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Panera Bread

1 rating since posting on Tuesday, May 16, 2006

in Indiana

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(submitted by Michael David )

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Mich...

How Mistakes are Corrected: Panera Bread Makes Good
[this edited in 5/21/06; This review begins as a rant, but follows up on the responses of the company to their mistakes. Originally entitles How Great Ideas are Destroyed One Idiot at a time and rated as 1 star, I have changed the title and the rating, based on their efforts. If you skip or read through, you'll get to the most current efforts near the bottom].

After a BAD experience which reeked of idiotic management at a new store in town, I wont be returning to ANY of their outlets unless they correct this. I sent the letter below to the corporation via their website's 'Contact Us' page. We'll see if I get any kind of response. This situation is not beyond salvage, but if I don't hear SOMETHING from them beyond a form reply within a reasonable period of time, I will call their corporate offices personally to find out if this is a franchise store or otherwise, who manages it, etc.

As a writer and reviewer, I am but a pen away from a letter to the local editor, where I am sure I will discover via reaction of other readers that I was not the only one to run into this or be troubled by it. Here is the letter I rattled off while still rather upset about the whole thing...

"Panera Bread,

Your recent promotional effort (a flyer of coupons received in the mail, featuring a FREE loaf of bread on one, as well as two different coupons) is failing in a surprisingly dissappointing way. When I first saw this I thought, Smart! They want me to come in and see their new store so bad, they will give me a loaf of bread to do it!

So I went, and turns out I showed up the day before the coupon was valid. Again I thought, smart! By getting me this coupon early, they have forced me to make two trips to redeem one coupon...slightly annoying, but likely to cement whatever impression is ultimately made.

On that visit, I asked about the coupon, which clearly says a "FREE loaf...(excludes Miche size)" and makes no other restrictions, exclusions or exceptions (no terms may vary, or participating stores only, etc). The baker showed me all the loaves which are not Miche sized and said if I came back when it was good, I could use the coupon for any Loaf not marked 'Miche', and described each of the different non-Miche loaves and the shelves they were on (the second shelf from the top & the bottom shelf at the time).

So, I came back today, @ 4pm, Tuesday May 16 and tried to use the coupon, only to be told be another baker, no, I could not use the coupon on the Tomato Basil Loaf, or any of the other Loaves clearly marked as XL (not Miche), because the Manager had strictly forbidden redemption of the coupon on those items. Of the loaves which he would permit redemption, only the Sourdough was in stock (there were several empty shelf spaces for other small loaves - poor food planning), except for some other very small loaves that were only sandwich bun sized.

Now I am angry. Because of a local manager who fails to appreciate the value of this promotion to his store (the way it got a stranger who had no intention of ever stepping foot inside to come and sample the wares and size up the service), the impression that has been cemented in my mind of Panera Bread is that the local store is run by a chincy tightwad with no forethought who would rather encourage false advertising by not appropriately allowing redemption of a coupon for the stated allowed range of goods, than win my good impression and customer loyalty.

What had started as a corporate guided tour to leave me appreciating Panera Bread has descended into a Local Manager's bad taste in my mouth, one which I am likely to spread via word of mouth if something isn't done to amend this act of bad faith.

Now all I think of is the two long trips to that store I wasted while gas was $3 a gallon, the way I was told one thing on one day (5/14) by one baker only to be told a completely different story which contradicts the terms of the offer two days later by a second baker, and how instead of bringing the expected loaf of goodness home to my dinner table, my wife, my teenagers and their friends, all I had to bring home was this tale of misery and malfeasance at the hands of a short-sighted local operator who doesn't understand the long-term value of a campaign the company has designed with forethought to improve his/her future bottom line.

I hope the savings generated in food costs today are worth the loss of business tomorrow, because I expect the niche market occupied will not generally take the time I have to explain how seriously this error in judgement has offended.

Did the Return on Investment calculations of this Franchisee's investment take into consideration the ignorance of whoever was allowed to sacrifice the customers' Goodwill?

My first encounter with Panera Bread will always be remembered by how this all is resolved. When I drive by a Panera storefront, whether its a Terre Haute store or any other, how you handle this will be what I recall until you have won me back over. The restaurant marketplace is too competitive to have to be baited into a store with one offer only to have it switched to another set of terms.

Thank you for reading this. Disgruntled in Terre Haute, Michael David... "

I provided my email addy, address, and phone # so they have no real excuse for not looking into this. I get so sick of being treated like a piece of paper jammed in a copier...FIX THE MACHINE, PLEASE!
___________________________________________________________

UPDATE [05/17/2006]

Panera Bread responded in timely and polite fashion as follows:
Dear Michael,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your visit to our
bakery-cafe. We sincerely apologize for your disappointing experience
and the misunderstanding about the coupon. You, and the first baker
asked, are correct: the coupon is good for any size but the miche.

We always strive to provide a wonderful meal, great service and a
welcoming environment for our customers. When we fall short of that
goal, we want to know about it. Thanks to feedback like yours, we can
address problems quickly. I have forwarded your comments to the District
Manager and to the bakery-cafe for review and follow-up.

We hope that you will try again. For your inconvenience, if you will
reply to this email with your postal mailing address, I will be happy to
send you a certificate so that you may have a treat on us. Please allow
approximately two weeks for delivery.

Thanks again for contacting us. We appreciate your business and value
your comments.

Sincerely,
Alice
Customer Comment Coordinator
________________________________________________________________________

As a result, I will upgrade this review from 1 to 2 stars and, pending the results of a third attempt at coupon redemption, the experience of that visit (and the product), will further adjust accordingly. Likewise, delivery of the subsequent 'treat' coupon and the ensuing experience will also accord further review and adjustment. This was my (more evenly-tempered) reply:

"Alice,

Thanks for looking into the matter. I apologize for my 'verbosity', as you know I was quite irritated. It is nice to know someone actually reads those comments in a fairly timely manner. Nicer that you seem to care enough to offer a treat for my trouble. You may mail it to:

Michael....(address edited)

I appreciate your responsiveness and hope you could see through my emotion to gain useful info.

Sincerely,
Michael David..."
__________________________________________________________________
5/17/2006 Immediate Reply from Panera:

"Dear Michael,
You are quite welcome. We hope your next visit is more pleasant (and successful).
Best regards,
Alice"
____________________________________________________________________________

Updated: Also received a personal phone call from the general manager of the store apologizing and asking me to come in for a meal on the house... they are going a long way toward a bigger upgrade of my opinion of them. If things go well on my later visits, I will raise the stars here for sure.
___________________________________________________________________________
Latest Update: I did return to the store with my daughter and we were welcomed to the free meal on Panera's as promised. While the promise only specifically mentioned me, they covered the tab for both of us. The order was, unfortunately, not exactly right, but I did not press the issue. I ordered the Portobello sandwich, and the French Onion Soup in a bread bowl while my daughter ordered something similar...all was right except my soup came in a regular bowl, while hers was properly in a bread bowl. I let it slide.

The food tasted good, but was not as hot as it should have been. The cheese on my soup was still refirgerator cold and unmelted, which didn't change because the soup was lukewarm. I ate it anyway, and the taste and consistency were otherwise good. My sandwich had the same problem, it was supposed to be hot, but the cheese was cold and unmelted and the bread, mushrooms and other items were lukewarm. Again, the taste was ok, but it was generally unsatisfying because of the temperature problem. Again, I let it slide; you can only complain so much, especially when its free.

I went up to redeem that bread coupon, made my selection of a load I had been banned from before, and was rewarded with its presentation, only to find I had left the coupon at home; they gave it to me anyway and said not to worry.

All in all, this chain restaurant has a great concept, and this fledgling store is still learning how to execute it. I am raising the stars to three, which is an average rating and a little better than I would give to a standard fast food place, but not as good as if it were well-executed. Their service in response to my complaints was exemplary though, and can not be faulted. Their execution was lacking...you would especially think that on a free meal comping for a problem they would have not only been careful to get it right and do it well, but that someone would have checked on us at some point in the meal (or after) to be sure all was well - they did not.

I could probably milk the situation more if I felt like it, but thats not the way I am, and their is little more that would improve this review except a long-term series of consistent improvements in the delivery of the processes. I will return occasionally to give that a chance to happen, and report here accordingly.

Note: I did visit and Indianapolis store in the Lawrence area afterward and was pleased to notice that its store is brighter, more pleasantly configured, had a nice outdoor eating area and included dipping oil with its sampler bowl...all things the Terre Haute store lacked. The atmosphere at the Haute store is a little duller, the table we sat at wobbled, the sampler bowl of bread was not accompanied with dipping oil and cups, and there was no outdoor dining area. Minor things, but noteworthy. I only ordered a bagel, which was excellent; as was the one bagel I have tried in Terre Haute. - Michael David , posted 05/21/06

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