Coffee and sandwiches are ideal treats throughout most people's busy working lives. This coffee shop chain is a major player in the London area of England, as there are many stores in London's towns. I first visited a Pret coffee shop around three years ago as I grew tired slightly of more expensive and rival coffee shops.
The reason I like visiting the Pret coffee shops is that they have a just roasted date advertised behind the counter, which is a good sign in knowing that the coffee is fresh and great quality. Compared to other coffee shops, Pret a Manger stores do offer great quality visits.
Food/Snack Options
These include and vary depending on the time of the day people visit. There are morning, lunch and afternoon food options. I noticed during morning times, the stores sell full croissant, sandwich and salad choices. During the
lunch and afternoon there are similar though there are similar options though there are more salad wraps and soup available. The store also sell crisps, snack bars, muffins and yoghurts. They also have cold drinks, cakes and other nice desserts.
What I like about the Pret A Manger food and drinks is that there are vegetarian food options as well as having international style foods. The sushi is quite good.
Price Comparison
A regular cappuccinos at a Pret Store is around one Pound and eighty nine pence, which compares well to rival stores who charge north of two Pounds, for a similar size cappuccinos. Regarding the taste and general appearance of the cappuccinos at a Pret A Manger, I have found that it is more unique and slightly lighter blend of cappuccino, though it does have a rich taste. The presentation of there hot drinks are first class though in most visits to the coffee store they present the drink in a plastic cup as opposed to a Costa Coffee or Starbucks drink.
The prices of salads, sandwiches are competitively priced to other supermarket foods, though the Pret A Manger stores at least give the customer flexibility in being able to eat either in store or to take the food and drink away. The variety of baguettes, sandwiches is wide ranging, including choices such as, seafood, duck, and plainer choices of cheese and salad sandwiches.
I have found the baguettes and sandwiches to be very tasty and really worth the money spent.
Service Standards
I find the layout of most Pret stores fairly small in terms of retail shop size. I do like the queue handling system which most often results in the queue's being handled much quicker and efficiently than in visiting a large fast food chain. From my experience I have been served within two minutes, and sometimes even received my order within this time.
Most Pret shops have customer toilets which are very well presented and clean to say the least. Each member of staff wears Pret A Manger uniform which is similar to Starbucks staff, though the appearance of the uniform helps make the staff to appear more professional. Also when there are empty products categories there are 'Chef at Work' signs which show a sign that the management are aware of the availability of empty stock shelves.
Staffs here tend to be hard working and I have never been to a store where even when there are no customers do the staffs appear to be idle. Each member of staff here is either serving customers or seen cleaning and tidying up the store.
Coffee Shop Ambience
I find the ambience to be more pleasant compared to its rivals. The music tends to be a tranquil Jazz or Blues music tone. The great thing about this is that from these customers tend to be less noisy and much more professional in behaviour.
Other Information
On the Pret A Manger website they have a pre-paid card system so that regular customers can top up their credits without needing to use cash. New customers registering some basic information who have a Pret card can obtain a free cup of coffee up to the value of one Pound and eighty nine pence, so even if you visit once, the next cup of coffee is free. The chain also offer businesses and residential customers free delivery if the order is over thirty Pounds, for orders below this level there is a six Pounds charge. Another thing worth mentioning is that their foods do not contain artificial ingredients or preservatives that are widely found in supermarket stores.
Conclusion
I would highly recommend Pret A Manger as their coffee products are great and also their sandwiches are great for leisure and business people.
Recommended: Yes
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Advantages: Great range, fresh ingredients, always trying new combinations Disadvantages: Some can be slightly pricey, and it can sometimes be rather busy
May 8th, 2009
(May 29th, 2009)
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
