I am giving a warning for sensitive readers, a warning I never got, but I nevertheless want to give this warning. If you’re eating, please put your food down.
I woke up on a January morning in 2015 and made the mistake to check my email before going to work for late shift. I wanted to start the day slow as work at Pret was always horrifically stressful.
Email from 12.01.2015, translated as best from German to English as possible, verbatim.
Mr. [Name of my Brother] was found dead in his apartment in [Name of City] on 15.12.2014
From the paperwork, no next of kin could be determined, therefore I was appointed to act as beneficiary of the estate of your brother.
The copy of the appointment is attached.
Your brother was cremated on orders by [Name of City], the burial is still open. You and your mother can decide where the urn will be buried.
Unfortunately I also have to inform you that the estate is over-indebted, therefore you have to cover the funeral expenses of the urn (the cremation etc.). Furthermore, it would be advised to reject the inheritance.
Please inform me of your and your mother’s address.
For contact in regards to the funeral, the details are [Name, address and email of the morgue].
[Name of Brutal, Ice-cold Messenger B*tch!]
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End of quote verbatim translation.
I cannot explain what went through me and will never find words of the sheer horror. Or was I dreaming? I read the email on the phone in my hand and just looked at the phone like it was playing a nasty joke on me.
Not only is my brother dead, he’s COMPLETELY GONE? And I had to learn this in a cold, robotic email as if I was reading a shopping list of errands I have to run?
The email read like a shopping list, rattling down instructions and upon investigating in the beginning, I haven’t read it for years anymore. I was instructed to reject the inheritance as otherwise I’d be left with thousands in debt. He was self-employed as a green energy advisor which he studied to become self-employed. He never told us how much he struggled.
I wrote him many emails since SHOUTING at him WHY he never told us how much he struggled!!! I wrote him emails until my emails started bouncing back after about a year as there was no activity/logins/outgoing email on his account, and his account just shut down.
After emailing the courthouse in his city for 2 years who gave the instruction to appoint a beneficiary of the estate, the president of the court replied (someone finally replied basically, and it was the highest person in the court), and she semi-apologised but went on with excuses. She said that bringing the news like this via email is “obscene”. But nothing more. I have no money or I would sue the sh!t out of everyone involved.
Everything turned against me either by longtime friends even early on disappearing or being targeted at work in Pret A Manger, which I write extensively here on my blog after having declined Pret’s “hush money” and NDAs.
And to add further to everything making it more traumatic, they sent my brother’s urn to my mum’s village via POSTAL MAIL!!!! Everything we learnt was COMPLETELY disrespectful and careless!! There was no dignity. I did some research and learnt that indeed they send urns in Germany via the postal mail! I wrote about it here: In Germany They Send Urns Via Post
The last contact I had with my brother was 5 weeks before he died where he declined my invitation to a concert near his city where I flew over for in November 2014. He couldn’t make it and also said that the artist is not his cup of tea. I worked with the artist on a project and got free tickets and was always permitted to bring a +1. As I went to several of the artist concert in different German cities as she was on tour there, I always invited friends who live in or close to the city, and then also invited my brother to one of the gigs close to his town. I even went with my mum and a friend at one point in another tour of the artist.
I never replied to his email assuming I’ll see him anyway. But as usual he was busy, I was busy … And I had to admit to myself later that I was a little cross with him for not coming as I was working with the artist on a project, and I think I wanted him to be proud of me.
My brother had a cat that one day slipped out of the apartment and returned pregnant. He kept 2 of the kittens and gave 2 away. All 3 cats, grown up with its mother survived the approximately 6 days my brother lay dead in front of his apartment door.
The police told me that the cats ransacked the apartment, probably in distress or looking for food. Two of the cats they managed to catch, the third cat slipped through their legs and out the door. A neighbour told me that the cat doesn’t let anyone near it and they just feed it by putting food on the steps of the building in hopes it finds trust again and comes in. But I lost contact as I stopped contacting them. I assume the cat has passed now.
I came across a tweet once that was about cute cat videos that millions love to watch. For some reason in the comments someone mentioned that when the owner of a cat (or dog) dies, cats tend to start eating the corpse. And it put further trauma on me the thought of it.
I went on emailing-spree ever since, mostly drunk and very angry, of which I am just now slowly coming out of.
Many lost friends, lost job, lost opportunities later, I am left with a pile of losses and a decision if to go on or to quit. My parents have died now, I couldn’t bury my mum during 2. lock-down.
I sabotaged my life, relationships and everything else hoping it would help me end my life.
What is there now?
And everyone can keep staying away.
In memory of my big brother Thomas. Es tut mir so leid!
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UPDATE 2024
My interview on a grief/trauma podcast based in Seattle, Washington:
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 found an amazing and simple explanation of some parts of PTSD in connection with adrenaline on reddit.
Brief explanation for new readers.
On January 2015 I learnt that my brother died 5 weeks prior in December 2014 AND was already cremated (5 days before I learnt of his death). To add to that, I was told this via EMAIL!
My story is spread out over my blog and on my podcast. I want to keep it brief here and concentrate on PTSD.
To add even more to that, I was targeted in Pret A Manger where I worked 7 years at the time my brother died. I was a team leader doing my job very very well. I say this, because Pret management and HR tried everything to try to get rid of me. They lied, gaslit me, used other staff to write lies about me to build a case against me.
I was in a mix of shock, trauma, twilight zone and somewhat completely oblivious on how vile and calculated Pret were. I was bullied from management, not from my teams. Some team members who were willing to please our bosses just allowed to be instrumentalised against me by lying about me.
I found that out after I applied for my file under the UK 1998 Data Protection Act (before GDPR came into place). I read the emails, the lies, the allegations and was able to raise grievances based on those lies. But that’s another story.
What I noticed and felt VERY early on is that I was EXTREMELY hyper, I felt adrenaline, later a lot of anger came to it. In hindsight I cannot understand how I even survived as my heart sometimes felt like exploding out of my chest! Later I started to have panic attacks, started drinking etc.
But I felt early on this intense feeling of being electrified every day, on adrenaline, even without drinking coffee.
My “new normal” was little sleep as I was investigating what happened to my brother. I couldn’t eat despite work in a food place. I lost 35kg within a year. Once when I walked through the Pret kitchen to get some blue paper for the shop, a kitchen staff was talking about weight and how she lost weight etc.
I mentioned to her that I was really overweight (after having lived 6 years in the USA with the sugar content and portion sizes) and that I lost at least 35kg within a year after my brother died. Having grown up with metrics and not gallons, ounces etc. the colleague asked me, “How much is that in stone”. But even now I never got my head disciplined to convert kilogram into stones and pounds.
As she was preparing baguettes with a 10 Liter (same as 10 kg) bucket of Mayonnaise on the bench, I pointed to the bucket and said “Three-and-a-half times of this bucket”, and she almost dropped the scoop out of her hand. Only then did I realise how much weight I had and then dropped with a simple visual of a mayonnaise bucket. I just couldn’t eat and forced myself to eat at least a banana a day or half a baguette. I just couldn’t swallow. I also walked for hours upon hours through London, plus all the walking and standing in Pret. I was on my feet 12-14 + hours every day for many months turning into years. So, the weight dropped rapitly within a year and with this caused some health problems later.
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10 Liter bucket, same as 10 KG. That’s why I can’t stop thinking in metrics, because it’s very simple.
I had to downsize my wardrobe 3-4 times over the year as everything became loose.
I woudn’t have been overweight, I’d look like a person with anorexia. I don’t want to show “before and after” photos of myself here, and just will mention a prominet German person and the impact grief and shock can have on the body.
The German TV presenter and Miss World winner, Petra Schürmann, who worked very close with her daughter Alexandra in TV, lost her daughter in an accident. She lost so much weight, and even couldn’t speak anymore and then died herself from the grief and shock a few years later. I remember the time when I visited Germany, seeing the news of her health condition.
With her daughter:
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After the death of her daughter, I can’t find the picture anymore, but I saw her on TV in Germany where she was extremely thin and aged rapidly within a few short years.
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I was lucky to have been overweight and “just” dropped down to “normal” weight like I always used to be before moving to the U.S. And the weight might have given me initial energy to keep going.
In Pret I was put on 5 months late shift so the manager doesn’t have to deal with a “sad” employee where Pret demand that we smile all day or get penalized via weekly mystery shoppers. Again, I write about this extensively all over my blog and on social media. I want to only concentrate on the PTSD and Adrenaline here.
But even with the early shifts, I would have to get up at 3:30am to start work at 5am with only 3 hours sleep as I couldn’t sleep. And later when I started to drink, going to work extremely hungover, I was still high functioning and in hindsight don’t know how I didn’t get a heart attack under the permanent mental, emotional and physical stress!
I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2020 after seeking therapy and an odyssey through the NHS mental health system. In my case the strongest symptom is hyper vigilance and constantly being on alert.
Working in Pret I don’t even know how I worked, I was on a constant “high”, being vigilant like I was in an emotional war-zone, especially from the targetting and bullying.
I had a high dose of adrenaline, but didn’t understand why, even though I could feel it. I did drink coffee in then morning, but the adrenaline was pumping me most of the day. This was one reason I started to drink necause I couldn’t sleep despite having been on my feet all day and walking through London day and night.
I started to drink to knock myself out. And it works in the beginning for a whole, but then, as we all know it turns into problems. That’s when my traumatic behaviour, emailing etc. started and went on a long time losing more people and things.
I was HIGH functioning, couldn’t calm down (except when drunk, knocking myself into bed).
And someone on reddit put into few words the issue with PTSD and Adrenaline and it all makes sense.
The part that made all sense I quote here in full verbatim:
“PTSD happens when you go through a traumatic event, and your brain decides that it never wants to be fucked up in that way ever again, so it will go to extreme measures to pump you full of adrenaline so you’re ready whenever the same traumatic event happens again. If it ever does. I used to go into fight or flight mode whenever someone did something like ripping a piece of paper out of their notebook. The tiniest sounds set me off, and it was all because my brain assumed that the sound was the source of my PTSD (it wasn’t) and decided to prepare appropriately for the situation.
So when you actually face the source of your stressor, the PTSD kicks in, not to render you useless and immobile, but to give you more adrenaline so you don’t have a repeat of whatever happened the first time.”
B-I-N-G-O-!!!
The part, “when you actually face the source of your stressor, the PTSD kicks in, not to render you useless and immobile, but to give you more adrenaline …”
I felt from the beginning but worded it as “I went into autopilot and functioned”, which I did. But I went into autopilot, so much so I couldn’t remember if I locked my door which of course I did as it was habit and I switched to autopilot. But I couldn’t come down from the intenseness as adrenaline was pumping constantly.
I can also relate to the sound issues. Pret especially is EXTREMELY loud everywhere and I was reprimanded for turning the music down, especially when customers also complained of the noise. But even slight noises in the library or supermarket set me off to want to run off or tell people to lower the “noise” that wasn’t even noise. Flying became extremely anxiety inducing and stressful now.
At one point on my many flights to Germany I sat with my hand holding the head part of the seat in front of me while on take-off and my knuckles were white as a sheet from grabbing the head piece. The two young women sitting in front of me at one point turned around and giggled looking at me. I felt that the blood of my face was gone as I sat in anxiety while the plane took off.
The girls probably thought it was my first flight or I am afraid of flying in general. They had no clue I flew countless times since I was a teenager and was just in a state of shock and trauma. Never assume by looking at people WHY they might be scared when they look terrified. I wasn’t scared of flying,I was scared of EVERY movement and anything that rendered me out of control.
And flying is NOT natural for us humans! We are not birds! I often thought when on a longhaul flight that we have NO BUSINESS in the air! What the fnck am I doing up here??!!! It’s not natural!
And now, having lost everything, I just sit in front of a pile of rubble and hope that those who did wrong while being strong when others were vulnerable, have their Karma poured out on them like I had adrenaline thrust me into extreme movement and a functioning zombie.
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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 and was mentioned by the BBC.
Pret never allowed staff to receive tips and even stopped the tip devices in their USA shops where tipping is very common in America. Pret turned the tip boxes into “charity” boxes in the late 2000s. When I visited the States in 2008 they still took tips, but on my next visit in 2013, Pret already turned USA tip boxes into charity boxes.
And now, since the pandemic and all the money grabs, Pret has electronic tip devices claiming all the tips go to staff. I worked in a wine bar in the city years ago where we were allowed to keep all the cash tips. But the credit card tips, the company kept 15% of it. And knowing Pret and their lies, they will keep ALL of it!
I say boldy and loudly that I don’t believe that Pret pass foward ALL the tips to staff because Pret have been stealing from customers and staff since years and are chronic liars. I detail this below.
Pret don’t suddenly become generous by allowing tips. They will grab the tips like they grab everything else.
NEW: Tip devices
Pret claim that ALL tips godirectly to staff. I don’t think so.
Donation Devices placed right NEXT to Payment Devices
Customers in the rush, noise and distraction accidently tap the donation device donating £5 instead of paying, and are then prompted again by staff to pay. And Pret KNOW the psychology of how customers feel embarrassed to request a refund from “charity”.
Not only that, but a refund isn’t even issued by Pret, but by the company (GoodBox) who facilitate the donations for Pret. Customers have to find out via a long process HOW to get their money back, and therefore many just give up. Katchink! 🤑🤑🤑 Win-win for Pret. Tax breaks via “charity” and other ways how they grab money.
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What customers don’t understand is that staff who are equally appalled and EMBARRASSED at Pret’s conduct is they are NOT allowed to move the donation devices. I KNOW how Pret always instruct staff to do or don’t do certain things, no matter how much customers complain. They do this very strategically, these donation devices aren’t next to the payment devices by accident.
74% of customers on Trustpilot (1 and 2-star reviews combined – update June 2024) turn their backs on Pret. And Pret might say that these are “biased” or anonymous customer reviews (like Pret RE-founder Julian Metcalfe said to me about staff reviews on him and itsu). Nopes! Many write WITH their names and have multiple reviews on various companies with mixed (positive and negative) ratings.
And of course, Pret have a whopping 122% increase in donations but fail to mention HOW Pret grab the donations via the devices too close to the payment devices.
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My calling it out when my Twitter handle was still @LateNightGirlMe before I changed it to expretDOTorg:
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Last quote from above Tweet: “Agreed. Most people will be too embarrassed to demand a refund but I did. It was painful though. Had to call them.”
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Not to mention how customers complain they struggle to use their coffee subscription, apps, can’t log in etc. etc. etc.
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The pandemic emboldened Pret to steal in broad daylight and be unashamed about it.
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Stealing Bonus / Cash Rewards by withholding “Outstanding Card” Rewards from Low-wage Staff
I received a contact with the following info that Pret steal mystery shopper “outstanding card” rewards.
Please note, an “outstanding card” is NOT a literal card, it’s just the name of the CASH reward for an INDIVIDUAL staff member. Weekly bonus is for all, but the outstanding card reward is for one person who love-bombs extra hard! I explain this in detail throughout my blog regarding Pret’s micromanaging mystery shopper scheme.
Quote of the person who contacted me who says they know Pret staff who receive the mystery shopper reports and manipulate the results in favour of Pret’s pockets AND who also knows Pret workers in shops, quote:
“I know people who conduct mystery shopper reports and individuals working at shops whose reports have been affected. In some cases, when someone is nominated for an “outstanding performance” by the mystery shopper, they should receive an extra £100 that week. Unfortunately, there have been instances where the “outstanding performance” line in the reports received later by the Pret shop has been left empty, with comments deleted, preventing anyone from receiving the extra £100”
End of quote.
When I worked at Pret from 2008 to almost 2018 we staff often had discussions where we noticed that STRAIGHT AFTER a big summer and winter party where Pret spent thousands of pounds, that many shops didn’t get team bonus EVEN though we KNEW we did well as we often remembered the incidence the mystery shopper described.
Team bonus is now £1.25 per hour extra for that week (used to be £1 per hour for that week and 50p during the pandemic, and Pret even tried to scrap the bonus but then a strike was announce and I tagged the Guardian in again). I remember talking with colleagues who became suspicious that we always failed to get bonus straight after a big summer or winter party.
Knowing Pret and how they cheat and steal, I NOW believe this. And the contact by above person saying that Pret also steal outstanding card rewards, I believe that.
An example of the £100 mystery shopper outstanding card reward via YouTube for one team member who gave a free drink to the mystery shopper (I call them “misery” shopper for a reason):
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Letting Low-Wage Staff Pay for PR Stunts
(In this case the NHS freebies)
Pret took from staff just before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020 when Pret made a big PR announcement giving free coffees and 50% rebate on food to NHS workers. The very next day after Pret made that announcement, CEO Pano Christou sent a mass email to all shops and head office departments that Pret will do cuts to staff. Pret as usual stole from staff to pay for the PR stunt of the NHS freebies. Needless to say the executives didn’t have a cut to their contracts and wages, not to mention bonuses.
18. March 2020 Pret PR stunt announcement for the NHS:
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The very next morning 19. March 2020, announcing cuts to staff:
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Unfortunately most NHS workers took the free coffees and 50% food rebate with joy, spreading Covid further. I went on a blitz informing the press and as many people as possible abut the staff cuts. Only very few, in particular 1 NHS staff was appalled:
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Needless to say, the “temporary” hour cuts, and with it pay cuts were made permanent later. ONE former staff went to Tribunal and sued Pret, but the judge didn’t grant the staff a win BECAUSE 99.9% of all the other staff accepted the cuts!!! Not sure why this is lawful, but this is why people NEED to join a union!!!
And later during the pandemic after Pret cut wages and hours, CEO Pano Christou did what he does best, putting himself forward as this great guy with his bloated ego and had the audacity to ask staff for donations for his half marathon. He wanted to raise money for the Pret Foundation to “alleviate poverty”! This guy has NO shame, nor a conscience. Pano Christou lives in his own bubble while bragging he came from the bottom. What a clown! Scroll down further to the Guardian piece where he received a payrise and a juicy bonus during the pandemic AFTER he cut wages, plus getting millions pumped into Pret from the government. Get your tissue, these are eye-watering numbers, and since then, now his bonus is topped up with another million pounds.
This is not merely hypocricy, this is blatant money grabbing from the lowest paid into his pockets. Fncking grifter!
For-Profit companies start foundations/trusts/charities for tax-breaks, for brownie points with the public and even for money laundering. And since the pandemic especially, Pret have been grabbing money at every turn under the “alleviate poverty” umbrella while impoverishing staff who, some have to claim benefits on top of working.
The Pret Foundation Trust as far as I know exists since the 1990s, but don’t quote me on that, I haven’t done my home work on this yet. And on a little side note, when I became bereaved and was bullied I asked Pret in writing if I can be put under someone from the Pret Foundation. Even an OPs manager suggested that in writing in one of the grievances I raised. But Pret never responded. And for a company in business sine 40 years to only have about 400+ “rising stars” come through says everything. These “rising stars” just serve as window dressing for Pret’s “ethical” facade.
Pano Christou’s self-absorbed and audacious mail to shops:
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Pretending to have Payroll Errors, Delaying to Pay Workers
Pret TWICE delayed paying staff in 2022 under dodgy excuses that there was a payroll error. And I remember in around 2012 that this already happened then, but I assumed this was a genuine mistake. Pret in around 2012 supposedly had a payroll error where the payroll staff “forgot” to pay everyone, and we got paid a few days later. I remember not thinking anything of it and even went around as a team leader offering to lend my colleagues money if they struggled. I assumed this was a one-off genuine mistake or mishap. But NOW I KNOW this wasn’t a mistake. This was DONE under former CEO Clive Schlee, and current CEO Pano Christou “learnt” from this and does the same.
Someone on Twitter who worked in payroll is appalled, quote: “This is appalling. As someone who bore ultimate responsibility for payroll in my organisation, I know this is inexcusable.”Link
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BUT, this is basically the THIRD time that Pret delayed paying staff under payroll error or mistake that I personally know of. And Pret often don’t pay the last week wages when staff leave who then have issues getting the pay. And CEO Pano Christou does what Pret always did, he sweet-talks his way through the press who bow to his bullsh!t.
End of May, beginning of June 2022 DM:
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Some staff announced on Instagram to be sabotaging Pret after not getting paid on time:
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Pret as usual used an event to cover up their nasty acts. Pret did that at the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday weekend when the public is distracted. So, when the news does come out, people are too distracted to notice. I emailed Pano Christou OPENLY copying in journalists and BLIND carbon copying some Pret staff in to protect their emails.
Sarah Butler from the Guardian picked it up and wrote her report on it. But of course, there was hardly any outcry on social media like it usually is, because people were busy with street parties for the Jubilee. Pret got away with that one!
And also, Monday was bank holiday where transfers are not done and people can’t arrange an overdraft. Pret DELIBERATELY chose THAT weekend, I believe that with everything in me.
I always tell people when Pret announce some charity, to take a closer look WHY!
Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha’s STERN rebuke to Pret on behalf of staff.
When Pret made the “temporary” paycuts permanent and the public got wind of it, “Loose Women” presenter Nadia Sawalha with an Instagram following of half a million and on Twitter close to 200,000 gave Pret a STERN rebuke and called on her followers to boycott!!! Although Nadia got the numbers wrong, she kept saying that staff (at the time) earn £8.91 which at the time was the minimum wage, and that Pret want to cut 11%. She made mistake, Pret always pay a littler over minimum wage, but at that time then cut down TO THE £8.91 minimum wage, as they legally can’t go below minimum wage (therefore they force staff to work overtime without pay and steal wages indirectly – on a side note!).
So, Nadia just mistook the number, but the core of the message was spot on. And that was also the time where we didn’t know yet if the “big cats” also do a cut on their own pay, even though I suspected they did NOT cut their own pay. And later see that the CEO got a £100,000 pyrise and almost £4 million in bonus AFTER he cut wages and year-on-year payrise and bonus rise.
But Nadia was the ONLY powerful, known, public voice to speak out.
I still have tears rolling down my face when I re-watch her rant from time to time! This was SO needed for Pret staff from a known voice! I went all over Twitter and Instagram and THANKED her a million times!
People FINALLY see the TRUE face of Pret where in May 2018 when I started publicly to expose Pret, hardly anyone believed me, except the unions and those who work in hospitality or toxic companies. Pret had everyone fooled, ESPECIALLY journalists!
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And we all know by now how Pret have REPEAT issues. Just a few of countless examples:
Ongoing neglect on safety issues yet again, this time with staff. In 2023 getting fined £800,000 (down from £1.6 million) after ignoring 19 months of complaints with a faulty walk-in freezer door. A 2. staff got trapped inside the freezer, this time for 2.5 hours fighting for her life. Pret staff told me they got stuck in walk-in fridges and freezers and Pret did nothing. This time it was too much.
Two wage-theft lawsuits settled in the USA within 4 years (Pret steal wages and hours in the UK as well, but the legal system is not as helpful for employees than it is in the USA).
5000+ complaints on the ice drinks issue with the coffee subscription. I worked with the BBC on that one and the one that followed two years later.
74% of unhappy customers on Trustpilot and many also on Google, Tripadviser … Truspilot is just centralised as in an overview.
etc. etc. etc. etc.
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Again, staff contacted me and I emailed Pano Christou while OPENLY copying in journalists including Sarah Butler from the Guardian who then reported on the pay delay.
I put the DM tip-off and Butler’s article in the following YouTube slide:
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The second pay delay in 2022 happened at the beginning of June 2022 at the Queen’s Jubilee weekend because Pret knew that the public would be distracted with the Jubilee celebrations AND banks would be closed on bank holiday Monday.
Pret executives do exactly what shop managers do, which shop managers learn from higher ups. Shop managers regularly “forget” to pay the correct hours that staff worked to save money and accumulate profit for the next quarterly bonus. I had to chase my hours for years! If a manager has 20 – 30 staff in their shop and “forget” to pay each staff the odd hour here and there, do the math, it accumulates. 120 hours a month and katchink!
June is the last month of the second quarter. Again, I was contacted by devastated staff and passed it on to the Guardian. But the Guardian article didn’t make much of a rounds because the public was distracted.
As a rule of thumb: When Pret make an announcement of any kind, an announcement of charity, of a deal, of an offer, an announcement of any kind that looks great, PAY ATTENTION in the next day(s) on what else is happening that Pret are trying to cover up by distracting with “charity” announcements.
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CEO Pano Christou and the “change / coins in cabbies” 😉
It seems like CEO Pano Christou stole as a kid while cleaning cars. In an interview with the Mirror where Christou does his “rags to riches” story to try and lure low-wage workers in, he shares that he used to wash the cars for pocket money of the cabs that his father brought home. He says that there was more change under the seats than what his dad paid him. Mr. Chrsitou, did you STEAL coins from cabs?
I also washed my dads cabs, but I never took any coins, money, items from cars.
Quote from the Mirror, I added bold to the text:
“Mr Christou said: “My first job, at 14/15, was delivering mini-cabs cards through doors. I washed my father’s car every Sunday. “He would pay me a pound or two, but I would probably find more change under the seats then he paid me.”
Since the pandemic especially, Pano Christou likes to stage himself in the press as this “rags to riches” great CEO who cares so much. And because Christou knows how it is to be poor, he makes sure that Pret staff give him more money than he needs. Cut wages and pocket the money:
“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”
And a recent shop manager review on Glassdoor, and it doesn’t matter how many people Pret “employ” to leave fake reviews, the truth will continue to come out:
Part of recent General Manager Glassdoor review about how manager cheat to reach impossible targets set by Pret execs and how most food is thrown away (please note that Ptet also lie about having a “fleet” of cars distributing food to people in need. Pret rely on unpaid volunteers to pick up food, otherwise it gets wasted):
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UPDATE Dec. 2023
Pret now changed their “fleet of cars” claim to “Every evening we donate as much as we can to those in need”. 😀
Oops, where’s them “fleet” of cars now!? Hey Pret, you’re reading too much expret.org and are learning or getting paranoid! How about allowing a UNION for your exploited, overworked, underpaid workers, hm?!
And Pret use T-Shirts and walls now to brainwash customers. They don’t use as much social media anymore as they’re called out there too often and know I have an eye on their lies and COLLECT the RECEIPTS (screenshots)! Pret’s Twitter / X account even has NOT had any original post since 2023, except just replies to customer complaints and queries. Most journalists read and are active on Twitter, not on Facebook or Instagram so much. Pret know, they lost the social media battle! I already chased former CEO Clive Schlee, current CEO Pano Chirstou and itsu founder / Pret RE-founder Julian Metcalfe off Twitter.
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Shop Manager review from mid November 2023:
“Toxic and draining
Toxic, mental health is seen as a joke. … They expect you to perform 125% since the first day. The kitchen environment is super heavy, from deliveries to producing an absurd amount of food that at the end of the day is going to the bin. The excuse is always that “we are giving away to charity” but 90% of the time charity never shows up, or can’t commit to being there at a certain time. So hundreds of pounds worth of food is going to the bin. Managers and Assistant Managers manipulate stock, temperatures, and a lot more to have the perfect shop when in reality most of those targets are close to impossible to achieve. (unless you have no life and want to work 80+ hours a week). … customers are completely overwhelmed by the insane amount of products sold … treat General Managers and Assistant Managers like people. Team members and the rest of the Key Roles are the heart of the company and are also treated very poorly and many times disrespectfully …”
And don’t believe the PR stunt about Pret baristas getting £14.10 (incl. bonus in 2023). If that happens than it is extremely rare and only happens at airports and busy railway stations where the pay is a little higher and products for customers also cost more.
Pret are tasked to aggressively speed-open shops worldwide and double in size by 2026. They do this via franchises to save money and also avoid giving deals, offers to customers and take from staff.
I could go on and on, but I think that’s enough to fill a book!
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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. Just press play or go straight to the interview on Adam’s page).
… like nothing ever happened, and whatever happened is just normal.
Since my brother died and the way I had to learn it, not having had ANY support, and later my dad dying, then my mum and I couldn’t bury her during 2. lock-down, and everything in-between, I had to be strong and continue to be alone. Relatives, friends, work … were used to me just getting on with it and just left me alone.
Pret started to target me in hopes I leave. My story with Pret is scattered all over my blog. And someone is copying all my writings without the thought of copyright in mind. As well as WordPress staff checking any new post I publish, as Pret must have contacted them.
“Friends” turned their backs very soon, and then wondered why I was “flipping out”, starting to drink. Everyone sends you away to therapists to avoid having to be with a “friend”.
And even in the midsts of being completely traumatised and out of my mind, people still just want something from you. It’s incredible the depth and length of carelessness and selfishness we live in, in this Western society.
I have been through hell more than once since my brother died, on several levels, situations, circumstances. And BECAUSE I dealt with it strong and not bothering anyone, everyone just gaslit me that this is normal, just so they avoid having to deal with the immense burden, losses and pain I was confronted with.
I am strong. But I allow myself to not be strong. And whoever can’t handle that needs to stay away. And I stay away from the wrong crowd.
And those who started to support, I pushed away because I didn’t know who to trust, or people said they’d do something, even offering it, but then didn’t do it. How would a bereaved, traumatised person handle broken promises?
People love it when I have break-downs, it gives them the excuse to say “you’re hurting me, stay away”, while they’ve never been at my side in the first place.
It’s the society we live in. It will be the society I die in.
I will never be normal. I tried.
For my family.
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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 and was mentioned by the BBC.
Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 
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