Pret A Manger

Pret A Manger Employee Review

Horrible

General Manager (Current Employee) - Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh - 10 November 2019

Worked in the company 8 years but the way the company is run in this area is an absolute disaster. Managers are forced to cheat on results and break standards just so that the area manager looks good on paper, though he stays at home most of the days whilst the shops collapse. Since 2018 there is so much pressure in getting the standards right however I’ve seen kitchens running on two people on night shifts and even one on day shift (where four people are required per shift) as area management does want figures to be right on paper- this could cause enormous issues if something went wrong I.e. allergens. People are over stretched and tired since the pressure to achieve selection in stores is high but not enough labour in. I have been questioned why do I need to work 14-16 hours a day when no one is asking to yet being told going on underperformance if I over spend on hours. Over 200 people have pret in this area since last year, as well as 8 managers and assistant managers in 8 shops, so numbers speak on their own. We as managers aim to make our teams happy and safe however the over stretching on labour just made us cover the gaps over and over not realising the biggest gap was within us unable to have a normal life or humanity due to the amount of hours being psychologically forced into work. I have met great people and higher management in this company but there is an unacceptable level of fear culture up here in Edinburgh, where people believe they won’t actually be okay if they quit their job if unhappy. It’s 2019 and if your employer raises you to be scared -

Ratings by category

1.0 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance

1.0 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits

1.0 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement

1.0 out of 5 stars for Management

1.0 out of 5 stars for Culture

Was this review helpful?

View all 1,372 reviews

Similar reviews

Same role

wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy

General Manager (Former Employee) - London - 11 May 2022

not well organised and unfortunately they struggle to maintain late night workers to be able to provide the food for their business which affects everything

Was this review helpful?

Same role

Stressful place to work

GENERAL MANAGER (Former Employee) - Outside London - 13 January 2022

Pret has changed in a last years, unfortunately for worse.No work-life balance at all. The company not looking after people ( as it was before, with previous CEO) Profit is more important than employees, targets not achievable, unpaid overtime and super stressful place to work!!!

Pros

Free lunch

Cons

Stressful, long hours

Was this review helpful?

Same location

Friendly leader and colleagues

Team Member (Current Employee) - Edinburgh - 18 May 2022

A good place to work and a lovely team.It’s busy, process orders, deal with complaints, take trolley to the kitchen, display sandwiches, keep all areas clean.Employees are from different countries and everyone is so friendly. Free coffees, pastries and salads.

Was this review helpful?