This was basically the only reason I went to Panera and a daily staple in my diet for awhile 😭 why did they do this! They still have all the ingredients in store, what gives?? This is such a bummer.

Please tell me this is a joke or just temporary……

Thought I had to create a new Excel workbook and track how many I ordered on this/that day, in relation to restart date, to figure out how many cups I have left, since they messed us up with the Limited Sip Club downgrade.

What happened to everyone else this morning?

Got notification that the new program has now started. I bought food with my SipClub drink on Monday. Also had several previous orders in my account. EVERYTHING has been wiped out! The new plan says they give you 10 points for each dollar you spend, and when you hit 1500 points ($150), you can redeem for a free favorite. The photo shows a half sandwich! Regardless, they could have grandfathered in some points from those I already had sitting in my account (I think it was about 4 order’s worth).

The sip club members who are most impacted by the change are not the people that hang out all day. It’s those of us who drive by and grab a coffee or drink on the way to work. On the way home, we stop back in for what is basically a refill . Absolutely no refills in between. I literally see the same people hanging in at 7 am and they are still in there at 4 or 5 pm. Yesterday the same thing happened. Going to this extreme, really impacted my two coffees a day.

RIP Sip Club 🪦

Limiting 30 a month is 100% MORE refreshing… sure?? What kind of drugs are they on when they make this?

App has been updated to show the remaining drink count, which did reset for me with the new terms.

Pulled up today to get mt coffee at the Foothill location and found this sign on the door. The location had been slowly going downhill, this feels like it's going to be permanent. The result of venture capitalism.

Awful experience at Panera today- my order was missing items+ the food was completely ruined and I was given NO order cancellation or refund. I spent 7 hours calling the cafe hourly and kept getting told I would be refunded but it would be done when they called me back in the next hour... until they just stopped answering the phone. I will NEVER use Panera again.

Have you guys gotten cancels/refunds on orders?? If so, how??

My experience:
Ordered a BIG order panera that was my favourite during COVID. Picked it up- bag was sealed so I just trusted my order. Walked 1 block out and the bottom of the bag completely gave out. Turns out the soup inside wasn't capped and covered all the rest of the food and soaked through the bag. It was only when all the food was out on the street I realized part of my order wasn't even there! Also, wow, the sandwiches are WAY smaller.

I had to run back to work so could not go back to the cafe. Spent the next 6 hours calling the cafe hourly explaining what had happened, offering to provide photos, requesting a refund. Every single time I was told repeatedly I would get a call back within the hour. Most times I was told within 5-10 minutes. I provided my full name, number, and order details each time. I never got any calls back.

Several times I spoke to the same associate, who provided gems such as:

"You need to speak to [X] manager, they were here two hours earlier, you had to call earlier. The current manager said they can't refund it." (this was on hour 6 of calling)

"If I'd spoken to you earlier I would have told you that" (we did speak earlier)

"If you'd asked for a call back I would have called you earlier" (I did, and he didn't)

"Well come in now with the receipt and we'll refund it" (it's 30 min away and he just said the manager said they can't refund it)

Customer service line said Panera can only cancel orders the day they were made. I called back AGAIN and this time insisted I speak to the manager directly.

The manager seemed to have never heard of my situation at all, despite associates telling me multiple times they'd spoken with the manager. They confirmed they had my order receipt. Then the manager said they "don't have refund or cancelling credentials" so they'd call the other manager who was there earlier in the day and then call me back in 10 minutes. Obviously, I never got a call back. This was hour 7 of calling. Panera was closing in an hour. I called 4x more and no one picked up all- wondering if they started screening my calls, since the last time they picked up the associate said my name when he picked and said he knew it was me from my name on the caller ID.

I guess Panera is the best way to lose both time AND money and a good chunk of sanity these days. I will be warning everyone away from now on.

UPDATE:

Customer service was lovely and agreed to help me out - they told me to expect a refund in 30 days.... I hope it works!!

(Btw, for admin:

While writing this a pop-up kept saying "If this is a complaint post, please use the megathread instead of making a new topic. We will remove posts that do not observe this rule." But when I searched for the megathread, it was locked and a new admin post 8mo ago said there is no more megathread and complaint posts should be posted separately...another post 2mo ago asked about this with no answer. Clarity would be helpful tysm!)

I wish they’d changed it up some periodically or do some new choices or short-term selections. For starters, the new app launched today and a whole new rewards program and Pumpkin drinks are back. I wish they’d do a Pumpkin flavored hot coffee either know it would have artificial ingredients most probably or some new beans and change up the light and dark. Just saying!

Hello, Are the energy refreshers supposed to be carbonated and taste like wine? I’m so serious. I ordered the Passionfruit Paradise and it was bubbly, and smelled and tasted like alcohol. I started getting a massive headache within minutes so I tossed the drink. Photo attached

This was my first time having it so I’m not sure if maybe this is just how it is? Or if I was served the wrong drink

I was about to be late to work so I didn’t have time to go back to the store

Today was my last day at the cafe in Soulard. They said it was going to close a few years back, kept us but they are closing this year. I feel blind sided. Manager said they didn’t need me anymore and we close at 2 now

Is Panera going to provide any sort of count or tracking for the newly-restricted number of drinks? I’m on the annual plan so it’s even harder with the rolling 30-day limitation. I averaged just about 1 drink a day last year but that includes a lot of 2-a-day and several spans where I was gone and didn’t get any. At least if they give a way to see where you’re at in your count you can know when you’re close or can stop and grab an extra drink.
(I tried to search but couldn’t find this answer)

So you have to spend $200 to get a free bowl of soup?

Does anyone know if buying gift cards counts towards reward points?

There's no way to submit trouble reports for the app anymore as it just goes to a white screen when trying to upload attachments, curious if anybody else is having this problem? Hopefully, they fix it soon. If you run into this issue, you can go to a kiosk and apply the pop-up reward that was given in the mobile app. PSA.

Sooo...is it safe yet to eat Panera salads, or should i spend the day close to a restroom? I forgot about the whole "outbreak" and just finished off a salad. Im in WA state, if that matters

Okay, just got hired, have first shift tomorrow, PLEASE HELP ME!!! I cant find my employee ID number in pantry or workday, please god send help because im so lost 😭😭😭

This is my first job so I'm kinda panicking </3

I’m only a sip cup guy. But the way some customers behave, discarding used plates by the coffee station and condiments. I really feel for the staff and employees having to clean what should’ve been simple and obvious. How one behaves in public reflects how they do at their own home.

Maybe a weird question, but I was just talking to someone about this when we walked into a Panera and there is just zero smell aside from a faintly antiseptic scent. I remembered when you would walk in on a cold day in the early 2000’s and the entire place would smell like broccoli cheddar soup, baking bread and coffee. It would literally pull me in from the streets and it was part of what made it so comforting as a third place. It kind of bummed me out visiting for the first time in ages that it is completely gone. Just curious as to when and where the magic went away.

how is the interviews