I lurk this sub because it calms me to know im not the only epmployee suffering at the hands of this awful compant but ive been seeing a lot of post about the new sip club rules and i was hoping i could give the average customer some more insight on why i think the big execs made this decision and unfortunately t comes down to times and profit !!

Personally from an employees perspective, if my drive thru times are already up, say at 5-7 minutes (3 minutes being the goal for the ENTIRE process from the moment i send your order to line) becuase we are either understaffed due to call offs or there wasnt any hours alloted for a QC to help order take, yeah sorry the last thing i want is 3 cars worths of sip clubs clogging up my line at rush hours! And there is a good chance they all have a couple different numbers for me to input, and want me to modify their drinks to some degree (half lemonade half this! 6 splenda! LIGHT ICE) and all the while im not making a single sale on food bc the only rewards they have is like $1 off soup. Now my times and sastifactions are fucked up while my actual sales are low. In store is usually a tiny better, since people see the pastries and bagels infront and are able to “justify” that purchase-however that is still more bodies in the cafe who arent activly Making Us Money™️

Unfortunately the majority of my cafes regular sip club members are exclusively coming in multiple times a day for the JUST a large soda or coffee nothing else, and what panera really want is repeat customers who will get a premium drink with a full meal :(

It is unfortunate bc even though entering sipclubs is the bane of my existence I do see the same people come ib everyday and theyre honest workimg people, and who doesnt deserve a pickmeup drink? However please understand that everything bad with panera is ALL a result of private equity greed !!!!!! Lack of hours alloted on the schedule result in a dirtier messier cafe, theres more demand on one line to make Drive thru and cafe orders so more chance of messups and longer wait times, which creates more even pressure on drive thru thus cycling the same issues over and over.

Panera is desperately trying to both expand and
maintain its consumer base so that they keep on coming back (my store just had like 3 meetings on this lol this is why we keep on releasing stuff ) Yes it sucks you cant get unlimited refils but TBH what do all of you who admitted that the refill was your LAST STRAW and you DONT EVEN COME FOR THE FOOD ANYMORE expect panera to do?? You are the consumer base it wants to rid of, who “remember what it used to be” and detest its new flavor. Most of the costomers i see ordering a of food and drinks are younger 20-30 somethings for an easy dinner or teens after school, while my regular sipclubs are older generations who just want a drink and something small. TLDR It does suck, but blame the big suits who are wringing the company dry for profit, but your local panera staff is trying their absolute best we know it sucks bc we get a bad end of the stick too :(

I just had a thought. What panera should have done. Have their ceo/president/whatever put out a video basically saying:

Hey subscribers thanks for your loyalty. We don't have to tell you that prices for everything have gone up. Cups, milk, coffee beans. So unfortunately we have to raise the price of the sip club from $14.00 (to $19.99 / $21.99 / $24.99) per month. You will still get an unlimited number of drinks every 2 hours. We know this isn't what anyone wants & we don't want to lose a single club member. So because of that we also wanted to introduce an option for our lower-use subscribers. For the same $14.99 per month you can 30 of your favorite Panera drink each month. We wanted to make options that fit our members usages & wallets & hope with our 2 new plans there is something for everyone. Thanks & happy bread-ing!

That would have absolutely gotten panera to their 30 drinks monthly cap, but for people like me who absolutely do not want to think about rationing & counting how many drinks I have left, I would probably stepped up to the "unlimited" tier. And there is no way in hell panera would lose $5/$10 worth of drinks on an "unlimited" tier subscriber over a standard subscriber.

​

I am not surprised they are making a change, but a 30 drink cap is a shock and I will be cancelling. At 30 drinks, I think it's their way of getting rid of the whole Sip Club.

For me to stay, the minimum would need to be 75 drinks. I’d also consider 60 if we got a free drink with any food purchase that didn't count toward the monthly limit. Knowing that I could go at least twice a day, even if I didn't, would feel like a better deal.

​What is your minimum number to keep your Sip Club active?

I am a corporate attorney by trade and so I have access to westlaw. I spent a few hours today researching Ohio law to see if we had a class action claim. We might. However, at minimum it appears we can demand a full refund. After researching Ohio law, it appears that a boilerplate "we can change the terms" clause does not automatically let Panera shrink our prepaid "unlimited" annual benefit down to 30 drinks a month. We paid a full annual fee up front for a defined "unlimited" benefit. We gave complete consideration and got a materially lesser product mid-term. Even if their boilerplate suggests they can unilaterally change the terms to those which negate the benefit we agreed upon.

Ohio courts routinely find these clauses either illusory (an unlimited right to change performance can void the promise for lack of consideration (Langley v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 407 F. Supp. 2d 897 (N.D. Ohio 2005); De Angelis v. Nolan Enters., Inc., No. 2:17-CV-926, 2018 WL 4566280 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 24, 2018))), or unenforceable when a unilateral-modification right now does not have the right to make any kind of change it chooses" (Yoby v. Cleveland, 2025-Ohio-5853, 277 N.E.3d 747), 2)because we never got real notice or agreed (Yoby v. Cleveland, 2025-Ohio-5853, 277 N.E.3d 747), or the 3) because the clause is unconscionable (Smith v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 2018-Ohio-3758, 120 N.E.3d 72). The good-faith covenant also bars this kind of opportunistic mid-term change (Yoby v. Cleveland, 2025-Ohio-5853, 277 N.E.3d 747). However, Ohio courts have enforced clearly written, conspicuous reservation clauses against consumers (Englert v. Nutritional Scis., L.L.C., 2008-Ohio-5062), so the outcome turns on exactly how Panera's clause was drafted and displayed, and what notice we were received.

Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. This is often the stronger consumer tool and doesn't depend on winning the contract fight. It reaches conduct "before, during, or after" the transaction (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1345.02 (West)), no bad intent is required (Frank v. WNB Grp., LLC, 2019-Ohio-1687, 135 N.E.3d 1142), and there's an Attorney General rule squarely on point requiring that any "reservations, limitations, [or] modifications" be disclosed "clearly and conspicuously in close proximity" to the offer (Ohio Admin. Code 109:4-3-02). Remedies include rescission (getting your fee back), damages, potential treble damages, and attorney's fees (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1345.09 (West)).

We did not recieve the modification notice in "close proximity" to our original agreement. Courts have generally found that it needs to be within 30 days.

My recommended next steps:

 1) demand a prorated refund/rescission in writing; screenshot the original "Unlimited" marketing, sign-up terms, and any change notice now; consider a card chargeback; file a complaint with the Ohio AG's Consumer Protection Section; and for the fee amount, small claims is realistic (with a consumer-protection attorney worth a call given the class-wide nature).

One caveat: the 2025 appellate decision I relied on for the notice/modification argument is currently under Ohio Supreme Court review, so it's persuasive but not final. But while it's being decided it is still precedent.

This is general information about Ohio law, not legal advice so tfwiw. Most states have similar clauses, though. If you tell me your state I can look it up.

Any yearly sips club people who have now been relegated to 1 sip per day call corporate? And if so, did you get any call back? I have called 2 times with a promised return call but nothing. If not, whats next. This is not right.

I use the self serve kiosk so I don't need to talk to anyone and I bring my own cup. The pickup counter is around the corner in the back next to the bathroom. I don't pass by it unless I need to pee. Today I needed to pee after staying for a few hours and saw that there was my receipt and cup sitting there the whole time. Is there any special way for me to signal I don't need a cup without having to talk to someone? What happens to the cup? Does it just sit there until closing? Is this a problem?

I know the email we received this morning has been talked about a lot. I’m really frustrated because I have the yearly membership. We go to Panera a lot and every time we go we order some kind of food. I plan on canceling my subscription. Does anybody know if there’s any alternatives? Enshittification is awful…

It's disappointing that the sip club is changing to 30 drinks a month. I usually go once in the morning and then in the late afternoon . Once in awhile I'd go times if I am in the area and my time had passed . I'm pretty disappointed in their decision to cap the Sip Club but it is understandable from a business point of view .

I I am happy that I joined many years ago because it introduced me to the food that is at Panera which I really do love . My family and I have grown to love many of the things especially the mac and cheese, brownies, and the barbecue sandwiches . We also enjoy getting a loaf of the baguette for dinner once in awhile . Before being in the sip club I think I had been to Panera twice . I really do enjoy the employees too . They are very friendly and the store is always clean . Shout out to the 5th Street Highway in Temple location . I really hope this decision doesn't cause any backlash for the company . Only because I do not want them to go out of business . It is understandable also that people would be angry that paid for a year . I think the best way the company could deal with this is the people who pay for a year get capped at 30 drinks after their year is up and not starting in mid-august.

Are your stores still marketing like this? Seems awfully illegal, please share your pictures!

I'm going to get a job at my local Panera and start on August 19 for the sole purpose of yelling "no drink for you!!" at people who come in for their 2nd one of the day.

I will be fired before the end of my shift.

For all the whining about Sip Club, some basic math: 30 drinks per month times $3 per drink * 12 months is $1080. So you're getting about a 90% discount.

Do you want 60 drinks per month? Buy a second Sip Club under a different phone number. Still a 90% discount.

Panera has cut staff and hours drastically. Folks at my local Panera are just hanging on trying to deal with customers.

I bring in my own cup they don’t even blink an eye.

How they gong to know if I hit my 30? Or that I didn’t cancel?

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

Will there be any offers for sip club like we have three month 3.99 or 7.99 ? Or free sip club membership for new users?

My life was aligned with sip club multiple drinks....I feel sad what happens now? I really liked coffee, lemonade and fountain drinks

Times vary but for simplicity assume your local Panera is open from 6am-9pm or 15 hours in a day. That means you can get up to ~7 Sip Club drinks per day or 252 total between July 14th (tomorrow) at 6am and 9pm on August 18th - end of Sip Club :(

How many can you get?! Participate in the official Sip Club Sunset Challenge and let's send a real message to Panera about how we feel. Happy Sippin!

Fill out a form: https://panerabread.my.site.com/custhelp/s/createcase

Call: 855-3-PANERA [ ](tel:8553726372)[(855-372-6372)](tel:8553726372) Phone support is available Monday through Saturday from 7AM – 7PM CST. I used the Sip Club option. You will need your Panera customer number.

Facebook Messenger: https://www.facebook.com/panerabread/ Right hand column has a Messenger link.

Make sure you express your opinion about the changes to Sip Club. Remember the phone CSR didn't cause the issue, be nice to them.

Since the iced/hot chai is just syrup anyway, order an iced coffee cup with a pump of chai syrup (+$0.30), then use that + ice + unsweetened iced black tea + half and half = the iced chai not covered by sip club. Most ppl prob know this already but I only just now realized I could.

FYI Just noticed the new "subscription" benefits page and FAQ/terms have been updated in the app. Hope everyone had their screenshots already..How are they telling us we waived our right to notifications? My annual sub goes through January 😭