I found the employee who said the discount was only available the first time to be a symptom of a self-defeating policy: once you make such a statement, the tra

I found the employee who said the discount was only available the first time to be a symptom of a self-defeating policy: once you make such a statement, the transaction would become uncomfortably personal as illustrated by the account of the mother in the article. Having a sign outside the store and another one near the checkout would be less personal. The most that I would ask an employee to say in that sort of situation is "Please pay it forward when you can". The part about the customer dress code was declared to be unevenly enforced between the Panera Cares store and the normal Panera bread store, so that seems like another issue of policy. The Yelp comment that mentioned smell is a tough one. I was thinking about not having any place to sit period to avoid that, but then one could make the argument that isn't the Panera Bread experiment. I applaud Ron Shaich for at least trying. I personally would not have gone towards opening four stores without proving out and refining the first experience of the first one. By just having this one store, it could have stayed open longer before closing, and the employees working at that store could have been given better job security e.g. if this store doesn't work out, then I'll guarantee you a position of employment at your nearest Panera Bread.