Great company overall - Bakery Market Manager Panera Bread Employee Review

4.0
16 Mar 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I fell in love with Panera's culture and ideaollogy when I started 11 years ago. I started as an Assistant Managers and then decided to become a Bakery Training Specialist, and then a Bakery Market Manager.

Cons

As a retail manager the job can be stressful, dealing with customers, young employees that have no prior work history and you can feel like a babysitter at times. Bakery Training Specialist job required that you be within phones reach at all times, as well as baking and writing schedules, filling out tracking forms etc. As a Bakery Market Manager there was no work/life balance and you were on 24/7/363 (Panera is closed 2 days a year). I had to mange during my 3 years as little as 8 -19 Cafe is a 3 state region.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
29 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Worked with college students so it was fun.

Cons

They fire people at the drop of a hat.

3.0
18 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

GM at this location is very on top of things, because it's the busiest Panera in Queens. Consistent hours. Shifts go by very quickly, especially in the morning.

Cons

Location is extremely busy so it gets very stressful, especially in the morning when someone is out / there is no second cashier scheduled so the single cashier in the morning has to clean the coffee counter, refill coffees, make drinks, stick bagels in the oven & serve those bagels, check and bag up RPU/delivery orders, get bakery items for barista screen, and ring up customers. It can get really intense when many people come in, which is most of the time. You will be running back and forth like crazy. Customers can be impatient, rude, demeaning, and nasty when the line gets too long. Not recommended for people who are sensitive, with high anxiety. As for Panera the company, this chain keeps making bizarre and difficult changes to the menu, all of which make employees' lives harder and harder. With every change comes strange, dismaying, and borderline impossible expectations for frontline staff that cascade down through management who cannot do much to alter the hard policies. You can tell the company is struggling greatly to keep itself relevant with the younger crowd (a solid 80% of customers are old people). The CEO and everyone making company decisions at Panera is extremely out-of-touch. EXTREMELY. With every nonsensical menu & operations adjustment, you can tell these people haven't actually worked at a food service job in like 40 years.

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