Panera revisited...

This is in reference to my "Panera's Frozen Goodness" post from 1-9-2008(see below).
The quote from Panera's home page simply states,"Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning". When I first read this I took it as implying that you should be enjoying their bread which is baked from fresh dough every morning. Which of course, as I stated, is rather hard to do when the dough is made in a centralized location, shipped by truck to the store, kept in a cooler until it is then baked that night.
But now I see their loophole. The statement, "Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning" can also be taken another way. That you should be enjoying their baked bread every morning. In other words, you should be purchasing and eating their bread every morning. Ahhhh, now I get it!
Nice doublespeak there, Mother Bread, you got me on that one.
You can check it out for yourself at this link: Panera and watch the animation which tells you to enjoy their bread.

Verdict? Panera sucks!

Panera's Frozen Goodness!

Ever see those BIG Panera trucks that roll down the highway? Guess what's in them? Your bread, that's what. If you look on there web site they have a photo of their bread loaf with a caption reading, "Enjoy bread baked from fresh dough every morning". What they don't tell you is that the dough was made in a centralized location then shipped to local stores in semi-trucks where it is THEN baked. The dough arrives during the day then baked at night and then sold to you the next day.
But what about those yummy cookies and cinnamon rolls? The dough for their pastries is shipped frozen before it is topped with glazing, nuts or whatever and then baked.

Verdict? Panera sucks!

The Home Depot

This was only a mild irritation of a shopping experience but it's the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back and got this whole blog thing going. I needed one door stopper for our front door and I'm at the Home Depot anyways so I figure I'll pick one up. I look at the wall of stoppers and see a white, plastic stopper that would match the drywall that the door knob is denting. So I look in the corresponding box on the shelf and find that it's empty. I ask an ever-present sales associate if they have anymore somewhere in back.
"No" says The Man,"we only have what's up front. But maybe some have gotten mixed up in the brass stoppers." So he digs in the box of brass stoppers and eureka! there's one at the bottom of the box. I said I'll take it.
"Sorry" says The Man, "but it's not in the package and there is two in a package. We wouldn't be able to ring it up without the code on the package." I then explain that I really only need one and the other would just be hanging around. He then jokingly asks if I only have one door. I tell him no, I have more then one door, but only have a problem with one of them and besides the brass stoppers are too tacky.
I then have a brainstorm. "Can't you just ring it up under 'miscellaneous sale'? "No", says the man, we can't do that" and takes the lone stopper and walks down the isle with it in his hand.

What gives? I am a consumer who wants to buy an item that a store stocks but said store can't sell it to me because it doesn't know how. So what do they do with it now? Throw it out? Why would I have to buy 2 anyways and why do you have to sell it in some environmentally-unfriendly plastic bag?

The next day I bought one door stopper at True Value although it didn't come in a fun plastic bag.

Verdict? The Home Depot Sucks!