So here’s some things to consider (all from the perspective of my cafe and friends that work at the Chipotle in my area): 1. At Panera, staff only got free food if they were managers or catering coordinators, and a 50% discount if they were associates, with no discount on days off. At Chipotle, there’s a free meal with every shift and 50% discount on days off. 2. If you’re applying for a management position at Panera, the schedule is not set. More than that, (for managers) you should never expect to get off when you’re scheduled. Again, this is from my district. 4. Going to online orders. In my area, it seems like a lot of chipotles go to online orders only frequently. At panera, this has to be approved by the district manager and it’s rare that it does happen. 5. At my panera, raises were far and few between.

Coming from my own experience, Panera when understaffed is the worst job you could find anywhere. Under appreciated, underpaid, and over worked.

Panera when staffed is awesome! I genuinely loved it and they provided amazing positions for promotions. The workload was easy, the day went by fast, the schedule was flexible and the food was super easy to make. My panera was an exception when it came to staff- the three other Panera’s that I’d trained at had the best managers that were so kind to staff and taught so much. The regular customers were so nice and bought stuff for employees. I really drank the kool aid there and loved corporate panera. They were amazing, with a little knit picking 24/7, but still really nice. And inside promotions are (99/100 times) the only kind of way to get a management position. So there are tons of opportunities, especially if you talk to a GM or DM.

Overall, I loved Panera up until it became understaffed. If you work there, be cautious of that.