A Panera near a university in California has sparked outrage on Reddit after a local claimed the store “removed almost all the outlets and replaced them with blanking plates.” Where people or students might have stopped by to charge their devices while eating or studying before, the shop now seemingly no longer wants customers to stay for long. Tens of thousands had a debate about both this Panera and their own local shops doing the same.
“The Panera seems to think its customers won’t remember they used to [be] able to charge their electronic devices,” remarks Reddit user Calix_Meus_Inebrians, who posted a photo of the shop’s interior on r/mildlyinfuriating. “Why does Panera all over the country just hate their customers?” they ask.
Panera has been under fire for quite a while now, and not just over this shop’s removal of outlets for charging. YouTube channel Weird History Food posted a video about how the franchise has hiked up its prices and claimed that’s a major reason why business went downhill. As one person puts it, “Panera is overpriced hospital food.”
Redditors Claim Panera Is One of Many Businesses Trying to Prevent Customers from Staying Too Long
As for Calix_Meus_Inebrians’s Reddit post, many people shared how their local businesses are removing access to outlets as well to keep customers from hanging around. “The local coffee shop did this,” says an individual. “People were coming in and sitting all day. People were walking out because they couldn’t get a table.” One Redditor called Panera “a failing business.” They remarked, “There is no reason to try to make the only clientele they have go away.”
Several top-upvoted comments pointed out that businesses these days would rather not have customers sit around for hours doing work or studying, as their spots could seat new customers. “I assume this is to deal with the problem of ‘customers’ buying a coffee and then using Panera like their personal office for 4 hours,” says a commenter.
On the other hand, one Reddit user made a valid point that, in the past, cafes and stores like Panera were the go-to spots for free Wi-Fi and the “chill-out-here vibe.” But “now they’re going the opposite: order quick, preferably on an app, get out, and please try not to interact with the staff.”
