A Panera Bread customer didn’t get the reaction she probably expected when she uploaded footage of a “rude” employee to her TikTok account.
Mama and TikToker @leikerornot garnered over 17.7 million views and almost 95,000 comments when she posted the video – but many of those comments were not in her favour.
While we’ve seen drive-through interactions go viral before — like the Starbucks barista reluctantly revealing to a customer that there was a problem with her makeup order — @leikerornot’s video inspires an important one Talk about how we treat the food industry.
The video appears to start in the middle of the action, with @leikerornot asking the Panera Bread employee, “So you’re going to refuse to take my order because my kid was screaming?”
The employee calmly replies, “Yes, I have the right to do so” – and then explains to the mother that she is welcome to come in and place her order or stay in her car and order online.
As if on cue, @leikerornot’s little daughter screams in the background. The mother then reveals to the Panera Bread employee that she filmed their interaction and plans to email the footage “to the company”.
“It’s just so rude,” she says. “I can’t come in because my daughter isn’t wearing shoes. Do you understand that?”
The clerk calmly reiterates that she can order online – to which the mother protests, saying she doesn’t have the “extra 20 minutes” it would take to order online. “It doesn’t suit me,” she says. “It’s your job to take orders and stuff, and that’s ridiculous. So I want you to take my order please.”
After a long, thoughtful silence, the Panera Bread employee calmly replies, “Okay, I’m happy to take your order as long as your daughter doesn’t scream. Good?”
“I think that’s a pretty good decision on your part,” replies @leikerornot.
The employee replies with determination: “Okay, I don’t need this attitude.”
The video then ends abruptly – but @leikerornot’s viral journey had only just begun.
The story goes on
“Team Panera man!”
Nearly 100,000 TikTokers commented on @leikerornot’s video in the comments section, most of which expressed their support for the Panera Bread employee.
“I’m a mom and I’m a Team Panera guy! He handled it well and didn’t deserve her condescending tone!” wrote one user.
“It’s hard enough to communicate through these speakers without a child screaming. She would have been just as angry if her order had been wrong. Team Panera guy!” commented another user.
“Team Panera I felt like he handled the situation well and I’m kind of sorry he’s being threatened to bring the video to the company,” wrote one user.
“Mom here. 1000% with Panera type. Please give him a raise and promotion for putting up with it,” read another comment.
“I’m with Panera!! I don’t want to waste 20 minutes ordering online, I want to waste time arguing 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️,” mused another user.
“I’m with Panera, it’s hard to take your order when your kid is screaming, order online and they bring it out… easy!” wrote one user.
“I’m with Panera. 😭 If my son can’t be quiet for the few seconds it takes me to order, I’ll drive away and we’ll eat at home,” commented one parent.
“As Panera employees, it hurts our ears when a child yells into the intercom! The mic is sooo loud and can be hard to understand,” shared a Panera Bread employee.
In a follow-up video, @leikerornot told TikTokers that she will be meeting with the Panera Bread Area Manager soon to discuss her drive-through experience. “Let’s just say he disagrees with most of them [these] comments,” she said. Comments for this video have been disabled.
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The ‘rude’ Panera Bread employee’s drive-through footage of the Post’s mother totally backfires after going viral and first appeared on In The Know.
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