16 December – Day 16 of Away in Pret A Manger adVENT Calendar 2020

.

I’m sure I’ve just woken a sleeping giant with my last 2 posts. But the good thing about woken sleeping giants is, they are too lazy. That is Pret A Manger.

.

I could share a lot about my meetings with David Carter, then Head of Pret’s HR, now “People Director” of Pret (just another fancy word for a department that has as its sole purpose to sieve out “trouble makers” and kiss up to a company).

For you readers who don’t know Pret’s top leadership, you will not understand below confrontation I did to David Carter. He was put on my case after I emailed Clive Schlee.

The two videos below are about Pret’s culture.

LinkednIn is the chosen platform for Pano Christou, David Carter & Co as Twitter is for those who are “too low” for the snobs posting on LinkedIn.

Pano Christou deleted his Twitter account on 01. July 2019 after I linked to his Twitter account when I tweeted to the press about Clive Schlee’s “retirement” (a soft way of saying he got sacked or at least he resigned!). Clive Schlee’s account was deleted in July 2020.

David Carter wrote ONE LinekedIn post, and I happen to take this window to respond.

I wrote THREE posts, but one got deleted. The post about Julian Metcalfe’s words recently (video below) remains, but the post about Pret has been deleted, but I have screenshots.

So, Pret keeps the post about Metcalfe’s disaster words, but Pret got my post/video on Pret itself deleted. Well, there you go, they just threw Metcalfe under the bus for making detrimental statements hurting Pret! The business world is brutal indeed! No forgiveness.

Carter’s post is about the apprenticeship program where Pret uses former – mainly young and short-term – homeless people for PR, while the main workforce suffers. I posted to him because a few days ago he visited my LinkedIn profile.

For those who are not on LinkedIn, if someone looks at/visits your profile, you will see it unless they privatized their account. Because my account is blacklisted, I won’t see their profile pictures.

.

.

With the account I posted, I cannot see his profile photo. But without being logged in I can see his photo. That’s why there seems to be inconsistency.

.

My P.S. response which got deleted:

.

UPDATE 16.12.2020

So, there was a LinkedIn email today informing me that they censored … uhm, I mean that I went against some community standard shit! Of course I did! After all, LinkedIn ain’t Twitter where CEOs run away from confrontation!

Part of the above hidden/deleted post with a new post under it that I just wrote:

.

New Post, yet to be censored: (Sidenote: suddenly David Carter unblocked me. What’s the game here Mr. Carter?)

.

.

My, my, I haven’t been “professional”! Here’s my take on Pret’s “PRofessionality“. <—

.

In my first post to him I posted the YouTube slide about Julian Metcalfe:

.

The second post was about Pret customers gobsmacked on the reality of Pret, but that LinedIn post got deleted:

.

After the second post, he blocked me.

I want to mention here as well, that Pret via Carter, paid for some therapy counselling AFTER I contacted Clive Schlee about the bullying I went through. Before that, I approached Pret for about a year for help, not realizing that their toxic culture is systemic. For a year I didn’t get help. Only when I contacted then CEO Clive Schlee, die Pret pay for some counselling to pretend that they supported me.

But my daily work in shops continued with bullying, no information given, excluded from meetings, my pay wasn’t the amount of hours worked, shouted at, blamed for Manager’s mistakes etc. etc. etc.

And David Carter made 3 offers of settlements if I resign from Pret and never speak about my ordeal nor go to court. The fourth settlement offer came via ACAS when I withdrew my Tribunal claim against Pret, because my dad died at the time of preparing.

---

.

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.

©2017 – Present: expret.org

Interview:

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.