ComplaintsforPanera Bread Co

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I accidentally signed up for a trial of the Panera ******** on October 11, 2023 and have been charged every since without my knowledge through my business checking account. Upon this discovery today when I went to order my daughter food via my computer, I noticed that my email address came up automatically as a sign in option. I clicked it and tried to sign on. I couldn't, so I reset my password. When I signed into my account, it showed that I was a member of the *** club and my payment details showed my credit card ending in 6961. I looked at my credit card statement to find no charges that matched this. After this, I called Panera to discuss what was going on with my account. I did not recall using this account. First, I was told that there was no activity on my account since 2023. Then, I was told that the last charge on the account was Feb 12. After asking further, I was told that the account was used on May 17. I could not receive further details about this order as I do not recall them nor did I give authorization for them. When I asked what card was charged the representative stated she couldn't tell me, but could verify if I gave the information. I asked about the last four digits above and she stated it wasn't that, it was via ***** pay. I do not use ***** pay. When I looked into this further, I discovered that somehow these charges are being made to my business debit card, not ***** pay. My apple pay account was linked to something totally different. I have spent over $145.97 on a service that I was unaware even existed. I asked for a refund of this amount and was told that I would get $30 back to my account. I said no because I had not even known this existed. I am upset that I have clearly not used this account, did not know how to access it, and it is being fraudulently charged in a manner that I have never used. I would like a full refund please. If there were purchases made, I will gladly pay the menu price for those items.

  Business response

  10/14/2024

  I have reviewed your request for a refund of a recent renewal charge for your ****************** Subscription. Unfortunately due to the findings of that review and that ***** pay as to be manually signed into a linked Apple device, we are unable to process your request for a renewal charge refund per our terms and conditions agreed to during enrollment. If you believe these charges are fraudulent then you'll need to reach out to your bank for further assistance on this. 
  

  Customer response

  10/17/2024

  Complaint: 22415530
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because: this subscription was not knowingly signed up for and was not known to me.  Please provide the transactions conducted with this subscription service so that I may further investigate.  If there are no transactions, clearly indicating that this service was not willingly and knowingly signed up for, please refund the amounts charged.  I will be seeking further action through my bank and/or attorney.  I appreciate your time.  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ****

  Business response

  10/17/2024

  Thanks for reaching back out to us about this. Due to the agreed to Terms and conditions for our Coffee Subscription that are manually accepted upon enrollment we are not able to process a refund for these past renewals. If you feel these charges are fraudulent you will need to dispute with your bank, since your Apple ID was and password was required to submit your ***** pay as the method of payment for this subscription. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Dear Panera Bread Customer Service,I am writing to complain about an incident at your ************ location in ** on 10/7. As an ****************** member, I was unfairly asked to leave for allegedly staying too long at a dining seat.On a slow weekday morning, I visited the ************ Panera Bread to work and use my ****************** benefits. I occupied a seat for about two hours, which I believe is reasonable given the low customer traffic. I ordered beverages as per my subscription.A staff member approached me, stating I had overstayed my welcome. This occurred despite available seating and no apparent policy limiting seating duration for paying customers or club members. This treatment was embarrassing and contradicts Panera's welcoming ************* a valued customer, I expect respectful treatment at all Panera locations. This incident has made me reconsider my ************ resolve this, I request:A formal apology for the unfair treatment.Clarification on Panera's seating duration policy, especially for club members.Assurance that Newport Mall staff will be retrained on customer service.

  Business response

  10/09/2024

  Thanks for sharing this with us and we also received the guest's email that he sent to us directly on case ********. While this is unfortunate to hear, *********** locations are able to have either location or area specific rules on dinning room seating arrangements, time in cafe and bathroom access at the cafe level or area level discretion. Since this location is a franchise, I've reached out to them to confirm what their area and location policy is for seating time in the ******* location.  A *** from that team should reach back out to the guest soon. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Sept 5, 2024 at 7:24 PM went into Panera Bread and purchased food which included a tuna sandwich and left a gratuity of $2 (total came to $27.23). About 3 minutes later, before we received any food, the clerk says they are out of tuna. Informed the clerk if no tuna, just cancel the order. He asked his manager for assistance to process the refund. The manager processed the refund back on our credit card for $25.23. Wife asked him why we did not get a full refund? His response was it was their company policy never to refund gratuity. Wife responded that a gratuity is for good service and or good food, for which we received neither. Manager would not budge. We feel this is dishonest and we would like our $2 refunded.

  Business response

  09/24/2024

  Good morning, 

   

  A member of our guest care team will reach out to the guest via email and attempt to resolve. 

   

  Thank you. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Case reference ******** I am writing to express my deep disappointment regarding a recent experience with my order. Last week, I ordered a vegetarian Caprese sandwich, but to my dismay, I discovered pieces of what appeared to be cheesesteak meat inside my sandwich. The meat was of unknown origin and had a greyish color. Unfortunately, I did not notice this contamination until I was nearly finished with my meal, at which point I opened the sandwich to inspect it, and a piece of meat fell ****** a vegetarian for over 10 years, this incident was particularly distressing. My dietary choices are very important to me, and this mistake not only ruined my meal but also violated my commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle. I reached out to your team and was only offered $25 in coupons via email, which I find highly inadequate considering the circumstances.Furthermore, I responded to the email to address my concerns and request a more appropriate resolution, but I have yet to receive any response from the customer service agent. This lack of communication has added to my disappointment, as it seems my concerns are not being taken seriously.I am requesting a more substantial reimbursement that reflects the impact this incident has had on my experience with Panera. I look forward to hearing from you soon with a resolution that appropriately addresses this matter.Thank you for your attention to this issue.

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  Good morning, 

  With a promo being used on this order the total came out to $16.20. I believe the agents was attempted to not only replace the promo that was used on the order, but cover the cost of both of the sandwiches on the order which the 2 $10 rewards did. The agent that was being corresponded with was out of office. However he did add an additional $10 rewards to your account which we do see was used the same day it was added. I added an additional $10 reward to the account as well. If this is still unsatisfactory, please feel free to respond to the email sent yesterday morning. 

   

  Thank you!

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *******

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went to cancel my *** club subscription, instead of cancelling they offered me a deal for $3 a month. Which I accepted, in addition to the $3 a month chrage they charged my credit card $16.34 which was not authorized or agreed upon by the terms of the contract. They literally stole $16.34 from me and refuse to refund it. When I called they said we'll just cancel your service and we do not give refunds.

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  Thanks for reaching out to us about this. I have reviewed your request for a refund of a recent renewal charge for your ****************** Subscription. Unfortunately due to the findings of that review and that your request was made well after the renewal has taken place on 8/26 and that it saw considerable use, we are unable to process your request for a renewal charge refund per our terms and conditions agreed to during enrollment. We are able to confirm you are no longer subscribed for future renewals. Since we are not going to be able to refund this charge, our agent who spoke with you on case ******** has provided you with a $20 ********** reward that will be good to use for *************************************** full since it does not give change. 

  Customer response

  09/23/2024

  Complaint: 22313052
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:

   

  Why don't you tell the truth on what you actually did? 

  When I went to cancel the membership, I was provided with a $3 a month offer which I accepted, then you chose to charge my card the full $16 then then next 3 months were scheduled to be $3 a month.  You clearly charged my credit card for a membership I did not have. 

  You can frame this any way you want but at the end of the day you stole $16 from my credit card without authroization and your customer service *** cancelled my membership and subsequent $3 a month terms.  

  I am ltierally offended by your claim of "After considerable use"  Who do you theives think you are?  
  

  You are going to find yourselves under a class action lawsuit for theft and mis***resentation. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  We're sorry to hear that you are unsatisfied with our response. We've reviewed your account again but we did not see a $3.33 being accepted or applied to your account prior to the the August 26th renewal or at all. Even with that since you reached out to us almost a month after that renewal took place on 9/20 and since the subscription has seen considerable between the renewal and the cancelation on 9/20 we will not be refunding this charge and find this matter resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  09/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered Panera from location ************************************************************************ through ********. I do NOT wish to contact this specific business because of a previous very bad experience with a rude manager. My issue is this: When I received my order from Panera, the pastries and bagel I ordered were all in the same bag, just throw in the bag with nothing else. The pastry "frosting" was all over the other items and bagels in the bag and it was just a bad mess. Nothing was individually wrapped or packaged. In addition to that, the bad was just OPEN with no stickers or anything so the driver just had my open bag of open food. I was not comfortable enough to eat any of the pastries or bagels. I also ordered a half sandwich and soup, which actually did have a sticker on the bag, but the bag wasn't even folded and the sticker was so far to the right edge of the bag it did no good. Why would they not fold and put a sticker on the bags for delivery orders? Especially LOOSE food with no protective packaging whatsoever. Nobody would want to eat food delivered like that. Just a horrible practice.

  Business response

  09/17/2024

  Thank you for sharing this one with us. We're going to reach out to the guest via email using case ******** that we generated with this. We're going to request some more order details and the order number so we can assist further on this issue. 

  Customer response

  09/20/2024

  Complaint: 22294587
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
  
  The business stated they were going to contact me through email.   The attached screenshot is the response -- it states I was contacted through phone and they want me to do a survey.  This is completely NOT accurate.  They did not call or email me, but sent me that survey about how they did from an employee named ****, who never contacted me.  

  At this point, I don't even care about a response - I will just not be a customer of ******************** anymore.  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  Hi *****, 
  
  Thanks for getting back to us here. I actually emailed you through Case ******** back on 9/17 and only the survey email reached you. I'm going to send you the same email again to the *********************************** email address you provided and list the same thing below. If you could get back to us or reach out to us directly at ************ if you want to talk to someone by phone. That would be much appreciated. 

  Below are the questions we are asking for so we can look into this. 

  - The bakery-cafe location (this will be listed as a charge on your credit or debit card statement as "PANERA" followed by a six-digit number starting with a "6" or a "2"): ****** - *************

  -Order # (if ordered online, you can find this in your order confirmation email):

  - Order total:

  - Name listed on the order:

  - The date of your visit and time of day:

  - The type of credit or debit card used to place the order and last 4 digits of the card:

  - Was the order placed through a MyPanera account?

  - Details about your order:

  Which items were missing or prepared incorrectly?

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After ordering online from Panera the store. Was unable to fulfill the order. Instead of the order being canceled the refund immediately. I was told to call the corporate offices and I would get a refund the process is absolutely horrific. I have waited a month for my refund and know at that call center is able to do anything. It is disgusting that a million dollar companies treats their patrons like this

  Business response

  09/09/2024

  We would like to thank the guest for her feedback and we can understand the frustration. When she originally reached out to us on August 10th we did offer to resolve with either a egift card or rewards since they are faster then a refund but the guest declined and requested a refund. Since we submitted that request and are working with a franchise that has it's own finance department we have to wait the estimated 30 business day time frame, which should conclude on around September 24th. As advised her her call ******** today, we are not able to cancel the refund and change it to alternative appeasement method once started. If the refund is not completed by Sept 24 we can review that request again. 

  Customer response

  09/09/2024

  Complaint: 22259256
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because: The order was placed on august 9th 2024 there is no way every single person have to wait 45 days for a refund and there is no way to expedite the process. it is 100% not my fault Panera Bread took money from me and can not process the refund in timely manner. At the time the gift card was an option, I did not want to take it because of the issues at the store. 
  

  Now it seems like the one thing you guys can do is take money from us and then just read from a pre written text. 
  

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  09/10/2024

  While we can understand the guest's frustration on this. We have done as the guest has originally requested and submitted a refund for her and advised her of the refund process. Until the **************************** the Franchise who we've reached out to, to notify them of this. We will not be able to change the appeasement method from the requested refund to something else. 

  Customer response

  10/15/2024

  Hello, I was told to you write back if I have not gotten my refund my 10/15/2024 and I still have not received it 

  Business response

  10/15/2024

  We'll need to double check on this since we received a refund completed notice from the Franchise that was handling this back on 9/10 and was advised a $25 egift card was sent to the guest's ********************* email as well. We can see the gift card was accessed but we'll need to check with the franchise on the former. 

  Customer response

  10/15/2024

  Complaint: 22259256
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because: I never received the refund back to my card now Panera needs to do more that give me a 25$ gift card. I have waited almost three months for my money and the time I have invested in this is ridiculous. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

  Business response

  10/17/2024

  We did hear back from the franchise and they advised us that a refund was processed and completed back on 9/10. We asked them to double check and touch base with the guest on this. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought 2 bowls of chicken noodle soup. There was no more than 3 bites of noodles, chicken, carrots. ALL BROTH.also bought a grilled cheese sandwich that was nothing more than a gooey glob. How do you mess up a simple grilled cheese???My money is tight and this was supposed to be a treat. We ate 3 bites of soup and couldn't even eat the grilled cheese sandwich. WASTED $30

  Business response

  09/09/2024

  Thanks for sharing this with us. It appears ***** is already working with one of our agents by email on case ******** and this will be resolved there. I've forwarded what the guest provided here to the agent handling the case. 

  Customer response

  09/09/2024

  Complaint: 22255288
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because: the *** hasn't responded in 2 days. I tried calling and waited on hold over 10 minutes  never did speak to anyone.  I need a proper response to my complaint and a refund.  When am I to expect this *** to "handle my complaint "?
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  09/10/2024

  I have reviewed the dialog the guest has with our agent ****** on case ******** and she was originally offered $30 in rewards which were turned down so the agent went with the guest's request and submitted a refund on the order. ***** has also been advised by one of our refund specialists named ******* that the refund has been sent to our franchise partner and that this process can take a estimated 30 business days. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This is in regards to my complaint with panera bread ******************* location, panera corporate should have record of this complaint as reference #******** about being given the wrong sandwich. The location offered me a free sandwich but as I told them I don't live in ******************** very rarely come there so id like another option so I can use it at my local panera location. Either a free sandwich coupon or gift card would be fine. Thanks

  Business response

  09/03/2024

  Good morning, 

   

  We will respond to the guest through the email chain in case 05067709 . Communicating through that chain is the quickest way for our team to resolve. 

   

  Thank you. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello, I have been incorrectly charged for my ******** after cancelling it back in summer of 2023. I have attached evidence (credit card statement) that my sip club was cancelled. This shows me being refunded after being incorrectly charged (post cancellation) for July and getting a refund. However, after this, I continued being charged up until now. I am extremely disappointed in Panera Bread charging me, despite me cancelling my subscription. I have been a loyal customer and been buying big lunches for my teams for years, but this really makes me rethink this.I spoke to customer service, and they somehow weren't able to find that I cancelled my subscription in their system and are using this as an excuse to not refund me. The fact is, my own bank shows the refund for the credit card that is on my Panera account, and if this doesn't show up in Panera's system, its not my fault.

  Business response

  08/29/2024

  Thank you for sharing this with us. Unfortunately, we are not able to find a case number or a prior case under Mr. ******** phone ending in 1797 or his email ********************. So unless a different contact set was used we do not have a past record of contact and would like him to reach out to us directly so we can assist properly. If he can provide us with the contact information he used to contact us prior or the case number and or the cancelation confirmation email he would of received if his subscription was canceled we can review his claim and go from there. 

  Customer response

  08/29/2024

  Hi,

  I have discussed this with Panera bread, they state they did not provide a cancellation email and cannot even view the refund in their system. This leads me to believe their ability to view their paper trail is inadequate for searching up the number on my account and my email. My bank, thankfully. Holds these records, and I had that refund statement there.

  Business response

  08/29/2024

  Hello, 

   

  The screen shot appears to be a dispute that was done through their bank rather than being submitting through Panera. With the email and phone number provided we are unable to see any calls or emails received. We send confirmation emails when a guest reaches out and asks for us to cancel. If the guest could provide our team with a cancellation confirmation we can look into this further. 

  Customer response

  09/03/2024

  Complaint: 22208505
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
  
  The screenshot demonstrates that my bank confirmed that Panera bread incorrectly charged me the amount for the subscription in July '23 and refunded me. This can be tied to my account through confirming the credit card on file I had paid with at the time at Panera bread. 

  The fact that Panera Bread is unable to confirm this reversal internally is alarming. How can me as the customer, expect to receive a communication confirming the cancellation, when Panera's own bookkeeping records do not confirm the existence of this transaction. I am glad I have my bank statement, because otherwise it really seems that Panera bread is unable to properly record transaction history.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩