My complaint:
During the month of August 2020, we attempted to use a gift card and was advised it has no pin number. We were told by the clerk taking our order to call Panera Bread to get the balance. We paid for our lunch that day, and left.
We called 855-372-6372, which we were told to do. We were advised the card had a balance of $25.00 and to take it back to the cafe and they would take care of it for us. WRONG!
The clerk called the manager, we told her our sad story, she said she would call. She went to the back of the store and came right back. From my experience of calling Panera Bread it was virtually impossible for her to call anyone in that short span of time.
She said she was sorry but without a pin number all she could do was give us $15.00 worth of food. We were not there for a handout and we were not begging, we had a gift card for $25.00, but couldn’t use it.
We told her no thank you and left. We were embarrassed; and, felt like beggars.
I have called half a dozen numbers to try to rectify this, but to no avail. One customer service woman had a very bad connection. I tried to tell her this and she hung up on me.
Poor customer service in the cafe and on the phone.
Suggested solution:
The card should be honored. There should have been a system in place that would honor these older cards. It is not the customer's fault that they did not use the card right away.
