‘This is how you conduct your business?!?’ This lady mentioned that a Panera drive-thru employee acted as if she were a "beggar" even though she was a customer who paid and was also enrolled in their rewards program.
In a highly popular video that has garnered over 6.3 million views, along with five additional follow-up videos, Zolaf (@_zolaf) revealed the shocking manner in which her nearby Panera was managing operations.
"Panera Bread!!! Is this how you run your business?!? Giving out food to customers like we're beggars? Ignoring health regulations??" Zolaf commented in the caption.
What happened at this Panera?
The beginning was typical as Zolaf placed her order for a tuna salad and broccoli cheddar soup, along with a beverage and a brownie. She also provided them with her rewards number.
Outside the window, she attempts to use Apple Pay to make a payment, but the employee, oddly enough, took her entire phone with a glove-covered hand into the restaurant to settle the bill.
“Why are you touching my unsanitary phone with your one glove and taking it back into your restaurant where you prepare food?” Zolaf asked.
Zolaf trusted her, thinking perhaps the employee only dealt with money matters and not with food.
The employee eventually passes her lunchbox, and Zolaf informs her that her beverage is absent. While she inspects her lunchbox to verify all items are present, she notices the brownie is missing, so Zolaf informs her that it's also missing.
The worker seemed annoyed but went back for the brownie.
It's unclear whether this was due to extreme spitefulness or not, but she gives Zolaf a naked brownie with her gloved (yet unsanitary) hand.
Zolaf is surprised because it's widely known that you're usually given a food item in some form of packaging, no matter how small.
The TikTuber began filming the event and observed that the employee at the drive-thru had returned and was conversing with their supervisor for approximately 5 minutes.
“That when she pulls up with her condescending motherf*cking tone,” Zolaf says about the manager.
The viral moment
In the popular video, Zolaf inquired to the manager about the manager's opinion on the method used to give a customer a food item. The manager expressed regret and inquired if Zolaf needed anything else, without attempting to address the issue and merely stating that the employee gave it to her wearing a glove.
She asked the woman several times to take the brownie back and for her money back.
Instead, the woman laid the receipt on the brownie and told Zolaf that she could “get out of my drive-thru.”
The brownie receipt that was attached to it made Zolaf even more angry because if she's supposed to eat the brownie, they shouldn't be putting a dirty receipt on it.
Get the f*ck out my drive-thru,” the manager told Zolaf.
At that point, Zolaf threw the brownie at her and told her to “take this sh*t.”
In a subsequent video, Zolaf clarifies that her action was not meant to cause harm, but rather to retrieve the brownie from the restaurant.
The supervisor responded by hurling the brownie in her direction.
Zolaf, who had neglected to eat lunch even though it was almost 7 p.m., disclosed that she had discarded the bag of food.
I’m not eating this sh*t. If you’re doing this in front of me and violating health codes in front of me, what are you doing behind my back?” she asks in the clip
“If you’re not fazed by the fact that your employee is handing me things like this and you’re not fazed bed by it, that just tells me your conduct is literally disgusting,” she continues. “You have no safety regulations happening in that kitchen, and I do not want to eat that food.”
Panera’s response
“I did get an apology from Panera in my DMs,” Zolaf shared.
Additionally, she received a direct email of apology from the site's director, who mentioned that disciplinary measures would be implemented following a thorough investigation into the matter.
Although Zolaf acknowledged and took the apology, she mentioned that the director failed to tackle the problem of adequate cleanliness in the eatery. Consequently, she decided not to go back to that place.
“Extremely alarming,” Zolaf says, especially amid the rise in COVID cases.
She also filed a grievance with the nearby health authority and successfully received a refund for her purchase.
What to do in this situation?
If you suspect a restaurant near you isn’t up to food safety standards, your city should have a hotline or online complaint form from the local public health authority.
This often leads to an inquiry.
Commenter reactions
“I literally work at panera bread, this is insane,” a person said.
“They literally have cookie bags,” another pointed out.
“Worked at panera a couple different times.Every pastry item has a box or a sleeve bag that we must put them in . @Panera Bread yall need to look into this location,” a commenter wrote.
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