Pret have now announced to be trialling body cameras in six shops for team leaders. If they roll it out company-wide after the trial I doubt, for reasons I explain below. One reason they might not roll it out to all shops is the cost. Pret have lowered the quality of many products changing them to cheaper ingredients as Pret are aggressively expanding while being £700 million in debt. For American readers, that’s a steep climb up towards $1 Billion. But also, body cam then requires logging the daily use of it which takes extra time of an already understaffed / high staff turn over company.
The Guardian and other press reports give the reason as in attacks and crime having risen. But while there are always issues in shops with aggressive customers or theft, knowing Pret and how little they care about staff (and customers!), this is NOT the reason.
Not only have Pret ignored TWO customer deaths and multiple injuries, ONLY slowly acting when this became public, but they also ignore safety issues with staff leading to a £800,000 fine last year after another staff got trapped in the same walk-in freezer with a faulty door, this time for over 2 hours fighting for her life. And she is still blamed for it. Pret knew about the faulty door for 18 months!!! The shop raised this issue for 18 months, and as usual, Pret did nothing. Only heavy fines and press reports will kick their butts.
After 40 years in business only now do Pret employ an outside company to prevent such horror incident again. I would always laugh or shake my head when people on social media praised Pret for being “trail blazers” on issues, not realising how they are the complete opposite!
Pret are trail blazers in hurting customers and staff alike, and neglecting safety, NOT in preventing death and injuries. The mislabelling of food continues and Pret at times even sell mouldy food.
And now, they trial body cams, but NOT because of increased theft or individual attacks, nopes. Theft and aggression has always been the case. During the coffee subscription especially, customers became aggressive as waiting times in the queue increased and the mix-up of coffees under extremely over-stretched working conditions. The only thing Pret did was to put signs into shops about “being kind” to staff bla bla bla.
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But no security. No body cams! Just “be kind” bla bla.
And now:
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Link to Guardian article.
Having seen it myself, the article mentions that Tesco have also given their staff body cams. BUT, Tesco have security in EVERY store, even the small Tesco Express stores! The body cams are mainly to gather evidence.
Pret have some security in hot spots like Victoria or Brixton stores WHEN shop managers press Pret about it! But any other shop it’s the Wild West for staff. A manager once told me that security is too expensive for shops and that shops are footed the bill.
Instead of taking quick action, Pret always first “trial” things. the same when customers died and gotten injured despite previous warnings to label the food, Pret did NOTHING until the fatalities became public, and then only trialling first on how the labelling works.
Now with the body cams in six shops for team leaders, this is NOT due to rising attacks in society, this is due to all the pro-Hamas demonstrations where demonstrators stormed Pret stores across the country for 1.5 YEARS!
Around January 2023 pro-Palestine, and I call them pro-Hamas supporters, started demonstrating and calling for Pret boycotts when they learnt of Pret’s plans to open shops in Israel as Pret are tasked by their owners to double in size by 2026.
I call them pro-Hamas because there is no concern from them towards Syrian refugees and victims, or Ukraine and other global conflicts. Not to mention completely ignoring how Hamas has “butchered” Israelis and went on a big propaganda campaign, as well as using Palestinians as human shields while Egypt and surrounding countries REFUSE to take in Palestinian refugees.
People demonstrated outside of Pret stores and also went inside with megaphones calling for boycotts. A big online campaign under the hashtag #PretAPartheid started and people relentlessly literally bullied Pret online and off. Not that I care that Pret get bullied, just saying!
Please do your own research on the PretAPartheid campaign, as I don’t want to turn my posts into books all the time.
When Israel was attacked on October 7th 2023 by Hamas, and Israel started to retaliate, coming after Hamas, the calls for boycotting Pret and entering stores intensified. At some point demonstrators even emptied entire fridge shelves off food and claimed they’d be giving it to poor people (see video below).
Here are just few of the many pictures and below some videos of the relentless bullying of demonstrators at and inside of Pret shops which now led sleepy Pret to provide “some” body cams to “some” staff (team leaders) in “some” shops as a trial! Pret yet again only acting after extreme, intensive, almost 2 years of relentless attacks by mobs.
And these pictures are from January and February 2023! The videos are from 2023 and 2024. One-and-a-half years of storming Pret stores before Pret even considers lifting a finger for the safety of staff and customers! And then only now responding with body cams for evidence gathering, despite shops being littered with CCTV cameras, but still no security.
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… and many more.
I always say to people that if you want to demonstrate against Pret, whether I agree with your cause or not, do NOT go to the shops and harass the low-wage staff who have nothing to do with anything, go to HEAD OFFICE! Go to the HEART of the company!
So, what do Pret do after ONE-AND-A-HALF YEARS of this bullying campaign towards poor Pret workers? Pret do NOT get security in, because this costs too much, no, they slap cameras on team leaders who are the REAL managers in shops getting the blame and bearing the brunt of issues while the manager sits in the office, hiding from the front line. Having said that, managers are also exploited by Pret, but at least they have the “freedom” to hide in the office or at home while the team leader is the one in the trenches.
Just some of the many reviews on what shop managers, area manger and even HQ staff say about Pret and their leadership, including the CEO.
And needless to say, Pret now as of June 2024 pulled out of plans to open in Israel, giving the reason as being the war, but the real reason is thousands upon thousands of people having boycotted Pret for over a year. Some of many videos.
For some reason WordPress stretches the videos vertically and I don’t know how to fix this. But I put the links underneath to the videos.
Little but important side note to customers and staff: You can do a data request under GDPR to request video footage when you are filmed. You have 30 days from the day you were filmed to request the footage! Pret might try to avoid having to give out footage with all kinds of excuses, but do your research on the laws including the time frame for requests!
Even police have to 1. inform you when they switch the body cam on and 2. you can request the footage under GDPR.
Pret might try to convince you that there is no video of you, as you can only request video where YOU or anyone that you are a legal guardian for, have been filmed or photographed. So, do in-depth research on the laws, so you have confidence when dealing with Pret’s bullsh!t.
This also includes body cam and photos/videos taken from a mobile phone or any other recording device. If a staff member uses their own private phone DURING their shift (which they’re not allowed to by the way), it should be classed as footage on behalf of the company.
If a private person films or photographs you in public, there’s nothing you can do about it, only in public with police and/or companies using video can you request the footage, but not from a private person taking photos in public. Private persons are not bound to GDPR, but the police, ambulance, companies etc. are. Anyone who is a “data handler” on behalf of the government or companies has to warn you that they film and have to give out the footage upon request. Know your rights!
I chased a cop away in what auditors call the “walk of shame” after he tried to intimidate me because I was observing a traffic stop without even filming at first. He rushed towards me trying to intimidate me. Once I pulled my phone/camera out and confronted him, he dashed off!
Video of this:
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So, know your rights!
From the GOV site quote, “You have the right to request CCTV footage of yourself. You need to make a request to the owner of the CCTV system. You can do this either in writing or verbally.” From Gov.uk
ALWAYS do such requests in WRITING! Email is enough. If Pret doesn’t comply, get the ICO involved. Companies get fined high sums all the time for disregarding GDPR requests.
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BEFORE Hamas attacked Israel:
Starting in January and February 2023. Some videos that I bookmarked from Twitter and Facebook etc. have now been deleted. So, I quickly saved some. But there is more.
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Again, apologies for the stretched videos below, I don’t know why that is, just click the link below if they haven’t deleted the footage.
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AFTER the October 2023 Hamas attack:
Videos from November 2023 and different months in 2024.
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Going into Pret and emptying fridge shelves off food.
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June 2024
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This one is from Reuters. But the reason is not the war, the demonstrators bullied Pret relentlessly.
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The mighty McDonald’s and numerous other corporations boycotted by pro-Hamas crowds have filed losses in the millions each, even billions. In comparison to McDonald’s, Pret is a tiny company.
And Pret being £700 million in debt, now having brought back RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham to help fix the mess, while CEO Pano Christou with his 20+ years in Pret is busy presenting himself in the media as this great CEO. Pret now bowed to boycott pressure and just slap a camera on a team leader and that was that. Back to business as usual. Until the next casualty and the camera footage just covering Pret’s asses.
Support small independent businesses and get yourself an espresso machine for the office and/or home.
UPDATE September 2024:
Pret pay £3 million after having pulled out.
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How about Pret pay the Ednan-Laperouse and Marsh families for the deaths of their loved ones, and the multiple people who got injued in Pret. And how is that court case for comensation going to the woman who almost died in a freezer Pret was fined £800,000 for by Westminster Council in 2023?
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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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Thank you for reading/listening.
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Interview:
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Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 