My blog entry on the 01. July 2019: I tweeted to the press this morning, and of course now they have “breaking” news 😉 He since has now tweeted his announcement himself AFTER I contacted the press and they “broke” the news. ~10am Tweet before the press started waking up:
Link
To Clive Schlee, unfortunately your early retirement you chose not to announce and I had to tweet again for the press to pick this up. Sure, Pano Christou will take over, having come from McDonald’s management (nobody’s perfect!) he will continue where you left off. Pano became UK Managing Director after Andrew Walker “left”. Andrew Walker then became EAT’s CEO which is now swallowed by JAB via Pret. What a cold cold business! It may be good for the press to properly investigate on the Andrew Walker issue! Pano will do some changes of course, but from his emails years ago, he wasn’t straight forward with me either, and I’m afraid Pret will continue business as usual with a lot of the chaos behind the scenes. I’m sure you’ve done a lot of good things and many will sing your praises. But for me and many others this PR[et] facade and the reality behind the scenes has been a terrible “ride” and the worst, traumatic experience I have ever had in any workplace! Only my brother’s untimely death supersedes this trauma in an even greater nightmare! I always shuddered when as a shop Team Leader, working in the office doing the ordering or whatever I had to do, when an email from HQ came in. And that email was sent out naming, blaming and shaming shops that had poor scoring in Health & Safety or other issues. This fear management, also to your low-paid workers via Mystery Shoppers, was always a terrible experience to read and witness. And you think you can just sneak out of Pret, not taking any responsibility? I worked in the catering industry all my life, in 3 countries. I never shied away from hard work and was self-sufficient since my teenage years. I lived and worked with integrity, principle and care. And what I received in return was humiliation, trauma, and discrimination. You need to understand that Pret A Manger under your leadership has almost destroyed my life, literally almost killed me! I survived Pret, which I experienced as toxic, corrupt and exploitative. You can count yourself very lucky, Mr. Schlee, that my mental health is too low to see through to court without a lawyer and my father having died in the middle of preparation for the Tribunal claim I had to withdraw! And this is YOUR legacy, sir. And I can never write any other story-line, as much as I miss my old life of writing with encouragement and positivity, having given the benefit of the doubt to you one too many times. Those days are gone when it comes to Pret A Manger! I’m sure by now with all my writings that you have read (you still haven’t blocked me on Twitter as you collect for a potential court case or to ruin my future further! Pano Christou blocked me and today he closed his @christoupano account!), but I’m sure by now you have learned of amazing CEOs like Guy Singh-Watson from Riverford, or Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani who revolutionize the business world. I hope you learn from them, not just for the typical Pret facade and fake smile you are so known for. But a full turn around to make a true difference in the LIVES of HUMAN BEINGS that labour and give their sweat, blood and tears so that you can count your millions! I am proud to have declined four settlement offers in turn for silence! I have many regrets, but not this one! Wishing you good luck? I wish that you would for once take responsibility, sir! I wish that you would be taken to court for what people have suffered under you! Regards, Your “Late Night Girl” – 01. July 2019
Clive Schlee’s Legacy:
Glassdoor July 2019
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The above slideshow is just a selection, the list goes on in → Pret Staff Complaints
LINK: TWO Pret Staff have died
1 is said to be a suicide.
It’s not the first suicide in Pret.
21. Sep. 2019 Pret A Manger has a New Fool 23. Sep. 2019 Smile, Fool! 01. Sep. 2019 Foot-in-Mouth Disease at Pret 08. July 2019 Any Damn Fool can run Pret
While the Press was fast asleep: 01. July 2019 approx. 3am post Clive Schlee’s Legacy 30. June 2019 The Captain of the Ship 20. June 2019 Where is Clive Schlee? 18. June 2019 Clive Schlee’s Soldiers – My suspicion that he would be leaving! 03. April 2019 The Timing of Clive Schlee’s £1000 Announcement 16. Nov. 2018 Clive Schlee’s Crocodile Tears – His negligence on customer warnings regarding allergen labelling 08. Dec. 2018 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: to Clive Schlee 17. Feb, 2019 Pret’s Unprofessional Twitter Staff incl. Clive Schlee 02. Apr. 2019 Clive Schlee, Pano Christou 08. Aug. 2018 An IMAGINARY but Honest Interview with Pret A Manger UPDATE: 01. July 2019 Clive Schlee’s “Retirement” vs. Resignation and so on…
»It’s amazing to me how many business leaders separate their employees from their customers/patrons. Your employees are your core target audience to put word-of-mouth out about your organization.« – by @minmilyjung
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. Schlee is as of November 2025 CEO of itsu. I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather starve and 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. 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: 1. “Late Night Girl’s” Story with Pret and 2. Pushing Back Against Pret. Thank you for reading/listening. Interview: ©2019 expret.org Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited. ©2017 – Present: expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.
Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 