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:
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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:
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Airports are THE worst:
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Flies and Bugs are a HUGE issue in Pret.
September 2023, Brixton, but it’s been going on for more than a year:
Link to video
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:
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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 also see the MEDIA page for more.
NEW LinkTree
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Interview:
(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).
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Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 