Source
r/Panera•
sugamonkey

Question for workers

A couple weeks ago I went to a Panera on a Sunday morning around 10. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and the woman at the counter said they where out due to a delivery problem.

I then asked why didn’t they send someone over to the Target across the way and at least buy some plain cream cheese instead of having to tell dozens of people all day that they had none. They said they couldn’t do that.

Why? Why would the store risk pissing off all those customers? Why not at least offer plain cream cheese instead of none?

I am just curious. It just seems like a bad idea when there is so much competition from other places.

Posted Jan 7, 2019, 9:37 PM UTC

028
smilingseal7•

They won't sell cream cheese that's not Panera brand. It would also be different pricing, nutrition, and sizes which isn't compatible with the menu as is

29
Tad198•

There's also the issue that if there is a product quality issue with the cream cheese bought at another store then Panera is liable customer health issues caused, so they would rather disappoint customers in a case like this. And this was not the store making the decision, this is a Panera wide policy, and I would imagine that this policy is held at most if not all other major restaurant chains.

19
ZaneWuzHere•

Here's something interesting, in May of last year it was enacted that all restaurants are legally required to display calorie count on their menus. Under the same law, a restaurant is liable to be fined if the food they're serving is not what was advertised (like store-brand cream cheese).

1
ZaneWuzHere•

Here's something interesting, in May of last year it was enacted that all restaurants are legally required to display calorie count on their menus. Under the same law, a restaurant is liable to be fined if the food they're serving is not what was advertised (like store-brand cream cheese).

1
duelingdelbene•

We had non-Panera brand cream cheese for months after the incident. Several different brands depending on what they could get. I don't think it was for sale though; just free. And what OP suggested would run into too many bureaucratic issues.

1
smilingseal7•

The off brand CC was definitely still being sold, not free

-2
medangelo•

Nah we did have a period in which Panera was giving out cream cheese for free last year. Then they switched to the Hans kind and then we eventually got Panera brand back.

4
seangt95•

That was all shipped through corporate though, not purchased at the local grocery store.

1
sugamonkeyOP•

Well ya I can see that part, but it still seems better to say, “ Sorry we are out of our cream cheese. We do have some Philly cream cheese we can give you at no charge. “ I guess major chains can’t work like individual shops though, thanks for the explanation.

-12
gazpacho69•

You could have just as easily gone across the street for cream cheese. Panera offers peanut butter, jelly, butter, honey, and cilantro hummus for bagel spreading. You wouldn’t expect McDonalds to go buy store bought fries if they ran out.

10
sugamonkeyOP•

Sure, but the average customer is just as likely to walk across the street to the other bagel place instead.

Most certainly a lot of people would drive to another fast food place if McD told them they where out of fries.

-3
ZaneWuzHere•

They are out. There is no more cream cheese. There was an issue with the delivery order, more than likely it's not the fault of anybody at the store. They legally cannot walk across the street and buy cream cheese, it is a violation of food safety law.

Complaining about it does nothing but make it harder on them. They know that there is no cream cheese, they know that you drove all the way just to find out there is none. They know it sucks, but it's not a regular occurrence.

They don't just tell people "No, sorry, we're out" for fun. Because it's not fun, it's a pain in the ass. If you feel so inclined, you are more than welcome to go to another place and get cream cheese, I assure you that there are 100 other paying customers who are more than replacing your lost business.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but when they are out, just say "Okay, thanks for letting me know." and either get a refund or deal with it.

9
duelingdelbene•

Our store literally did that but it still came through the Panera shipping line somehow. And they didn't sell it I believe it was free. The whole idea of going out to target causes too many other issues though, that wouldn't happen.

3
smilingseal7•

Oh yeah there's no way they'd go buy it to just give it out, Panera is cheap af

-3
medangelo•

It's more of a health issue than anything else. Panera also has a list of ingredients that aren't in any of our products (artificial ingredients, preservatives, sweeteners, etc) and if we buy from Target or Walmart or wherever when we are out of it, it runs into an issue of not going with Panera's reputation. Panera would rather us not sell cream cheese or any other product than have something sold or eaten at Panera that doesn't follow those things.

5
goldglittergardens•

All Panera bakery items are baked fresh daily without additives, artificial colors, or sweeteners. All items in bakery-cafes are from Panera approved vendors so we can guarantee the integrity of our products. Since our menu is transparent it would be false advertising to buy someone else’s product and pass it off as our own.

You could also go across the street to Target and get your own bagel and cream cheese instead of giving “workers” a hard time for something they can’t control.

5
sugamonkeyOP•

Where did I say I gave them a hard time? I asked the woman at the counter very nicely why they just don’t go to Target. I was just curious, not rude. I still ordered a coffee and changed my bagel to muffin.

For Christ sakes sorry I came to the specific subreddit that I thought would be able to answer a question I had.

1
goldglittergardens•

You didn’t t have to explicitly say you gave them a hard time. You mention this “pissing customers off”, and you’re obviously irate enough to come to reddit to complain weeks later. I’m therefore inferring you probably weren’t the gracious-Mr. Rogers-type when you were told you couldn’t get what you wanted. Do you understand how entitled the whole situation sounds from someone else’s perspective? Panera associates are far from lazy, and go above and beyond every day to make guests happy - especially considering local competition. It would’ve been fixed if it could’ve been. Or maybe management had a solution in the works, but the process wasn’t complete by the time you arrived at the bakery-cafe. Your question was answered, yes. But met with hostility and downvotes because of the way the OP was phrased. Hopefully you can reflect on this and come out with a little more understanding of those who work in food/bev/hospitality/retail. Guest happiness and retention are important, but we’re not servants.

10
sugamonkeyOP•

I wasn’t irate enough to come here two weeks later, I was high enough. Ye, me and a couple of friends were getting high and the subject came on up. We were all curious so I asked.

I even said in my post, “ I’m just curious “ because I didn’t want people to take it wrong. I worked in the food in high school, given this was 20 years , but I know what it is like to be treated like shit. I know how hard the job can be. I have never been rude to someone in the service industry. I was not rude to that woman that morning. I asked her a casual question, she answered me. That was it.

Sorry I didn’t word everything perfectly. It was late and I was high.

0
Silvawuff•

"Workers": You're my personal servants and I can treat you however I want by the virtue of you being employees for this company. "I'm just curious": I'm mad about this thing you can't control, but I'm going to take it out on you anyway because I'm self-entitled. "I've worked in food before": I'm trying to make a point for my poor regard for service industry people and think posing this will validate my attitude. You didn't have to be rude; your behavior and word choice speak plenty for the kind of person you are. The worst thing is there are thousands of people like you out there that don't have an inkling for just how much depression, anxiety, and stress you dish out on a population of extremely hard-working people, all in ignorance.

5
HeyViolet•

All of paneras food is now free of artificial flavors and colors too. They can't just go to the grocery store for many of there products.

If the store does happen to have What they need, its not cost efficient.

They aren't technical allowed to go buy any outside products but who supplies them. They still do for things like avocados and produce when needed urgently.

3
Silvawuff•

You're posing this question like this particular Panera ran out of cream cheese on purpose. The Associate in front was straight with you and said it was a delivery issue -- it might not have been delivered, it could have come in at an unsafe temp and had to be discarded, or it might have been recalled. This isn't about competition with other places or about pissing customers off, it's about following procedure to keep food safe and as described.

3
EdwadThatone•

With drink ingredients (milk/yogurt) if/when we run out we definitely go buy some more from hyvee or Walmart. But it’s different because even when we get the ones we’re supposed to they’re not Panera brand. The yogurt is brown cow and I don’t know the milk. But the cream cheese is actually branded Panera, not to mention we give just that out to people- it’s not mixed with other ingredients

2
medangelo•

You aren't actually allowed to go buy produce it any other ingredients from outside companies. It's against policy. And it's a health concern.

6
EdwadThatone•

Really? Our GM who generally has a stick up his butt does it at least monthly... that’s... interesting

1
seangt95•

Yeah we buy 2- liters and produce all the time...

1
goldglittergardens•

This may depend on the franchise. Ours was bought within the last year, and this practice is strictly forbidden now - whereas the last owners kinda turned a blind eye to it. I feel like two liters and such for Catering are a different story?

1
Lilkko•

Customer 1: "Why not just use cream cheese from the store?"

Customer 2: "WHY IS THIS CREAM CHEESE IN THE STORE?! IT'S NOT PANERA BRAND. THE CALORIES DONT MATCH WHATS ON YOUR MENU. IM UPSETTI SPAGHETTI."

Thank you for coming to my Tedtalk.

1