Panera Bread

This Panera seemed understaffed and under-​stocked. They were out of all of my first choices and most of the tables were dirty when I walked in. However, our cashier Akilah was very friendly and accommodating. Food was like every other Panera you’ve been to.

I ordered my food online. I was told it would be 10
minutes. I come in, the cashier is by herself. The manager is shooting the breeze with a table in the restaurant. I tell the cashier I’m here to pick up a to-​go order. She walks over to the takeout window to look for my food. It’s not ready — it hasn’t even been started. She walks into the restaurant to talk to the manager, who literally gives her a dismissive wave and tells her to get back to work and leave her alone.
She finally gets up and proceeds to tell me after another 5 minutes of lackadaisically making conversation and washing her hands that they’re out of what I ordered 15 minutes ago. The cashier was nice enough to offer me one of the sandwiches for free, but i tell you, you couldn’t pay me to come back to this location. First and last time without a doubt.
Serious management revision needs to be done if you don’t want your restaurant to become a laughing stock.

Will not be returning to this location they are ALWAYS out of everything. Any other location you go to is overflowing with pastries and such and has great customer service. Carson is always one big disappointment, consistently.

If you’re hungry and are taking food to go do not eat here. They will forget your food and someone in your home will go hungry that night. In this case it was my 9 year old.
This has happened TWICE in the past six months. I don’t understand why this Panera has a hard time checking orders. It’s not that hard.
I called back both times and all they offered was to replace my food. Really? Making me drive all the way back and you offer nothing for your screw up? That seems fair.
What’s even more irritating is the lackadaisical attitude of the staff. Like it happens all the time.
BE WARNED

I was on hold for a little over 12 minutes trying to place an order for pick up. My coworker arrived to the café before the Panera employee answered the call only to tell me to hold longer. I quickly interrupted him to tell him I had been on hold for 12 min but before I could finish he cut me off. He said «CALM DOWN WE WILL BE RIGHT WITH YOU» with a bit of an attitude. I had to hurry up and finish telling him that I was going to hang up because my coworker was going to put the order in person. Ugh. I was so darn chipper this morning and he almost damped my spirits. I just hope the soup is better than the customer service. I’ll keep you posted.

Last month, I ordered online for rapid pick-​up. Included in that order was my free birthday treat When I got home, I discovered that part of my order was missing, including my free birthday treat. I called Panera Bread to speak with a manager. After a long wait, I finally got «Ari», the store manager. He not only offered to replace my missing treat, but also offered me a free full meal. That was pretty cool.
Today, about a month later, I went in to redeem what Ari had promised. The man at the counter, who looked like a manager, said Ari is no longer there. I wasn’t sure how to ask or if I was still able to get my free food. I explained what happened to the man, whose name is «Q». He assured me that it’s fine and he can help me. So he took my orders and included a note on the back of the receipt (for records), and I waited for my food.
It’s customer service like this, that keeps me coming back to Panera Bread and particularly this one! Thank you to Q for helping me and for being very kind and helpful.
I choose «Pick any two», and ordered my favorite fall soup «Autumn» and a chicken salad sandwich. For my treat, I choose the «Pecan Braid».
The soup is a mix of various squashes, more used during this time of the year. Pureed with cream, and topped off with pumpkin seeds. So tasty and delicious. Perfect for cold weather. Wish it was available all year round. Included is a piece of baguette or a roll.
The chicken salad sandwich is really good. Creamy and a generous amount of chicken.
The salads here are great too. I love that if I request extra dressing or croutons, there’s no hesitation… the staff is easy to ask.
Thank you for making up, for the order mistake last time. Also, thank you for always showing kindness to us customers.
Sometimes orders aren’t complete, but they always make an extra effort to correct it. Along with the great healthy foods, decadent sweets, fresh breads and bagels, free wi-​fi, and online ordering… I keep coming back!

I received such wonderful customer service from Schott and Leah. They helped me and my friend pick out an desert. They were very friendly. The food was delicious.

So I hate raw onions, and need a serious caffeine hit to wake up. And I was very hungry couple of minutes ago…
Having said all above, I was standing in line, looking at the menu and picturing how I’m going to indulge my soul with «a hot double espresso with a dash of soy milk, followed by a half of warm Mediterranean veggie sandwich on a flat bread and having the other half as warm melting ham and swiss pennini… oh man… I don’t know what I ordered and said to the cashier… But as I was waiting at my table almost falling back sleep after a long wait, a nice, sweet waitress shows up with my two half sandwiches… Both looking alike, made on cold wheat bread, onions are popping out of one of them… Nothing like the pictures in my head. Oh!!! It’s okay… I can still enjoy my coffee. There’s still hope. It’s cool… Oh wait! Where’s the coffee by the way??? I asked the nice lady after I asked her to remove the onions for me. She said «coffee, you have to go pick up from the counter» I heading to the counter preparing myself to take that espresso shot. Nothing is on the counter. oh there she is, the lady who got my order with my coffee. she’s asking. I didn’t know how much milk you wanted in the there:/ I’m like aaah its okay. And adds and wasn’t sure if you wanted the milk hot or cold. I’m like aaaa hot. She says «its kinda cold»
Perfect :D anyway… I had the sandwiches and I’m not hungry anymore which is the whole point of eating… The coffee I’m still struggling… Probably going to take another shot in a while. life goes on.

This Panera location is conveniently located near many major stores (Target, Ikea, etc.). The service is fast and location is kept clean. We sat inside on a colder day and the staff there was very kind at getting us a table cleared off quickly so that kids and I could sit.
Our food was made correctly and took less than 10 minutes to arrive on a very busy day. The food was well prepared and tasted fresh.
This location is worth trying!

Came here frequently to study during undergrad. Now more for meeting with my clients. Food is pricey but good.
Location/​Parking
Shared with mall parking. Not very much parking in front of the restaurant.
Ambience/​Interior
Nice and quiet until late afternoon /​evening crowd of CSUDH students started to arrive. However, the place was buzzing with good conversations and chattering of utensils. Very spacious and clean.
Exterior area
There’s a small patio outdoor setting which is directly in front of the restaurant. Very small but nice enough to enjoy a meal outside.
Bathroom
Always clean
Staff/​Attentiveness
Staff was nice and friendly.
Highly recommended for first dates, study groups, and meeting clients.
Only down fall– not many outlets to plug up laptop.

I’ve always enjoyed the food at Panera for their consistency around quality and service. However, my experience with my recent order fell short from any other experience that I’ve had in the past. While my catering order was ready and perfectly made to order and the gentleman, Brandon assisted me to my car the side order for myself was less than favorable. I had placed a side order for a power breakfast sandwich (turkey, egg whites, spinach and avocado). What I received once I arrived at work was 2^nd-​grade science project to see how food discomposes. The turkey that was added to the sandwich was, but the size of a quarter and the avocado was tar black. What was surprising was that any establishment would train their employees to believe that level of quality is sufficient to present to customers. What was even more unsettling was the level of service that I received from the store when I called. While I was upset, I wanted to inform the management of the level of quality that employees were presenting so that a training opportunity could be provided. The manager that I spoke with did seem concerned, however, once I explained the situation she agreed to refund the transaction but never called as promised to follow-​up on the experience or even offer some sincere remorse. While I do not and didn’t expect a grand production over what occurred, I would have expected that the manager from the store would have contacted me back to ensure I received the fax for the refund of my purchase.
The key with mistakes is that they do occur; it is how leadership/​managers rebound from them to regain a customer’s loyalty and patronage that matters. Sadly to say, I do not believe Panera will gain my business or the business of my company again in the future.

I ALWAYS get the BEST service here! Je’re takes care of me the best! Shae as well. Bottom line is, Panera Bread in Carson is one of the best and had the most friendliest staff I have ever come across. They greet you with a smile and ALWAYS polite. I work in Sales and Service with LA Galaxy, so to come here and get this kind of treatment makes a guy feel special.
So I come back here daily for my soup and other great salads!

Like the food at Panera, but this location is not my favorite.
I have been twice both times my soup was nearly cold.
With the long amount of time it took to get to my table you would think it would be heated properly. The order line can get long and very slow.
Today the only cashier was too busy chatting and gossiping with a friend to take orders while me and 2 other customers wait for her to come back to «„WORK“» reality.
I guess its OK behavior at this location as the manager mill around but didn’t seem bothered by waiting customers. So there you go if the management don’t view it a poor customer service the employee’s won’t either. I finally got to the cashier she didn’t greet me or even thank me at the end. quite an ill-​trained employee overall

Took 23 minutes to brew coffee
I kept seeing people walking around with hot cups of coffee.
But no dispenser.
So I went to the front desk and asked if I can have some coffee yet they kept telling me to wait.
By the time it was placed and I grabbed some it was all watered down. Making me think they poured some for others before realizing it would reduce strength for the bottom of the pot

I’ve never had an issue here & if I did they promptly fixed it, apologized & provided excellent customer service (I mean are we human or nah, people make mistakes) it’s all about how we overcome it ;)
Anywho, super friendly staff, clean, a/​c & delicious food — today I tried the Roasted Cranberry Turkey Sandwich — sweet Jesus it was yummy.
Yes, sometimes there is a bit of a wait — so clearly people love this place — relax & enjoy your food.
Also, the green tea is my absolute favorite.

After listening to Sun Kil Moon album Benji few times, I decided to go to Panera bread. Well it’s not only because of Mark Kozelek but there are no other place that’s open at 9am in this mall area. I see Denny’s but I been there too many times drunk.
Inside was pretty clean, and the ac was nice especially on this freakin hot day. When I got to the cashier I ordered Asiago bacon egg and cheese sandwich, and iced coffee.
Ice coffee was pretty watery and didn’t have much of coffee taste. Probably I screwed up in the process and put too much ice in there. You can get as much refill so if you don’t like what you created then you can try again. lol
Asiago bacon and cheese sandwich was pretty good. The Asiago bread was already cheesy, and the egg was cooked nicely. It was definitely an upgrade from your typical fast food breakfast sandwich.
Overall this place is not bad, and if you’re planning on ordering a meal it will cost you less than ten bucks.
The music that plays in the background can be a hit or miss. Reminds me of Starbucks actually. I was happy when they played The Smiths. But I don’t think Morrissey would be happy to eat here since this place is not vegan. Meat is murder…, haha

I love panera, unfortunately this one is staffed by people who have no clue what customer service should be.
I have never been to a slower, less efficient location. The management watches the line lengthen and can only be bothered to socialize as opposed to jumping in and serving customers.
I never come to location because the service is substandard.

I would give this place a better review if my order would have been correct because the food is delicious. Pretty disappointed right now. We ordered 2 «you pick 2» sets. 1 salad, 2 pano is and 1 sandwich. Asked for 1 apple and 1 baguette. They ran out of baguettes and gave us an apple. We did not want the second one, so the guy let us have a blueberry bagel instead. Just arrived at home, and we go found out the sandwich was completely wrong. It wasn’t even close to what we asked for. Bacon and turkey bravo sandwich didn’t have turkey or bacon. I’m not even sure what sandwich was given to us. I just gave an extra star because at least we got the blueberry bagel instead of the apple. 7154−6553−3371−9735−8293−82

I like Panera’s food. I also like the option of ordering online at this location. Service is hit and miss and lines are often slow and long with only one or two people working the register. I often get the veggie sandwich on Ciabatta bread, Greek salad, or French onion soup through the ‘pick two’ items option. It seems like my sandwich is made differently every time I go. Sometimes it is full of ingredients. Other times, the bread is flat with few items on it or has ingredients that I didn’t request. With the two-​item option, I’ve had a bag of chips and extra roll with my order. Other times, one is missing. If you ask the employees what goes with what, some of them don’t know.
I will continue to patronize this location. Consistency is crucial, immediately!

I am disappointed that this location has deteriorated throughout the years. The dining area is always filthy, and the service is usually rude or lacking in comparison to other locations. I will say however, that you may get lucky from time to time and get a pleasant staff member that is kind and courteous. One major thing I noticed about this location is that they tend to run out of items quite easily.
As far as the actual food is concerned, my broccoli cheddar soup was a bit on the cold side, but I never like to return items to the kitchen — even if it is just to re-​warm the item. The flavor was great — I really like the soups from here. Also, my accompanying baguette was good. Still — I really don’t like the customer service or lack of cleanliness in the dining area. Sorry not a fan!