Panera Bread Sold to JAB

storewanderer
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by storewanderer »

Based on perceptions here it sounds like Einstein has a real quality problem...

The one that I am frustrated with lousy quality (along with dirty shops and poor service) at is Dunkin Donuts. Not sure how much longer the local franchise will hold on, I suspect they are bleeding cash. Signed a development agreement for 12 stores a few years ago and stopped after the first 2 openings.
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by Alpha8472 »

The problem is that with these corporate chains runs by franchisees is that the individually run restaurants can suffer from inconsistencies. The manager of the store could be awful at their job and it shows by how the store is run.

The corporate office is too distant from the actual restaurants. They can't keep their individual restaurants under control. The employees lack motivation and service is sloppy. Food quality goes down hill, and there really is nothing corporate can do. Corporate only cares about profit. The corporate office makes money from selling the use of the brand name. They don't care if individual restaurant customers complain, because the real money comes from franchisees who pay to use the restaurant brand name.

Dunkin Donuts opened up last year in Walnut Creek, California to huge lines and crowds. However, that is all gone now. The store hours have been reduced and the quality of the donuts is terrible. Donuts are stale and service is slow. Employees are constantly making errors on orders and food is not what you ordered. It tried their online ordering and it did not work. Why advertise online mobile ordering if it does not work at your store. They ended up giving me my food free of charge. The restaurant is losing money on this mess.

People flocked to the Walnut Creek location because it was the only one in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Thousands of people from the east coast flocked to the store to experience a little bit of the east coast. However, they were sadly disappointed. This Dunkin Donuts was nothing like the Dunkin Donuts back east. The service was slow and the food was terrible. Dunkin is known for fast and efficient service back east.
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by storewanderer »

Same thing happened with Dunkin in Sparks and Carson City, They were super busy at first but it died down quick after so many people had such bad experiences. Hours of operation were cut and sometimes they do not even follow their advertised hours. One time around 8:30 PM, I did a mobile order for the Carson City one and the app said it was open until 10 PM; I went to pick it up and the posted hours on the window were 8 PM so it was closed already.

Another issue with Dunkin is donuts and baked goods served at room temperature are not subject to sales tax in Nevada if they are ordered as "to go." This is to put them at an even field with grocery stores and others selling similar items which are not being subject to sales tax. At these Dunkins, they refuse to input any order as "to go" so you have to pay the sales tax in all cases. Their cash register is actually programmed correctly to not charge sales tax on "to go" baked goods but they refuse to process "to go" orders as "to go."

I also think Dunkin, at least in Roseville, is charging sales tax on all items regardless of it for here or go to. Starbucks in California does not charge sales tax on drinks or baked goods ordered "to go," only "for here."

Einstein in Reno also properly does not charge sales tax on "to go" plain bagels/baked goods. Drinks are taxable in Nevada regardless.
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by Brian Lutz »

Bagel places seem to be a bit of a hit-or-miss thing. Back in the late Nineties there was a fad where bagel shops seemed to pop up all over the place virtually overnight, then all disappeared within a year. The only ones that seemed to survive for any length of time were Noah's Bagels (eventually most closed and whatever remained became Einstein Bros) and a couple of locals.
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by buckguy »

The bagel chain cycles go back to Bagel Nosh in the 70s. They are an easy item to add to other chains which may be part of the issue. Too bad Einstein has been so durable, as their bagels are horrible.

The idea that people would line up for Dunkin Donuts is just absurd to me. The general awfulness of their donuts easily prevents repeat business. The one smart thing they've done has been the development of coffee as an ancillary/adjunct product. They started doing this well before the "coffee craze" and established themselves as a popular cheaper alternative to to Starbucks et al.
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Re: Panera Bread Sold to JAB

Post by BillyGr »

buckguy wrote:The idea that people would line up for Dunkin Donuts is just absurd to me. The general awfulness of their donuts easily prevents repeat business. The one smart thing they've done has been the development of coffee as an ancillary/adjunct product. They started doing this well before the "coffee craze" and established themselves as a popular cheaper alternative to to Starbucks et al.
You also have to remember that (at least in the Northeastern part of the US) Dunkin has been around for a long time, so for many it's just the "habit" of going there, which very well may have formed back in the "time to make the donuts" days when everything was made fresh in the store rather than trucked in from a central facility. A second contributor is that much of their home areas don't have a lot of other choices (Krispy Kreme came and left, so did Tim Hortons in some areas), at least not aside from a local place here & there.
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