Elijah Reams

As a member of the Panera team, it is my responsibility to master all manners of providing the consumer experience. This includes maintaining the dining room/dishes, baking, acting as a cashier, or preparing/bagging meals, with roles often stacking on top of one another due to a shortage of workers. As one of the only cross-trained employees, it is also my duty to train any new associates. Additionally, I was the assigned baker for all of my shifts, regardless of what role I was given in addition to it.

Working at Panera has given me a years-worth of customer service related to restaurants and hospitality, and 6 months of experience acting as an associate trainer.

As a Barista, I mastered all menu items, regardless of whether I made them daily. I ensured that all customers felt welcome from the moment they walked in and managed either drive thru and phone calls or on one of the bars for those who came inside the store.