panera as a quick and easy option for lunch during breaks.
However, I have eaten here probably about 5 times and will never go back, unless the management changes their practices. No visit has ever been enjoyable.
For starters, they are frequently out of items on the menu. This wouldn’t be a huge deal if they let you know when you order the item they’re out of. Instead, they let you wait for 10 minutes, thinking your food is being made, then they turn on your buzzer, but when you go to pick up your food, that’s when they tell you they’re out of what you ordered (in a rather rude manner, may I add). So at this point, you have to make a split decision on what else you want because the «cooks» are just standing there staring at you.
In addition to this, service takes forever. Every time I have gone in, there’s only one cashier working and a line of 10 people. Waiting for your food is also a time consuming process because then the people standing behind the counter making the food are either talking and socializing or no where to be found. You can’t really do this sort of slow service when you’re a fast-​food style restaurant in an area that’s business is mostly people on timed lunch breaks from work. In addition to this, they are rude. Heaven forbid you need an extra fork or something. They act like you’re asking them to move a mountain.
Finally, the restaurant is dirty. Other Panera’s usually have high standards of cleanliness: tables are clean for use, the floor is swept, etc. There is no indication of that there.

This is probably the worst Panera I’ve been to in a long time. On two separate occasions friends and I were let down here.
The first time we came, they were not serving sweet tea, which is what my pregnant friend was craving. Strike one.
One morning we came in here for breakfast around 10 and they were not only out of fruit cups, but the lady said she was going to make me one fresh. That statement was clarified when I got my fruit cup and most of the fruit in it looked like it was a week old. The strawberries were barely clinging to life and looked slimy… several of the blueberries were starting to disintegrate. She didn’t make me a «fresh» fruit cup, she made me «an additional fruit cup» because they had sold out of them that morning. Big difference, it was awful.
On top of the fruit cup disaster, my apple crumble muffin tasted oddly stale which was a real bummer. Definitely not baked fresh.
After the last incident, we steered clear of this location — and I suggest you do as well. Management is obviously not paying attention here, and it shows.

Being at the Reston Town Center you are looking at a busy location. I was able to get in and out fairly quickly since I ordered an ice tea and my friend ordered a coffee. Both our drinks required us to fill our own. I thought this was weird since when I go to Starbucks someone hands me my drink.

Yikes! This place, just by virtue of its location, is obviously going to be super-​busy and it is pretty busy. Given this, it’s horribly staffed. They only had 1 person taking orders for the majority of the time I was there.
Oddly enough, the seating area is pretty empty, but I think that’s because most people take their food to go as they check out. I stopped by twice in one morning (once to sit and eat a bagel and once to get a muffin to go) and this seemed to be the general trend. The seating area is nice, however. It’s good to finally see a Panera where tables and chairs aren’t a measly 1 foot away from each other.

Before coming to Virgina this May I had never tried Panera before. During my one week stay — I actually went there (not same place) not one, not two but THREE times. I came to like their Rustic Penne Bolognese very much. Insane I know. Same pasta three times in a week…
I made the mistake to order a small portion the first time, so I had ti try the large portion (hence the second time). The third time was here in Reston and just because every lunch place in town was crowded and also I wanted an light and easy lunch, without sitdown service.
It is perfect to order take away from Panera and have you lunch at the tables by the town fountain. This is super! Be late or super-​early to get a seat.
On the downside of this chain is that it is impossible to do any changes of your order as everything comes preprepared before they put the finishing touches before serving. meaning you cannot add or take away anything from the sandwich or pasta. (The guest before me wanted the pasta «dry» and the sauce beside which was impossible since the dish is already mixed in a bag before shipping…)
Also, supernice girl taking my order!
They accept AMEX.