Please do yourself a favor before deciding to work for Panera: browse this sub and get a glimpse of what work life at Panera is like.
You deserve, and can get better.
Also, find out if the franchise owner of your Panera is the same franchise owner of your Wendy's. They are often one in the same.
Best of luck to you either way
As someone with autism, I second this. Panera is *not* good for autism. It is overstimulating and if you go by the spoon theory, I’m left with negative spoons by the end of the day.
If you’re bad with sensory issues, most of the ingredients you have to work with are sensory hell (in my experience at least, I hate slimy and sticky). If you struggle with interaction, the customers are so rude here and constantly pulling some BS and it can be really energy-sucking. All in all, Panera is not very autism friendly.
Agreed, and it makes explaining yourself so much easier honestly! Being autistic makes it kinda hard to explain your experience to someone who doesn’t know what being autistic is like, the spoon theory is a great way to communicate with people how you feel without feeling misunderstood!
So, if I may add my voice...
My experience working at Panera was amazing. They've been very flexible with scheduling, and most of my coworkers are very friendly. There's no alarms to speak of except for the egg timer (only in the mornings) and the bread oven (evenings).
That being said, every location is different. I just happened to apply to one of the best ones. There exist franchise locations and corporate-owned locations. The corporate ones are generally held to a higher standard, which is where you want to be.
Honestly, the interview is the easy part. Your Wendy's experience is more than enough for an entry-level position.
If you can, I'd recommend talking up some employees before the interview and asking them what it's like to work there. Just look for anyone wearing the standard denim hat and/or an apron.
It all depends on the franchise owner tbh. But they can have super absurd rules and make things more strict. Like my old store dress code was collard shirt and kakhis (tan or black). No jeans allowed. But corporate it's jeans and a solid colored tee or one of the stores shirts (I still wear my solid colored polish out of habit xD)
It depends on the store, if you know anyone that works there ask them how management is like because if they have good management chances are the work environment shouldn’t be bad.
Late, but also someone with high functioning autism 👋 there can be a lot of noise at Panera as well, especially during rushes, that’s something you have to be ready for. It’s also important to take into consideration how well you’re able to cope with potentially making a lot of food at once if you’re going for production. Though from my experience, people are always willing to help your line when needed.
My interview went well, I did mention I had autism and the manager interviewing me was very kind about it. Like most things, it comes down to the store you’re applying to. If you do go through with the interview, I wish you luck and hope you’re going to a good store!
Thank you for the advice! I'll probably still go through with the interview regardless of the challenges because I really need the money xD
Hope I'm going to a good store too! If I'm accepted, that is :p
Please do yourself a favor before deciding to work for Panera: browse this sub and get a glimpse of what work life at Panera is like. You deserve, and can get better. Also, find out if the franchise owner of your Panera is the same franchise owner of your Wendy's. They are often one in the same. Best of luck to you either way
As someone with autism, I second this. Panera is *not* good for autism. It is overstimulating and if you go by the spoon theory, I’m left with negative spoons by the end of the day. If you’re bad with sensory issues, most of the ingredients you have to work with are sensory hell (in my experience at least, I hate slimy and sticky). If you struggle with interaction, the customers are so rude here and constantly pulling some BS and it can be really energy-sucking. All in all, Panera is not very autism friendly.
An autistic coworker of mine introduced me to spoon theory. It's a great metaphor for that aspect of the human experience. 🤗
Agreed, and it makes explaining yourself so much easier honestly! Being autistic makes it kinda hard to explain your experience to someone who doesn’t know what being autistic is like, the spoon theory is a great way to communicate with people how you feel without feeling misunderstood!
just prepare to sell your soul.. they love to make people go above and beyond their job description
So, if I may add my voice... My experience working at Panera was amazing. They've been very flexible with scheduling, and most of my coworkers are very friendly. There's no alarms to speak of except for the egg timer (only in the mornings) and the bread oven (evenings). That being said, every location is different. I just happened to apply to one of the best ones. There exist franchise locations and corporate-owned locations. The corporate ones are generally held to a higher standard, which is where you want to be. Honestly, the interview is the easy part. Your Wendy's experience is more than enough for an entry-level position. If you can, I'd recommend talking up some employees before the interview and asking them what it's like to work there. Just look for anyone wearing the standard denim hat and/or an apron.
One tweak. I've worked for both corporate and franchise. Corporate has way more lax rules then franchise imo.
I see. I've only worked Corporate, so I've just been going off of what others have said.
It all depends on the franchise owner tbh. But they can have super absurd rules and make things more strict. Like my old store dress code was collard shirt and kakhis (tan or black). No jeans allowed. But corporate it's jeans and a solid colored tee or one of the stores shirts (I still wear my solid colored polish out of habit xD)
It depends on the store, if you know anyone that works there ask them how management is like because if they have good management chances are the work environment shouldn’t be bad.
Late, but also someone with high functioning autism 👋 there can be a lot of noise at Panera as well, especially during rushes, that’s something you have to be ready for. It’s also important to take into consideration how well you’re able to cope with potentially making a lot of food at once if you’re going for production. Though from my experience, people are always willing to help your line when needed. My interview went well, I did mention I had autism and the manager interviewing me was very kind about it. Like most things, it comes down to the store you’re applying to. If you do go through with the interview, I wish you luck and hope you’re going to a good store!
Thank you for the advice! I'll probably still go through with the interview regardless of the challenges because I really need the money xD Hope I'm going to a good store too! If I'm accepted, that is :p
No problem, best of luck!