A Florida woman claims that she was humiliated and discriminated against by an employee at a Panera she frequents. According to her, the employee harassed and then “retaliated against” her. Now, she’s banned from returning and speaking out about her experience.
Margaret (@margaret.jones337) records the moment where she confronts a Panera manager on his alleged recent behavior. He tells Margaret she’s “being difficult” as he smiles at her. Margaret tries to tell him that she “just asked for bread” and he refused to fulfill her order the way she wanted it. The manager stands there uncomfortably. Margaret goes on, “You’re only discriminating against me because I said I was gonna call customer service and make a complaint.”
Margaret tells the manager that she’s going to place her order, but he shakes his head and says he’s “not going to serve” her. She demands, “If you are not going to service me, tell me why you’re not gonna.” At that point, he tells her that she needs to leave their store.
According to Margaret, this all happened because of alleged “unwelcome flirtatious advances.” She claims that the manager recently flirted with her and she refused to reciprocate. From then on, she believes that he retaliated against her. Margaret states that she was “publicly humiliated” by this manager for how he treated her after she filed a complaint against him. He refused to serve her breakfast and use the bread she requested for her sandwich. As a result, he canceled her order and “banned” Margaret from returning to the store. On top of that, the manager “threatened to call the police.”
Margaret claims that she felt “unsafe, intimidated, and deliberately targeted” as a result. She demands to hear from Panera about her alleged mistreatment by the employee. At this time, she is still waiting for a response.
The video immediately sparked reactions from commenters who were invested in Margaret’s story. One commenter simple stated, “As a Panera bread cashier, I’m with him.” Another commenter asked, “Is there a reason he refused your order? You mention breakfast so maybe you ordered after the time?”
One commenter, however, asked Margaret the important question: “Girl, if you have a problem with a certain location, why go back and want to be served by the same people that have a problem with you? Find another location. Save yourself the trouble and the hassle.” Commenters continue to share their opinions about how Margaret and Panera simultaneously handled the issue.
