If you found this page it’s because you were tweeted to but Twitter on behalf of Pret A Manger “shadow banned” the account. I explain extensively what shadow banning is in an interview at the bottom of this page.
Hidden Tweets
The posts that Pret A Manger does NOT want you to see were hidden from you. NOTE: some have been notified of the below tweets before the ban happened. But once the ban happens, tweets are hidden from the public. Also, Twitter denies that they shadow ban and while they deny they hide THOUSANDS of Tweets (indication that 1.6K tweets were posted, but only a handful are visible!)
Banning happens to a lot of people who speak out, without them even knowing they’ve been banned. Again, I explain further in the interview at the bottom.
The posts that were tweeted to different people and that Pret does not want the public to see, are:
Regarding Shadow Banning (secret censorship) and how it works.
It shows that Pret has a lot to hide from the public, and only when the two customer deaths became public did Pret slowly start implementing allergen labels.
The following account was shadow banned on 12.04.2019 before 11am and recipients won’t be notified and tweets are hidden EXCEPT when going to it with a direct link or via the account’s Tweets & Replies.
Example:
Shadowban.eu is an external independent website programed and developed by Free Speech activists, who fight against the shadow bans by making the public aware of Twitter banning secretly. This website shows if an account is banned or not. In this case @4ABWE was banned, and the ban will be lifted approximately in a day or two (13. or 14.04.2019). But bans have lasted for a week at times.
Accounts often get secretly banned for the volume of tweets, but in my case I get banned very quickly even after 1, 2 or 3 tweets when I tweet to the press, politicians, famous people etc. Anyone with influence basically. I can tweet 20 tweets to individual people who have 20 followers and not much impact. No problem.
But the moment I tweet to “influential” people, especially the press, the ban happens very quickly. Please note that these shadow bans are done in secret and Twitter denies doing this because they don’t want to admit that they censor free speech. But I don’t want to get too deep into this here. If you search on YouTube “Twitter undercover shadowban” you find videos on undercover investigations into Twitter, particularly by investigative journalists from Project Veritas. My blog here gets bookmarked by a bot in a certain country within a minute I release a new blog entry, as Pret has an eye on my blog. I know because my stats show this.
If anyone goes to this below Tweet you will NOT see @4ABWE’s tweet below anywhere WHILE the ban is on. Once the ban is LIFTED the Tweets becomes visible again but mainly via clicking on “Show more Replies”. You will see that there are 2 (TWO) replies, but you’ll only see Pret’s reply:
But via @4ABWE’s Tweets & Replies, you will see a second reply otherwise hidden from the public:
Link (click on Charlotte Ashworth’s initial tweet again within this feed, and 4ABWE’s tweet becomes invisible again)
After the ban is lifted, the tweet becomes visible again when you click on “Show more replies”.
This is Pret A Manger not wanting bad press or the truth to be known in the public. I explain in my interview at the bottom why Pret let’s Twitter shadow ban (secret censoring/hiding tweets). This also happens to many other accounts regarding political tweets or when rich companies want to avoid getting exposed.
Other banned Tweets
Link to Tweet where no response tweet is visible, the speech bubble is visible with 1 response, but no tweet can be seen.
Link to now visible tweet via @4ABWE’s Tweets & Replies … peek-a-boo
Link to initial Tweet and a hidden tweet not visible.
Pret A Manger Staff issues Pret does not want the public to know, and my interview underneath the slide show
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The above slideshow is just a selection, the list goes on in —> Pret Staff Complaints
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 starve and 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.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote an article in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
First of all some Pret shops outside of big cities had Loyalty Cards, because the volume of coffee sales being much less than in London and other busy cities. Not sure if those shops still do Loyalty Cards. Tweets from 2012:
Terms and conditions at the bottom of this below Loyalty Card:
“Redeemable at the Manager’s discretion. Excludes Pret shops within Central London Zones 1 and 2…”
It even has an expiry date on it, forcing the customer to buy coffees before that date to get a free one … and at the manager’s discretion mind you! Pret showing its true “generosity” here!
Pret now, forced via the pandemic, has started to do a loyalty program calling it “Pret Perks” letting marketing companies on social media call it Pret’s “first ever” loyalty program. Well, on this page you’ll see that it’s not Pret’s first loyalty scheme. Also, customer complaints start flooding in that they pay full price and don’t get the promised deal, as Pret short changes people as usual.
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So, here I am making free advertisement for Pret, but there’s more than meets the eye… I am not a journalist nor an established writer (although I have one self-published book under my belt with a now bankrupt publisher… out of print), and writers like to peek and copy what they find here, but I am writing from behind the scenes of having worked at Pret for 10 years. I don’t copy & paste articles under lazy journalism.
Pret is next to nothing when it comes to marketing and winning new and retaining regular customers. I think to gain customers, the best thing is to give freebies, and Pret does this fantastically. No business does this as best as Pret A Manger. So far so good.
But …
There’s that hairy but(t) again!
THE PRICE
Of course this brilliant marketing strategy has not just one catch apart from the ultimate goal of profit. People don’t realize how cheap the coffee is. If customers knew how much 1 cup of coffee costs for Pret, incl. the milk, cup, lid, labour and then would see the profit margin… people’s stomach would turn on what they pay for a regular latte! (There are reasons why CEO Clive Schlee pocketed £30 million in BONUS alone after JAB purchased Pret, not to mention all the other senior leaders and shareholders! Plus Schlee owning half of itsu and whatever else business he’s involved in).
Even while I worked at Pret I always wondered how Pret’s claim to be certified Organic and Fair Trade can even be valid. Not making allegations, just raising questions! To get certified as being organic is super expensive for companies. Pret has been sued for their claim to be natural while the food contains glyphosate for which the mighty Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, currently has 11,000 lawsuits on their neck, with two major lawsuits lost in the hundred millions, due to denial that their main product Roundup causes cancer, which has not been labelled on the product… But that’s another story altogether.
UPDATE 01. June 2020
Pret’s coffee is NOT fair trade anymore. Facebook post:
A customer on Twitter posted this picture confused on why the word “natural” was covered over at LAX airport. In the U.S. Pret has to act while in the UK everything is lenient again.
But, back to the free coffee marketing. Even while working at Pret I always questioned how Pret can have Fair Trade AND certified Organic coffee while the coffee is so cheap. This may be another area some may be looking into after having looked at the “natural” food claim.
So, all the free coffees (and at times cookies, especially items at the end of the day or when products are expiring…) while being low in price for Pret, someone still has to pay for all these free items. And it won’t be Pret! Pret keeps raising prices regularly also to cover the cost. At the end of the day customers still pay for all the free coffees etc.
Clive Schlee, CEO of Pret and master of marketing with an approachable smile, his words on the freedom for staff to give free coffees and why:
Quote: »We looked at loyalty cards but we didn’t want to spend all that money building up some complicated Clubcard-style analysis. Instead the staff have to give away a certain number of hot drinks and food every week. They will decide “I like the person on the bicycle” or “I like the guy in that tie” or “I fancy that girl or that boy”. It means 28 per cent of people have had something free. It’s a nice, different way of doing it.« * From ThisIsMoney.co.uk
(*cough* while 72% go empty handed… see below)
Yes, the “having to give away” is even a pressure point for managers that push team leaders when the targeted percentage of freebies for the week has not been reached. It was part of my job as a shop team leader to keep an eye on the numbers and encourage teams to keep giving freebies OR stop giving, when we reached the percentage for the week, before the new week’s budget started again.
On a side note, when the two customer deaths became public and the outcry was loud for a while, there was also an increasing Twitter “storm” on freebies where customers went online to post with enthusiasm about their free coffee or cookie…
And here is how that “fancying” is out of proportion with Clive Schlee’s admitted 28% as well as my experience as a team leader:
~ MULTIPLE FREEBIES at times even within ONE WEEK ~
Needless to say that those customers who get free coffees regularly, even daily, will not spill the beans on Twitter. 😉
As a team leader I had to “re-adjust” my teams’ choices to give solely at their own “discretion”, especially flirting baristas giving free coffee EVERY TIME to specific (to them) attractive customers. Or one team member would give free coffees every day to a customer who was an editor of a weekly celebrity tabloid magazine bringing that TM a free magazine every week. Company policy would be dismissal to “exchange” services for private purposes. But that’s how it works and Pret would never admit how discriminating the give-aways are in the name of “random acts of kindness”. That’s why staff are not allowed to have friends and family members eating on the 50% rebate WHILE staff are on the shift working.
Staff also are not allowed to ring up the 50% rebate on their staff discount themselves on the till while serving customers, as some customers make friends with staff for freebies and rebates. So, this was always a struggle to shake up the “policy”. I loved to give freebies, it was my favourite thing giving whole lunches on the house. But I often gave it to the moody and even rude customer to “kill them with kindness” or “heap burning coals on their heads” or just be kind to someone who looked pretty down… I looked for the “underdog” to give freebies as we never know what hell they may be going through!
Link The above confession by a former Pret staff is just ONE in many employees from all backgrounds to give ONLY to those they like, even daily.
And another reason why Pret aims to have Taxi parking spaces in front of shops… Cabbies move around London being the BEST advertisers, especially to tourists looking for a coffee place!
Another reason why I believe Pret doesn’t do loyalty cards, apart from saving money is the sheer mess it would create. Pret staff have 60 seconds per customer to serve by the time a customer joins the queue, and another 60 seconds per customer to get their hot drinks handed to the customer. Shop staff are tested by Mystery Shopper every week on the timing, if they smile constantly, chat, give eye contact etc. Basically, low-wage workers are performing as acrobatic clowns, bending over backwards for a little extra cash and to avoid getting fear managed.
Any regular customer who visits Pret in the morning coffee rush knows how bonkers the rush time is for Team Members. If they then have to stamp loyalty cards, trying to have a designated area in the busy, at times messy counter area, the potential cross contamination of ink getting smeared on the counter etc. would be a greater nightmare than it already is.
Also, stamps can “disappear” for external (illegal) use. Also, from my experience at Caffe Nero, having to count and file the paperwork on the fully stamped cards at the end of the day is also an extra workload, as stamped cards are treated like cash, have to be stored in the safe, send to HQ at the end of the week etc. etc. etc.
So, the mess, extra workload and potential abuse of stamps in such a busy environment is too risky and not worth the headache. That part I can fully understand from the perspective of staff that already have to think about a million things in a highly stressful environment.
And this is how the psychology works that Pret is so cleverly using. A Loyalty Card system, apart from costing additional money for Pret as Clive Schlee rightly said, would give the customer control over the timing of free items. And as Pret whips out coffees like no other coffee chain (the 1 minute Mystery Shopper pressure <- YouTube slide – on workers for fast service is another reason for high profit in Pret via Emotional Labour) a Loyalty Card system would guarantee customers free coffees at their chosen time, especially all the regular customers who go to Pret EVERY DAY.
For staff to give freebies at their discretion (or discrimination!) gives Pret the control on when customers get freebies (the timing is completely out of customer’s control) AND serves like a carrot in front of the donkey that keeps going to Pret like a gambler, spending money and hoping to get that free coffee or cookie or whole lunch …
To shorten the already long blog entry with more customer tweets on freebies, I mainly put journalist tweets here. Only a few tweets by a host of journalists who are supposed to be neutral, reporting on events rather than making free advertisement for Pret, while not looking deeper as one would expect from “investigative” journalism. Mainstream media for you:
Makes you wonder if they are paid under the table or are so infatuated with the cheap free coffees, and then being blinded to do real neutral journalism. Kind of sinks your heart how the majority goes with this freebie scheme so easily.
Staff always anticipate the Mystery Shopper and hope the MS is nearby or even serving the MS when the staff member is extra generous for a chance to receive the £200 reward.
Staff can earn up to extra £100, or if the the shop has overall perfect scores, can earn even £200, if the Mystery Shopper is even more impressed with their service (butt kissing). Often this is quickly done by giving a free coffee and BOOM! Giving a freebie to a Mystery Shopper is THE best way for an individual staff member to get the extra cash award. Even if the shop lost overall Team bonus because there were some products missing or the shop was dirty, an individual Team Member can still get the cash reward if they “wow” the Mystery Shopper. I write about this extensively inThe Truth behind the Pret A Manger Smile.
A customer’s observation most people are blind to:
And the psychology of “group incentive” is actually peer pressure and what a recent reviewer called “blame culture” which I totally underline. I spent a lot of time building my team member UP when they messed up the Mystery Shopper after our manager put them DOWN, because putting down is counter productive and leads to mental health problems. If I had buckets for the tears that were flowing after the harsh telling off when the Mystery Shopper wasn’t happy …
Or the “happy family” trap and the pressure on ONE person who loses the bonus for the whole team turning the team against that one person. Again, I had to many times step in-between the 1 person to protect them from the group and the bullying mentality Pret encourages.
Give LOTS of free coffees (& cookies, lunches, but mainly coffees) that costs very little for Pret. (Side note: if a customer gets surprisingly repeated Gingerbread cookies or Maccaroni & Cheese, then they should check the expiry dates, as staff love to give soon-to-be expired items, even though they’re not supposed to!)
Lure customers in with the free items and 99p coffees or even better, 49p with a reusable cup. NOTE: As of January 2020 coffee prices have increased to 99p with reusable and £1.49 with paper cup. Also, draw people with free water tap refills even if not a customer – they will become customers while in the store! 😉 . The carrot is getting them into the shop so they’ll spend on other products they never intended to buy. Reason for the oven in the shop vs kitchen is the smell of freshly baked croissants enticing to purchase…
Don’t do freebies on a Loyalty Card system to have the control over customers, luring them in with the freebie carrot while they keep spending and hoping for that free coffee like a gambler waits for the next win.
Raise the coffee and product prices as someone needs to pay for all the freebies. And it won’t be Pret.
Give staff the feeling of power over their decision whom to give freebies, but deny that it is done discriminatory (take my word as a former team leader, it IS discriminatory).
In return just watch how customers from street-smart cabbies to text-book polished journalists flock to Twitter giving FREE advertisement on behalf of Pret.
The free advertisement of free coffees, as well as now free water taps for non-paying “customers” also, brings people in who then spend money they didn’t intend to spend …
Lean back and watch the profits rise, doing the math in how much money people spend before getting that free coffee… if at all!
Good luck to all the customers paying it forward for the other customers to get the freebies while faithfully waiting to crack that jackpot one day! 😀
UPDATE:
Why staff in every Pret shop smile so much and ALWAYS seem so happy and “generous”. In a nutshell: Weekly Mystery Shopper visits that test staff on several points like how much selection is in stock, how clean is the shop, how is the overall atmosphere etc. But the MAIN thing staff are tested on is service. Do individual AND all staff smile, give eye contact, make small conversation with EVERY customer! Details in below YouTube slide with Mystery Shopper excerpts that I’ve put together, but I left out a lot of other issues and concentrated on the smiley, “happy” facade. I also write extensively and collect articles on “Emotional Labour” in the service industry that hurts and harms low-wage employees: —> The Dangers of Emotional Labour
And there’s a reason why Pret and its leadership have such poor scores on Glassdoor & Co as staff always speak out in anonymity while at work pretend towards customers to be happy to keep their job having kids to feed and Uni tuition to pay. People fall for the friendly facade, but staff know how it really is.
And customers who go on Twitter complaining about non-smiling staff, even when it’s quiet, just do not realize how EXHAUSTED staff are, having come out of coffee/lunch rush, or working 7-10 days straight without a day off!
And those customers who do commend staff on Twitter, often their recommendation and praise is NOT passed on to staff. I was told by customers several times over the years if I received feedback from my boss as they commended me to Pret HQ or social media. But I never received the feedback from managers. So, dear customer, please praise the worker INSIDE the shop IN FRONT of the manager and team, because many managers bully staff, and THIS would help the worker to get some much needed feedback and “vindication”, so to speak.
I found only 1 Tweet where a customer not only bothered to ask the staff if they received feedback, but then confronted Pret on it:
Mystery Shopper Slide:
Clive Schlee’s “retirement” exit on Glassdoor:
Pano Christou, New CEO:
A long list of reviews and complaints from current and former Pret Staff >>>in this LINK.
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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. Thank you for reading/listening.
In 2015 Clive Schlee was CLUELESS what to do and patronizing as usual. Only ONE of several customer complaints and warnings before AND even after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s death:
In 2016, which no one in the UK media seemed to have noticed nor researched, a man in New York sued Pret quote: “after he a went into anaphylactic shock. He alleges that the restaurant staff served him food containing sesame after assuring him the food was free of the allergen.“
I tweeted about this HERE and mention that from the witness account in the verdict document the supplier of the wrap that contains sesame did NOT need to include sesame in the ingredient as in the U.S. it isn’t law, but in Canada it has to be included. So, the supplier acted responsibly and added it anyway even though by law he did NOT need to, but he included it in case the product was purchased from outside the USA, like Canada for example. Yet, Pret could not be bothered and after this lawsuit and then even after Natasha’s death still did NOTHING!
Witness statement from the supplier from the verdict document, Page 5 (FDA = Food and Drugs Administration):
“We list and perhaps by FDA regulations, we are asked to list or call out any of the ingredients that could be classified as an allergin [sic]. Wheat and soy are classified as allergins in the U.S. In Canada sesame would be included as we really don’t know wh~re stores are, so we put what might be outside this country or at least the border country.”
So, the supplier has sesame included, even though by U.S. law he didn’t need to. And Pret did not list, even though they had the info from the supplier ingredient list on the product.
Sweet-talk of the decade:
*IRONY ON*
*IRONY OFF*
The Translation Of the CEO’s Oscar-worthy performance
Clive Schlee: “I went to the Inquest…”
As if he had a choice!
CS: “and I saw the impact that Natasha’s death had on the family.”
He went, saw and came to the conclusion after two years since Natasha died, that her premature death, which happened on his watch, destroyed a family!
CS: “And it’s absolutely heartbreaking.”
And the Pret Academy Award in a leading role, for the performance that took two years to perfect goes to…
The coroner blames the law, now? Didn’t the coroner say that Pret’s labelling was inadequate? And further in this “REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS”, quote: »Regulation 5 allows for food outlets to avoid full food labelling requirements whether they prepare a small number of items in local shops or in the case of Pret, over 200 million items for sale by preparing these items in “local kitchens”. These items prepared in “local kitchens” are in fact “assembled” in large parts from items made in factory style outlets to Pret specifications. I was left with the impression that the “local kitchens” were in fact a device to evade the spirit of the regulation.«
Yes, that about sounds like the Pret I know! And I’m glad someone finally sees that Pret products are not freshly “made” but “assembled” from ready products out of factories into many tiny “factories” sold as “lovingly made in Pret kitchens” bla.
CS: … “the family asked for a change in the law.”
Wow! Dragging the family on his side while Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse said this in response: …He’s not acting fast enough. (Well, he’s ‘acting’ alright) “I would say to anyone with serious allergies or is concerned about allergies … don’t buy a sandwich or go to Pret A Manger, because they’re still holding your life at risk right now!” — Nadim Ednan-Laperouse
So much about “preventing future deaths”!
CS: “And I’m now making changes in PRET that will make that change in the law happen more quickly.”
I must say Clive Schlee has got some balls or deeply lacks the sense of responsibility, to still be in the blaming game Pret-ending to be a “leader” who brings the change after being clueless on what to do!
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.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Natasha’s flown across the ocean
Leaving just a memory
Snapshot in the family album
Pret-A, what else did you leave for her?
Pret-A, what’ya leave behind for her?!?
All in all it was just a lack on the label.
All in all it just leaves cracks in the wall.
“You! Yes, you! Stand still Clive!”
When she grew up and went to Pret There were certain allergen that would Hurt the children any way it could By scrutinizing on her decision Upon anything she ate And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the labels
But out of the middle of a baguette When she got on a flight, the fact and anaphylactic shock would thrash her Within minutes of her life
We don’t need no execution We just need more food control No stark labelling chasm on the products Pret-A, leave them kids alive Hey! Pret-A! Leave them kids alive!
All in all you’re just another prick in the mall. All in all you’re just another prick in the mall.
“Wrong, Do it again!”
We don’t need no exploitation
“If you don’t label yer food, you can’t have any reward!”
We just need more food control
“How can you have any applause if you don’t label yer food?
No stark labelling chasm on the baguettes
“You! Yes, you behind the suit, stand still Perkins!”
Pret-A! Leave us kids alive! Hey! Perkins! Leave us kids alive!
All in all you’re just another prick in the mall. All in all you’re just another prick in the mall.
We just need more education No stark labelling chasm on the salad wraps “The Pret-Bulls are already out there” Pret: “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!” “This French Baguette bakery thought you’d like to know.”
I don’t need no charms around me And I don’t need no thugs to harm me I have seen the writing on the label Don’t think I’ll need anything at all No, don’t think I’ll need anything at all
All in all it was all just mimicks on the wall All in all you just got cracks in the wall
Goodbye, cruel Pret I’m leaving you today Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, all you people There’s nothing I can say To make you change your labels Goodbye
In memory of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse
(I rewrote the lyrics from Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” inspired by an article of NewStatesmanAmerica covered in A Chink in the Armour of a Firm)
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.
With plenty of press on Pret now this one I’d like to put my salt on in-between some sentences of this article:
“It’s difficult to say when, but at some point over the last ten years Pret A Manger became ubiquitous.”
It’s very easy to say when, it was indeed 10 years ago when Bridgepoint bought Pret and set the target of opening shops at 15% per year. I can still feel it in my bones and mental health how we were driven while staff were cut to increase profit and a 7 times return for Bridgepoint’s investment and £30 million for CEO Clive Schlee.
“Pret’s coffee is organic, its sandwiches are handmade, its marketing is self-aware and it wants you to know that doing the right thing is “what makes Pret, Pret”.”
Handmade by human machines while “doing the right thing” ignoring numerous warnings from customers regarding allergen and labelling, bullying staff to the point of suicide including bereaved staff. It what makes Pret, Pret.
“There’s never a shortage of “avo” at Pret.”
And never a shortage of complaints how hard the avos are. I only copied this complaint as an example how Pret is kissing butt while a customer offends shop staff with the C-word. But there were many complaints on hard avo. Amazing also how some people’s days are “ruined” while others lose a child and a mother to Pret products. Poor pepo!
“The people at Pret are always happy, so happy that they might give you a free sandwich if they like you”
“In fact, the staff at Pret are so happy that in 2013, the chain was accused of using “emotional labour” tactics – monitoring staff to ensure they retain a cheerful demeanour – on its own workforce.”
Correct. Staff are being bullied, ordered into the office when the Mystery Shopper, or as I call them the Misery Shopper, commented that the server didn’t smile. A good telling off in the office with plenty of fear management and fear for job security. Then the staff is send out and ordered to smile! Even during illness having a cold and during bereavement!
Mystery Shopper comment:“Team members should smile at customers and may not work when ill, as team member was coughing whilst serving me and was therefore not feeling cheerful to smile that day.”
The worst telling off I experienced was when a line manager, who himself never smiled, held a sermon in the kitchen with us team and said that smiling is part of the uniform! He then finished his speech and said that if anyone wants to say anything to say it ‘now’, then and there, or otherwise we shouldn’t come to him later. I lifted my hand and mentioned that I rather want to tell him something in private as I didn’t want to confront him in front of my team as I was their team leader wanting to lead by example not embarrassing the boss in front of them. But he maintained to speak up now and that later would be no opportunity.
So, I did. I said, “So-and-so, you never smile! (when serving customers)” … At least he changed a bit, but I certainly did not make friends saying this. Neither did I care.
“…the list of “behaviours” staff must exhibit reportedly contains over 50 items.”
Correct. A list of brainwashing that some staff threw into the bin.
“Pret ran into trouble earlier this year, when the Advertising Standards Authority took issue with two ads the company had run in 2016. Pret was found to have been “misleading” in its claims that products were “good natural food”. Whilst this didn’t grab headlines, it was a chink in the armour of a firm that’s clean and ethical image has been a source of its success.”
I appreciate the writer pointing out this being the “image”. It used to be quite dirty in Pret with pest problems that turned Pret into Pret A Mice until an EHO closed a shop and Pret only RE-acted, whereas before ignored staff’s and internal pest control people’s concerns.
“It was an early caution, perhaps, to the crisis that has engulfed the firm in the last two weeks where two of its customers were believed to have died after allergic reactions to is products.”
Plus one assistant manager who died by suicide last year that is known of within Pret and my repeated approach to confront Pret internally on this when I still worked in Pret, and now publicly, as I almost ended my life as well during my ordeal in Pret.
“It follows the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who passed away in 2016 after eating a Pret baguette that did not have any allergen labelling on its packaging.”
Not only on the packaging, but the fatal Sesame Natasha died of was missing on the fridge label of the “lovingly made” PR(et) baguette that Natasha and her dad read …
(Sesame info missing)
… while each product that is given to charities for the homeless and people in need is being labeled with allergen info since years:
(Products with allergen labels for charity)
“Her father accused the chain of a “complete dereliction of duty””
“Pret CEO Schlee said that the chain would “ensure meaningful change”, and will start “trialling full ingredient labelling, including allergens, on product packaging” from November.”
Trialling from November. Starbucks closed 8000 stores in the U.S. After their incidence with racial issues, training their staff. ACTION is the best PR! But Pret is going full steam ahead doing business as usual, trialling…….! A death, let alone TWO the public knows about doesn’t mean anything to this sweet-talking company. If that doesn’t tell people something of the reality behind the “doing the right thing ” with even the arrogant slogan that Pret’s HR has of “doing the right thing naturally”, then I rest my case!
“’We cannot begin to comprehend the pain the family have felt, and the grief they will continue to feel,’ said Schlee.”
He certainly took two years to “begin” to realize that he can’t begin to imagine and finally wrote to Natasha’s family!
“Was Pret too late to act? It is not legally required for stores to put allergy labels on food made on site, but the warning signs were there. According to the Times, Pret “ignored” nine cases of allergic incidents related to sesame, including six related to its “artisan baguettes”.”
“The lawyer for the Ednan-Laperouse family told a West London court that there was a “clear concern being repeatedly raised that artisan baguettes were causing sesame seed allergy problems, which were not properly responded to by Pret”. Pret’s compliance director said the firm responded appropriately to each individual complaint at the time.”
“Schlee, who is reportedly set to pocket a £30m windfall when the JAB sale goes through, didn’t write to the bereaved relatives personally until this August, the family claims. Not a good look for a brand that trades on an image of wholesomeness and honesty.”
“Despite being undoubtedly the biggest crisis in its history, no one expects the burgundy star to vanish from the high streets anytime soon. Its ruthless expansion under private investment is widely expected to continue stateside thanks to JAB’s experience in the American market (JAB also own Douwe Egberts coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts).”
Yes, that’s true, they will not vanish and I appreciate it being coined as “ruthless” expansion. They will just go through a year of a little nose-dive in profits and will re-emerge with more bull-crap PR. But I lived long enough to know that when people are lucky enough to be on their death-bed and able to look back on their lives and “achievements”, I don’t want to be in their skin.
“If the chain loses its avocado-driven charm, no number of free coffees will pep it up.”
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Apart from the 9 warnings, Pret under the Director of Risk and Compliance (or more appropriate “Risk-Taking and Complacency”) has ignored, with one also almost fatal, I have started to collect customers’ responses of allergen warnings to Pret regarding the lack of labelling before AND after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died. Only this having become public now is there some slow reaction happening. But again, only a RE-action to public pressure.
Not only should Natasha’s family pursue Pret in court, but those who have had to go to hospital and those who had allergic reactions from Pret products should file a combined lawsuit against Pret. If Natasha’s death two years ago has just come to light now in 2018, how many more are there?
People asked on Twitter and other social media who should be prosecuted for “murder”, for starters I think it is for sure Jonathan Perkins who walked along the pavement after the inquest with his hands in his pockets as if taking a stroll in the park. And certainly Clive Schlee has to face the music away from his usual sweet-talk and wanting to pay people out for silence. His patronizing response in 2015 to a concerned customer has me at a loss, even though I should not be surprised at his patronizing way.
Clive Schlee in his typical patronizing and self-assured way labelled me his “late night girl” after my ordeal with Pret while he can’t label products to save a life!
The start of a list of customer concerns, warnings and complaints even before Natasha died, as well as noting that the issue has still not been taken seriously after the public inquest and outrage:
And another-one (CEO’s patronizing response not knowing what to do)
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.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.
At 1:29 Natasha’s mum is absolutely right, change can come IMMEDIATELY! I worked in Pret for 10 yrs and have my own story of survival on a different matter!
On the subject of “immediately”, here are 3 “IMMEDIATES” that I have witnessed Pret implementing:
1.
The week when Brexit was voted for, within THAT week Pret implemented Brexit champions in each area to assist employees regarding how to stay in the UK, because Pret got scared to be losing many employees who mainly come from Europe, in particular Eastern European nations and are known for their hard work under immense pressure. The hardest working colleagues I have ever worked with come from Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic etc. These people waste no time, often they don’t speak English well, so they won’t know where to complain to when they encounter problems with managers and they certainly won’t know their rights. Hence, Brexit Champions were very quickly trained to help non-British workers stay in the country and therefore in Pret to continue like “machines” to increase profits. Andrej Stopa, the first person to PUBLICLY challenge mistreatment by managers paid with his job for it. He was dismissed under the “Pret”ense of allegedly having made homophobic remarks TEN MONTHS before getting fired! But in reality he got fired for having started a Trade Union. He confronted Pret on the reason for dismissal.
2.
Within a DAY of the Grenfell Tower fire, Clive Schlee, CEO announced (or rather bragged, typical PR) that Pret is giving £100,000 to the Evening Standard Trust for Grenfell, that was decided within a 24 hour period of the tragedy when the tower was still smoking and parts burning! A typical emotional RE-action and decision Pret’s CEO makes because he had a visual and was overwhelmed for a minute. Super-fast IMMEDIATELY.
3.
And the most amusing IMMEDIATE was when Pret became aware of my blog on the night from 28th to 29th of May 2018 and Clive Schlee making a £1000 announcement for all staff where it would take 10 years of service to receive £1K, this carrot is now thrown at everyone as Brexit is advancing fast and Pret has already lost staff. Only he knows if this £1000 idea was born on that night out of becoming aware of my blog, but I am certain knowing how he RE-acts to confrontation, that the timing of the announcement in the night to 29th May was due to their discovery of my blog in that night!
So, I am delighted of having been part in staff getting a financial boost, even though this only serves as a carrot. And interesting enough, an immediate RE-action to my blog that lead to this announcement did not bring an immediate action, as employees are still waiting for the £1000 to “moneyfest” (sorry, I couldn’t resist this wordplay!) and the CEO’s premature announcement adds now to the pressure.
I could go on an on with 4. and 5. … of RE-actions to being caught like when an EHO closed down a Pret shop due to pest, whereas before this close-down Pret ignored our complaints to please solve the pest problems. Internal pest control people worked hard but could not fix the issue until an EHO closed a shop after a routine visit finding evidence of pest. ONLY THEN was an outside pest control company commissioned to tackle this.
I asked for a transferal to another shop as the mice issue in my then shop was unbearable. One person shot this video in the U.S. of mice activity and it brings back memories! It’s the night shift working in Pret A Mice! High activity when the shops were closed and quiet, but in the shop I worked in the mice were so bold, they strolled along under the barista cupboards during the busy coffee rush in broad daylight! But I couldn’t take it anymore and asked for a transferal. That was before the EHO closed a shop, and then Pret went into panic-mode sacking people, disciplining managers, reverting managers back to assistant managers even thought GMs weren’t trained properly… all that changed with a shop closure when only then a proper pest control company entered the scene!
Bottom-line why I speak out so openly whereas before I used to be very discreet and professional: it ALWAYS takes a dramatic happening before Pret responds! And with these deaths, there is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE that people had to die! Absolutely unnecessary! Unacceptable! Complete negligence on Pret’s part!
(Suddenly they “matter”, hey?)
Staff are still waiting, getting confused and impatient, while Clive Schlee does the usual thing: “blaming downwards”. He makes the announcement but then refers to the shops… as usual. And the team members get more and more confused. So, I help a bit by pushing on the rusty PR(et) machine!
… while Pret customers were also still waiting for full labelling of EVERY product to safe lives! ……..
Of course by now all the staff have been briefed to please not tweet anymore as I haven’t been silent! But as soon as the £1000 is paid to all staff this will be big news! Forget labelling and customers dying, as long as the PR(et) machine keeps working, everyone’s happy!
Back to the IMMEDIATE:
Not having labels with FULL ingredients and allergen info after repeated warnings and complaints shows of the carelessness and complacency. I know Pret, they do NOT care until caught at worst, or until something is to their benefit and PR at best!
Ten months after Ms Marsh’s death, Pret makes a public statement and sues CO YO. Just after the carpet got lifted and the public is made aware of two deaths. I asked Pret on 30. Sep. 2018 after Natasha’s death became public, how many more people have died, not in my worst nightmares expecting that a second death would be revealed shortly after, and yet sadly I am not surprised at the negligence of Pret A Manger:
I still have the emails regarding Brexit and Grenfell etc. Whatever helps Pret and Clive Schlee’s PR and bragging about good deeds that are obvious and visible and self-serving, that is what Pret acts on IMMEDIATELY.
To the BBC News, PLEASE don’t let your reporters say “In the wake of Natasha’s death”… This is in the wake of Natasha’s death becoming PUBLIC! She died TWO YEARS ago and Pret didn’t care, but everyone treats this as from yesterday.
To Natasha’s parent’s her death IS as if it happened yesterday, and will be like this forever. But Pret, Clive Schlee and particularly Jonathan Perkins knew of Natasha’s death for two years, as well as all the warnings before and after, but did not do anything to change!
Absolutely nothing and even ignored repeated warnings!
The hypocrisy of the CEO on his Twitter calling this a “promise” and saying that “nothing is more important to Pret right now”.
While all the time hanging on to anti-Plastic Bottles and Straws schemes as if for dear life!
So, nothing is more important right now! After two years! What a terrible attempt to keep up the facade! Pret got caught now, and this reshuffles their priority. NOT the deaths, NOT the numerous warnings, but the public exposure.
Pret A Shame on you!
Natasha’s mum saying that “action can be immediate” @ 1:29
She further says, “You don’t have to wait for a law change to start putting stickers, listing the allergens on the food that you sell. You can just do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
versus the PR(et) blaa blaaa machine:
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 starve and 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.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote an article in the Scottish Left Review.
Thank you for reading/listening.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.
“I went to Pret *today* thinking you’d learned your lesson. My daughter is allergic to egg. Allergic lists were hidden away. Your staff could not confirm the ingredients on children’s products after 20 mins of online research & calls. You should be utterly and deeply ashamed.”
The difference between the USA and the UK is not only the legal system, but the hunger for justice, even if that “justice” in the U.S. is known for being so ridiculous:
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.
I am “forced” to put this into a blog entry due to shadow bans happening again. Please ignore the 2nd October 2018 date on the left. I am “recycling” old unimportant blog entries, as every new blog post I publish is bookmarked by a bot in a certain country, and shortly after I am also often shadow banned as my blog is linked to Twitter, FB etc. depending on what the post is about.
The below Tweets led Twitter to shadow ban (censor) 3 accounts on behalf of Pret A Manger to avoid bad press and the truth being told.
This means that as soon as Pret gets wind of a tweet that may lift the lid on their practices, they report to Twitter for the account to be banned where the tweets are hidden from the public. To the account everything looks normal, but in reality all tweets, likes, RT’s are hidden from the public UNLESS people go directly to the Tweet itself, but who would do that without the knowledge that this tweet even exists! So people are fooled and “What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over” or out of sight out of mind. Simple.
It is mainly the “nitty gritty” tweets that has Pret via Twitter censor me so the public won’t find my blog here. The reason why Pret does not respond to the Tweets and let’s Twitter censor me is because I declined 4 settlement offers if I remain silent, never go to court etc. after being bullied during bereavement under Pret’s toxic HR department and CEO Clive Schlee’s leadership.
The following got Twitter to ban on behalf of Pret as a paying customer, censoring free speech to avoid the public being made aware of what is really going on behind the shiny PR[et} facade.
This Tweet reached a person before the ban happened, and they kindly responded, even copying in the press, but not sure if he will get notified, as during a ban people are not notified of a response by the banned account. But thank you @MikeParcej
I have to say it does take a person with a certain kind of knowledge to look beyond the forced smiles of Pret staff!
So, ladies and gentlemen, this is Pret A Manger for you, hiding 2 customer deaths from the public, covering up with lots of free coffees/products and PR how it really is behind the “happy” facade, bullying staff even during bereavement. The shadow bans continue, and so will the publications.
Thank you for reading and to those of you who care, RT, stand up, speak out etc. thank you! All I ask is to please look deeper and closer like Kat Timpf did. Staff suffer but are silenced through fear management and current staff wrote to me that they will receive a disciplinary or get dismissed if they publicly speak out again as they did before.
For an overview of important blog entries of my experience in Pret A Manger, please visit“My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The arrow next to each heading will lead directly to the post. Thank you for reading.
Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org, poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
Link (Update 2020: Alicia Turrell has deleted her Twitter account, so the link is void).
Clive Schlee’s appalling response, apart from the patronizing and self-assured tone: “I must say you do have a charming, self deprecating writing style and it was very gracious of you to mention so many good things about Pret. I am Pret’s CEO.” … and she’s supposed to be impressed that the CEO responded to an open letter addressed to Pret, while not having a clue what to do:
“You also make your point about the allergen information. To be honest, I am not exactly sure how to respond. I think you are telling us to train our staff better. I can’t argue with that …”
I still shake my head when reading this, and I read this many times now in disbelief! I worked at Pret when 2 customers died, and yet we were NEVER trained any more than a basic quick run down of things. I explain in DETAIL the chaos and mess of Pret’s labelling issues and Pret’s inability to step on the brakes to implement truly “meaningful change”: Pret’s Labelling Commitement?
Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 
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