A Panera location near a university in California has sparked outrage on Reddit after a local customer claimed the café “removed almost all the outlets and replaced them with blanking plates.” Previously, students and other customers may have stopped in to charge their devices while eating, studying, or working. Now, however, the store appears to be discouraging people from lingering. The post quickly drew tens of thousands of reactions, with users debating not only this particular Panera location but also similar changes reportedly happening at other cafés in their own communities.
“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 facing criticism for quite some time—and not only because this location removed its charging outlets. The YouTube channel Weird History Food released a video examining the chain’s rising prices, arguing that the increases have played a significant role in its declining business. As one commenter put it, “Panera is overpriced hospital food.”
Commenters Weigh In
In response to Calix_Meus_Inebrians’s Reddit post, many users shared that businesses in their own communities are also removing access to electrical outlets in an effort to discourage customers from lingering. “The local coffee shop did this,” one person wrote. “People were coming in and sitting all day. People were walking out because they couldn’t get a table.”
Another Redditor described Panera as “a failing business,” adding, “There is no reason to try to make the only clientele they have go away.”
Several highly upvoted comments noted that many businesses today would prefer not to have customers spend hours working or studying on-site, since those seats could be used by new patrons. “I assume this is to deal with the problem of ‘customers’ buying a coffee and then using Panera like their personal office for four hours,” one commenter wrote.
On the other hand, one Reddit user made a valid point: in the past, cafés and stores like Panera were go-to places for free Wi-Fi and a relaxed, “hang out here” atmosphere. But now, as they put it, “they’re going in the opposite direction: order quickly, preferably through an app, get out, and please try not to interact with the staff.”
