Pros
In this economy a job is a job is a job. Something that pays the bills and provides some insurance is better than nothing at all. The coworkers can be very kind people. (The lifers are either a little to upbeat/chipper, convincing themselves this is a great job or completely jaded and apathetic.) The pay and benefits seem descent for the branch of food industry it is in. The company is genuinely trying to provide healthier food options to Americans who who are tired of burgers and fries.
Cons
Panera's corporate and in store cultures are weird!!! This company has a serious case of perfectionism. While trying to be the upper crust of fast food this company creates very stressful work environments. Panera has found a niche in the fast food market that simultaneously caters to cheap snobs and people looking for quick healthy food. Corporate ideally wants beautifully plated high quality food elegantly presented to the customer with plates being cleared from their tables in under three minutes while serving a dining area, outdoor patio, deliveries, rapid pickups, to go's and a self service kiosk in under staffed, under prepped and chaotic environments. Back biting has become a source of self preservation in many stores. It all boils down to corporate's unreachable idealism and good people just trying to make a living. In some instances you have to flat out lie or throw co-workers under the bus to get promotions and perks. One of the core company values is that a person who wants to be promoted will show their desire through their hard work and vocalization. However with the high turnover rate the company experiences, EXTREMELY dedicated and hardworking individuals get passed up for promotions because they are a stable body to fill a difficult position. Even worse is these newly hired managers received preferential treatment to get the position and are COMPLETELY ignorant to basic food service practices like rotation!! It is sad and a little pathetic to see the hardworking people get taken advantage of. Another ironic company concept is that people should develop their own way of doing things. This is just a cop out for training and don't be fooled, if you don't meet the company's standards you will be criticized for your efforts. Also I have never encountered a management staff that cannot communicate amongst themselves this terribly before. They can't get food cost, ordering, organization of the store or employee duties in order. There are often three or four managers on duty at one time. Only one of those managers is the manager "in charge". An associate in need of assistance or to communicate and important matter to the manager must hunt down who is in charge to get clearance for action (if any is taken). This manager has a lot of stress on their shoulders at any given moment: trying to balance working a station, overseeing the entire restaurants operations, ensuring extremely high standards are met and dealing with complaints/altering orders while the other managers leisurely pursue their duties. The managers alternate who is in charge depending on the days responsibilities. The schedule is rarely posted on time, enough people are not scheduled on shifts and transitions of shifts are just left hanging so employees who finish at said time cannot leave their stations without leaving it unmanned. These things have been going on for YEARS!! Even more frustrating is the amount of food that is tossed on a daily basis due to corporate's absurdly short shelf life of food. This may seem great from the customers perspective. Super fresh high quality food all of the time. But if a store can't get a grasp on the amount of food it needs to be preparing COPIOUS amounts are tossed daily. Pounds of chicken salad mix, tuna salad, tomatoes, onions, bacon, avocados and other random food is just thrown in the garbage. Employees are not supposed to be taking this perfectly good food but they do and in some instances manipulate the expiration dates so kind managers who can't stand to see perfectly good food just tossed allow them to take it home. This does not negate the fact that yes Panera does donate all of it's old bread to charity on a daily basis but four days out of the week no one comes for the donations and multiple large boxes of cookies, muffins, and loaves of this nice fresh bread are again tossed out. Employees are allowed to take the bread but can only take so much on a daily basis. The place is a mess!!! It is a mix of overly worked good employees, rewarded lazy/ignorant people and a perfectionistic corporate mindset that continues to operate because it found a niche in the market.