Pros
Panera Bread is a great place to work part-time and bring in a little extra cash. If you are a dependable employee, they are more than willing to accomodate scheduling needs and let you work extra hours. Associate shifts are basically "day" and "night"- the days start early, but the nights end early. Either way, employees with children or families are able to get home at a reasonable hour. It is a good plac to get a crash course in customer service, and interactions with "regular" customers give something to look forward to. Managers are hired from within, so there is opportunity to advance
Cons
There are too many managers, and none of them are on the same page. It is difficult to learn the ropes when ten different people are doing things ten different ways. High level of unprofessionalism when dealing with employees is alarming. It is not uncommon to overhear the general manager referring to a trainee as "retarded" or swearing under her breath when a trainee needs help. When starting work at Panera, I had to learn most of my responsibilities by observing others or simply figuring it out on my own. Some of my co-workers have been employed at Panera for 3+ years and still make minimum wage. It is very difficult to get a raise.