Company success held back by simple factors throughout franchise. - Catering Coordinator Panera Bread Employee Review

3.0
25 Oct 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Catering Coordinator position gives you the opportunity to network. Ideal for someone currently in night school or someone looking for quick cash while still job searching. Fun if you are good at managing people and time. If you care and train your team right (usually made up of teenagers and variety of managers) it will be a fun experience, but this job is not made for the long term. I loved talking to people and multitasking but in the end, it was not for me.

Cons

*No benefits!!!! Basically a full time position with no options for any insurance, vacation, sick days, etc. There is 401k option for everyone however. This is how it is in our franchise at least and was the main factor in me leaving. *Stressful. The person that takes this job has to have their stuff together. Paid hourly not salary (which might be a good thing, trust me) but constantly on the phone and email at work and at home with clients, managers and associates. Lots of time management and forethought. You need to think a week or so ahead at minimum. It's worth it for the pay I guess. But the pay is ONLY worth it if you're supplemented by another source of income (i.e. spouse, parents, etc) *Management is definitely not up to par. No line drawn between management and associates as far as fraternization. Managers are fairly young for the most part so this would make sense. But this is why cafes are run so poorly. What you get is managers drinking, smoking and talking in very vulgar ways with associates. This bleeds into how they handle situations and how they train new employees, who in turn, get in trouble for acting the same way management does. Unprofessional in every aspect. I had previously worked for a comparable company,also in the restaurant industry, which was very professional in work relationships, decision making and training so I know that this is possible. *Environment is ruthless. Upper management is run on fear which trickles down to associates. Food cost, overtime....whatever the new focus of the month is. It threatens their pay and so it's an all or nothing effort when it pops up (which is the goal?). There needs to be more structure instead of being like an angry unpredictable parent. All of a sudden you get yelled at for doing something you and everyone else has been doing all along just because their manager's manager's manager decided people were gonna get fired this month for I don't know.....not hitting the bar on registering people for rewards cards or something.

Explore other reviews about Panera Bread

5.0
6 July 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

fun environment, free food and drinks

Cons

its a fast food job

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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