I am not good with publishing my work professionally. I’ve published a book of poetry in Germany in 2013, but the publisher went bust in 2016. The few books I have left or those floating around that people purchased will never see the light of day again. And that’s ok.
There is someone who systematically goes through my blog and goes through each post click-by-click and seems to copy my website and all my writings. Please be aware of copyright and that I have passed on my writings to trusted people in case I die before my (whatever) time.
I want to post a few more experiences while they’re fresh in my mind, certain things I experienced in my life. I already re-posted my time in Los Angeles in 1992 when the “Rodney King Riots” erupted and we young naive German “adventurous” just flew to LA without any goal or plan. Apart from the riots, I don’t even know how we made it back home in one piece as we stayed at strangers’ houses, even slept in a car for a few nights, went through a minor earthquake which was nevertheless quite scary as the house eerily moved back and forth like a ship in the waves. But this would be nothing to the hurricanes and tropical storms I experienced years later living in Florida. Stories for another time.
My encounter with Barry George at my workplace in 2000, and shortly after he was arrested and later wrongly convicted and imprisoned for TV presenter Jill Dando’s horrific murder in broad daylight at her doorstep. I just wrote about it yesterday as her unsolved murder is in the news again and I was reminded of Barry George. I did not want to put a photo of Mr. George on my post as this incidence still triggers me for how weird he was. But people can just google him.
My hellish experience at Pret A Manger is scattered throughout this blog and on social media.
My brother’s death and all the surroundings of it that was and is THE one most devastating thing in my life.
My dad’s coma, rehab and how the system works with hospitals and nursing homes that has scared the sh!t out of me. His dementia and clear thinking back and forth. His death while I was preparing for the Tribunal case I raised against Pret.
And then my mum.
I cannot believe she is already gone since over 2 years. Everything went downhill so fast. I’d fly back and forth since around 2017 when she needed an operation on the spine which went well. Then three months later my dad in a coma for three weeks. Then Pret continuing to target and the fire me days after my dad came out of his coma and seemingly started to recuperate pretty fast.
My dad dying. I raised a Tribunal claim against Pret at the time while flying back and forth to his bedside and to my mum still functioning well at home. I withdrew the case when my dad died.
From then on 2018 my mum started to deteriorate mentally. I flew over every 2-3 months and spent a solid three months with her during the first lock-down. The lock-down for me personally was a blessing in disguise because unbeknownst to me I took one of the last flights out of London and then got “stuck” in Germany. I didn’t realize at the time it would be the last time I’d be with my mum at her house. But I prepared myself and we started to get help with a carer and slowly talked about nursing home.
I was on autopilot again, still traumatized from my brother’s death and seeing my dad so poorly. I was shocked to see my mum completely change every three months. Every-time I flew over she seemed a different person. My dad’s dementia was also at the beginning stages, but also his mind was “smashed” as we say in Germany due to all the medications, the coma, the stroke etc. So, it felt more “normal” to see him confused.
But with my mum it was shocking because there was no clear change of circumstances except that a carer came into the picture. And only later did it click that THIS was the catalyst for my mum’s mind to change so rapidly.
What makes me still angry today is that my mum’s longtime and nice neighbours never told me that my mum started to shout at people when a postman or Jehovah’s Witness knocked at her door. My mum was never loud or aggressive ever. She shouted at me on the phone sometimes starting AFTER her 2017 operation, but at the time I put that down to trauma and grief about her son. Also, I did some research and read that some older people change mentally after a major operation, so it might be a mix of things: grief + OP + dementia + anxiety with carer etc. But I didn’t know she raised her voice at external people not part of our family.
Only during the first lock-down in 2020 did the neighbours tell me! I was so devastated and angry why they didn’t tell me before, I could have intervened and gone to the doctor with my mum MUCH EARLIER to check her brain via scans and then see that dementia started to kick in fully.
My mum has always repeated herself for many years. That was nothing out of the ordinary. But what I didn’t know and was later explained by specialists is that with some dementia patients, they become aggressive. I didn’t know all that, also because my dad was not aggressive, he was just forgetful and confused and the surroundings in hospital all added to his confusion. But he wasn’t shouting at people.
Only in hindsight did I also realize that my mum went through the “Five Stages of Grief”. Literally. People often mistake this theory developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross as stages a bereaved person goes through. But that’s not it. Of course these “stages” can appear in grief at some point. But this was in regards to terminally ill patients Kübler-Ross worked with and noticed a pattern in how they processed their certain death.
My mum would be in denial (stage 1) that she needs more help than usual as she kept forgetting things and then also the shouting at people. Then get angry, shouting at people (stage 2 “Anger”).
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Then during lock-down she would constantly hug me or tell me “you’re my favourite daughter”. And I laughed and joked with her saying, “yeah mum, because you have so many daughters”, and she’d chuckle at this, as I’m her only daughter. But in hindsight she was bargaining (stage 3) when we started to talk about nursing home and medical support. She also would come into my room at night, switch the bright light on, sit at my bedside and just stare at me! I gently guided her back to her bed and sat with her for awhile completely confused why she is like this, whereas a few months before she wouldn’t do that! I was confused and scared myself sh!tless. No-one guided me, explaining dementia and anxiety.
She KNEW the “end” was coming, and I deeply regret not having immediately noticed that. Then the shouting at people which is anger. And the denial where she would make jokes and started singing and dancing, and I just went along because of all our trauma with my brother and then the pandemic that scared us all collectively.
When my mum died during second lock-down I myself went into CONSCIOUS denial and pretended VERY consciously that she’s still alive, but that I just haven’t called her in a few weeks. I couldn’t handle anything further.
I still go between torturing myself and being gracious with myself for not having taken the flight out of London just before the UK and Germany locked down again.
My mum’s house by then was already cleared, as I had to clear it weeks before and then flew back to London out of fear I lose my flat. So, I couldn’t stay at her empty house and her former landlords who were always very nice, but scared to have me in their house for fear of me bringing over Covid from the airport and the UK and German travel etc.
I booked a flight, booked a B&B nearby my mum’s hospital to just psychologically be able to tell her on the phone that I am close, because all visitations to hospitals and nursery homes were stopped.
But then my mum’s former landlord told me to keep checking the news as they’re about to lock down again. My flight was for the Saturday before lock-down and I researched and saw that the UK and Germany announced the 2. lock-down for that following Monday. Germany also prohibited hotels from having guests.
I then decided to cancel the B&B which at least I didn’t have to pay in advance, and let my flight go. Now I beat myself up that I didn’t fly over anyway and could’ve just slept in a train-station lobby or a reception area somewhere, just to be close to my mum and let her know that I’m back again. Strangely she did understand the issue with the pandemic as I and medical staff always explained it to her and patients. .
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Stage 4 “Depression” wasn’t so much there, except that my mum was always very anxious and I was used to her sometimes “neurotic” state, even years ago, but especially after my brother’s death. I accepted her and my mental anxiety as normal then.
My only comfort was and is what doctors later said to me that dementia is worse for the family members who witness it, but the patients themselves are often in “bliss” and are not stressed over things. And that’s true, my mum would often act silly and on the phone sounded like always (stage 5 “Acceptance”), but I often left the living room to go to the toilet or my room to cry my eyes out and go back once my eyes cleared up again and acted silly with her.
Dementia, Alzheimer is a brutal disease, and I’d rather sit in a wheelchair if I reach old age than lose my mind and be at the mercy of strangers in hospital, especially private equity FOR-PROFIT run hospitals and nursery homes.
And I sieve through my mind constantly what I could have done better or different. But I couldn’t. I was traumatized still and I did my best and my mum had great last three months at home and I am glad it wasn’t a terminal illness where she would consciously look at her last days. But I feel screwed up and don’t feel I will ever truly recover from these last years of ongoing trauma and loss. And I implore anyone from refraining to say that my parents were already older, and that’s just that.
May I remind everyone that we have just ONE life, and even if you become 110 years old, you deserve the absolute best quality of every second of your life possible!
I have learnt and come to terms about one thing for certain, NOTHING ever turns out like you plan or hope! I never ever ever expected a pandemic to come in and in the middle of it my mum moving to a nursing home and me not being able to physically be with her in her last days, let alone not able to bury her!! What the actual fnck have I done to the universe?! That would have never occurred in my wildest dreams!
Take care of your loved ones, call them if you haven’t in a while. If you can at all, reconcile any differences. If you can’t, you can’t. But if it’s possible, find your ways back together again.
And what I need to tell myself daily is DON’T be so hard on yourself! I did everything in my power and strength possible. It was a mess. Everything was a mess! But I did my best and I did well. And I had three solid months with my mum before she forever left her house and then life. It’s just all hitting me this year. Really, really hard. And it’s ok.
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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 as well as mentioned by the BBC.
Okay, I understand that people may think I’m making this up, and unfortunately 24 years ago I wasn’t as smart to keep evidence like I had to with Pret.
But as Jill Dando’s murder is in the news again as it’s still unsolved, I want to share my experience I had with Barry George, wrongly convicted of her murder in 1999. He was first convicted of her murder, and then years later cleared of it.
My encounters with him was in the Tottenham Court Road branch of easyEverything in the spring of 2000. Ok, I do have some evidence which is an old payslip from that branch! (I will upload a scanned-in the JPG later).
I worked there for a few month when the Internet just started to boom and the easyGroup opened up Internet Cafe branches all over London. On a side note, I never understood with this group why they didn’t call it “easyInternet”. Never-mind.
The Tottenham Court Road branch was one of the biggest branches in London with a little over 500 PCs. It was open for 24 hours when I worked there and I chose the middle shift 1pm – 9pm. I remember having had the founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou standing behind me one day and the pound coin drawer kept overflowing. We had to cash out tills 2-3 times during the shift as the till drawers kept overflowing with pound coins.
I won a thing where they did a competition to sell £5 vouchers to customers getting £6 worth of Internet time. It was like the Pret subscription push. But I got about £500 reward for being the top seller in the whole company. Again, sorry have no evidence, but it’s the truth.
The worst thing that we had to deal with was customers tucked away in corners watching porn and we kicked them off their sessions via the front till computers pretending there’s a tech fault when they complained. We were not allowed to confront them, which now I would probably ask security or line manager, or if I was the manager on duty for them to leave!
But the most memorable experience was Barry George.
We staff knew his first name because he told us as we always chatted with him.
Barry George was a regular. He was quite unkempt, chubby, weird. But he seemed nice, nothing special. We staff chatted with him as he topped up his ticket with a pound worth of Internet time.
He seemed to be delusional and always came to the counter, which was a square space with counters on the front, side and back, to pickup and pay for print-outs. The prints were of HIMSELF posing as a singer which was weird to us staff, but hey, each to their own. His favourite position seemed to be bend down in a knee position with a microphone in his hand.
It was so weird because he looked like crap in the photos. There was no appeal whatsoever!
Only later when he got in the news we learnt that he was infatuated with Freddy Mercury. But at the time we just thought he’s in LaLa Land about his perception on himself. And that’s fine with me. Do your thing, no judgement.
But then came a day that had me a little nervous as he seemed extremely weird. Not what we usually encountered with him.
We had a new staff member fresh from Italy who served Barry. She was standing at the till right next to me and visibly struggled with Barry who complained about something. So, me stupid one made the mistake to get involved!
Because my new colleague struggled, I just took over and said something like “Hey Barry, everything ok, what happened?”
He then complained to me that his Internet time just stopped even though he (supposedly) has more time left on his ticket. Alright?
So I check his ticket number and saw very clearly when, where and how much he topped up and how much he used. And he used it all. I reminded him that if he doesn’t log out of the session that his time will just tick away and finish.
He kept moaning and then I did what we were instructed to do. I decided to give him a £1 time on the house. I told him that I’ll give him £1 as he was a regular customer and mistakes happen. No problem.
As I was about to top up a free £1 credit, he kept moaning and moaning, and then I stopped just before I pressed “enter” to finalise the credit and said to him something like, “Barry, I was just about to give you £1 for free and you keep complaining. I will now NOT give it to you …”
And then he revealed what shocked me at the time. He said in these words verbatim I will never forget: “I just want to let you know that I was recording this conversation”. He then kept following me around the square counter saying “This will have consequences for you” and he mentioned my name as we had name badges saying “my name” is ignoring me … this will have consequences …”
I worked in hospitality/retail all my life, but this was a one-off experience in customer service even to this day.
And only then did I see a small black audio recorder in his hand as he was leaning with his arm on the counter.
I immediately stepped backwards and called my assistant manager as I was scared and didn’t understand what was going on.
My AM came out and tried to investigate with Barry and me, when Barry held his recorder up. My AM then said to him that if he doesn’t stop recording, that this conversation is over. The AM later asked me to put into writing what exactly happened to send to head office or his manager to be ahead of any potential complaint (which never came from Barry). And this is why I now regret not having kept a copy!!!
Days later when Barry returned as usual, he came to my till to top up credit and was making a joke that he supposedly lost credit on his ticket just to wind me up. I then said to him jokingly, “Ah Berry, I know you!” Basically being funny/cheeky with him that I won’t get fooled. But his reply to me was with a very serious scary face saying, “You don’t know me!”
Alright.
I remember very well that I replied, “You’re right, I don’t know you.” And from then on I refused to serve him and turned to the other side of the counter every time he approached the tills as I really was confused and scared of this guy.
His behaviour had stalker qualities. And only now when I really look into this case, as I just scanned through years ago, do I learn that Barry was a stalker and sex offender. He certainly had bad vibes for sure, but now I think would he had followed me or my colleagues after work? Good thing I moved to the States a few weeks after these encounters with him. I also remember being scared that the police would find my voice on his recordings and god knows what would be thinking. I was completely taken off-guard and also still kept thinking I’d get in trouble with head office, which was completely unreasonable to fear. I hadn’t done anything wrong and my line manager just wanted to cover me and the team by me writing down what happened as a pro-ative measure. Shame I didn’t keep a copy!!!
A few weeks later, I come to my middle shift and a colleague immediately approaches me as I just walk into the shop saying that Barry has been arrested for the murder of Jill Dando.
‘Xcuse me?
I felt immediately that I lost all the blood from my head and froze because of the previous weird incidents just two weeks prior. At the time the press wasn’t allowed to reveal his photo and only a black-and-white phantom drawing was published in the press. But it didn’t look like him, so I remained confused.
But soon after I moved to Florida and kept following the story as best as possible, still in “awe” how the fnck I could have had encounters with this guy.
But later of course, for some reason he was just “picked” as a suspect BECAUSE he was weird! And he really was weird! So weird, I got scared. He was scary! I was scared of him after the recording incident and beyond.
And sometimes I fear for my own life, because I am weird with all the traumas I went through! But I don’t give a sh!t.
Barry was weird alright, and whatever mental health problems he had or has, he does not fit the description of the suspected killer who was in a suit that terrible morning in Fulham. Barry never wore a suit or looked in any way smart. He wore a jogging suit, very unattractive, unkempt, but most importantly innocent!
I feel sorry for him and hope he does get compensation which they still deny him.
expret.org, ex-easyEverything.
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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. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago. 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 and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou. 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 as well as mentioned by the BBC.
Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.
Please scroll down to the very bottom comment section. A great insight from an Ex Pret staff in the USA where the SAME issues happen like they do in the UK and everywhere else.
UPDATE January 2024
Some info on pay upfront:
As the Junior Doctors are on strike again, which I completely support, the same bullsh!t words are going around that the BMA union started that Pret staff (or baristas) get £14.10 an hour. This LAZY hijacking of Pret’s low-wage workers, shows how little they care about retail workers AND don’t want to take it up with government workers’ pay.
I explained since last year that there are ONLY very few baristas employed compared to other staff overall. And VERY FEW baristas get the £12.85 and if lucky the +£1.25 bonus = £14.10. And out of those baristas they work at airports and railways stations where it’s immensely busy and Pret pay all staff a few pennies more as well as charging customers more.
A Team Leader who is a position ABOVE the Barista doesn’t even get £12.85 + £1.25 = £14.10.
Just yesterday on Facebook a shop manager posted a staff ad that shows the numbers. I put 2 screenshots here, the 2. with the time stamp so people don’t say this is an old ad. The time stamp hides Pret’s name, so I put both screenshots having hovered of the time:
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The Team Leader there, like in most shops, gets around £12.15 and if lucky the bonus which then is £13.40. Still not £14.10 despite being a position higher than the barista.
September 2023:
A job ad on Facebook with barista pay £11.42.
It’s clear from what I write below that the £14.10 is a myth and only available for extremely rare baristas who have connections to management at AIRPORT shops.
September 2nd, 2023: £11.42 + £1.50 bonus (if lucky to get it) = £12.92 NOT £14.10!
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ONLY in AIRPORTS and SOME BUSY RAILWAY STATIONS get SOME, VERY FEW baristas £12.85 and if lucky +£1.25.
I worked in shops of 35 – 40 staff all shifts and London areas (kitchen and shop). They only have 1 – 2 Baristas and several coffee makers who are paid less. Airports and the busy train-stations have 2 – 3 Baristas (if at all!) plus several cheaper coffee makers to save money on Barista wages. Do the math on how many airport and railway station shops there are and estimate how many “trained” Baristas they have, and even out of those few, not many get the £14.10 incl. bonus.
I highlight “trained” Baristas because a common practice in Pret is to DELAY training, and once training started to delay paying for the position to avoid higher wages. It is VERY commn practice to cheat staff out of their pay “band”. Shops let staff work as “coffee makers”, training them a little, but denying the REAL training period as this means they’d have to pay the Barista wage.
There’s a lot of cheating and delaying going on. I went through this myself as a Team Leader (higher position to the Barista position). Delayed training. Then delayed “graduation”, all to delay higher pay as long as possible. One day I’ve had enough and announced I’d be quitting that day. My pay was raised immediately to the Team Leader pay after prolonged “training” which surpassed the usual training period to avoid upping my pay. Very, very, VERY typical conduct in Pret.
But apart from that, IT’S JUST A HANDFUL of Baristas out of thousands of staff who MIGH|T get the £14.10 incl. bonus!!! AND Pret mentioned Barista pay to the public BECAUSE many Baristas quit during the intense coffee subscription, and Pret were desperate for Baristas in the mornings.
It’s like an airline advertising a flight to Spain for £15 but don’t say that they only have 3 seats with that price. Pret use the same principle and the BMA not only fell for it, but mislead the public with it, apart from stepping on retail workers’ dignity.
End of update.
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Here’s a rabbit hole. Please scroll down to the screenshots if you don’t want to read long text. I can’t keep it short, and always want to cover all the bases possible.
I have been monitoring reviews since 2018 and re-posted many on my blog and on social media. I am not reading reviews as much anymore, just occasionally and then scroll through a lot, mainly concentrating on HQ and Leadership reviews.
I noticed that only since the pandemic OPs Managers (area managers) and more HQ staff started to write reviews. Especially OPs Managers who get a sh!t-load of money and bonus usually stay quiet. But since around 2021-ish OPs and Group Manager reviews started to pop up. The pandemic has started to really squeeze everyone (except the CEO of course).
WHY Pano Christou’s ratings are so low and knowing Pret, they “recruit” positive reviews to boost his ratings. This has led him to put his resume out with the help of the media portraying him as such a great achiever while shops are in shambles and customers flock to social media and review sites to communicate their disgust about Pret. Apart from that, Christou started at a higher position as assistant manager, NOT as a low-wage worker.
I know how Pret cheat and lie with fake ads, reviews etc. Someone on Twitter told me as well that Pret recruited someone to keep changing the Wikipedia entry to delete the original Pret founder Jeffrey Hyman off the page. The person then was banned from Wiki.
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And since a few months especially Glassdoor reviews have become more positive (many similar sounding) even though work conditions are much much worse than they have already been since years. Many staff quit and customer complaints increased. Some “reviews” read like job ads! So, keep trying Pret 😀 But the truth will always rise to the top.
The Guardian:
“Pret CEO handed near-£4m bonus in year staff pay was cut. Pano Christou also given 27% salary rise in 2021 as chain took more than £50m in government support”
In my “Rags to Riches” post I write about Pano Christou’s career path and why it took him 20 years to become CEO despite having had such a head start in position number 4 as an assistant manager. Also, little side note, the COO role that Christou briefly held never existed before and after. It was just briefly created as a stepping stone for him to go from UK Managing Director to CEO when it was clear that Clive Schlee would step down after a lot of online pressure after Pret (including Pano Christou!) ignored 2 customer deaths and 20+ injuries before it got public.
The COO role existed only for a few months as a bridge.
In this post here I want to share what Pret staff, in particular higher up managers and HQ staff say about Christou. My own experience as a Team Leader was when he was UK Managing Director and I always felt he was never pro-active or inventive. He’s just very good in looking slick in the press and sweet-talk like he learnt from his mentor, former CEO Clive Schlee. And most people in the business world and in general remain fooled.
This will be a long post because I always want to show how systemic issues are and that this isn’t just a “bad apple” situation or a few “disgruntled” former or current staff with an axe to grind.
I post reviews from the higher positions down with the most poignant reviews on top. These are from 2020 – 2023. There are many more negative reviews by management, but I included the longest ones and those with VERY precise explanation. The higher the position, the fewer the reviews and vice versa.
Please note, from Manager upwards they all know the CEO and Heads of Operations. It used to be up until around 2016-ish that the quarterly business meetings followed by a gala with booze and food was included with ALL HQ staff, higher up management and shop General AND Assistant Managers.
From around 2017-ish on (could have been 2016, but certainly 2017) Pret stopped having Assistant Managers at quarter briefs to save money.
So, from 2017 on only GMs on shop level joined quarter briefs. I mention this because especially Managers and higher ups like OPs etc. KNOW the CEO from regular meetings. This means that they KNOW what they’re talking about when it comes to Pret executives. Many shop staff are fooled, but you can’t fool shop management and above.
I have posted tons of shop staff reviews across my blog and on social media, but I start with only THREE reviews by team members which say it all, but then only concentrate on company Leader/Management reviews.
And of course there are positive reviews from managers on Christou, where reviews say that Pret is hard, overbearing but the CEO is nice! These managers, often young and fast promoted, don’t understand that the fish stinks from its head! It is the TOP leadership that implements things and/or doesn’t listen to complaints and concerns. Never forget that Pret ignored multiple warnings regarding labelling and even ignored customer deaths before it got public. I will never stop mentioning this, knowing this leadership myself. Many people just still don’t understand that and think that if the CEO “only knew” how bad things are, he’d change it! The opposite! THE CEO IS THE PROBLEM! Pano, like Clive Schlee before visits shops regularly! He is not far removed from daily operations!
What Pano just does is typical for CEOs, he removes himself, pretends not to know issues to not be the bad guy while it is the CEOs who put down targets, agree to penalties and the way staff are treated. I remember too well how I was cringing when an email from HQ came in to all shops, naming and shaming certain shops that didn’t do well with health and safety scores for example. And shops that did extremely well were also mentioned, but as weapon for psychology.
I’ve NEVER experienced this type of “public” company-wide shaming in any other company I’ve ever worked in. And that is also why I’m giving Pret a huge dose of their own medicine to swallow. Pret deserve every bit of exposure, naming and shaming they can get.
Anyone who knows my ordeal with Pret knows how Clive Schlee himself got involved and patronized me, and then gave the green light for me to get fired days after my dad came out of a three-week coma! And I still have his and Pano Christou’s emails!
These executives are RUTHLESS with a big smile!
And for those who argue that Pret workers always look happy and are friendly, please do your research on Pret’s extremely strict and micromanaging Mystery Shopper scheme that penalizes the whole team when ONE staff doesn’t smile. I write about it extensively, but will not spoon-feed people by linking to everything.
I will choose only a short sentence, either the title or from the main text of each review for people with visual impairment, where reading apps cannot read screenshots. Please also click on the links for the full review that reading apps can read.
Also, most reviews are from Glassdoor, I can’t be bothered adding more from Indeed.
Please note, you will see a “red thread” throughout the below reviews with THE SAME issues of: understaffing, overworking, given unrealistic and VERY little time to finish tasks and then forcing staff to work overtime WITHOUT PAY, toxic environment etc.
THIS IS ON PURPOSE!!!!
Pret exploit their staff, including shop management to breaking point. It’s a clever way of wage theft as well, letting team leaders work on team member wages with the excuse they’re still learning. This already happened in my time as well.
See the SAME REPEATED issue that they’re saying across the board.
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To read screenshots better, enlarge your screen via “ctrl and +” – to decrease again “ctrl and -” .
»Company from hell where lying is the key to their marketing strategy.«
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»Pret doesn’t care about its workers. It has left its workers suffer for the incompetence of the top managers. If you have some dignity, just resign!«
On Instagram at the beginning of September 2023 a former Team Leader complained that he didn’t received the £1000 after at least working a year in Pret and they mentioned becoming a Team Leader.
People might remember the £1000 bonus that former CEO Clive Schlee announced in the night on 28. to 29. May 2018. That was the night when Schlee and Pret learnt about my blog and quickly made this announcement to counter my writings. I explain this in The Day Clive Schlee had a Bright Idee (no, “Idee” is not a typo 😉 )
But what was more interesting to me is that the manager just walked out and never came back. I know of a few managers who just walked out and never came back, even pre-pandemic.
In this post the former staff is calling Pret out on their fake Pret Foundation Trust “Rising Stars” program where they handpick a few people to say how wonderful Pret as an employer is.
Here some stats as of September 2023. And as Pret read my blog (there are “spies” passing things on when I release new blog posts) watch how OPs, Execs, GM reviews turn positive 😉
APPROVAL rate from higher up management and HQ staff. And this is not about the amount of managers leaving a review, this is the amount of disapproval by management on their CEO. It doesn’t matter if 10 managers review or 1000, it’s the percentage of disapproval by those who know the CEO up-close. And Pret reading my blog, watch how the approval rate will change in the coming months. 😉
OPs:
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Shop managers:
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Assistant Managers who are not up-close anymore like before, the lower the positions, the higher the score and vice versa:
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Operations and Group Managers
OPs Managers look after around 10 – 14 shops in an area; Group Managers look after around 4 – 5 shops before they step up to become OPs.
»Operations and high position roles mostly white, proportion from BAME background is none to little. … Reactive way of working – no clear directions« !!!
There are more reviews like this about no clear direction. And myself having been to HQ many times, I underline this, you hardly see staff from the Black, Asian etc. community. And most Caucasian British, German, French either work in head office or as OPs. In my 10 years in Pret in over 30 shops, I only worked with 3, no more than 5 Black or Asian Managers/OPs while especially the cramped kitchens are filled with BAME and Eastern Europeans.
You also see this in Pret’s ads on all their social media platforms. You see mostly young white females including hand-only ads. Now Pret starts to include black males here and there after I kept pointing it out to Pret on Twitter, Facebook etc. Pay attemtion to Pret ads, mostly female and white. Old fashioned ads not keeping up with the times and mainly trying to lure customers with young women, except when prompted repeatedly. Don’t you call Pret a trailblazer! They’re stuck with old systems.
And Pret can sugarcoat all they want, they are a racist company. Full stop!
»Culture change Product quality suffered as well as burnout for the staff as they try to cut too many costs. Management just make up their forecasts to keep the board happy yet cutting costs in wrong areas«
Please note that I had many encounters with Pret’s HR and HQ staff and KNOW for a fact how toxic and entitled they are! I write about one extremely traumatic encounter with a Development Manager who was used by Pret to gaslight me so they can fire me. This is a story sounding like out of a bad Hollywood flick, but it’s true. That’s why Pret remain silent: Questions to Lila Tighilt Warren.
Marketing Director (does NOT recommend CEO) »Highly territorial.«
HQ – Not Specified Role »HQ – Corporate bullies live here … People don’t seem to get promoted unless you are a bully or belittle your team members. The place is toxic.«
(Side note, I completely agree with this review from experience. When I worked at Pret, even as lower ranked shop staff, it was so visible that they always changed direction at short notice and wasted so much money on wrong decisions that we had to undo/fix due to poor decision making. We will see this also in another review from an office staff from New York further below. And that’s not only since Covid, Pret execs are incapable to lead with sovereignty and a secure stand. And Pano Christou has the reputation with staff to not have direction or vision. Of course not! He’s just the puppet for JAB Holdings!)
»Once Covid hit , the business made a lot of knee jerk decisions, strategy was changing on a daily almost.«
Recruitment Coordinator »Minimum pay, extreme workload, no opportunity of growth« (Side note, no wonder recruitment coordinator has to work hard with the high staff turn-over due to the exploitation and treating staff across the board like sh!t)
Also important to note is that many, if not most, higher up positions in Pret USA are imported from the UK. Many American reviewers mentioned this and are furious about it. »Generally a poor relationship with UK leadership, no support. … Senior management has no clue what people do and hires external people with no industry experience. … Senior leadership does whatever they want, if you are in the right clique.«
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Some reviews from before Pano Christou became CEO, but when he was UK Managing Director and former CEO Clive Schlee’s right-hand man, so the number 2 guy who can’t withdraw from responsibility.
IT Analyst 2017 »Manipulative and exploitative approach to employees as owners and senior management concerned about profit margin only. People are taken into account only if it makes a good PR. Genuinely fake and dishonest company.«
Side note, Pret’s Foundation Trust and their “charitable” work with homeless and vulnerable people is just PR and for tax breaks. When I became traumatically bereaved after working 7 years in Pret, Pret wasted no time to target me to leave. I even asked to please be put under the Pret Foundation like they do with the patronizing name of the “Rising Stars” program, but never got a reply. Even an OPs Manager asked this which I have in writing, again, no response. Of course Pret couldn’t say “no” as they would look bad.
And the recent visit by Prince William to a prepared, well presented shop was again just PR after Pret keeps getting bad press, being fined £800,000 after yet again ignoring safety issues, this time after a 2. staff got trapped inside a walk-in freezer for 2.5 hours.
I wrote a little exposé on net-worth £215 million itsu founder and Pret RE-founder Julian Metcalfe and that he received an OBE from Prince William himself. Metcalfe’s family had strong connections to the Royal Family, even before Julian was born. Julian’s father was the godson of former King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, who later rejected the crown. Julian grew up with high society and royals sitting at his father’s dinner table while he always pretends to be this trailblazing entrepreneur having started from nothing.
And Metcalfe is close friends and business partner with former Pret CEO Clive Schlee who owns half of Metcalfe’s company itsu. And Schlee is Pano Christou’s mentor. Full circle. Pret having bad press again, a prince whooshes in to save the day!
I write about Metcalfe’s connection to the Royal family, a questionable connection, what his staff say about him, and why some Asian people don’t support him. Oh, and how I chased him off Twitter: Julian Metcalfe Family Line!
So, Prince William “choosing” Pret to work with homeless charities was not a co-incidence. They wash each other’s hands.
Further in the reviews:
Corporate Staff NY 2018 »I have never worked in such a toxic, unprofessional corporate environment. … HR was mostly a joke, ‘leaders’ displayed zero initiative in mentorship of their teams, roles were unclear and the company had tunnel vision on decision making based on the opinion of one or two people who paid little attention to local market data.«
Purchasing Director NY 2017 »One of the oddest work experiences. Worked there during a transition period – so company going in one direction and then the opposite.«
»Ruthless race for profit – Quick career progression – unfortunately due to high turnover … CEO is very not proactive to investigate situations in the shops«
Of course he’s not! He cares only to please JAB Holdings to get his millions in bonus and annual pay-rise. Don’t kid yourself to think that he cares! Again, THE CEO IS THE PROBLEM! The CEO sets the targets and expectations, no matter what! And then CEOs play dumb and claim they didn’t now how much staff suffer.
Yes, absolutely spot on, not letting people realize their potential! When I was a Team Leader running shops, most Managers pretended that I wasn’t doing a good job to manipulate me to do more. What they didn’t realize is that I work like a donkey anyway. That’s my nature. In private and in work life, I always give 150 million %.
Occasionally a GM would “slip” and actually compliment me before quickly putting on a poker face again. One GM told me that I run the shop with my eyes closed. Another GM said to a Team Leader who was going to another shop and trained me on the shop I just switched to that I was extremely good. This GM headhunted me from another shop after she saw how I ran the shop.
An OPs Manager I accidentally overheard when he was looking for expired food in their routine check and couldn’t find any, he said to a colleague not realizing I was close by working at the fridges, that I was one of the best. But in front of me, wouldn’t utter a word and pretend I wasn’t good enough.
THAT is Pret to the core!
And that is why I’m going to town so hard against their fake bullsh!t via my blog. My teams and colleagues told me many times I’m the best Team Leader, or I do things by the book etc. I wasn’t perfect of course, but I knew how well I did my job. But anyone above me pretended I was crap. I KNEW and know how well I work, so it never bothered me. I don’t do things for a clap on the back or for following or whatever floats people’s boats. But it does affect mental health when line managers constantly lie to you.
The next review is self-explanatory as well:
»communication feels like propaganda and brainwashing with a sole purpose of exploitation…«
»Bad senior management, profit first culture. Always blaming others and exploiting the team.«
But it has always been like this, also under Clive Schlee. It was just easier to hide during good and prosperous times. But come a crisis and with it the desperation of a CEO to bring in money. Lean back and watch how the real face shows in broad daylight.
This review reminds me of another GM review from 2014 when Schlee was still CEO and Christou UK Managing Director. People in management always knew how bad it really is. And as a Team Leader and staff in general I knew as well. But GMs have more behind the scenes knowledge.
»Great company in risk of ruin!«
Being forced to work for free has always been a huge issue in Pret, as well as wage theft which I also wrote about on my blog.
»I regularly worked weeks on end with no day off – there was onemonth where I only had one day off – totting up 80 hours a week fairly easily. … So, realistically, over time to meet “business needs” is something you can rely on more than a regular day off.«
»you have to work 10h+ sometimes no days off for a pat on the back. … Advice to CEO: more kindness like they advertise everywhere«
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»Pushing subscriptions like a sales man«
Yes, the sub is Pret’s MAIN product now to the detriment of food, coffee and service quality. It gives fast and regular income, and is an easy data grab as Pret since 2018 build a data base, late in the data collection game. Many complaints since 2020 that people have a hard time cancelling and once they cancelled Pret continues to withdraw money from bank accounts under the “technical” issues excuse. Sure, a multi-billion £ company with THAT many tech issues. 😉
»… the implementation of certain ideas that were not well thought out and did not produce the desired results. This led to additional pressure and difficulties in meeting unrealistic targets. … I often found myself working a minimum of 60 hours …«
And that’s the thing, the same with team members, Pret advertise “higher” pay (50p above minimum wage) and some perks, but of course fail to mention that they will force and manipulate all staff to work overtime for free. With all the hours people work, it’s way BELOW minimum wage and borders on slavery-type work conditions. And this in turn affects food safety.
»Head office chaos.com … Minimum 60 hours per week …«
»in the last couple of years the bonuses and other benefits were cut by approx 75% long hours with no extra pay for the managers because the interpretation of the contract by the bosses is questionable … work even more hours for free«
I stop here as I wanted to concentrate on shop managers, OPs managers and HQ staff. But there continues to be more reviews as well as social media posts from staff along those lines.
I tell you what will happen, Pano Christou is currently tasked to speed-open shops worldwide after the pandemic closures and losses to reach the target to double in size by 2026. After that he’ll receive his big bonus, will be celebrated in the business media world, and then move on and leave behind the shambles to the next person and private equity “pimp”.
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Just like his mentor who ran Pret into an iceberg and Pano Christou is sinking it.
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, wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review, and was mentioned by the BBC.
Please also see my MEDIA page for the press articles I influenced.
I have written, posted, streamed many times on Pret A Manger’s pest issues. I worked in a mice infested shop once and asked for a transferal to another shop as Pret’s internal pest control team couldn’t tackle the problem. We staff even stopped eating anything that was assembled like salads, sandwiches, and only ate anything that came in packaged like the pre-cooked soups in
bags from the factory that we just re-heated. Or we brought our own food. Only when an EHO made a random visit to a Pret shop in central London around 2012-ish and found pest issues, the EHO closed down the shop immediately, ONLY THEN did Pret act.
Close a shop = lose money = company acts. Money talks. But having mice and rats nibble on loaves of bread, seeded muffins, popcorn bags etc. all that shops did was to throw the food away. But one assistant manager even just threw HALF a bread loaf away and used the other half for production.
The following photo I did when a mouse entered our shop during the night when deliver drivers deliver food to shops:
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In another mice infested shop, the assistant manager would basically throw the right half away, and keep any bread slices that “seemed” un-touched. Bon appétit!
This was AFTER Pret finally started to hire external pest control company Rentokil and we were then told to immediately close the shop when we see pests, log a call with Rentokil who then come during the night to set traps, spray chemicals (fly infestation) etc.
UPDATE July 2024
I won’t update every month / year as my posts get too long. I will just throw a few recent ones in without deleting the VISUAL of other complaints.
Click video from mid July 2024:
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Tweet of the video with date/time stamp:
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When you see wooden crates of crisps and other items elevated off the floor like in above video, it means that the staff KNOW they have a mice / rats issue. But they’re supposed to close the shop even during business hours, and call pest control until the pests are removed. Side note: above floor looks also very filthy. Pret usually have an electric “rotowash” machine that scrubs the floor with a hoover mechanism. But due to lack of staff everywhere, they just mop, if at all.
After Mirror journalist Amy Sharpe contacted me in 2018 and I urged her to go undercover, she confirmed that staff are too stretched to even sweep ever night. Now, her undercover shifts and report was in 2018. Above video is mid July 2024. Nothing changes in Pret. As it is profit over safety.
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It’s NORMAL in cities to have rats, mice etc. BUT, it needs to be acted upon IMMEDIATELY and tackled thoroughly no matter what, how long and how often it takes!
It took an EHO closing a huge profitable shop in central London (back in around 2012-ish) for Pret to finally act. Prior to that we staff would even offer to come in on a weekend, close the shop and clean up. But the internal pest control team just laughed at us, as this would never happen for Pret to close shops to act on pest infestations … until an EHO shut down a shop. There you go!
Fat forward to the 2020s and complaints on pest issues rise again. This time I believe it’s due to the extreme under-staffing as Pret are squeezed by their owners JAB Holdings in tax haven Luxembourg to save money at every turn.
This squeeze leads to further issues with unhappy, exhausted, underpaid staff, dirty shops, closed toilets, increased pest issues etc. etc. etc.
Here just a few few of the MANY complaints from just this and last year alone.
You have to look quick, at the bottom left in this video is a mouse, calmly munching away during the DAYTIME business hours:
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61% of customers on Trustpilot disapprove of Pret on various issues especially with the coffee subscription, prices, dirty shops etc. but also pests, Many having vowed to never set foot inside Pret again. If you take the 11% of 2-star reviews, it’s actually 72% disapproval ratings. This is as of September 2023.
A former external electrician having been to many shops:
A former contracted delivery truck driver on Facebook, also having been to many shops (he told me via DM that he was a delivery driver), he replied to my comment on Facebook in July 2023:
I pointed out to the customer that after closing time, when there are plastic bags over equipment, it’s due to fly/bug infestation.
I posted photos I took in March and April 2023 from the Brixton shop but have seen equipment covered in many shops when I happened to walk by a Pret shop in the evening coming from a concert somewhere in London. This is an ongoing issue that is NOT tackled:
I further explained that the reason Y shops cover equipment to protect from pesticide, but not cover food is BECAUSE of money! A coffee machine costs Pret around £15,000-£20,000+. But they don’t give a toss about food safety as usual. There’s also no cleaning done in the morning AFTER Rentokil sprayed chemicals in shops. Not enough staff as usual. They got away with 2 customer deaths and 20+ injuries, why should they care?
Brixton again, in April 2023:
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I could go on and on and on, but I stop here as I always have very long blog posts. But I put some more on YouTube and Vimeo after Facebook and Instagram blocked my website url. They can’t block external video sites.
Also, please see my posts regarding mouldy food in Pret with pictures and ongoing mislabelling including using wrong ingredients like dairy Bircher Museli made with MAYONNAISE. Since “Natasha’s Law” is in effect, Pret are now breaking the law by mislabelling even now in 2023. But as long as the law is not applied and customers not reaching out to Food Gov via their online form, this will continue.
And as Pret were able to keep customer deaths and injuries silent for 1-2 years (even from us staff) before it got public, how many more have either died or gotten injured that we don’t know of? How many lawsuits were settled out of court with NDAs signed hindering customers and staff to speak out?
Only recently did Pret get fined £800,000 after yet again ignoring safety issues, this time in regards to staff when a 2. worker got trapped inside a walk-in freezer for over two hours, fearing for her life. The judge spared Pret from paying compensation as a civil claim is ongoing.
Customers have asked several repeated questions on social media on how this could have happened and why the staff member was NOT missed for over 2 hours. I explain in another post why this might have happened and Pret’s ongoing neglect with safety issues.
PRET REMAIN UNSAFE FOR CUSTOMERS AND STAFF!
As a “taster”, but many more pics in above posts. Pret’s “freshly made” lie:
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Staff worked with Covid diagnosis and symptoms DURING the height of the pandemic before there was even a vaccine.
This is ALL due to UNDER-STAFFING, exhausted workers having to work extremely fast, long hours, overtime not paid, bully-culture etc. This then reflects on the production, customer service, hygiene and other issues.
Video slides with more pest and hygiene issues:
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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 and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou. 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 as well as mentioned by the BBC.
(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 as WordPress sometimes “messes” with my blog. Reboot and press play again or go straight to the interview on Adam’s page).
It’s only September, but I do my Pret A Manger Year in Review 2023 which I normally do at the end of December, now.
When I started to write about Pret in May 2018, not many people believed me.
September is December’s Pret A Manger’s Year in Review 2023. Like they did Christmas sandwiches in July. Just to take the p!ss and copy Aldi’s July 2021 Christmas products.
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 has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago. 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 and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou. 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 as well as mentioned by the BBC.
Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.
I started a podcast, but not in a professional way as I am new to this medium. I am not sure if I do more or regular episodes on issues, but I find it easier and important to voice a few things instead of writing long blog posts. I’ve written everything I could write about and feel to speak more than write, and some people don’t like to read long blog posts or for visual reasons cannot read.
I started with the subject of allergen, mislabelling, cross-contamination in Pret. I may continue on other subjects or these may be all I do, I don’t know yet. Thanks for reading/listening.
expretcast
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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.
Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 
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