team member

baker

team leader

manager

caterer

Panera Bread

When I first went through training, called Planet Bread, they said, "this will be the best first job you could have experienced. Once you leave us and go to another job, you'll realize how spoiled you actually were!" I know this is true even though I'm still employed. We are spoiled, although there are some negative aspects to the job. 

I would like to first say that I started when the cafe FIRST opened, so we were all new. If you have this opportunity, I highly recommend it! There are big differences between opening a cafe and starting in one that has already been up and running. 

We started out with training, which lasted a week or so. The hours were non-negotiable (you could either come morning or night) and as a junior in high school (3 towns over) at the time, it was extremely difficult. One con, we were not compensated for this time. We did, however get a crazy amount of free food to take home (it was the food we practiced making).

Once you get that out of the way and are opened about a year, you go from staffing over 4 pages of employees to about 1.5 pages (about 30 total). By this time, everyone has gotten to know each other very well and we all act like family. This is where the opening a cafe aspect comes in to help because we all started at the same level. 

They (the managers) try to cross-train as much as possible. This may look like a typical cashier getting trained on salads on a slow afternoon. That's always a fun way to switch it up and can be a pro. Every service person (includes cashier and barista) must learn dining room at some point. This is one of the hardest jobs, I think. This includes constantly cleaning tables and sweeping (carpeted) floors, keeping everything completely stocked, changing coffees every hour, and in my case, running food out to tables. My cafe was one of the test cafes that decided to do table service so every order needs to be brought out to the person's table within 6.5 minutes of the order being placed. If you're new, they'll most likely stick you in the dining room for a while until you learn the ropes. That is probably the most difficult your job will get as a service employee. However, line associates sometimes have to unload the truck when it comes which can take hours, depending on your cafe's volume and standing in the walk in (fridge) for hours at a time. 

This job teaches you amazing customer service skills. We are reminded over and over again to do practically whatever it takes to make that customer happy before they walk out those doors to go home. Sometimes, this includes giving them a free cookie if their order was messed up and sometimes it may include a free meal. For example, if they have a to-go order and it has taken too long, offer them a free soda while they wait. If they don't like their sandwich, absolutely not a problem to get them a brand new one, whichever they would like. This is all part of the job. You must also be sincere for this part of it because if you sound like you're annoyed and offering them a free cookie, they'll think you're just trying to get them to leave. But if you really are sincere, and not just acting, they will see that you really do care and want to fix the mistake. We value that a customer will be just as pleased if a problem is properly corrected than if there were no problem at all. If you couldn't tell, we take customer service very seriously! 

One con though, is the management. The individuals aren't bad (you will have that one manager who makes you dread your shift, though). The lack of communication between the managers is the issue. I'm not sure how often they are all in contact with each other but it shows that it isn't enough. Just today, there was a scheduling mix up at my cafe that I had already settled with one manager and the manager on duty today called me, totally clueless to the problem. Overall, the managers are very understanding and treat you like family. They recognize strengths and help you work towards fixing your weaknesses. We often get pins for having great service and during our evaluations (every 6 months), they go over what you are doing great at and what you can fix. Motivation is really good here, including sales contests (whoever can upsell the most gets a free meal/shirt/gift certificate), and sometimes our manager will buy us all Chinese food on a saturday night shift to let us know that we're working hard. At my cafe, we are having a huge cookout this month for all of our hard work and staying a "safe cafe" (not having any injuries for an entire year... we get compensated for this) The amount of motivation is a pro.

As far as advancement goes, if you want to move up, you will. Work for it and they will surely notice.

Employee discount is 65% in my location, which is pretty good. I've heard of fast food places giving only 10% off. My location's off duty discount is 15%!

One really nice thing that Panera has is called Helping Hands. It is an organization that it funded by employees. You can choose to have some of your paycheck go into a fund to help your fellow employees in need (I donate $1 every paycheck). This really helps a lot of people. I personally know one person who was homeless when he got his first interview here and the organization set him up with an affordable apartment. I also know one woman who couldn't afford her rent and was losing her apartment and the organization paid her rent for a few months, as well as giving her food. It really is like a huge family.

Now that I am almost 18, and the youngest employed since we've opened, everyone is sad to see me go off to college across the country and they are throwing me a birthday/going away party. If that doesn't show you how the employees really are, then I don't know what does.

Panera is a largely, customer driven restaurant in the sense that many of the drinks are self-served (soda, coffee, and teas) along with the condiments that compliment said beverages (sugar, creamers, napkins, lids for cups, etc...). The theme of the store is premium fast-food. I like to compare Panera to a fast-paced version of Olive Garden due to the organic pastas, bread, salads, and soups that are offered by the restaurant, but with an emphasis on very low customer waiting times (Ideally food is served to customers less than 5 minutes after they walk through the door). Smoothies and lemonade/green tea are prepared at the barista, pastries are served at the register, and all other food items for lunch/dinner are prepared on a sandwich line.
   Typically, you can expect the day to start off relaxed and slow during breakfast, during which you have an excellent opportunity to prepare the restaurant for the forthcoming lunch rush ahead. During lunch, the building will be packed with customers that typically expect near-perfect service at all times. During these lunch rushes you must have excellent communication skills in order to team up with co-workers and customers alike to keep service smooth and customers pleased. Around 1:30 pm, the flux of customers tapers off and the store can cleaned and restored to a more organized state. Dinner time is much less stressful than lunchtime and closing activities can commence during or shortly after the dinner customers subsided. Oftentimes, people do not show up for their shift, so an added burden on present employees is often placed upon them.
   Overall, I believe that non-ideal people often get promoted to manager due to company politics, and hardworking associates often get passed up in terms of promotions in order for higher management to cherry pick people who are obviously being primed for management positions but have not attained such a position yet.
   Enjoyable aspects include the new friendships that flourish from the teamwork required to coordinate a successful business day and the ability to get to know and build friendships with regular customers who have grown to love eating at the restaurant. The hardest part of the job is the extremely fast-paced work that must be applied during times of a large flux of customers, typically during noon. Often, management is not as efficient as associates are at coordinating such activities since the people that know the restaurant the best (associates) are often passed up on opportunities to become part of management.
   Panera is a great place to gain skills necessary for customer service, more-so than other stores. Communication and decision-making is a critical aspect of the job; you cannot avoid communication with customers and expect ideal restaurant function. You must also make decisions that may seem arbitrary, but impact customer happiness significantly (example: coffee is one of the most in-demand products at the store, so much higher priority is placed upon coffee if it has ran out versus perhaps the stock of sweeteners or napkins). Panera also teaches employees to not expect an ideal situation, because ideal outcomes often are in short supply. You cannot, let it ruin your day if a popular item has been ran completely out of stock, a customer chastises you, or if a coworker calls off: you must always be ready for a "curve-ball."
   Overall, the flexible schedules and ability to transfer between stores has ultimately kept me around for so long, as it is an ideal job for me to be part of during my college years. I never really expected to become part of management because my biochemistry degree required a copious amount of time and dedication to complete successfully. Despite the degree, a large amount of time was required to work here due to me paying for my own apartment, food, hobbies, and vehicles, and I was pretty satisfied with my time at Panera. As a college job, I would recommend working for Panera because the hard work required to participate at this restaurant is mentally fulfilling and full-time work is always available to new employees due to a high turnover-rate of previous employees (many find the job too stressful). The only thing that is urging me to leave is the completion of my biochemistry degree, which grants me the ability to enter the career field of the research community.

I'll keep it short and sweet the job culture is every single thing any employee could ask for in a job. It became a family and less of a job. If you want to be treated with dignity while in the workplace Panera is for you! If you want to be able to take pride in your achievements Panera Bread. What other company closes their doors early for an evening despite how busy it is to sit down with their entire cafe of employers in each store NATIONWIDE to educate us on the new products, taste test, practice prep, and employee rewards. Simply put PANERA BREAD is fostering a culture not solely employing you. If you want to work for a truly ethical company that with every single honesty every thing they say about the fresh and all natural ingrediants is true. Every single paclage with ingrediants says ex. fruit puree, natural agave sugar, carrots. The dough was truly shipped in for us nightly and baked fresh. Some mac and cheese and things were kept in little plastic pouches, but were still fresh no preservatives or anything (read their mission statement of everything they do not put in food and it is true) of my almost 4 months working there I felt at home and prideful for my employment and to finally work for a clean, positive, honest environment. When there is a problem with any supervisor or employee no matter what the issue you can talk to them or the GM and it is solved immediately, and the GM will always present you with an option to put your complaint in writing or talk to his higher up. At least in my location nothing was ever swept under the rug.

Words for Panera: VIVACIOUS, HONEST, ETHICAL, POSITIVE, and CLEAN

Hourly pay: $9.25 w/h tips on each purchase guests have the ooption to tip based on initial impression and preformance of the associate running front registers, service, cleanliness, bakery and whatever else. Those tips are then added together and divided to support the entire time that is preparing and serving fresh quality ingrediants.

Large discount (I forgot but I believe 60%) made $11 dollar meals $3. Being an employee at Panera Bread not only allowed me the opportunity to build skills, but it allowed me to change my lifestyle of eating, I became healthier, and they made sure to show us they cared about our wellbeing. I remember I had to come cover a shift and I went out of my way for it the GM comped my meal out of appreciation and this is a natural occurance with employees. When hard work is present there isn't a limit to where you can go with Panera Bread. They enable you to achieve your dreams, but do not force you to do anything you are uncomfortable with.  


** Yes, They really truly donate all their items left over bread and bakery to local food bank's. It warmed my heart to see the old couple that managed donations for their food bank come a few times a week, and other people that worked for different food bank. The repour was great. (example catholic charities versus shelbyville food bank) AND on sundays when we had no donations each employee working close could take home AS MANY pastrys and bread they like. This helped panera employees extend panera's love and compassion to our families. 

** Free drinks anytime all day.

** This company is not a lie, about anything. Panera Bread backs it's employees. 

**New employee orientation grouped with employees who just got hired after everyone has been working there, Bread homage (each taste our famous bread) and sample certain food items that are popular and recieved a book to taste test each and every item in 90days. Whenever we had time or were daring we could ask for samples of items to taste to record our impressions in the book, we learned the history of the company, benefits etc. Panera INVESTS in you as an employee, you aren't just a number. (this event is different from their Bread Bash celebrations where all locations close for an evening. This event is during normal hours with your group of hired coworkers within the first month or two of employment. 
 
Panera Bread I genuinely miss you and to this day, I wish I would have pursued obtaining my small part time job in my relocation city and worked two even though I went there for one opportunity. Who knows? I may return.

Yes Panera pays everyone for every single second they are doing anything work related- Bread Bash's, New employee orientation etc.

Had this job (delivery driver) as a secondary job so I didn't go in expecting much and was still shocked by how underwhelming my experience was. Let me start with compensation/benefits:

They advertise that you make 12$-15$ per hour, but that is completely false. When you are on the road you are making less that 6$ per hour. A typical 4.5 hr shift would net me about 20$ if you're lucky. This is not taking into account the gas you use and the wear and tear on your car. While in house, you are being paid at most, 10$ p hour, How can you make 12-15$, when hours go by where you have 0 deliveries. I don't know how many hours have went by where I didn't have a delivery, so you are making well below what they advertise. They also have very unfriendly procedures for the drivers. First off, if you use any form of pay other than Credit Card (such as Apple Pay) the customers aren't even prompted to tip. Thus you are making free deliveries at 30 cents per mile. Also, lets say a customer cancels a whole order because the kitchen made a sandwich wrong, The whole amount is given back (including tip), so you made another free delivery, with no mileage reimbursement, for something that was out of your control. This happens often with certain managers b/c the staff is always inexperienced. I also was approached about a raise a month into my job b/c the staff was extremely shorthanded. I accepted, and yet, never saw that raise up until the day I quit a couple of months later. I was exploited and lied to about the pay, and the job posting should be corrected b/c it is not honest. 

As a part timer it didn't really pertain to me, but the life balance seemed awful for most the staff. They have a "mandatory" meeting on Sunday nights at 7 pm, so they obviously aren't taking into account that it is a school night for some families.

Job security/Advancement was non-existent. As far as security, there were easily 30 plus people that came and went in the short time I was there, including managers. 2 left within a week of my start time, and there were several managers that would make it a week and then would never be seen again. I stopped trying to remember there names b/c I knew they wouldn't be there long. I won't even mention advancement, b/c there is no such thing. 

Management was a joke, and it was worse the higher up the ladder you went. I approached the GM/Manager with the question "Do you know why I was not put on the schedule this week?" and was told "No." That was the end of that interaction. If you have a problem and are expecting management to solve it, they will not.  I've never had so much as a write up nor had I put in any type of notification that I was no longer working there, yet I was just removed and not put back on until the next week. As I said, this wasn't a main source of income, so it didn't bother me financially. The fact that they would do that to someone who it could affect, all the while not paying them there worth, is disturbing. Schedule requests are ignored, and when they are honored, the managers don't let each other know, so there were a couple of instances where I was given a requested day off, but would get a text or call asking where I was at. I would have to screen shot the conversation and send it to the manager for proof. I am still confused to this day as to who was making the schedule. The overall communication is a huge issue and the biggest problem facing this store. 

The culture was draining, most of the managers seemed to crumble under pressure, if you go in on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon you will witness complete and utter chaos.Take into account that there would be a rotating group of employees b/c of the turnover, and there would be at least a couple of call outs a day, so they expect you to pick up the slack for their lack of hiring and promoting good people, all at a discounted rate. It seems they would rather just keep cycling people in and out instead of finding good, reliable help. It is also an extremely dirty store, they cannot afford a dishwasher during the day, so the back of the house gets stuffed with dishes and trash. I have never been happier to leave a job.

I started working for Panera around the age of 16.  It was my first job.

The training was decent.  I spent the first week or so watching videos and taking tests on a computer.  After that, I was moved onto "the line" where the sandwiches, soups and salads are made.  I had a trainer walk me through everything until I was comfortable. Never once was I thrown into a situation or given a task that I wasn't first trained for and never once was I ashamed to ask questions when I wasn't sure how to handle a certain situation.

The hours were pretty good.  I was a high school student at the time, so I was unable to work during school hours and preferred not to close on weekday nights, as I wouldn't get home until almost 11 at night leaving no time for homework and hardly enough sleep before school the next day.  The managers were very understanding and would only schedule me for weekends.  On weekdays that I WAS scheduled, I was not asked to start until roughly 4:30 P.M. (ample time to get home from school and change into my uniform) and was only scheduled to work until around 8:30 or 9 P.M.  When it comes to requesting certain days off, I the managers were also very good.  As long as I requested the day off within a reasonable amount of time (1 - 2 weeks before hand), I usually was given the day off.

The people were great.  One of Panera's rules is "no jerks".  This means everyone you work with is actually fun to be around.  We did have a couple of "less than friendly" people sneak through the interview process and get the job, but they didn't last long.  Despite leaving Panera almost 3 years ago, I'm still friends with a lot of people I worked with there.

The one downside to Panera was that there was little room for growth.  I worked there for five years and always maintained the same number of hours.  I was only trained to work the line and wash dishes despite my request to be trained in the bakery.  This limited the total number of hours I was able to work in a week.  The "pay raises" I also received while working there were less than significant.  I started working for what was minimum wage at the time.  When I finally got my first raise, it was only because minimum wage had gone up.  This was the pattern for the next three or four pay raises.  By the time I had left Panera, five years later, I was making more money, but only because the state of Illinois said they had to.  My salary only went up when minimum wage did.

Customers are night and day.  When I say this, I mean that their either the nicest people you will ever meet, or absolutely crazy.  There's a lot of regulars that come in.  You get to know their name.  They get to know you.  Often times we would have orders ready for certain customers before they even came in because they were so well known in the store.  On the other hand, because Panera is on the more expensive side of "fast food", there are people that will go ballistic on you for the smallest reason.  I once made a turkey sandwich for a customer and forgot to put onions on it.  Honest mistake.  Instead of coming up to the counter and saying "Excuse me, I think you forgot the onions.  Can I please have some?"  he walked up to the counter, asked for the "idiot that made his sandwich".  I approached and asked if I could help him.  He pulled out his phone, snapped my picture, and told me he was going to send in a complaint about me to someone higher and that he hoped I was fired.  Needless to say, the managers understood that it was an honest mistake and that this certain individual must have just been having a bad day.  Incidents like this should not reflect poorly on Panera, as you will deal with customers like this in any customer service job, but it does happen.

All in all, a pretty great place for a student looking for a part time job as long as your aren't expecting to be making huge amounts of money.

Honestly, I didn't like my job but The people were great to work with 

Here are the Pros and Cons

Pros

1.Pretty Good discount for the food. This is a nice convenient option for a quick lunch also the food there is on the healthier side compared to fast food places(It does taste good). 

2. They are pretty flexible with how to schedule your work time. which is nice if you're a person who goes to another job or school. 

(THERE ARE MORE CONS THEN PROS)

Cons

1. Pay is not bad or good is ok(Ask for more what they are offering to you. Trust me they will take advantage of you).

2. You work more than the job your working at. Meaning when they say you are jumping around that is an understatement. Depending on your task this can cause you a lot of stress and is not really worth it. 

3. People are not happy I don't know about other Paneras but the one I am currently working at is a bit on the depressing side. Up to management and people who been their job makes you feel less of a person. People flake out more than any workplace I have worked at and I can tell you is not easy. The money you earn for what you are doing at the place Is not worth it.

4. Their is no actual teamwork(it varies a lot which is BAD!!!). The job packet states when someone isn't doing anything they should try to help another place so people can have an easier time. It supposes to be like a cycle in sense is like oh help this person out. Which is a good thing so trust me. Any help within a restaurant is a good thing.At my store is like a rare sighting. 

5. THEY DONT TRAIN PEOPLE TO DO OTHER THINGS!!!!
This is a bit of a personal topic for me. I have been there for about two years in able to at least do dishes, dining, cashier and a bit of line(food like salads and sandwiches). Which at this point I could be considered a trainer not a trainer in a sense. There are people who have been there longer than me who haven't jumped around as much as me. Meaning if they needed dining person chances are if you hate dining and their not a lot of people who do it because of a lack of training someone to do it properly. Ding ding you will end up doing it because of the lack of someone teaching others. 

6. Jobs aren't secure! 
Depending on how you schedule yourself and what you are doing at the store. Hours will extremely vary by a lot!  I have gotten from a measly 5 hours to up to 40 hours. I had to change my schedule to accommodate getting more hours not the other way around. I don't know if this is a personal bias or is just because is a work thing(Hours are over which is a big thing in the store to the point is like a norm.....) If you are looking to advance this job isn't for you I would consider this job mostly a dead end. You could be the most hardworking person come in on time an will be skipped over by a promotion to someone who is completely new. I have seen it happen to a coworker of mine who was more qualify been there for a very long time like 5 years and she did everything by the book an let me tell you she was extremely excellent at her job about 95 % of the time she was on point, The other 5% percent is because like I said the store is depressing it gets to everyone even people who been their a long time. 

Final Conclusion

This job is for people who just need an extra change in their pockets. At one point I would have considered this a career worthy job which isn't something I would usually say for a fast food place but they had a lot of good things that can make it appealing for new people to stay.It got instantly destroyed when they use and mistreat you. Another note if they don't like how you work they will reduce your hour UNLESS your working in something that a lot of people are not able to do like dining or dishes which is a big no-no but it happens. 

1.5/5  
It is not worth it!  It is really a distasteful job that you will end up more hurt then what you bargained for.

I worked for the Covelli Panera for 9 months. I was always on time and in uniform, respected authority, did my job, did other people's jobs, etc.
I had asked for a raise after 7 months, my manager reviewed my performance and commended me on my great work ethic. However, I was never given a raise.
I went through some personal things in my life and ended up getting a tattoo on my wrist. From day one I kept it covered with a bandage. They ended up telling me that i could not wear the bandage the way I did (wrapped around my wrist), so I changed it ASAP. Later they told me that i would have to wear long sleeves ( I worked register so I had the option to do so), that night I used my last amount of cash to buy a long sleeve shirt. Even though I had kept it covered, followed all of their rules, been one of their best employees, etc. They cut my hours to maybe 30 hours every two weeks. At $8.05 an hour I could not live off of that.
I also had a problem with a manager who has since resigned. I had to take a day off and followed policy to try and get it covered. (I asked all of my co workers 4 and 3 days before hand, then 2 days before the day in particular i let my management know that I could not find a coworker to cover my shift, that i would not be able to cover the first half of my shift but would come in for the last half.)(company policy was to call in 4 hours before my shift if i could not come in, again i tried for 4 days before my shift to get it covered and told my managers 2 days in advance). The day I could not come to work the manager called me asking where i was, I had reminded her of where I was and that I had told her. She then began to say I never told her anything, then changed it to that i took down a list of names and numbers and then they had never heard from me since. The other Manager that I had told also started to make up stories. Because of their poor memories I got written up for not showing up for work and was not even allowed to come in for the part of the shift I was able to.
Because of this and how i was treated so poorly after getting a small tattoo (THAT I ALWAYS HAD COVERED) (It is a nice professional small tattoo on my left wrist that says in very nice script "Home" ) I resigned from the company. 
The worst part of it all, aside from the lady from Corporate who just always had something nasty to say to me every time she came in, was the co workers. I had assumed that after I left high school the bullying, isolating, and gossiping would have stopped. I was proven wrong from day one of working for this company. Even the managers gossiped about employees.
You would think that adults in their mid 20's to early 30's would be more mature than an 18 year old girl.

In conclusion, Panera  bread is the worst company anyone I know has ever worked for (that is really saying something). Please do not work for them, they are liars and will string you along until you are able to quit.

Ps, they falsely advertise that they are all organic and healthy. They keep their pastas and soups in plastic bags that contain the chemical BPA. They keep them in these bags in boiling hot water all day. Then they microwave the pasta in the bag before serving it to you. BPA is a chemical found in many plastics that has been scientifically proven to cause Autism, Cancers, Infertility in women, and so so much more. They also use rotten bananas in their smoothies when they are too lazy to send someone to the store and buy some more. (They have the means and the money, they just wont because they think it is wasting product and will use them for days.)

Panera starts out pretty with pretty good pay, and the environment is not that bad.  With their food being on the pricey side, the clientele that come in are far less combative than your average St. Robert customer which for me is another plus.  Employee discounts are really good, too. And if you prove to be a hard worker, you can be assured you will get plenty of hours (which can be a bad thing, too).  

With that all being said, there are some drawbacks (and rather big ones at that).  The managers seem to cater to the younger crowd.  When it’s not too busy, you'll see quite a few of them talking with the managers in the office or sitting down with them in the dining room.  Additionally, the management appears reluctant to have them do the dirty jobs (ie, emptying and taking out the garbage, cleaning restrooms, and doing dishes in some cases).  I have a couple of theories about this, but I won't get into those.  

The manager of the entire cafe is average.  This person ensures the rules and policies are followed, has an eye for detail, and is generally fair (all are good qualities for a manager to have).  Where the manager lacks is scheduling and doesn't pay attention to the areas of the cafe that need the most attention.  

As I said before, if you're a hard worker, you can be assured you'll get plenty of hours.  Where it's bad is that those hard workers can count on getting worked almost every available hour they put on their availability (at least that's what the manager does with me), so the manager will lean heavy on you. There was one week where a few employees (myself included) were scheduled to work six out of seven days (one of them quit; maybe this was the reason?).  Anyone working part time shouldn't be working six or more days in a week.  

The manager also has a bad habit of not looking when employees request certain days off and scheduling them for those days.  Even though I requested time off for one day well in advance, I was scheduled and missed a big family milestone (this on the same week I was scheduled to work six days).  Still a bit bitter because of it.  And what the manager makes up for in attention to detail, the manager lacks greatly in routine tasks.  There was one instance where the manager left a note for closing employees to do detail cleaning while neglecting to check on normal day-to-day tasks like wiping down tables, ensuring the dining room carpet is clean, checking the bathrooms, and sanitizing the coffee bar and soda fountain (which in a time like this is paramount).  If you can't take care of the things people notice, it doesn’t matter how much of the little stuff you do.  While the manager doesn’t have to do these things, the manager is responsible for making sure somebody does.

The manager seems to have difficulty communicating with the associate managers.  There have been several times while working with the associate managers I’m doing things one way and when I’m working with the manager I find out I should be doing them another way.  All of management needs to be on the same page, and it seems as if they’re not.  If a manager cannot clearly communicate their expectations of their associate managers, things cannot run efficiently.

If you’re a person 16-25, this may be the place for you.  If you’re older than that, you may find it difficult to work here.


Compensation/Benefits - I started at $8 when min. wage is $7.25 without any job experience. I was called five minutes after inputting my online information and had an 'interview' the next day where I was immediately hired. 30 min. before/after a shift or on break we get 70% off food but only 20% off duty.

Culture/Values - Everything is baked fresh overnight so at the end of the shift we give leftovers away to charity. Most of the managers
are cut-throat though, and honestly easily stressed/frustrated/angry.
Two that we have are amazing while the other two are wildly inappropriate (rude, out of line, control freaks, etc) and love to fire people. This is frustrating as it is supposed to be a relaxed, kind, and comfortable atmosphere.

Job Security/Advancement - Like I said, some hop on the chance to fire employees they do not care for. When you R/O, managers do not communicate and will be quick to pass blame onto employees - sometimes causing undeserved write-ups that can get you fired.
Advancement does not depend on how well you do but on how well you kiss up or make the managers laugh or cover their mistakes for them. I've tried very hard to show my abilities and hard work and have never been rewarded (many I work with refuse to do their full jobs, so I stand out). They are supposed to review you every 90 days with the possibility of a pay raise, yet I have worked here six months and have had no such thing.

Management: Like I mentioned, management is hit and miss.
I really enjoy my managers who help close, talk to you personally, and communicate calmly and are straight-forward. Most managers, however, enjoy micro-managing which I cannot stand. It is very difficult to respect managers who have a temper like a child, yell frequently, fire on the spot without valid reasoning, and talk bad about the other managers (yes, I have had this happen).
I recently got very sick and had to go to the ER for an IV and for testing. After calling in two days sick I was scolded so I took in my forms from the ER to come back to work (afraid I would be fired if I didn't) weak and sore. Immediately upon my arrival one of my managers began yelling at me for being there and explained that she would blame me if she got sick. Hello! You work at a restaurant.
With that many people coming in and out it will not be my fault if you get sick. Managers are frustrated and insensible and will not treat you with respect or listen to you as a peer, period. They are definitely on a pedestal and claim to not make mistakes. And the general manager does not take control (she's the one who was talking badly about another manager).

Work/Life Balance - Managers will work around a schedule but will be angry if you cannot come in for a shift when they call and ask you to fill it (a shift that was not yours to begin with). Also, do not be surprised if you get phone calls during times you wrote you were unavailable. If you speak with a manager directly about needing time off, it is not set in stone and there is a good chance it will backfire on you. Be careful!
Managers are very picky about when to pick up checks and will tell you to check the employee handbook about rules when they do not follow the rules in the book -- horrible communication when it comes to your personal life!

I get horrible anxiety to go to work and feel like I'm always having to watch my back.

On the plus side:

it's true that you get your tips paid out in cash at the end of the shift. This is helpful if you really need extra money immediately and can't wait for a paycheck. 

Driving isn't hard work and can be fun. Panera does everything over-the-table and legally which is also a plus because their bookkeeping is good. 

Turnover for drivers is so high that if you stay more than like three months you automatically have seniority, and they always need drivers, so your job is safe unless you really REALLY suck at it or you steal or something. 

Free water/tea/coffee while working. 

The work environment at the Somerset location ime is overall good - not guaranteed with the managers/drivers but with the other associates who do line cooking and catering. What I mean is, most of your coworkers will be good people. So working can be fun. 



On the minus side (And there's a lot. Turnover is high for a reason): 

You use your own car, and anything that happens to it while driving is on you to fix - and this job puts a lot of stress on your car/puts you in situations where people can sideswipe or rear-end you/makes you drive in snow and poor conditions. 

You get paid $5 an hour while you're driving on the expectation that you'll receive tips. You also deliver to offices and places that do not tip. And you're forbidden from asking implicitly or explicitly to be tipped. You can see where I'm going with this. 

If you're scheduled until 3, you're not getting out until 3:30 to 3:45, because you have to wait for the managers to get your cashout and they won't. You also don't get paid for the extra time you have to spend waiting, so if you have another job to get to, you need to end your shift half an hour early and take the half-hour's pay loss just so you can wait around. This drove all of us crazy and was never fixed despite bringing it up to managers and the GM. 

Speaking of, managers will dismiss any problems you may have with other drivers. Not usually an issue since again most of the associates were great, but there was one driver everyone had an issue with and all legitimate concerns were brushed off by the managers as "you're a team, get along." Eventually, three people (including me) quit either directly because of it or it was a factor in them quitting.  

Actually, managers dismiss your problems in general. 

You won't be able to move up. If you do manage it, it'll just be more job responsibilities with no real benefit. 

You need to do a lot of back-of-house work. Not necessarily a negative but not in the job description, either - taking out trash, dishwashing, sweeping and mopping, doing ingredient prep. Be prepared for that. (You at least get a higher rate for this, but it's still not much.) 

When you're hired you're told that you'll receive a $1/hr raise for your in-house rate after your first year. This doesn't happen - they're counting on the fact that you'll leave before then. 
They also don't hire all the drivers at the same in-house rates and try to discourage you from talking about wages so you can't find out. Argue for a higher wage when you're hired. 



OVERALL: 

Good only in a pinch. Not a hard job, can be fun w/good people, but pays terribly and isn't worth it in the long run. Expect never to be let out on time. Ever. Hard on your car and incurs extra expenses because they won't pay to fix it. Managers not likely to care enough to fix problems.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Team member 654 salaries reported	$15.55 per hour
Baker 150 salaries reported	$19.01 per hour
Team leader 606 salaries reported	$20.64 per hour
Manager 272 salaries reported	$58,473 per year
Caterer 749 salaries reported	$18.70 per hour

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