Breaking up the review into sections (bold high-lights by me), the whole of this review needs to be highlighted because it is more than true! As usual I leave any mistakes in to keep it in their own words.
Before you read the below review, please sit down, take a deep breath and make sure you are not eating anything that might get stuck in your throat.
»This job can annihilate every piece of humanity inside of you.«
“You start work at 4:30 in the morning when its dark and you finish at 16:30 when its dark again in the winter and you spend your whole day in the kitchen without windows where its very very cold, 4-5 degree and you are required to wear the short sleeved uniform because they are always under staffed and you might have to run on till at any point of the day.
There is painfully loud music in the kitchen so that you dont talk with the others because this is slowing you down and you have a timer that beeps every so minutes and you have to race and assemble sandwiches as fast as you can which is like a game at first but it becomes very stressful with time and you are always late, always behind and if you somehow manage to finish for the time set the next day they give you more stuff to make in the same time. Its all about productivity.
I spend 6 months racing all day and barely spoke 3-5 words a day on my shifts if I’m not on till where you are required to have the widest fake smile on earth, highly pitched voice and again be as fast as possible, its all a race. Everywhere its very noisy and very busy and you are always behind and the stress builds up so much that me and many of my colleagues had to take pills for sleep because you hear the noise in your head when you get home after work and we had this random mental break downs where you are crying on your lunch break without any real reason, its just tears coming out of your eyes and you cant stop.
The giant corporation is making wealth from squeezing every drop of “productivity” from the employees and when people break and quit there are always more desperate poor students or immigrants willing to take their position. People work there no more than 3-6 months but there are people that are ok with being on autopilot all day and can deal with the lack of any thoughts in their head day after day after day.
There is no place for thoughts, just reflexes. You do the same stuff over and over and over as fast as possible every day and when you get home you either drink or you you act drunk because when someone asks you something you cant answer. You just stand there like a vegetable and try not to shake, humming and trying to suppress the chaotic noise in your head.”
BINGO!!! Every dot and comma of this review is 150% spot on!!
So, understandably that Pret is now desperate for staff, giving £1000 to each employee as Brexit is advancing fast. £1K that would take 10 years of service to receive, they now throw out at all employees even new staff (which is peanuts for Pret) to gain and retain staff.
Lucky Pret, they fired me 5 months short of my 10 years’ service while my father was in intensive care, just out of a coma. But lucky me I survived to talk about my ordeal!
The above will only get worse with the new take over by JAB based in tax haven Luxembourg! At current and new Pret staff, take the money and run! Good luck!
Quote of the Day:
LINK >>> “You will lose everything that makes you human.” !!!
A long list of Pret Staff Complaints with Links to Employment Review Websites
I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Interview:
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Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 