20 December – Day 20 of Away in Pret A Manger adVENT Calendar 2020

Over time I have received many emails, DMs, text messages from current and former Pret A Manger staff. I have never felt like putting them unto my blog out of respect for privacy. But this recent one I thought maybe I should start making an own blog entry on what current and former employees write to me.

I will not post any comments without permission of course, and will always keep them anonymous. This recent email I just asked this current staff if I can post, and they said yes.

Their message is word-for-word and doesn’t need any more explanation.

To the person who wrote this to me and to all the others, thank you for your courage and trust. And thank you for letting me publish this. I will only publish the initial/first mail/DM, nothing thereafter.

Join a Union and leave reviews on Glassdoor AND Indeed like I already wrote to you in the emails/DMs.

Merry Christ-Mask-wearing-handwashing-social-distancing!

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The email:

»Hi, I work for Pret right now and honestly everything you say is 100%. If I didn’t need my job so bad right now I would tell them all to go fuck themselves!

No bonus, unpaid breaks. Everyone is like a workhorse… even a 28 hour contract working 48-60 hours because not enough staff.

People are now just working their 28 hours and leaving, no one stays over anymore the people are waking up!

The exploitation is unreal! Calling people from other shops all over to help! Sweating all day, customers are rude because service is slow.

To make matters worse they add the subscription which states on their website over 18, we have kids coming as young as 8 ordering coffees smoothies and frappes!

Pret don’t care about anyone in this company, everyone is replaceable. It makes me so sick to work for them but at this moment I do not really have a choice!

Keep doing what you do! Fuck them! I really hope they sink In this pandemic! This horrible corporate cog of the biggest scandals wheel.«

– Current Pret Employee

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As Pret is very customer (money) focused like most big companies and portraying to the public to be an ethical and caring company for their employees, the very opposite is the case. A wise word I stumbled across once on Twitter:

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UPDATE July 2021: Another Email by a staff member.

For a more substantial, but not exhaustive list, on Pret’s systemic bullying culture behind a smiley PR facade, please check “Caught in the Act at Pret” and scroll down to the screenshots.

And for those who don’t like reading long blog entries, get the popcorn out and put the kettle on, a small collection from the “core target audience’s words of mouth” of what many, many other current and former Pret staff say throughout the years, from different countries (including Pret’s London HQ staff) on review sites, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook etc.

Best viewed on full screen (and volume 😉 )

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DONATIONS

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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.

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Thank you for reading/listening.

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Interview:

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