Kudos for Panera Bread

It's a joke in our house that whenever I ask my wife where she wants to go out to eat she always says Panera Bread. Not once in a while. Not most of the time. But EVERY time I ask her, she wants to go to Panera.

I have been there a few times without my wife as well. The closest Panera to us is a great spot (centrally located) for an early morning meeting.

We were at Panera recently, just sitting in our booth and chatting. We had finished dinner and were going over schedules, schooling choices, and so on -- drinking their (free) water and killing time before we had to pick up my son after basketball practice.

Suddenly a Panera employee (I'm not sure if it was the manager or not), pops out of nowhere and lays two double chocolate fudge cookies on the table. She then walked away.

We were stunned, not sure what to say. We didn't get the chance to ask why we were given the cookies or even offer our thanks. So we did what comes naturally, we unwrapped (they were in plastic sleeves) one of the cookies and split it (these were over-sized cookies -- not small in any way.) For the record, we took the other cookie home for our kids to split.

Boy was that cookie good! Soft, full of chocolate and fudge, and fresh. They weren't simply unloading stale cookies on us -- this was the good stuff.

A few minutes later the employee that dropped off the cookies walked by to deliver an order for someone else. As she finished with them, we thanked her for the cookies and she responded kindly.

I'm still not sure why we got the free cookies. Was it because my wife has a frequent customer card with Panera and they always seem to be handing out bonuses (a free smoothie, free treat, etc.) on it? If so, we are usually notified of an award in writing. Was it because it was a couple hours before closing and they had extra cookies they were going to toss anyway? Or was it simply because they wanted to be nice?

We weren't the only ones to get the cookies. At least one other couple did (we didn't notice if anyone else received them or not.) Perhaps they simply wanted to say "thanks for being a customer" to those who were there. Whatever the reason, it was a nice touch and I wanted to give them a shout out for their kindness.

Sure, it was "only a cookie", but little acts of love can have big impressions on customers, especially these days when stores and restaurants seem to be cutting back on these sorts of touches. It makes me want to do more business with them (which may have been their intent) and I will certainly be visiting again.

Comments

[Darla]

LOVE Panera! Your wife has good taste and Panera isn't too bad on YOUR wallet either! :) It is my restaurant of choice as well! Their menu is awesome, their food is consistently good and their prices reasonable. I did get a free cookie one time too and yes it was good and I love it when a restaurant does that! It brings you back and it only helps their business in the long run.
My son and I were at Culver's the other day and they came up to us as we were finishing our food and asked if we wanted a Strawberry Smoothie! Sure! They had made it in error and we wanting to give it away instead of throwing it away.
So in my book, restaurants are only doing themselves a favor when they go above and beyond for their customers!

[JP]

This type of thing has happened to me at an O'Charley's and Max & Erma's. Both times it seemed to be straight from the waitress, and they both more than made it back in tip.

[Lance@MoneyLife&More]

Great customer service on their end. I know I would probably go there more if I got something free once in a while. They also got a free mention to thousands on your blog!

[Money Beagle]

My wife loves Panera Bread. I'm OK with it, I could take it or leave it, but I think if they gave me free cookies, they might move a little higher on the list :)

[Keith]

We all need to see more of the good things going on around us and speak up about them. Thanks for sharing FMF.

[Diane]

They do this frequently at Panera. They have employees walk around with trays of fresh baked cookies which they give out to people. Also, with the frequent customer card I have gotten free beverages or desert when I place my order (not sure what triggers these freebies.) We have a Panera in town and we do take-out frequently. The ladies in town enjoy having lunch there or book group or PTA type meetings.

[retirebyforty]

I haven't been to Panera... I guess we don't really like chain restaurants and I haven't seen one in the city. We'll try it sometime. A free cookie for good customer is a great policy.

[Mike Hunt]

That's a great story... it's amazing how far a good gesture can go when it is delivered unexpectedly and with some sincerity.

Maybe Comcast needs to get soft baked cookies out from their vans to the different customers...

-Mike

[Sunil l Entrepreneurship & Personal Finance]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and LOVE Panera. been patronizing them since they opened. great chain, great initiative especially their giving initiatives), amazing leadership.

I once bought a Panera card for myself and loaded it up with $250 no joke. I used it every time I went in to lounge on my laptop, get the chocolate chip bagel and drink their free water.

[Kelly@FinancialBailoutNews]

Service at Panera has always been a good experience for me, and their employees are always smiling. Only once have I had a problem there when my friend received cold soup, and when she asked them to heat it up they told her there was a microwave on the other side of the establishment for her to do it herself. She was pretty mad, but they were busy so I understood. I've never tried any of their baked goods because I'm always too excited about the soup and salad, but those cookies sound delicious, what a nice little treat.

[Jclimber]

I like Panera because you can look up their menu online and get all the calorie info. The Pick2 combo of Thai Chopped Salad (sans wonton strips) and Ham on Rye sandwich is pretty darn good and healthy, lots of protein!

Don't get the Asiago Roast Beef for a Pick2, the sandwich is like a 1/4 version instead of 1/2.

[Don 4344]

@retireby40:
I support the non-chains as well, but when I want dependable quality and service, I go to Panera. With many mom-and-pops, you have no idea what you are going to get, so I usually allot an hour if going to one of them. But Panera is consistently good and friendly. I bought their stock years ago because of that, and I have been rewarded handsomely!

[Arimack]

Great marketting. Most likely the recognized you and your wife as regulars, like the other couple, and decided to reward you. From a busniess perspective look what two cookies got them. They probably assumed you would mention it to your friends and possibly increae their business. They surely did not know that they hit the jackpot with someone who runs a well read blog!
My wife usually has the same response as yours when asked that question. We have two nearby Panera's and love them. Good, healthy food and awesome customer service. They really do it right.

[RJB]

My wife and I were there late one night, just before closing time. One of the employees asked us if we'd like some free loaves of bread, which they'd have to throw away anyway. We took two, which were delicious.

I should add, though, that the Dunkin Donuts in my town gives all leftover food to a local shelter, which I think is a terrific thing to do.