Search
566 results for “Toastie”
-
#History #DonaldTrump #MAGA
#MoscowsAssetGoverningAmerica(5/5)
...#TechOligarchs have been tagging along...until they are no longer needed.
👉This is an all-out assault on the #UnitedStatesOfAmerica.👈
Prove me wrong. I'd be glad.
A world ruled by #Xi and maybe #Putin is not really so much worth living in.--And they are not as infallible as dicators as they make themselves out to be. E.g. the former one-child policy in China now proves desastrous for the country.
// -
CW: Disclosure: Malaysia Food Referral Ad
Double the Toasties: Bask Bear Buy 1 Free 1 Deal
"Fuh kenyang" is the exact feeling after diving into a solid toastie and coffee combo from Bask Bear. If you are looking for an affordable, delicious meal while working or studying, their app rewards are a lifesaver right now. New users can grab a Buy 1 Free 1 welcome deal, alongside points for free drinks and toasties like the Cheezy Egg or Smoky Pulled Chicken combos. Just download the app and use the referral code RFJ5561 to claim your rewards and enjoy your feast!
#baskbear #coffee #toasties #malaysia #foodie #promo #buy1free1 #deal #makan #referral #app #rewards #cafe #local #values
-
CW: Disclosure: Malaysia Food Referral Ad
Double the Toasties: Bask Bear Buy 1 Free 1 Deal
"Fuh kenyang" is the exact feeling after diving into a solid toastie and coffee combo from Bask Bear. If you are looking for an affordable, delicious meal while working or studying, their app rewards are a lifesaver right now. New users can grab a Buy 1 Free 1 welcome deal, alongside points for free drinks and toasties like the Cheezy Egg or Smoky Pulled Chicken combos. Just download the app and use the referral code RFJ5561 to claim your rewards and enjoy your feast!
#baskbear #coffee #toasties #malaysia #foodie #promo #buy1free1 #deal #makan #referral #app #rewards #cafe #local #values
-
The cheese toastie is, I think we can agree, one of humanity’s finest achievements. But can it work when you make them in a microwave? One of the oddest reviews I’ve ever done (text and video) as I take on the Laser Microwave Toastie Maker!
-
CW: gif, fast moving animation
Hyper icon for https://twitter.com/ToastieCoffee
.
.
.
#gif #animation #dutchangeldragon #furryart#ToastieCoffee #dutchie #dutch angel dragon #donut #doughnut #animation #gif
-
Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes | Food
Public institutions, from hospitals to museums, are the most international communities, both in the workforce and in those who visit. It’s something that became obvious to us when we were cooking o…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Cooking #CookingTopics
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2640287/coconut-dal-cheesy-pickle-toasties-carrot-halva-cakes-ravinder-bhogals-tastes-of-home-recipes-food/ -
Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes | Food https://www.diningandcooking.com/2640287/coconut-dal-cheesy-pickle-toasties-carrot-halva-cakes-ravinder-bhogals-tastes-of-home-recipes-food/ #Cooking #CookingTopics
-
https://youtu.be/n-E9V9Vu36A?si=doeygCgvUxZ4nq8a
8 ham and chees toasties - grilled sandwhiches in the Omnia
#omnia #vanlifecooking #campercooking #toasties #ham #cheese #hamcheese #tosti #camper #campervan #campinglife #cooking -
https://youtu.be/n-E9V9Vu36A?si=doeygCgvUxZ4nq8a
8 ham and chees toasties - grilled sandwhiches in the Omnia
#omnia #vanlifecooking #campercooking #toasties #ham #cheese #hamcheese #tosti #camper #campervan #campinglife #cooking -
https://youtu.be/n-E9V9Vu36A?si=doeygCgvUxZ4nq8a
8 ham and chees toasties - grilled sandwhiches in the Omnia
#omnia #vanlifecooking #campercooking #toasties #ham #cheese #hamcheese #tosti #camper #campervan #campinglife #cooking -
https://youtu.be/n-E9V9Vu36A?si=doeygCgvUxZ4nq8a
8 ham and chees toasties - grilled sandwhiches in the Omnia
#omnia #vanlifecooking #campercooking #toasties #ham #cheese #hamcheese #tosti #camper #campervan #campinglife #cooking -
https://youtu.be/n-E9V9Vu36A?si=doeygCgvUxZ4nq8a
8 ham and chees toasties - grilled sandwhiches in the Omnia
#omnia #vanlifecooking #campercooking #toasties #ham #cheese #hamcheese #tosti #camper #campervan #campinglife #cooking -
Art on the wall at Artisan Cheese Company in Sarasota, Florida. A new place to me, my brother and my sister-in-law last Saturday — and we all give a big thumbs up to the grilled cheese toastie. They have outdoor seating, too — which is a requirement for me.
I've written to ask the name of the artist and will update here if/when I hear back.
-
area where I still need improvement when it comes to my #perpetual #travel game: healthy food during long travel days. I had a toastie earlier out of sheer desperation and it was FOUL. I regret every second of that decision. and I spent waaay too much $$ on this ferry buying the only fruits and vegetables I could find. lesson learned.
-
🚀🎩 Brace yourselves, folks: "Supertoast" tables are here to save the day with their magical ability to prevent #Postgres explosions. Just when you thought databases couldn't get any toastier, enter Hatchet's CLI—because who wouldn't want another tool to overcomplicate their local development? 🍞💥
https://hatchet.run/blog/supertoast-tables #Supertoast #Hatchet #CLI #DatabaseDevelopment #TechInnovation #HackerNews #ngated -
[numa Bielefeld] - Sa., 21.10.2023 - Out of the pot, into the groove
An evening to share! (Auch die Toasties mit geschmolzenem Cheddar und Kimchi sind unvergessen! )
#numa #outernationaljazz #bielefeld #vinyl #disco #Käse @digitalcourage.social/@casomorphin
-
According to a local this is the ONLY coffee shop in #MountIsa #Queensland #Australia (a mining town of 18k ppl). Its name says Donuts and as well as those and coffee it sells soft-serve ice cream, cold drinks and hot toasties (ham and tomatoes and I’m guessing white bread and pale pre-sliced cheese), pastries (pies and rolls) & dogs.
-
Dear friends of wabbits and #Bright eyes,
I am about to have #Welsh rarebit, grilled cheesey on toasties for #brekky
...But first the NEWS:
1. Blah, blah, blah :ablobcatpopcorn:
2. World whirled 🌐
3. #Injustice
Yep same old, same old. :gi:
What about if you are a #actorvisit #hacktivist? Well do we use #Hyphanet? No idea. #Dunno. [also available as Beginners Mind in dharma] ☸️
I am barely anything. Though I am getting better at #Linuxing with #GNU-Debian. Better go and cheque #distrowatch and check outed the latest hype. :ablobcatbongokeyboard:
distrowatch.com/
I would get a #Parrot but... listening to all that #noise? #Nah! I have a #mind full of jabber #already, #thank you very much... :ablobcatgoogly:
Have a wonderful timing. Be fortunate, kind and seek the seeker, not the sucker...❤️
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphanet -
*** UPDATE Serval House Heaters *** THANK YOU!!! There are now enough heaters for all four of the Serval/Caracal Buildings!!! All of the small cats will be toastie warm this winter. THANK YOU for the heaters, the donations, and all the likes, shares, and comments. Your support is truly truly appreciated!
#thankyou #thankful #blessings #serval #servalcats #HEATERS #TCWR #TurpentineCreek #RescueToRefuge #FundFreedom #Sanctuary #BigCat #Cats #Update
-
Bangkok, Thailand ☀️ Hot & Hectic. Typical January weather—sunny, hot, and slightly less humid than the monsoon months, but still very warm for most. The "cool" season is relatively toastier this year!
High: 32°C | Low: 24°C
Tip: Seek shade during the midday sun and drink plenty of electrolyte water. #Bangkok #Thailand #BangkokWeather #TravelAsia #HotDay
-
Ein Kiez ohne Bäckerei ist kein richtiger Kiez. Im Block rund um die Seestraße / Togostraße gibt es einen kleinen Backshop, der mit seinen nackten Backsteinwänden und kupferfarbenen Lampen sehr stylisch daherkommt. Nun hat der Laden eine neue Betreiberfamilie, die mehr als nur einen Backshop dort führt: Es ist eher ein nachbarschaftliches Saft-, Toastie-, Zigarrenbörek-, Donut-Café. Brötchen gibt es dort natürlich auch.
[…]
-
DAY 1
I woke up around 4am, and we messed around a little.
Greg's been helping test an app that tracks edging sessions, and about a week before I left he mentioned that he was up to 999 edges since his last orgasm. We decided it would be nice to have his 1000th edge together, so when we've been playing we've been "edging edging".. which means he stops before he even gets to an edge, and the idea is to just stay aroused but not really let it go anywhere.
With that in mind, I gave him a long session of really intense oral. We've talked before about how one of my favourite things to do with someone is just give really long slow sessions of oral and tease them for extended periods. Usually I'll have someone bound so they can't push into it or wiggle away, and I get to set the pace of everything and just play with them. Greg and I haven't really done that before, but over the last year or so we've been experimenting with over stimulation for him.. so we got to play around with that a little. I had so much fun, and he mentioned later about how surprised he always is by how much I enjoy just giving blow jobs (hi, service sub.. so, yes!). This was the play session where he gave me those amazing compliments and made those hilarious squeaking noises.
After a while we stopped and slept for a couple more hours before getting up for the day.
We ate breakfast and talked about what we were going to do. We decided to take a trip to Tesco to pick up a few more things we needed.
I enjoy wandering around supermarkets in other countries because I find the little differences in things quite fascinating. I saw gravy sold in a can like soda or beer is at home.
We got home and had lunch (cheese toasties, and ordered in a bubble tea), and watched a couple of episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. I'd watched the couple of seasons on the plane, and Greg has jumped in watching part way through. We're both really enjoying it.
I had a bit of a nap in the afternoon, snuggled up to him while he told me a story and played with my hair. Then we had some dinner (chili over the left over chips from the night before), watched some more TV, and went to bed around 10pm.
Squirrel count: 0
Fox count: 0Post-flight covid test: negative
#relationship #LongDistance #LongDistanceRelationship #NonMonogamy #UK2024
-
@justinling
From my list...
News@TexasObserver
Founded in 1954, the Texas Observer is a #progressive #nonprofit news outlet and print #magazine covering the Lone Star State.@thenarwhal
Our team of investigative journalists dives deep to tell stories about the natural world in Canada you can’t find anywhere else.@thetyee
Independent BC-based journalism that swims against the current. Paywall-free since 2003.@openDemocracy
Free thinking for the world We're an independent media organisation covering world affairs and ideas.@mergerson
Assistant professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland » Interests include media, race, and democracy; journalism history; and journalism and social equity@suswatibasu
Head of Audience / Dep. Editor @NationalWorld Ex-Dataminr, ITV and Channel 4 News journalist.@w7voa
Voice of America chief national correspondent and former White House bureau chief; 2022-23@JaeBern
Journalist covering climate change and other sciencey stuff @ CBC News.@ScienceDesk
We curate the latest science news, including climate change, space exploration, health and more. All posts are written by Flipboard’s editorial team.@coloradosun
Telling stories that matter for a dynamic, evolving state. Independent, journalist-owned news covering the entire state of Colorado.@SFPublicPress
Noncommercial news and investigative reporting for San Francisco Bay Area — online, print and on air at KSFP 102.5 FM & SFPublicPress.org@NewsDesk
We share stories, explainers and analysis to offer context for the top news of the day. All posts are created and curated by Flipboard’s editorial team. Not a bot.@mongabay
Reader-supported news and inspiration from nature's frontline. Mongabay is a non-profit.@AK_OK
Alaska statehouse reporter for the Alaska Beacon, formerly with the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News Miner.@Chron
Houston’s home for news, culture and conversation. Chron, a free digital news site, is Hearst owned and run independently from the Houston Chronicle.@Toastie
Indigenous affairs reporter, High Country News@jmcjmc451
Journalist with an eye for environmental stories, ranging from the effect of climate change on agriculture to investigations into groundwater pollution. Current Midwest Reporting Fellow at Grist.@damemagazine
#Reporting & #analysis on politics, policy, culture and more. Based in the United States. Support women-led independent #journalism.@sarahstierch Journalist. I write about weather, wildfires and other subjects relevant to Mendocino County for the Mendocino Voice. I cover portions of Sonoma, Napa, and Marin on social media.
@ProPublica
The official Mastodon page for ProPublica.
Pursuing stories with moral force.@theintercept
Fearless, adversarial journalism.@gratefuldread
aggregated leftist news, arts, culture, activism, peace, love - always monitored #RevolutionaryLove - Natalie Davis, owner/editor@JeffreyStClair
Editor of CounterPunch@BBC_News_Labs
This account is part of an experiment from BBC R&D in establishing a BBC presence in the Fediverse. You can read more about this experiment at https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2023-07-mast -
@gbhnews So glad you're here (I'm from Massachusetts originally , so I appreciate all that you do). I figure you'll want to know who is actually here in the #Fediverse (and not bots, though I do follow some news bots). Here's my list of #journalists and #news outlets here on Mastodon (not including bots).
@TexasObserver
Founded in1954, the Texas Observer is a #progressive #nonprofit news outlet and print #magazine covering the Lone Star State.@thenarwhal
Our team of investigative journalists dives deep to tell stories about the natural world in Canada you can’t find anywhere else.@thetyee
Independent BC-based journalism that swims against the current.@openDemocracy
Free thinking for the world We're an independent media organisation covering world affairs and ideas.@mergerson
Assistant professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland » Interests include media, race, and democracy; journalism history; and journalism and social equity@suswatibasu
Head of Audience / Dep. Editor @NationalWorld Ex-Dataminr, ITV and Channel 4 News journalist.@w7voa
Voice of America chief national correspondent and former White House bureau chief; 2022-23@JaeBern
Journalist covering climate change and other sciencey stuff @ CBC News.@ScienceDesk
We curate the latest science news, including climate change, space exploration, health and more. All posts are written by Flipboard’s editorial team.@coloradosun
Telling stories that matter for a dynamic, evolving state. Independent, journalist-owned news covering the entire state of Colorado.@SFPublicPress
Noncommercial news and investigative reporting for San Francisco Bay Area@NewsDesk
We share stories, explainers and analysis to offer context for the top news of the day. All posts are created and curated by Flipboard’s editorial team.@mongabay
Reader-supported news and inspiration from nature's frontline. Mongabay is a non-profit.@AK_OK
Alaska statehouse reporter for the Alaska Beacon, formerly with the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News Miner.@Chron
Houston’s home for news, culture and conversation. Chron, a free digital news site, is Hearst owned and run independently from the Houston Chronicle.@Toastie
Indigenous affairs reporter, High Country News@jmcjmc451
Journalist with an eye for environmental stories, ranging from the effect of climate change on agriculture to investigations into groundwater pollution. Current Midwest Reporting Fellow at Grist.@damemagazine
#Reporting & #analysis on politics, policy, culture and more. Based in the United States. Support women-led independent #journalism.@sarahstierch Journalist. I write about weather, wildfires and other subjects relevant to Mendocino County for the Mendocino Voice. I cover portions of Sonoma, Napa, and Marin on social media.
@ProPublica
The official Mastodon page for ProPublica.Pursuing stories with moral force.@theintercept
Fearless, adversarial journalism.@gratefuldread
aggregated leftist news, arts, culture, activism, peace, love - always monitored #RevolutionaryLove - Natalie Davis, owner/editor@JeffreyStClair
Editor of CounterPunch@BBC_News_Labs
This account is part of an experiment from BBC R&D in establishing a BBC presence in the Fediverse. -
Amy Sharpe from the Sunday Mirror contacted me on Facebook after I declined another Mirror Journalist’s request for an interview.
I declined her request as well, as I wasn’t ready for the press, and as I am still paranoid to be tricked and trapped like Pret did with the Development Manager I write extensively about in Open “Letter” to Lila Tighilt Warren. My experience in Pret is very complex and sounds like straight from a twisted Hollywood script, but I have it all in writing and confront Pret openly on Twitter, which in turn have them report me to get shadow-banned (secretly censored on Twitter & Co. which then hides my posts and accounts from public search). But I urged her to go undercover to see for herself and not just take my word for it, just like James Bloodworth did in Amazon. And she did.
My Facebook message after Amy contacted me, but I was not ready for the press:
.
.
What I meant by Pret “infiltrating” the mental health club I was a member of, Pret knew about this club as I mentioned it in my last hearing. I write about Pret “infiltrating” the club in my open “letter” to the Pret Foundation Trust which is just a smokescreen to pretend charity to the public. Pret never responded when I AND an OPs manager asked if I could be placed under someone from the Pret Foundation when I became bereaved and then targetted. Pret never responded.
As I commented on Sathnam Sanghera’s Times article, I’d like to give my two cents also to Amy Sharpe’s undercover article. Both articles from very different perspectives as one from a customer and business point of view, the other from behind the scenes for a few days. But both are equally important and revealing how business works with the main goal of profit in mind.
I have to say that when I saw the undercover reporting yesterday morning (28.11.2018) linked on Twitter, after Amy has been very silent about going “under”, and rightly so, I teared up. I cried when I read her name on the report because not just did she follow my suggestion taking my ordeal serious, but someone from the outside saw what I and many others experience(d), but the public doesn’t want to know about unless it is the press poking into an organization.
It sadly takes deaths becoming public to show how negligent a company, in this case Pret, really is. I’ve been writing openly about my experience with Pret since May 2018 after my father died in March and I started to come to terms again of another loss… still recuperating from my Pret trauma that has “postponed” my grief for my brother. Regular readers know the story.
Some people criticize The Sunday Mirror’s report as being part of a witch hunt, but I don’t think that. The public is so used to be lulled in by a nice and shiny facade, free coffees and cookies.
Customers are so used to the smiles of staff, but no-one knows what really is behind it. The fear management via the Mystery Shopper, rewarded extra £100 if specially nice or told off by the boss in the office and threatened with job security if they didn’t smile non-stop in the highly stressful work environment. I mentioned this in a Tweet response to a customer who without any thought or empathy complained to Pret about a barista, even naming him, for not smiling and rushing the service:
Amy Sharpe’s undercover article to me is like someone understanding this and finally confirming my and the team’s ordeal. Some points I want to highlight as I don’t use the full article, just what I want to confirm and expand upon a little from what this journalist has experienced and witnessed. The article will be in black and my comments in grey. I added the bold to the text to highlight some issues.
Article:
A manager reacts in horror as I point out the mistake (of an Almond Croissant with a Jam Croissant label).
“Oh my god!” he cries as he switches labels on two trays of croissants – one containing jam, the other almonds.This is the typical PANIC reaction of a manager who either didn’t take the time or is too disorganized to do the MBWA (Managing By Walking Around) to check that everything is in its proper place, health & safety checks and so on. This could easily be improved by investing to have plenty of staff, instead of cutting staff to save money, so that the Manager On Duty (MOD) can concentrate on checking everything daily as well as throughout the day. It’s a very simple organizational issue. Very, very simple.
Article:
In the wake of two allergy deaths, he adds: “It’s really dangerous, especially with everything that’s been going on.”And yet, no-one steps on the brakes to put immediate, and what CEO Clive Schlee calls, “meaningful” changes in place. The problem with the word “meaningful” to me here is, it sounds too wishy-washy, “poetically” correct but shows no urgency, even though “it’s really dangerous”. The appropriate word should have been to implement “immediate” changes! As Natasha’s parents are in shock over Pret’s procrastination, ITV’s November report:
Article:
I am standing behind the counter in Pret a Manger … The pace is so relentless, the demands so constant – customers want serving super-quick – that I find myself under constant pressure. I sense that other staff feel the strain too.Ms. Sharpe does not give the time of day she was behind the counter, but mentioned having to dash to the toastie machine, so this may have been lunch time. But the strain can especially be felt when a Team Member does the morning shift from 5 or 6am till 2 or 3pm going through two intense rushes: breakfast and lunch. When I worked in Pret I made a decision to not meet with a friend or have an appointment straight after my morning shift having come out of lunch time. I was always like having come out of a tumbler, being shaken for hours and still on electricity. My friends commented on this, so I tried to get home first to clean up and rest and calm down before joining any events.
One staff review paints this very bluntly. This is why I wished Amy Sharpe would have also covered a week in the kitchen to really get the full Pret “blow”: “This job can annihilate every piece of humanity inside of you.“
Many kitchens I have seen with very small working areas for the Hot Chef in particular. Someone leaked a photo to Twitter.
Customer areas are increased to get as many customers / money in as possible; staff areas are decreased. This then creates multiple problems, not only on the mental strain of staff but customers lives as mistakes happen quickly as with labelling I collected in another post “Vegetarians Get Meat Products“:
Or a shop where I worked where there was only ONE multitask room: office, staff changing room with lockers, fridges, freezers, stock room, hot chef soup prep area, chemical room for cleaning materials etc and to top it all, illegally the rubbish room next to the food prep area! This shop was the worst shop I’ve worked in. This photo is from 2015 and after years like this, Pret was forced to expand the work space to separate the rubbish for health and safety reasons. This room was medium size and approx. 15 square meters max. A total nightmare.
Article:
I am at a central London branch, where 10 staff vie for space, muttering apologies as we collide and stretch across one another to grab pastries and bags.
I shout orders to a barista while dashing to a beeping toastie machine to retrieve a baguette.
I make green teas and filter coffees while my other drinks orders are prepared. It’s stressful and confusing and the queue makes it even more so.
All the while, staff must be alert to the issue of allergens.Yep. And as one customer on Twitter pointed out the chaos and stress on the staff and customers alike. I had to console Team Members many times over the years who held their tears back or just cried in the staff room after being shouted at by the manager. Another review: “Better salary than McDonalds or Costa as long as you keep your fake smile up. Staff with more experience cuts corners on Sanitary rules because otherwise it is impossible to finish your batch on time.
– The coffee calling system is broken. During busy times it is nearly impossible to keep up with the orders without hating everyone around you. A lot of people cry in the staff room especially in their entry period.”
I also shed many tears on my way home in the bus, especially during grief of course, but after a terribly depressing shift this was a common thing to let the tears finally flow.UPDATE Jan. 2019
I found a photo of the coffee area and it shows how cramped and small the work area is. And the barista/coffee makers are required to get PERFECT coffees out within 1 minute that the Mystery Shopper times to the second! It doesn’t get any more dehumanizing and mentally straining than this. I don’t know how I managed, but we worked a lot in mental and physical pain. Under the coffee machine where the silver jugs are, this working area is so small baristas switch on autopilot and just keep going. Hence, lots of stress, shouting and customers going to Twitter with complaints of half cups of coffees that are made so fast to satisfy the Mystery Shopper, the manager and the long queue.
Link by @terry_mcparlane Twitter
It is rare that a customer speaks out like this and it’s sad that most customers don’t care how stressful it is behind the counter. They see it, at times even commented about it to me, but they just want their coffees fast. Pret has spoiled them where they would be perfectly happy to wait 5-10 minutes in Starbucks, Pret made the service so fast to get the money circulation into the shops fast. Pret staff are expected to whip out PERFECT coffees within ONE minute and are timed to the SECOND by Mystery Shoppers, while customers think that staff is just happy working under intense pressure. They don’t realize what’s behind that happy facade!
Excerpt:
1 minute aim to serve and another 1 minute to have a perfect hot drink ready, checked by the MS to the second:
“I was served very quickly, after 15 seconds, very quick service.”
“I received my hot drink very quick, after 30 seconds, quick service.”
And then customers run to Twitter with pictures of half full cappuccinos, missing cream, lukewarm coffees…! There’s nothing more dehumanizing at a workplace that I have experienced. And should anyone suffer from boredom, do an experiment and just read through some Pret Tweets a few minutes each day for a week, with the same sweet-talk response from Pret veering customers away from public Tweets to private DM.
Some complaints are legitimate when a customer already spoke to the manager, and yet Pret has a DM button, but customers feel the public needs to be aware of their dilemma in Pret shops. I know, I know I respond a lot to some Tweets, and maybe it is because for 10 years I had to bite my tongue towards rude customers, I take the opportunity now to give my opinion. And Pret doesn’t block me as they collect my Tweets in case for court and certainly to learn some tips, as I have showered them with suggestions for improvement while I worked there. Be my guest, Pret.
Article:
Staff now repeat orders to customers to avoid any mistakes. Allergen enquiries are referred to the duty manager, who will show a list of ingredients.Which is good to repeat, but the pace is still kept high with all sorts of demands, especially for the “Misery” Shopper: always smile, eye contact, make some small-talk, serve within 1 minute, stand on your head, dance on one feet, bend your back, twist your brain, know all the answers, kiss their butts … and all this with a big fake Pret A Smile to keep a low-paid job! In other words you either develop superhuman abilities or mental illness. The pace is the same, the demand is higher, and life is still at risk including the lives of staff who suffer depression, mental ill health and at times become suicidal. But the public “just” wakes up once customer lives are affected. Forget the “slaves“.
A positive Mystery Shopper visit, excerpt:
“The staff member who served me made good eye contact and greeted me with a friendly smile. While remaining focused and efficient, she also took time to engage in a few words of conversation, which added a personal element to the exchange – enhancing the welcoming atmosphere of this store.”
A negative Mystery Shopper visit, excerpt:
“I was not greeted at the till or given a smile. The only conversation was what was necessary for the transaction. To be welcoming the team member could have greeted me and smiled and be engage(d) and positive, the team member could have given me a friendly remark or made small talk.”
— or —
“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.”
I wish I could have told this MS that staff are not paid sick leave for the first 2 and 3 days depending on age. So one had to decide if to stay home sick and lose income, or go to work unwell and get a telling off from the manager like I did because I coughed when I happened to serve the MS.
I wonder if Amy Sharpe served the Mystery Shopper and how she would have felt reading a negative comment on her service while feeling the experience of the “overstretched staff” and it being “stressful and confusing and the queue makes it even more so.”
I even wished sometimes customers would just join us for a few hours, especially those who quickly complain about everything.
Just few of the countless Tweets, just from this week:
This customer had good service for THREE years, then one negative experience and the world has come to an end. I linked her to Amy Sharpe’s report to bring some perspective for her feeling so unwanted. But I deleted the Tweet again as I write too many Tweets and always like to de-clutter my Twitter feeds:
“Every time…”
“Oh no!…”
etc. etc.
So, companies like Pret have created a “nation” of complainers where the British were usually patient and polite, they now cry like babies whose bottoms haven’t been wiped in a while! And the money keeps coming in while Pret responds with “Oh no…” and “Oh gosh, are you okay?…” sweet-talk to keep the babies happy and the money rolling!
I responded, but since deleted as well to this baby who had no issues to call hard working people the “C” word because he was in the “teething” period having his day ruined by a hard avocado. Pret’s typical cut’n’paste response, apologizing while he is offensive, and as if they really contact each shop all day long for repeated hard avocados:
Article:
The mantra, I am told repeatedly, is “NEVER guess”.
But from what I witness, the speed at which staff often have to work could put these commendable new standards at risk.
On my second shift I find an orange juice two weeks out of date on the shelves.
The shocked team leader tells me: “You don’t need to tell anyone, otherwise we’re f****d. It is really bad… I’ll throw it away.”
One barista tells me the cramped service area is a “nightmare”.
He says: “If I’m next to you, you have to shout. If you don’t shout I can make a mistake. A person can grab the wrong coffee. Make mistakes and the customer gets mad. You’ve got to focus, stay calm.”
With soybeans and dairy prominent on the menu – and among the 14 allergens kitchens must legally declare – this admission is worrying.
On my last shift, stickers are introduced to distinguish between soya, coconut and regular milks. But one barista serves a coffee without a sticker – and a manager barks: “Where is the sticker?”
The £8.25-an-hour shifts are tough and I collapse into bed exhausted after eight hours on my feet, lifting boxes, mopping and dragging tables around.Nothing more to add except this Link
.
.
Article:
Some staff do 12-hour shifts or work at other branches to earn more. To add to the intensity, employees are battling the cold due to its station location. I wear extra layers to stay warm – there are only two Pret fleeces to go round, so we share.Nothing more to add except that some staff even do 60-70 hour weeks assigned by the manager! I had to speak out about this as Team Members were exhausted, at times became sick from the amount of work, but were too scared to speak with the GM. Again, I did not make friends with my bosses. But neither did I care!
Article:
When the bustle dies down I clean the shop but a colleague urges me to skip certain tasks.
“You’re supposed to sweep and mop every day but don’t do that or you’ll never leave on time,” he says.This unfortunately is common in most shops that staff are so swamped with work they are not able to finish in time and are NOT paid for overtime. I fought for this with my managers in every shop. I would say to my teams who did their best and me as the Team Leader helping them, that if they can’t finish I will mark this on the cleaning rota with an explanation, instead of just ticking off the jobs as done like most do to keep the appearance that jobs were completed. I’d then take responsibility when the boss summons me in the office the next day. I let the team go on the dot when our shift finished at 9 or 10pm or whatever closing and cleaning time the branch had.
Coffee Specialist, London April 2018
Most Team Members have families with kids at home, not seeing their children all day as they are in school, and later the parent is working when they go to bed. So I made it a point to let them go when the shift finished. I was very organized and made sure that the important jobs, health & safety was taken care of and prioritized these. I structured my teams in this way and left the unimportant jobs unfinished if we didn’t have time or enough staff.
In the early times in Pret I would work and work, finish in time and also worked overtime unpaid. But then the time came where I drew a line. It is okay here and there to finish a little late, but it was the norm in Pret and it seemed a very calculated one as Teams worked extra for no pay every day. I struggled with my managers and communicated that if we have to stay longer to finish the job, I will pay them the extra time through the system as was part of my job. If my bosses didn’t want that, then I told my team to finish on the dot and we go home. Full stop.
This of course didn’t make me friends with my bosses, but neither did I care! My friends are not these kind of people who exploit workers for their own bonuses. One Pret staff reviews this as a common practice for managers to give them a job to do 15 minutes before the Team Member would have finished the shift. But the job would take 30 – 60 minutes to complete. I experienced this many times as well and was made to feel bad if I needed or wanted to leave. It took me some time to stand up against this. Pret staff in the UK should do what their colleagues in the U.S. did, a class action suit for not being paid overtime.
Full article of the Sunday Mirror
I have to be honest that I wished Amy Sharpe would have worked longer, a month or so like James Bloodworth did in Amazon. It would have been good for Ms Sharpe to cover the early shifts and weekends as well, including working in the kitchen, as each time and job has its own challenges. But I’m not complaining. She covered 1 or 2 weeks (?) really really well, while I have 10 years of “material” to share that almost literally killed me having survived bullying during bereavement.
So, I have to be patient and acknowledge the brilliant work by this journalist having been willing to do this, as well as Sathnam Sanghera’s article. And many more people will tell their story in time away from the typical PR that Pret does so well. I keep confronting Pret on a staff suicide in 2017 and who knows how many more are under the carpet when they could hide two customer deaths for two years and the other for 10 months! I know my approach and direct confrontation is full on, but I almost lost my life after having worked with integrity, honesty, very hard and with passion for my teams. I cannot be silent after having wasted 10 years of my life in Pret with the knowledge that staff continue to suffer behind the facade. And if any reader wonders if I went to court, I explain here.
Thank you for your time in reading this. And thank you to anyone in the press to have taken a closer look. Thank you to Amy Sharpe. Ironic and delighted to be calling a reporter a now former colleague of mine! Well done Amy!
Life is short, please be kind to yourselves and others.
expret.org
UPDATE: 14.12.2018 A rare observation from a customer regarding forced friendliness.
.
UPDATE March 2019 – The first time I share my story verbally in one go in this interview.
Interview:
https://expret.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/workplace-bullying-an-intervie-683101e6895da.m4a
Above interview is with Adam from The Adam Paradox podcast on my experience in Pret A Manger.
We spoke about gaslighting (being from Germany, that word doesn’t exist in Germany except in its English form. I had to explain it to a German therapist), “shadow banning” and censorship on social media, as well as bereavement, trauma and mental health in general. I further talked about the significant timing of Pret CEO’s announcement of the £1000 Tweet for all staff. I also talked about a regular day in Pret and how staff have to cut corners, in order to fulfill the immense workload under constant pressure.
It is hard to squeeze my traumatic experience into a podcast segment, but we covered enough to get a good picture of today’s systemic stress environment for profit driven global companies.
Please visit his Podcast and Twitter @1AdamParadox.
UPDATE February 2019, my posts on “Why do Pret Staff continue under Harshness“
.
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 and What shop MANAGERS and 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
.
.
.
Thank you for reading/listening.
©2017 – present expret.org
Interview:
(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 as WordPress sometimes “messes” with my blog. Just press play or go straight to the interview on Adam’s page).
.
https://expret.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/workplace-bullying-an-intervie-683101e6895da.m4a.
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.
https://expret.org/2018/11/29/undercover-under-pressure/
#000000 #0000ff #333333 #50 #99cc00 #AmySharpe #AmySharpeJournalist #AmySharpeTheSundayMirror #ExposingPretAManger #ff0000 #PretAManger #PretAMangerReviews #PretAllergen #UndercoverInPret #UndercoverReport
-
New Survey Reveals Key Insights into Apprentice Experiences in the UK
Some key findings here and we'll be exploring the question of 'what apprentices want' during the next BCS Line Manager Toolkit event on the 13th Feb
#NAW2025 (https://www.bcs.org/events-calendar/) #apprenticeships #BCS
-
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education - this is the The Department for Education’s (DfE) position on the use of generative AI in the education sector, updated in January 2025.
-
Is the IT organization investing in IT or just spending budget? 79% of organizations want better ability to measure and attribute service quality
(Scopism Global SIAM Survey 2023)
Find out how SIAM can help you here: https://buff.ly/49rLV6P
#SIAM #ServiceIntegration #ServiceManagement -
Can your organization define the real-time value of IT services and attribute vendor value? 57% of organizations want better ability to measure & attribute service costs.
(Scopism Global SIAM Survey 2023)
Find out how SIAM can help you here: https://www.bcs.org/qualifications-and-certifications/certifications-for-professionals/governance-certifications/
#SIAM #ServiceIntegration #ServiceManagement -
The #HorizonScandal showed the impact of assuming the computer was always correct in the eyes of the law. The Labour government seems to be repeating this mistake.
The UK Data Use and Access Bill benefits UK-based research and puts #AI at the heart of public sector projects, but at the cost of individuals' ability to challenge fully machine-led decisions, e.g., automated hiring and firing, or policing. This has implications for understanding bias and avoids transparency
https://buff.ly/4hVAXdI