Pret A Manger receives thousands of complaints over subscription
Pret A Manger has been bombarded with complaints after its drinks subscription service excludes some hot and cold beverages for paying customers.
The coffee brand has received 5,000 complaints about the offer, such as smoothies often being unavailable despite the advert suggesting all drinks were included, as reported by the BBC.
It is also reported that Ex-Pret employees complained that it meant they were overwhelmed with work, with a surge of subscription users coming into cafes every day.
Pret a Manger launched the subscription in September 2020 following a difficult lockdown period in the UK.
Some customers have taken complaints to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after feeling misled that key products are not included in the offer.
The ASA said it informed Pret “that their ads should not state or imply that the service was available in all store locations, or that it covers their entire range of products if that wasn’t the case”, according to the BBC.
A Pret spokesperson told City A.M.: “We’re really pleased with the response to our Coffee Subscription since it launched last year. It’s been incredibly popular with Pret customers and significantly less than 1 per cent of all coffee subscribers have raised any concerns about this issue. We continue to work with shop teams to ensure they have what they need to keep Team Members and customers happy, and we are incredibly grateful to all our colleagues for their hard work over the past year.”
The spokesperson also said that they had spoken with the ASA to ensure all Pret marketing for the Coffee Subscription is in accordance with the latest guidance.