Month: July 2024

Or does Beecham act as the “secret” CEO of Pret? And how customers have lowered their own standards and expectations, just to get cheaper or “free” products.

Audio version on my podcast.
(Please note that the audio is not updated like the below text is).

.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 20.07.2024 at the very bottom of this page. Customers UNABLE to cancel the subscription, just like people were not able in 2020 / 2021 and onwards.

.

.

UPDATE 16.08.2024

Pret YET AGAIN are swindling customers by saying they NEED to download the app in order to pay the take-away price when taking away. Customers are now charged the EAT-IN price, even when taking out unless they download the app. I am VERY sure this is illegal. Typical Pret. Review on Trustpilot:

.

Link

Contact trading standards!

Why I believe that scrapping the “free” drinks subscription deal (nothing is ever free, I know) will save Pret!

Pret have recently brought back RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham, who already pumped money into Pret during the pandemic, to help fix the mess. The mess that is £700 million debt, ongoing neglect with safety, quality, hygiene and pest issues, bad press, high staff turn-over, poor customer reviews to name just the most pressing issues. All that while aggressively expanding worldwide to double in size by 2026 as tasked by owners JAB Holdings / Reimann family.

.

Customer reviews statistic as of mid July 2024

As Pret are in the news again, this time for scrapping the “free” drinks from their subscription, and the press, together with customers, are throwing a fit, some predict Pret to fail. But I think this will SAVE Pret! I explain below. “Pretman” aka Sinclair Beecham has come out of the phone booth, ready with his cape.

.

.

Little side-note, knowing Pret’s carelessness, I do wonder if NOW Pret warn their social media team in advance when they’re about to p!ss customers off! Social media exploding again with customers fuming, as the Guardian called it.

And I love the humour and satire of customers as always.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Guardian: “Pret customers left fuming over end of ‘free drinks'”

.

.

.

.

And speaking of nice coffee, I have to update my “Pret Coffee Sucks” slide as complaints continue, including bad coffee in the new Pret shops in India:

.

.

.

.

While current CEO Pano Christou with over 20 years in Pret has his head in the sand about customer complaints and bad press, RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham just having been brought back to Pret, re-starts with radical change. Pano Christou has been on a media tour since the pandemic, presenting himself as this great CEO with a rags-to-riches story while exploiting staff. He kept ignoring customer complaints on a variety of issues and remained silent on bad press reports.

When he was still on Twitter (he deleted his account in July 2019 after I pointed him out to the press) he blocked me while former CEO Clive Schlee and Pret didn’t block. Christou then went to LinkedIn where people tell him all day long how great he is.

Fast forward to 2024 and the reputation of Pret is in the basement from all the various scandals and the TRUE face of Pret being revealed over and over again.

Now after a board shake-up, bringing back Sinclair Beecham while his buddy, the other RE-co-founder Julian Metcalfe threw Pret under the bus recently in the press (see the links below for detail), Beecham starts radical!

Pret now scrapped the 5-drinks-per day on a £30 a month fee with 20% off food and made it quite complicated. But customers who can do the maths alright say it’s the worst deal and many announced to cancel the sub (as they always announce when Pret change the sub and app).

One guy on TikTok, going by the name naimking, did the maths and presents alternatives, even confirming that Caffè Nero’s products are much better than Pret’s. I also worked at Nero before Pret and find Nero’s coffee much better by miles, but despite that I don’t go to Nero as I support small independent businesses. But Nero do a DOUBLE shot by default for the similar price of a Pret coffee, while Pret do one shot. And there’s no such a thing as a “double” espresso or “extra” shot in Pret as Pret play with words as usual.

The alternatives:

.

.

Why do I think that changing the sub will save Pret instead of ruining them, no matter how people throw a fit at first? I am writing since May 2018 on Pret, even before the customer deaths became public which I also didn’t know about. I have observed issues in Pret, boycotts, bad press, reduced customer satisfaction over the years.

Since Pret introduced the subscription in September 2020, there have been many issues where Pret tried to change the subscription but kept going back and forth as customers threatened to cancel the sub (see “How Pret Make Profit…” article below).

I worked in Pret and know how micromanaging, chaotic and wasteful they are. One of Pret’s big problems is that they try to spread themselves to thin, trying to cater to ALL people. But this then backfires as staff are burnt out, customers unhappy, unsafe food practices continue etc.

The press increasingly smashed the subscription (see “Bad Press for Bad Pret” article below) with the Telegraph recently going on an anti-Pret reporting spree for about 2+ weeks. Just one of many media reports, this one from 2022 was one of the first to sound the alarm on the subscription (more reports below in “Bad Press for Bad Pret”).

.

.

.

.

.

.

The above press reports are just the tip of the iceberg. For more, please see:

Bad Press for Bad Pret.

.

UPDATE 30.07.2024

Pret having announced to bring back the 99p filter coffee is yet another lie again. Filter isn;t available in many shops and Pret raised prices to £1.60 and more at times. Customers again flock to Instagram where Pret are more active (Pret haven’t posted any new/original post on Twitter/X since 2023) and say that half the shops don’t sell filter, and if they do they charge £1.30 if people bring their own cup.

.

Link to more complaints.

And since Pret turn many shops into franchises, where franchise owners have more freedom to set their own pricing, customers get more and more confused. Pret fully keep shops in airporst and other travel hubs where the most money is but turn many landside shops into franchsies to save money. Pret need cash for their aggressive expansion plans to double in size by 2026 as instructed by their owners.
Recently on Twitter / X:

.

.

In a nutshell regarding the subscription changes in September, the subscription has destroyed customer service, quality of products. Shops are in a mess with burnt-out and rude staff, pest issues, increased food poisoning reports, dirty stores, ripped furniture … and the list goes on.

Little by little customers got slow-cooked like frogs and got accustomed to the poor quality, smaller portion sizes, bad coffee, poor quality food (mouldy food included), rude staff due to burn-out etc. etc.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

These customer complaints on mouldy food and hygiene / pest issues are also just the tip of the iceberg. For more, please see:

Pret’s Food is NOT Freshly Made

.

So now, when Pret change the subscription while Leon start to offer a £25 monthly subscription modelled after Pret, customers flip out and call for Pret’s downfall. They got used to the longer waiting time, poorer quality, rude staff … and WANT to continue their cheap coffees.

Sinclair Beecham is helping Pret to raise their standards, while CEO Pano Christou shows NO initiative or innovation because he wants to please the owners in Germany via their in tax haven Luxembourg based company JAB Holdings.

It must be frustrating for Sinclair Beecham as well as Julian Metcalfe who together RE-founded Pret after Jeffrey Hyman started Pret in 1983 but it quickly failed, to watch Pret burn to the ground. Julian Metcalfe threw Pret under the bus via the press recently, and I can’t help thinking that he and his buddy former Pret CEO Clive Schlee are p!ssed off in what Pret has turned into.

.

.

And regarding Julian Metcalfe, I wrote a little piece on his family line and his questionable connections. I also link there how I chased him off Twitter after he came on for 2 days to rant about lockdowns and kept retweeting my posts. He also has complaints on the itsu app and a lot of complaints of people having food poisoning dirty itsu shops as well as ongoing product recalls due to mislabelling.

Here just two recent reviews on food poisoning. One review where half the family got sick from various itsu products. Keep in mind that itsu mainly do sushi (raw fish) and rice. Two high risk foods.

.

.

.

.

For more itsu reviews, please see Trustpilot.

Also know or remember that former Pret CEO Clive Schlee owns half of itsu. The mishandling of food continues in Pret as well as itsu. They’re all on big happy family. Clive Schlee got the CEO gig from Julian Metcalfe all these years ago. Current Pret CEO Pano Christou was Schlee’s right-hand-man for years as UK Managing Director.

BOTH Schlee and Christou ignored TWO customer deaths and multiple injuries before it got public. So, Pret were already very bad in handling issues, and Christou learnt from Schlee. Not to mention how Clive Schlee patronised me and how he allowed a bullying and blaming culture. But in good times before the pandemic, Pret were able to fool the public and had lots of money to throw around (except for staff!).

.

Link

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s mother in disbelief over Pret’s inaction:

.

.

Pret also didn’t do anything after the 2. customer, Celia Marsh, died a year later. In times of crisis or lack, the TRUE core of a person or organisation is tested and comes to the forefront. The fact that the perceived “healthy” Pret A Manger hooked up with junk food giant McDonald’s in the late 1990s early 2000s should have raised red flags already on how Pret REALLY are.

And CEO Pano Christou having come from McDonald’s where he was a store manager, having had a head start in Pret as an assistant manager, is coming full circle turning Pret into a McDonald’s type low quality brand.

Clive Schlee was a better “bullsh!tter” than Christou is. I always compare Schlee to the Ronald McDonald Clown. Schlee’s tactic was to sweet-talk, smile and be charming to the public to distract from issues and appear as an ethical and caring company, while Christou is more insecure. And from knowing him during his UK Managing Director days, he was never innovative or brought something new to the table. He was just the shadow of Schlee and learnt all the bullsh!t. But it simply doesn’t cut anymore.

Now, since the pandemic and Pano Christou’s take-over, Pret are a disaster! But I am not surprised about it as I know Pret from having worked there and survived their “lovingly handmade” antics. And I am glad that I started to expose Pret in May 2018 when NO-ONE knew how bad Pret really are behind the happy facade, except journalist Timothy Noah.

Now, 6 years later customers on social media often say things like “I know it’s bad, but I like Pret’s cinnamon swirl …” or semi-apologise for going to Pret because Pret’s reputation compared to 6 years ago has taken a massive nose-dive. My writings have certainly contributed to that after what Pret put me through! And I’m proud of that.

But Sinclair Beecham now is helping RESTORE the quality and reputation of Pret because staff won’t have to do millions of low quality drinks and drop like flies from the sheer work load. This will improve customer service, food and drink quality as well as hygiene and pest issues, high staff turnover will get better etc. etc.

To me, knowing Pret and how they work, Beecham is like the secret CEO of Pret now while Pano Christou is the face of Pret. To save face, JAB / Pret won’t fire Christou, but got in RE-founder Beecham to fix the mess as the secret CEO. Unlike Clive Schlee who served as the Ronald McDonald smiley face of Pret, Pano Christou seemed to have been sent to the naughty corner behind the scenes to let Beecham fix the Pretanic from sinking.

And this also reminds me of how FINALLY former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brought back former Britain “CEO” David Cameron.

I really love how Metcalfe threw Pret under the bus recently while Beecham gets to work. That’s a BIG give-away right there on the internal conflict between these executives as well as who really cares about the company. And don’t get me started on Metcalfe!

If Pret were to continue the 5-drinks-per-day plus 20% off food for £30 a months deal, the mayhem and reputation would get even worse, especially since staff simply cannot look after customers and each other. The £800,000 fine last year after another staff got trapped inside a walk-in freezer, this time for over 2 hours might have slapped Pret in the face to STOP exploiting and exhausting staff!

A civil claim is still ongoing for compensation for the staff member who got trapped in the freezer. There will be further news on this in the near future, unless they prolong the case or settle.

But changing the deal will help stop the volume of coffee making by exhausted and demoralized staff, which in turn will help staff to better look after the business and themselves.

As Leon now has the same deal of £25 subscription, watch their service and quality deteriorate if they do the deal for a few years.

For press reports, complaints and how Pret make profit from the subscription, please see the following links:

• Bad Press for Bad Pret.
  
• How Pret make Profit from the Subscription.
  
• 75% of customer reviews on Trustpilot (1 & 2 star reviews combined) are negative.
  
• How staff incl. shop managers are exploited, leading to safety and quality issues, and what store managers, even HQ staff say about Pret and its leadership.
  
• Links to further Pret issues and scandals incl. £800,000 fine after staff trapped in freezer, £700 million debt etc. etc.

Support small independent businesses, and on work-related issues, join a union!

This tweet remains my all-time favourite comment on Pret:

.

.

UPDATE 20.07.2024

After Pret announced drastic changes to the subscription, customers YET AGAIN are hindered from canceling the subscription. Only 2 examples of many. Also, see the YouTube slide below with complaints from 2020 / 2021 of the same issues and Money Saving Expert reporting on it. Contact TRADING STANDARDS!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

---

.

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

.

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

©2017 – Present: expret.org

Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

.

.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
©2017 – Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

Six years ago I wrote already on the Lidl Disaster, and call me naïve, but I always hope a business/organisation/service improves over time. But I need to boycott this chain for life now. In above link I explain the disaster, especially when it comes to food safety. And this was long before the pandemic. Fast forward six years and things have not improved but rather gotten worse, yet more hidden.

I rarely go to Lidl anymore for reasons I wrote in a Trustpilot review. But in the beginning to mid of June I went to Lidl to buy bulk items like water, milk etc. as a friend was about to visit and I wanted to have enough fluids as the weather turned warmer as well as my friend eating cereal in the morning. Me and my organised self bulk-shopped so we wouldn’t have to waste time going shopping and could just hover all over London like excited tourists. This turned out to be a mistake.

I bought a “crate” of long-life milk and oat milk. I rarely buy any dairy products anymore due to how animals are treated, but made an exception as my friend prefers cow’s milk. I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian but have drastically cut down on live and dead animal products. If you ever come across a documentary simply called “Cow“, I really recommend it! I saw it where after the screening they had a Q&A with the writer and director, both female worth mentioning. I appreciate that they weren’t “preachy” and just let the film do its thing. It is NOT as expected, and I was really surprised of the SILENT suffering these beautiful creatures go through.

This is NOT a gore or “violent” documentary, it is just so profound how silent it is, yet how much you can see the suffering! The film mainly follows one particular cow to really zoom in on the day-to-day existence of a cow. When you watch that one cow’s daily ordeal but also the joy and tranquility when out in the field during the summer, you clearly see a personality that differs from other cows. Absolutely mind-blowing!

It also makes it clear that all the suffering of animals (fish, insects etc.) are without any sound! Imagine we’d hear all the suffering animals go through! I’m sure the meat and dairy industry would have much less customers.

The camera angles are some of THE best I’ve ever seen in any film! Heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. Surreal, and an absolute must-watch! It rekindled my desire to work with animals in some way and reminds me of the holidays we’ve spent on small old-fashioned country farms when I was a kid, born and raised in the city.

.

.

Okay, I didn’t turn vegan, but I try to cut down as much as I can on animal products and try to seek out truly ethical businesses. And it’s a question of time before we learn of catastrophic issues in the vegan industry, where acres upon acres of forests are erroded for plantbased “superfoods” threatening and/or extinguishing wild-life. If you live long enough, you know not to romanticise anything anymore.

So, only yesterday, mid July, I noticed that the oat milk expired in March 2024! Gulp! Sure, the milk is still drinkable and I understand the difference between “best before” and “use by” dates, but this is unacceptable! Lesson learnt: never buy in bulk anymore, and go shopping with your friend to choose what they want.

I already have beef (pun intended!) with Lidl for always putting more expensive items behind less expensive items’ price labels. I often notice because since I go shopping as a child even, I was raised as well as having moved out early, to calculate the money I spend and ALWAYS, all my life calculate the price I pay, and this way IMMEDIATELY notice when the till rings it up higher than what I summed up from the price tags. It’s also a good excercise to keep your mind fit! Do the calculations in your head to stay fit mentally!

Lidl is THE worst company doing this. I used to live close to Morrisons and only bought bits and bobs there, and found even years ago Morrisons doing the same. But Lidl has absolutely hands down the worst activity in deception like this.

As I finished the oat milk and threw the packaging out already I missed taking photos. Yet, it would be useless as I don’t have the receipt anymore and they could say I bought it before March 2024. Another lesson learnt, always check the dates before putting items in your trolley! .

And no, there’s no point in contacting Lidl like I did 6 years ago because this is systemic and from customer reviews their customer service seems appalling. But I left a Trustpilot review today and will leave reviews on Google, TripAdvisor and wherever reviews can be left. I always say to Pret staff, who contact me, to leave a review on Glassdoor AND Indeed, and whatever other employee review site’s out there. Indeed has 4 reviews on their Berlin store while Glassdoor has none (or vice versa, can’t remember)! Always leave a review on every available review site as you can only leave one per site.

Just the start of my review, the rest via above link:

.

.

After I wrote the review, I checked out other reviews for Lidl GB. Unsurprisingly, 69% of one star reviews says it all. Several mention they’d leave zero stars if they could. If you check reviews, it is always set to “most relevant” or “most popular” by default, I always select “most recent” to see if there’s a trend on issues that repeat itself in a certain time period.

I did NOT read the Lidl reviews before I left mine. But some absolutely confirm my concerns when it comes to bad/expired food while the expiry dates are still good. I believe this is due to meat, fish, fresh drinks etc. being sat on the shop floor by customers abandoning the queues. I explain in detail WITH photos in above “Lidl Disaster” link.

Sure, most companies have poor reviews now. Pret having 75% (1 & 2 star reviews combined) unhappy customers, but that doesn’t excuse unsafe food handling. Just because “most” companies are bad, doesn’t make it right or that we have to accept this. Such a lame excuse!

I will also pass this on to the press, especially Channel 4 Dispatches, BBC Panorama and all the journalists I have worked with on my Pret stuff, to hopefully give them ideas to investigate undercover. But I got my undercover journo itch now and will visit several Lidl stores in different areas, camera in hand and then update this post with part 3.

I once saw 2 people in two different areas in a the same Lidl at the same time taking photos. As I know the manager a little bit from chats while shopping, I asked him if they have mystery shoppers as I saw 2 people taking photos. Having had traumatic experiences with Pret’s mystery shopper scheme, I always tip off any business management if I think there’s a mystery shopper. He confirmed that Lidl have mystery shoppers. This is why I believe staff always move stock around to make shelves look filled.

Pret do the same thing, often even moving the wrong food item like a baguette behind another baguette and its label because Pret have the stupid rule that ANY item needs to have at least 2 of its kind as a pair behind a label. This is called a “line”. If there’s only 1 item behind a label and the mystery shopper (MS) comes at that time, having to count the “lines”, and only sees 1 item, the whole team won’t get bonus, even if you were off that day.

Example by nanka-photo in this case two Bloomer sandwiches close together. (Side note: these prices are a thing of the past!)

.

.

What managers and team leaders (MODs) often do, yet are NOT allowed to do, they take the label off the fridge shelf. If they’re caught taking the label off, they get a disciplinary. So, what do they do to avoid the fncking fear management? They place a SIMILAR looking item behind the correctly labelled item to make it look like a line (2 items).

You know where I’m going with this, right?

Pret always have a meat item and a veggie or vegan alternative of a meaty product. Especially during Christmas for example. Pret do a meaty baguette and a vegan or veggie alternative baguette that often looks very similar to the meat version. If there’s 1 veggie baguette on the shelf, but 5 similar looking meaty baguettes, the manager on duty (MOD) takes the meaty baguette, turns it around with the back facing customers so they can’t see the ingredients in case ham is sticking out, and places it BEHIND the veggie baguette to make it look like a line (2 baguettes) for the mystery shopper. The shelf will then show 2 “veggie” and 4 meaty baguettes, and everyone gets their bonus.

If you do see only 1 item of a particular type of food, than at times it’s okay as the shelves have the certain amount of “selection” during certain times of the day. As an example, but I can’t remember exactly and Pret keep changing the rules, but after 2pm lunch rush, shops are not required anymore to have ALL items but a certain amount of lines, let’s say 20 lines of a minimum of 2 items each. Then after 5pm they have to have only let’s say 12 lines and so on. Don’t quote me on the time and amount of lines. It’s just an example.

But between 12 noon and 2pm, or 2:30pm depending on the shop location, ALL shops have to have FULL selection of ALL items Pret offer, with a minimum of 2 items of each kind = a line per product. If one item of its kind has only 1 product and the MS happens to be around tasked to count the lines, no-one gets bonus that week.

There’s as reason why I renamed the mystery shopper as “misery” shopper! For an in-depth study on Pret’s micromanaging mystery shopper scheme, please see The Dangers of Emotional Labour, as well as Recruiting for Personality rather than Skill can be Fatal. Pret’s emphasis always is having staff with a “bubbly” personality to appear a happy company, rather than people who actually know what the freak they’re doing.

I’ve put a snippet on Soundcloud of an interview from Desert Island Disc with Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, who says that he does NOT demand his staff to smile! I was in tears when I heard this, because Pret bully and penalize staff if they don’t smile, even when you’re bereaved like I was! Again, if ONE staff doesn’t smile the MISERY shopper can penalize the whole team by not awarding bonus for that week. I was reprimanded when the MS commented that I didn’t smile despite also commenting that my service was polite and efficient. The MS didn’t know that I just buried my brother the previous week, but Pret and my manager knew. There was NO mercy!

But the lack of know-how also shows so clear with current CEO Pano Christou, who’s with Pret since over 20 years and doesn’t have an excuse for sinking the ship after former CEO Clive Schlee ran Pret into an iceberg. Yet, Christou doesn’t seem to manage as Pret are £700 million in debt having now brought back RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham to help fix the mess. Beecham already pumped money into Pret during the pandemic. And while Beecham tries to fix Pret, the other RE-co-founder Julian Metcalfe via the press recently threw Pret under the bus! *PLONK* 🤭

The use of different products to make a line for the mystery shopper then can potentially endanger people’s lives or health if they’re allergic or are vegans etc. Especially before the packaging was labelled. Yes, since 2021 by law all packaging has to be labelled under “Natasha’s Law”, named after the first customer who died from hidden allergens in a Pret baguette. But, in a hurry people often grab an item and only later have time to check the ingredients, or worse, they still blindly trust Pret.

And to be fair to the staff, customers also misplace sandwiches, return some to the wrong spot etc. You MUST always check the labels especially in Pret. Staff also continue to mislabel food packaging itself or mix up ingredients due to being pressured to work faster and longer for less. Customers post pictures of mislabelled food and also mouldy food, as well as pest (mice, flies, rats …) issues.

The worst thing I saw from customers posting on social media is a Pret dairy Bircher Muesli made with MAYONNAISE!!! This is very very VERY easy to happen. The stressed-out staff, being fear managed, rush into the walk-in fridge and instead of grabbing the 10 liter yoghurt bucket, they grab the 10 liter mayonnaise bucket. Now you may say, how on earth can that staff member not notice?! You’ll be surprised how many things get missed, especially when you’re so stressed out and fatigued. Plus, most staff in Pret kitchens and shops are foreigners, many having just arrived from their home countries. Some often don’t speak English well yet etc. I’ve seen a lot of avoidable mistakes and made some myself.

And some staff also have a drinking problem, highly hung-over starting work at 5am. I started to drink after my brother died and to this day don’t know how I worked from 5am ON TIME every time, heavily hung-over but also on adrenaline. I came across a reddit post regarding PTSD and adrenaline and the pennies dropped!

Staff are simply so burnt out! Here’s a recent Glassdoor staff review that breaks my heart because I know what these team leaders are going through who run shops and get blamed when the shop manager fncks up. I quote one sentence that brings me to tears and also saw similr reviews on shop managers breaking down in the office. I will never stop urging all staff to join a union! A Barista writes:

“I’ve seen some team leaders having breakdowns during their shift over their job.” 😪

.

.

I put one of my all time favourite Pret staff reviews on a slide and zoomed in on every word as the review is in one long bulk text on Indeed, but for people to understand the sheer pressure and unnecessary micromanagement low-wage staff are under, ESPECIALLY due to the “military” style mystery shopper scheme Pret put in place. I wish I’d knew who the person is who wrote this! They deserve a blinking Pulitzer price for this review! Over the years I was contacted by former Pret staff who wrote certain reviews that I’ve put on my blog or on YouTube and they recognised their reviews. I do hope that person sees their review again in the many places I scattered it.

An anti-noise organisation even posted it on their newsletter after complaining to Pret about the high noise levels in shops and I pointed them to the review. Please note, the link in their newsletter to my slide doesn’t work anymore and needs to be updated. It’s now the below “video”.

If you want to understand Pret A Manger in a nutshell, this is THE BEST review to paint a picture, I could not have written it better. The title and the last sentence are golden and a whole book or film could be produced on this review alone! I underline every dot and comma of this review. In my slide I did a correction of “lose” vs “loose”, otherwise I ususally don’t correct any typos and leave it in their own words.

.

.

And this review has 54 Yes and 3 No votes (as of 12.07.2024). Speaks for itself.

But back to Lidl. Today after I wrote my Lidl review I started reading some others and literally had some laugh-out-loud moments. Some reviews are so funny, they need an extra page! I realised today that reading customer and employee reviews is one my favourite things to relax and have a laugh!

I won’t highlight much of a specific review. You might find those funny or you don’t, but I want to leave that up to the reader. I had a few LOLs today! Weirdly, the Pret A Manger reviews are never funny but mostly very angry. Maybe that’s due to Pret having fooled the public for so long and people are p!ssed off once they realise how fake and bad Pret really are. Lidl are a low-cost / discount supermarket where people already don’t have high expectations. But Pret always presented themselves as posh and ethical. So, people were in for some nasty surprises, unfortunately some surprises that literally has cost some customers their lives and health including staff.

And to be fair to my particular Lidl branch, I’ve never had an issue with any of their staff and always had the odd chat here and there with some staff including the branch manager. All the staff and especially the manager are super hard working. And even if there were issues, I know from experience in the hospitality industry that the fish stinks from its head. If there are systemic issues of any kind, it always comes from the top, even if that is just passively ignoring issues. And I rarely write a complaint to a company on staff, even if a staff is rude or seems careless, unless they’re always rude and careless or exceptionally offensive. Everyone has a bad day, and workers are already treated like sh!t. As a rule of thumb, if you do give a tip, ALWAYS give a cash tip, NEVER a credit/debit card tip.

I worked in restaurants where the company took 15% off the card tip, and Pret now have “tap” devices to leave tips, but knowing Pret, I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep it all! Hefty allegation you may say? Check their track record on wage theft, underpaying, overtime not paid, almost weekly hours missed from the weekly pay, last week pay often chased by ex-staff, bonus withheld, “outstanding card” cash rewards deleted off mystery shopper reports, THREE times delayed pay under dodgy payroll error excuses with two times within 3 months! And not to mention CEO Pano Christou filling his pockets after cutting wages.

.

Link

So, tipping in the UK isn’t common and I don’t always tip, but ALWAYS leave a CASH tip! I cannot always tip, but when I’m happy with the food I always give a tip to the chef in the kitchen as well as the service person. Kitchen folk are always forgotten! I even tip the toilet lady at a venue sometimes, especially during the Christmas period. It’s the best thing to put a smile on someone’s face who does the worst job!

In supermarkets, especially Lidl, ALWAYS check the expiry dates AND the shelf price labels versus the products behind it. I must say, I’ve never had an issue with Tesco!

Enlarge the screen for better read or go to the Lidl reviews directly. For computers without touch-screen, just type ctrl & + to enlarge and ctrl & – to decrease again. Not all reviews are funny, I just post a mix of a few.

I must say this first review I paste here, I can’t understand how a long-time customer mis-types Lidl throughout the review. Reminds me of people on social media saying it took them years to realize that Pret a called Pret A Manger not Pret A Manager.

.

.

Here’s where I believe the customer might have taken a turkey mince package from the fridge that might have been on the shop floor out of the cold like I explain in above “Lidl Disaster” link WITH pictures. The date is good, but the turkey is foul.

.

.

So, customers leaving basket behind seems a company-wide thing.

.

.

In the following review I could literally picture a person standing in their kitchen videoing a lizard swimming in the water for 23 seconds. 🤣

.

.

.

.

Two reviews on overcharging posted on the same day:

.

.

.

.

“Lip festival” 🤣

.

.

.

… plus many more.

.

And I would not be a good former Pret employee if I wouldn’t end with recent Pret customer AND staff reviews. 😉

.

.

Glassdoor – Barista:

.

.

Indeed – Manager:

.

.

---

.

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

.

BuyMeACoffee

.

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

©2017 – Present: expret.org

Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

.

.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
©2017 – Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

I’m going to lean out the window here, but hear me out. And should the Ednan-Laperouse family read this, in no way am I wanting to be offensive, judgmental or accusing. Losing someone close, especially a child is unspeakable in pain and grief, and I can never ever put myself into your position. And I’m glad you have reached so much with “Natasha’s Law” and continue to raise awareness and create change.

This is a general observation and my own aim to understand WHY Pret keep getting away with things in the UK compared to the USA. Especially since I’ve worked in Pret and experienced their carelessness and customers posting photos of ongoing issues with mislabeling, even unsafe, mouldy food over the years, even AFTER Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and then Celia Marsh died and multiple injuries.

And of course the WordPress staff who checks every blog post I put out will pass this on to Pret. Be my guest.

I live in the UK since many years with interruptions of about 6 years in the USA. and came to know both countries and mentalities quiet well I recently came across a brilliant comparison between USA and UK mentality. I tried my own comparison on my podcast, but can never achieve the understanding that the below YouTuber communicates.

I fast forward to the spot where YouTuber JimmyTheGiant is mentioning British politeness and that British people take a lot of “shit” while Americans are much less tolerant of mistreatment or crap.

Please watch this comparison for about 5 minutes:

.

.

After all that happened to me in and by Pret which I extensively share on my blog and socials, I started to do extensive research into Pret and broke the Internet. I found court cases in the USA and the UK, found press articles, staff reviews, customer experiences, good and bad.

What I found regarding lawsuits is that as we know Americans sue very quick and get results compared to people in the UK who struggle to even get a pro bono lawyer. I raised a Tribunal claim against Pret but withdrew as my dad died in the middle of me preparing for it.

I went from Citizens Advice Bureau to other free legal advice charities, and found NO pro bono lawyer or advanced law student wanting to take on my case, because even if I’d won, the payouts are so low that lawyers decline the case as their 30% cut would be peanuts. The payouts are too low for lawyers to invest days in court and weeks in preparation for the case. In the USA the payouts are higher and lawyers would have drooled for a case like mine.

One Citizen Advice Bureau who was a retired lawyer volunteering was SO NEGATIVE and pessimistic, I remember sitting in tears in his office, speechless. My dad just out of a coma and in rehab in Germany, me trying to get legal aid as I couldn’t afford a lawyer, and this 60+ year old retired lawyer giving reason after reason why my case sucks basically!

A few days later my dad died, and I withdrew the case being broken in pieces ready to quit life altogether.

The above brilliant comparison of USA vs UK mentality and British people taking way too much “shit” has me think of the tragic and avoidable death of 15 year old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who started to suffer a fast and severe anaphylactic shock mid-air on a flight to holiday with her dad and her best friend. She had a few bites from a Pret baguette bought at Heathrow airport, but the fridge label did NOT state that the bread contained sesame to which she was allergic to.

She later died in hospital.

A year later in December 2017, mother of five, 42 year old Celia Marsh died of dairy traces in a vegan wrap from Pret, but it was found that the dairy-free yogurt was from the vegan supplier who wept in court while Pret just wished everyone well after the inquest.

Pret was warned multiple times BEFORE Natasha died as well as having been sued in New York the year before Natasha died after a man suffered an allergy reaction ALSO from sesame and landed in hospital. Pret WON the case because sesame at the time was NOT part of the mandatory allergen list in the USA while next door in Canada it was part of the allergen list for labelling.

Pret did NOT take this serious to start labelling, and didn’t even start labelling when the 1. customer died, or the 2. customer died, or the multiple customers who got injured and informed Pret about it …

No, Pret started labelling AFTER this became public!

.

Link

I worked in Pret when both customers died and multiple people got injured. I was a team leader, responsible for health and safety. Not only did Pret NOT tell us anything about customer fatalities and injuries, there wasn’t even a HINT to be more cautious or diligent with labelling and allergens. NOTHING!

Natasha’s Mum Tanya:

.

.

In fact, a year after the first customer, Natasha, died, Pret held a massive seminar for leaders and managers in the prestigious expensive Barbican Center for 1-2 weeks. It was for sure for one week, but I think it was two weeks from Monday to Friday.

Only managers, assistant managers and team leaders were “invited” (mandatory) to come, each area taking turns. So, when I went as a team leader, my colleague from my shop who was a team leader too stayed in the shop and went another day when I covered the shop. Head office did a massive logistic operation, organising for each leader, manager etc. to go to the seminar for about 2 hours each.

The seminar was about customer service and in a nutshell how we can further “slime” and love-bomb customers more to gain and retain customers. We basically didn’t learn anything new, it was the same old, same old: smile, be nice, love-bomb (my words) etc.

I speak about it extensively on a podcast and explain how annoyed I was when we where STRESSED to not call customers “sir” or “madam” anymore, yet NO mention about a customer death the year before, and multiple injuries.

The slogan the seminar was held under was:
“Be Kind – Be Generous – Be Honest”.

I remember we staff rolled our eyes because we knew that Pret aren’t kind, generous and certainly not honest. So, we just went through the motions and sat up out time slot and went back to the shop. We were supposed to bring back what we “learnt” (which was nothing new) to “teach” to all the other staff.

We never did, we just went back to business as usual, which is: smile for the mystery shopper to get bonus and hopefully an individual the £100 or £200 “outstanding card” (OC) reward. After I suggested to double the OC rewards from £50/£100 to £100/£200 and Pret did that, they cut it again during the pandemic and now back to £50/£100. Staff have to kiss butt all day long to get some extra cash.

Was Pret KIND to label their food after multiple warnings and injuries before AND after fatalities?

Was Pret GENEROUS with information on the ingredients and allergens in their food?

Was Pret HONEST about “natural” food and fully transparent on their labelling on the fridges?

.

Multiple questions, just ONE answer.

NO

.

What I think in hindsight is that Pret in those days (2017) had so much money to blow and the development team still had this budget to spend, so they put on this useless “seminar” which taught us nothing new.

But what Pret did NOT do and FAILED to grab an opportunity, they could have used this seminar and turn the ship around and invite allergy experts to truly teach us about allergens and labelling.

I also believe that Pret didn’t want to label their food DESPITE being warned over and over again before AND after fatalities, that it would show that their food is NOT natural but loaded with “obscure” chemicals, GMOs , even Glyphosate for which the mighty Monsanto, now Bayer, are dishing out BILLIONS in lawsuits!

.

Old website slogans which Pret had to remove post-2018 ASA verdict.

And speaking of “handmade” food, Pret’s food is cooked in factories and just assembled and/or re-heated in shop kitchens or “dark kitchens”. Just as a side-note. Soups are at times re-heated more than 2 times.
Detail here, Pret’s “Freshly Made” Brainwash”.

In 2018 Pret was banned from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from claiming thei food is “natural” after a small food charity challenged Pret on this claim and won!

.

Link

.

Link

Many people haven’t even noticed that the word “natural” has completely disappeared off all Pret’s marketing, packaging, social media etc. Pret replaced it with “freshly made”, which is also a lie as you can see in above link to mouldy food and that Pret now put expiry dates on their sandwiches with a 2-day shelf-life. It’s no more “made today, gone today”.

So, what does the British mentality of politeness have to do with any of this? For one, Pret keep getting away with “murder”. Just recently someone gave me back-up on social media when a die-hard Pret fan tried to defend Pret’s unsafe food practices.

.

.

A while ago Natasha’s father Nadim Ednan-Laperouse who had to witness his daughter dying and was diagnosed with PTSD, shared that while Natasha was dying, he saw angels and became a Christian. He shares his story since as well as with his wife have reached the government to implement “Natasha’s Law” since October 2021 that ALL businesses HAVE TO label their food when it is packaged.

I used to be a Christian and can completely relate and emphasise with the spiritual side if this. I don’t believe anymore for various reasons and I am at peace with this. But I completely respect him and his experience.

He further shared that he forgave former CEO Clive Schlee who ran Pret at the time all the customers died and got injured. And by the way, current CEO Pano Christou was Schlee’s right-hand man at the time and UK Managing Director, both fatalities happened in the UK under his watch as well. Pano Christou has been with Pret for over 20 years now, he has NO excuse to be oblivious about issues! Not then as a UK MD, and not now as a CEO.

.

Link

Him forgiving is commendable and I respect it, it’s his daughter, his grief, his life, his choice. We can live and heal how we choose and there is no right or wrong.

But here’s where I will lean out the window and might step on some toes, but I do not mean to be offensive or accusing or judgmental. We’re speaking about a British mentality of taking a lot of “shit”, as the above YouTuber described. And with Pret having ignored warnings, then ignored deaths and injuries before it got public, and now continue to mislabel, I wonder why forgiveness came, and came so quick.

• Nadim Ednan-Laperouse is a multi-millionaire owning a toy company.
• Former Pret CEO is a multi-millionaire.
• Pret are a BIG company supported by the super rich Tories and the Royal Family.

I’m just asking questions of “if”. What if?

• What if the company where Natasha died would have been a small independent minority owned business by a Chinese or Indian family?
• What if that small business had TWO deaths and multiple injuries?
• Would that business still be open?
• Would the owners be free or in prison?

I’m just asking questions.

Pret are a big company, run by white male millionaires. Is forgiveness by a millionaire family easier there than it would be with a small minority run business?

Is this also part of British mentality to take a lot of “shit”?

I know I’m leaning out the window here, but Pret getting away with SOOO much raises questions. And as I’m writing this a day before our own July 4th “independence day” when we will be freed from this corrupt Tory government and watching them getting booted out, I wonder how things would be or would have been if it was a small business having had THAT many fatalities and injuries.

Having worked at Pret, having seen and experienced the lack of training and care, the bullying culture, my own survival from this company, and Pret not even telling us staff, but putting on a nonsense seminar for 2 weeks at the expensive Barbican Center several rooms, instead of taking the opportunity to invite allergy experts … I cannot forgive until the ship is turned around for TRUE change or until this bloated up Titanic sinks.

Clive Schlee ran the ship into an iceberg, Pano Christou is sinking it. Pret are now £700 million (going up $1 Billion) in debt, bringing back RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham to fix the mess, while the other RE-co-founder Julian Metcalfe threw Pret under the bus recently in the press.

British mentality?

.

---

.

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

.

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

©2017 – Present: expret.org

Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

.

.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
©2017 – Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.