Bruegger's Bagels Malicious Gabriel Garcez humiliates workers and customers at this location, public health hazard Winchester, Massachusetts
One day I walked into this bakery and it was about 100 degrees. It was like an oven and the customers were told by Gabriel Garcez (who is some kind of upper management for 5 stores or so) that they would be "fined" $50.00 by the Winchester Board of Health if they opened the doors. So the good customers had to swelter. The next day it was the same ordeal, it took about 3 days before they fixed the air conditioner in a hot bakery on hot days.
Two customers did open the door and told Garcez that it was a greater public health hazard not to have air conditioning while baking.
Garcez is a very difficult man, one former manager saying that he brings a negative vibe to the store with him. Two great employees were let go and Garcez even tells customers not to come back when he reads complaints sent to upper management.
There is a report with the Winchester Department of Public Health about Garcez allegedly not having a clean and working milk container. The milk container was leaking for weeks but Garcez didn't want to spend the money. He's always chatting on the cellphone and never doing business with the customers...he couldn't be bothered. The guy should be a slick politician because customer care and public safety are out the window. They had a previous woman manager that was hated by the staff...people quit. She even slugged a mail customer...whacking him on the back thinking she was friendly. Diane Vogel is allegedly the senior management and if Garcez is the Wicked Witch of the East, Vogel is the Wicked Witch of the West, much worse than the other one. Employees have chatted about Vogel and none of it is good. They call her a "Corporate ___ (let's say "Witch") because it is all about the Corporation. The Customer is NEVER right when Gabriel Garcez and Diane Vogel push them around without putting the air conditioning on, without training the staff properly (a manager named Lilly says that the staff has to be trained by the customers! Figure that out). Lilly is called incompetent by staffers, so she blames the messenger and says she's "afraid" of people writing out a legitimate complaint.
This used to be a great place but the good employees flee. They send managers all over the place, to Worcester to Auburndale, they use the good employees like checkers on a checker board and they refuse to give them mileage some have complained. Isn't that outrageous? This place used to be spectacular with good management...but they scared the good employees off and they are forcing customers out. Guess they want to close this location...it's the only logical answer. A couple of stores in the neighborhood have shut down so it appears that Bruegger's Corporate with Diane Vogel and Gabriel Garcez in control just want to rip off the customers, play with their money for the better part of a year...and boot them out the door. If they don't bake you out of there by refusing to turn on the air conditioner, Gabriel will personally and maliciously harass you in front of customers. That kind of abuse is just as bad as Angelica taking a slug at you. Diane Vogel thinks Angelica is great...sure, if you want customer dissatisfaction and a lawsuit for assault. This store can be great again, but Diane Vogel and Gabriel Garcez need to be fired. Whatever they publish in response to this remember:
1)They kept the air conditioner off and refused to open the door
2)they put the microwave near the floor and all the dirt (can you believe that? The employees were mortified but afraid of retaliation because Lilly wanted the microwave on the floor for space reasons)
3)They had a container or containers of milk that was /were broken for weeks
4)Gabriel was said to have been to cheap to buy ties for the bagels, so they were exposed to the air...the plastic bags were wide open
This is all a public safety hazard and needed to be addressed. Diane Vogel sweeps public safety concerns under the rug and blames the consumer.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Louis
United States of AmericaNot an employee
#4Author of original report
Wed, July 06, 2011
TO: AUTHOR: Robert - Irvine (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, July 05, 2011
The "one day" that I walked into the restaurant wasn't written to say it was the ONLY day I walked in. One day the air conditioner was out and it was stifling hot. Hope that clarifies it for you. That one day turned into two...turned into three.
...I'm one of many (former) long time customer of this restaurant. I watched many employees flee after a manager named "Angelica" was hired. Her boss, "Diane", thought Angelica was the best manager ever. Because they are bosom buddies, I've been told. Angelica was lazy, went out on "disability" after she burned herself with a coffee pot or something, never to return. There were great employees...it was a friendly atmosphere. One current employee "DREADS" going to Wincheseter. Dreads it. Think about it. Gabriel equals Angelica in laziness. The individual spends hours on his cellphone...you never see him working to clean up the place. This former customer helped keep the place clean. A CUSTOMER! Gabriel throws all the bagels out at the end of the day
when a competitor up the road has churches and homeless shelters come in and take the food away. Do the math. It's disgraceful how high the prices are for such poor service and unqualified management. This is not a reflection on the new hard-working employees. They aren't trained properly. I've been told they have a card that has how to make a sandwich that new employees are supposed to read while serving a line of customers. That's how "Lilly" allegedly trains her new staff. She lets the customers train them.
I knew there were problems but I didn't know until they harassed this customer really how bad it is in Winchester. Angelica whacked a man with her hand ...she thought it was funny. It was assault and the guy was NOT happy about it and reported it internally. They have 'red flagged" him.
Imagine if a customer whacked a woman manager on the back ...a big slap on the back trying to be humorous? She'd have called the police in a heartbeat. So why are good customers who don't report misconduct to the police harassed? Because this location doesn't care about doing business. It's a joke.
The customer is the problem if he or she doesn't allow the dictators to leave a dirty floor, not pick up after the huge amount of kids come into the place during the school year (lunch break) or pick up after the children whose parents let them throw garbage on the floor.
There have been some great managers. The key is that when an excellent manager gets fed up and moves on, Gabriel can't replace them. He insulted current manager "Lilly" by saying he wanted a dozen like Nancy. Right in front of Lilly's face. Lilly might be unqualified (that's from an experienced manager talking to me about her) but you don't say that to the manager's face and embarrass her.
What a shame. Bruegger's Bagels is a good product and so many people had good times here. But you can't have dictators as "regional managers" sending employees to Worcester or to places hours and hours away and expect to keep the clientele happy. Blame the district or regional managers and tell Vermont that there's "trouble brewing from the regional managers" instead of coffee.
They should be brewing coffee. The managers are so egotistical...Diane and Gabriel especially...that they have to go after customers now that they've pushed so many employees out the door.
A lot of victims from this one Bagel shop. Stop in...see how "friendly" it is now that all the good people have fled. Bruegger's has a good product...it's a sin they let a regional manager sully their good name by creating public safety hazards. The Board of Health is allegedly investigating them.
mr rik
miami,Florida,
USA
Don't do business
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, July 06, 2011
with places that don't care about their customer.
That's a sure way to get food poisoning...
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
You know
#4Consumer Comment
Tue, July 05, 2011
For someone who just walked into this store one day you seem to know a lot about what is going on.
It does make one wonder if perhaps you were one of the two "great" employees that were let go.