1. Student X
20 September 2011
Panera Bread
Basic Intro / Working at Panera Bread should have been my best job because I liked it at first.
Not very
interesting/ The managers I had for the first few months were great. Then, with new management, the
clichés and
misspellings
job when downhill, causing me to abandon a group of people with I had formed tight
I remember having lunch in Panera with my mother one afternoon, discussing
how nice it would be to work in such an environment. Who would have thought that by
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details /
the August prior to my junior year of high school I would have my first real job there!
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Note how
“nice” is However, little did I know much of my days (and evenings) at Panera would be spent
overused
in this working really hard.
essay
Luckily, my first general manager organized training sessions so that I could
learn. My first trainer was an expert at teaching and was very patient with me when I
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details / made mistakes. Soon I felt confident. Everyone I worked with was nice, and we became
writing is
bland with friends. My other manager was really nice too, to top it all off, my best friend worked
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/some alongside me as a cashier, and I even began dating one of my coworkers. Panera had
grammatical
mistakes/ become not just a job but an exciting place to escape to after school.
spelling
error: However, my perspective on Panera changed after several months. When we
where/were
where informed that one manager was transferring to another Panera, the employees were
upset but not overwhelmed with sadness because he was somewhat strict. When we
found out our other manager, who was fun-loving and a motherly figure, was leaving, we
became concerned that Panera would not be the same.

2. I knew nothing would be the same when the next Bread Bash rolled around.
Every season, the Panera managers hosted a “Bread Bash” for all their employees after
work on Sunday. While it’s real purpose was to introduce employees to new or seasonal
products, Bread Bash was seen by employees as a chance to get paid for eating free food.
Spelling These nights were very social and everyone always had a good time, that is until the
&
Grammar management changed. The new manager made it less fun and was even mean. I hated
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going to work. I dreaded my shifts. Soon employees started calling in sick and refusing to
Illustrate cover each other’s shifts. What was happening to the Panera Bread that I had once
these
general
point with
thought of as a second home?
details
During weekend rushes, it became apparent that the employees’ chemistry with
one another was falling apart. What had once been a carefully constructed line of work
turned into unmanageable chaos. I realized I had had enough. My once-perfect job was
slowly turning into a giant black hole and sucking me into it. The decision was made; I
quit.
Upon reflection, my experience at Panera was beneficial. Yes, I left some friends
and my boyfriend behind, but I saved my sanity, and I now realize that no amount of
money can make a hated job tolerable (well at least when one is talking about the typical
wages in service industries). In addition, quitting gave me a chance to start in retail, a
field I have grown to love. The most important lesson I learned is about the key role that
management plays in the life of an employee and in the success of a business.