Talk:Pret a Manger

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This article is written in British English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, travelled, centre, defence, artefact, analyse) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

The name of the company was created as a play on the existing phrase "pret a porter", that is, "ready to wear". This seems unlikely to me. The French phrase "prêt-à-manger" already existed in the sense of "ready-to-eat" or "fast food" (it's a separate question whether the French phrase was modelled, in the French language, on an earlier "prêt-à-porter" -- that does seem likely). Can someone can cite something showing that the company itself was consciously named as a play on the second phrase? -- I deleted the assertion for now. --Kiscica 06:45, 25 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

"We borrowed the Pret A Manger name from a boarded up shop in Hampstead and bought the title from the liquidators for £160," Sinclair confesses. from [1] here. orudge 14:36, 24 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

To me, this article reads like straightforward marketing for Pret. I came to Wikipedia to read something objective and even-handed. There have been criticisms of Pret food - high levels of salt for example - nowhere to be seen here. Pret is expanding rapidly on the McDonalds model; in some areas of central London there are multiple outlets within hundreds of yards of each other; which leads me to wish to find out more about its business practises. Eg its sources and suppliers- any information on these? Does Pret make any fair trade overtures; does it fly ingredients from thousands of miles away, contributing to climate change? What's the real story behind the soft jazz conviviality of the stores' environments? The ambience of the stores seems to me to imply, even if it's never asserted, that Pret has enlightened, responsible policies re the environment and trading practises; is this the case? In an ideal world, I'd like to see some examination of this on Wikipedia. Maybe if I go away and do some research I'll be able to provide it myself.

I think you answered your own question. Be bold, if you think there is something missing, add it. Edward 2005-07-06 17:35:02 (UTC)

I really don't think the Open Guide to London exlink is suitable. It's largely free of information, and instead is mostly an unsourced rant. I appreciate that it's a good idea for articles about commercial entities to have some negative comment links, so as to avoid looking like adverts, but I don't think the Open Guide page really does that properly. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:18, July 24, 2005 (UTC)

Being a native of central London, I am extremely familiar with Pret a Manger, since there is one (or two or three) on virtually every street in an area with offices, often in view of each other. Despite this somewhat insidious invasion of the London high street, I have been reasonably satisfied with the food and service. Several points at the bottom of this article are rather too subjective for wikipedia I think, but sadly I must agree with the points raised. Now living in New York, I agree that the service at Prets here is appalling, in contrast to that of the London branches. The sandwiches are also of a lower quality, with far less choice, and standard items offered in the UK stores such as Pret crisps (potato chips) are not sold (These are a major attraction of Pret in London for many of my American friends). It's also expensive compared to other lunch places in the city. If these practices are continued and this is how Pret plans to operate in the US, I don't think it will do well at all, and only serves to re-enforce the stereotype of bad, overpriced British food to Americans.

"In January 2001 McDonald's bought a 33% stake in Pret a Manger. McDonald's is often criticised for its high-fat fast food, exploitation of workers and for causing ecological damage."

McDonald's purchase is already mentioned in the article. The criticism corresponds to McDonalds, not Pret A Manger. F15x28 19:03, 15 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The sandwiches are made early in the morning and stored in a refrigerator. Some consumers prefer the type of made-to-order sandwiches available from shops like Subway, and from many independent retailers.

Is this really a "criticism"? It's just personal preference. You might as well add "some consumers prefer to eat hamburgers, some like fish and chips, and others prefer to make their own sandwiches at home".

Personally I like the idea of just grabbing a sandwich and running with it, rather than fussing over 1023 different types of bread and fillings. Having said that, I always buy from Greggs rather than the far-too-expensive Pret a Manger. 217.34.39.123 12:06, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What does "well-abled" mean in "The staff in the recruitment centre are well-abled people and include lawyers"? I can find no such word. Was "capable" or perhaps "well-off" intended? — Paul G 14:50, 13 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've often seen the word used in contrast to "disabled", but it certainly has no place in that sentence - unless it's supposed to be a criticism that Pret doesn't employ disabled people, but I doubt it. - IanYates 13:28, 19 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

After doing a Google search for references, I removed an unsourced assertion that Pret a Manger use

What on earth does this sentence mean: "Recent attempts to expand into the Irish market have stalled due to the reluctance of the local baguette aficionado Crip to come on board." What is "Crip" in what way is it a "baguette aficionado" ? Why would it need to "come on board" ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.33.2.82 (talk) 17:20, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This article opens badly and ends appallingly. i think instead of making amendments the person who wrote this should just wipe the board clean and start afresh. If not, I would urge wikipedia to delete this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.67.120.66 (talk) 14:29, 24 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

After I finished laughing, I removed the bizarre caveat in the introduction: from "a UK sandwich retailer (its Italian shareholder sold its stake to an investment group)", to the more succinct "a UK sandwich retailer". This sort of rubbish is the bane of Wiki, any mention of a nationality, particularly UK it seems, and we're into a world of bullsh*t. Was Pret really X% an Italian retailer while it had an Italian shareholder? Did the coffee get worse when they sold up. Does it really help explain what Pret is to have a huge caveat about formerly having a foreign shareholder at some point? Tjamesjones (talk) 19:35, 27 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I founded it, it's exactly as the French would say it. Jeffrey Hyman.

How is the name pronounced? does it resemble French "prêt à manger" or "Pret a mainger" in English?--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 20:56, 28 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I call it the former, but my dad has been known to call it the latter. 178.248.34.17 (talk) 10:20, 3 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

1998? That's a while ago. Any up to date info?

OK I'm the original founder, how can I validate the original history. Jeffrey Hyman

I've had a go at tidying up this article, but note:

• it still contains a lot of unsourced material, particularly in what is now the History section
• a large proportion of the references are also from Pret's own publications, which is not ideal
• the overall tone is somewhat glowing (I can almost imagine somebody from Pret's HR department writing some of the stuff about corporate culture!)

In particular, I see from the talk above some mention of including material on the (un)healthiness of the food, which was not followed-up. A quick Google shows that concern of salt levels (e.g.) has certainly been raised in the UK press at least. However I am not sure if this is notable enough for inclusion in the article … thoughts?

Is it true? [2] Anyone live in NYC? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.44.49.32 (talk) 01:52, 5 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I'm Jeffrey Hyman and I founded the first Pret A Manger. There is absolutely no doubt that my sister Valerie Hyman Coined the term. Probably in our living room. She was a theatrical costumier with a large premises in King Street Covent Garden, it was called The Costume Centre. She also founded The Dance Centre in Floral Street Covent Garden. We are both alive and well. There was no Pret A Manger to my knowledge when we founded the company. There was certainly no company by that name. I also saw the story about the boarded up shop and the £160. I think the £160 is very very unlikely. Would the liquidator have worked for that! Was it borrowed, I don't think so. They bought the whole enterprise out of voluntary liquidation. The liquidator David Ruben remembers the day well, as one of their team fell down an open trap door in the shop. Integius (talk) 15:16, 21 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You can ask me anything about the beginning of Pret A Manger and I will tell you what actually happened. Integius (talk) 15:17, 21 November 2015 (UTC) Integius (talk) 15:16, 21 November 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Integius (talk • contribs) 15:09, 21 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The founders name in the body doesn't match the ones in the side bar? Integius (talk) 16:49, 16 June 2016 (UTC) I have changed the founder back to me. Jeffrey Hyman. I founded the original Pret A manger in Hamptead. It was founded in 1983 and was called Pret A Manger (Hampstead) Ltd. Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalf bought the company and its name out of liquidation. They then developed it to the substantial company it is today. But I think you can only have one "founding moment" and I believe that belongs solely to me. Here is a hyperlink to the company information https://companycheck.co.uk/company/01763373/PRET-A-MANGER-HAMPSTEAD-LIMITED/summary And here is the text on that page. PRET A MANGER (HAMPSTEAD) LIMITED dissolved C/o David Rubin And Co, Pearl Assurance House, 319 Ballards Lane, London, N12 8NA Integius (talk) 16:49, 16 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

An IP editor changed the founder from Hyman to Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham.

When I reverted their edit pointing out that Hyman as founder was backed up by a current source in the article they in turn reverted my edits again, without comment.

I have no strong opinion on who founded Pret, and I can't tell if the current source for Hyman meets the criteria as a

As the IP editor in fact stated in their original edit summary, there are numerous reliable sources to be found that name Metcalfe and Beecham as the co-founders. I honestly don't know what sources should be given more weight. Maybe just include all three in the infobox, since that most closely resembles the sum of sources (I know,

WP:SYNTH), and let the reader check out the history if they want more details? -- Fyrael (talk) 22:17, 26 August 2016 (UTC)[reply

]

AIUI (based on the article's History section, with the caveat that it may not be based on reliable sources) it's mostly a matter of perspective on what you consider the founding moment: Hyman founded the initial single store, that went bancrupt, and as part of the bancruptcy Metcalfe and Beecham took over and grew Pret into what it is today. That would also explain why there are more articles referencing M&B nowadays: they had a bigger impact on the modern history of the store. I can see the arguments both for picking Hyman or M&B as starting point for the history of the current Pret, personally I'd be fine with either. I just think the current state of the article is undesirable as it's become self-contradictory: The infobox now lists M&B, while the History still lists Hyman. --Fëanor (talk) 22:33, 26 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I am a student writing about Pret and its impressive history. This articles history section currently reads like Hyman's autobiography. This is not a desirable situation. Pret a manger is one of the largest fast food retailers in Britain. It has stores all across the world and basically re-invented the modern lunchtime. The company deserves more respect than to have its wikipedia page begin with a 5 paragraph rant about one man who created a business under the same name that went bankrupt after 18 months. An impartial writer with real knowledge about the first years of Pret should write a proper history section, and the "founder" section should be updated accordingly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.187.170.250 (talk) 22:55, 26 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

If you were able to find such an expert and they supplied reliable sources to complement any information they added, I'm quite certain nobody would have a problem with that. -- Fyrael (talk) 03:21, 27 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Is there anyway to lock the founder section? Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham obviously founded Pret a Manger. Just google it. Many reputable scholarly and news sites show hundreds of articles about them. It also seems a pointless effort from the user who keeps changing it. Will they be writing to The Times, Daily Mail, Guardian and the Telegraph too to tell them their writers and editors made a mistake? The only source on the internet that indicates Hyman as the founder is Wikipedia, which conveniently is the only one without an editor. The continuous vandalism should stop. Cos02125 (talk) 23:43, 26 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Given that Cos02125 (talk) has admitted that he was instructed by Pret A Manger to come and "correct" the "vandalism" on this page, I think it's not hard to see where there are problems with his edits. Jeffrey Hyman has already shown that he created Pret A Manger brand and opened the first Pret A Manger sandwich shop in Hamstead London - as verified by the UK's own Companies House records that he referred to. Clearly with the news that Pret A Manger are looking to float on the NYSE one might see why the company would want to 'clean up' anything that doesn't reflect their version of history. However, as Hyman himself said here, there really can be only one founding moment of Pret A Manger as a sandwich shop. The fact that the Hampstead shop and Hyman had no part in making the chain what it is today is of little relevance when viewed in terms of who and when it was founded. Hyman was a humble man who saw no reason to shout about the fact he created the first Pret A Manger shop, and now that he's dead I suspect the sandwich giant will have little trouble in peddling their 'cleaner' version of their history. However, just because fewer people know about the humble beginnings of Pret A Manger, that doesn't somehow make Hyman's establishment of the name and the first shop any less true. Wikipedia isn't here to polish corporate stories, it's here to provide the truth. Poshcoffee (talk) 08:15, 14 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Preserving here by providing this link; pls see edit summary for rationale. K.e.coffman (talk) 19:23, 23 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not a fan of "Jeffrey Hyman had literally no more to do with any of this than the man on the moon; he should not be mentioned in the slightest". I am not a fan of "All this was Hyman's work. Beechan and Metcalfe are some minor figures who came along later to slightly build on his work", OK?

Neither is true.

Now, is it not true that all of these statements are true?

• Hyman and Beechan and Metcalfe knew each other (apparently not true, but unimportant)
• Hyman opened a restaurant called Pret A Manger
• It went bankrupt and Beechan and Metcalfe bought the assests
• Beechan and Metcalfe started a chain called Pret A Manger

If that is true, then Beechan and Metcalfe took something from Hyman's restaurant, even if only the name. Thus, Hyman is worth mentioning. It does not harm the reader to mention him.

At the same time, it looks like Hyman's restaurant was a single outlet that folded after less than two years. Whether Beechan and Metcalfe took anything besides the name -- such as an approach toe menu, or decor, or service, or bookkeeping, or anything else -- is probably impossible to know at this point. Since we can't really know, let's just elide as much of this as we can.

If Beechan and Metcalfe did not want, in any way shape or form, to ever be associated with Hyman's restaurant, they probably should not have bought his assets and used the same name. But they did. And it is too late to change that.

A somewhat similar situation is McDonald's. McDonald's is really Kroc's -- Ray Kroc made the company. But the McDonald brothers did open the first one and came up with the name, and they are properly mentioned in the article.

Also, whatever Pret A Manager Corporation has to say is of zero interest to us. Corporations lie about stuff all the time. Pret A Manger itself is not a reliable source for any statements of fact to be used in this article, except stuff like their address.

I wrote a compromise version and published it. It includes instructions to leave the infobox fields for founder and founding date entry blank, and let's. Let's work from the compromise version, critique away. Or edit it, but let's be careful here, there has been edit warring. Herostratus (talk) 00:58, 27 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I have talked to Julian Metcalfe today about this. I am told Beecham and Metcalfe bought only the name (for £100) from liquidators. Neither Beecham nor Metcalfe ever met with Hyman and neither ever visited his cafe. "Pret a manger" as it is know today is an entirely separate entity to Hymas cafe. Both should have their own wikipedia pages as they are totally separate companies. Then each page can site its founders and the edit warring can stop. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cos02125 (talk • contribs) 13:59, 27 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I guess. The thing is, Beecham and Metcalfe had the choice to not buy the name, and instead name their operation "Beecham and Metcalfe's" or something, and they wouldn't have this problem. But they did, and may now regret it, but it's done.

Also, Julian Metcalfe is a reliable source only for what Julian Metcalfe thinks (that's even assuming that you're reporting the conversation accurately, which I do assume, but which can't be used as a source in the article).

Someone claiming to be Jeffrey Hyman came here and offered a different version of events (it's in a thread above). Who's right? Search me. Maybe you are. But with two competing versions out there, we may never know.

Hyman has recently died by the way. I note that that obit in The Grocer is titled "Prêt à Manger founder Jeffrey Hyman dies at 67" not "Jeffrey Hyman, widely but wrongly believed to be Prêt à Mange founder, dies at 67". (That article also says the logo, still in use, was designed at Hyman's initiative. So it's at least name and logo now).

Anyway, so your real beef is not with the Wikipedia but with The Grocer and other sources. Go to them and get them to look into it and change their stories, and then we can cite them as reliable sources. We base our material on reliable published sources. Herostratus (talk) 17:40, 28 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

As mentioned before, McDonalds that we know today was first opened in the 1950's, but the original McDonalds was opened in the 1940's. I think the issue here is that McDonalds themselves make no effort to hide the truth about where the company grew from. I think most everyone would agree that the "Macca's" we all know today had little to do with the first barbeque joint opened by the McDonald brothers, and in the same way, Jeffrey Hyman has never tried to take any credit for the direction that Pret went in after his sandwich shop called Pret A Manger was bought out of liquidation by Beecham and Metcalfe.

Perhaps someone should create a page about Jeffrey Hyman, citing that he founded the first sandwich shop in London called Pret A Manger? I'm just uncomfortable with Wikipedia being so relaxed about overlooking Hyman's shop when the same attitude is not evident in relation to McDonalds history. I grant that the refusal of the Pret A Manger group to acknowledge the full history of the brand makes this difficult, but then I think we can all agree that sometimes companies aren't always 100% truthful. Checking UK companies house records clearly shows that a sandwich shop called Pret A Manger was opened by Hyman before the first shop was opened by the Pret A Manger group. Poshcoffee (talk) 08:37, 14 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The citation provided by poshcoffe indeed says that hyman opened a cafe called Pret a Manger in 1983. It also says the company is now dissolved. This is because metcalfe and beecham did not by the business, just the name. Hyman has nothing to do with the Pret of today apart form the name — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:182:CD00:44B8:4C33:6292:38A6:B0AE (talk) 14:25, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

• @Cos02125:

Hyman as founder is sourced to his obituary in The Grocer.[3] Do you disagree? Why? What sourcing do you have to contradict this?

If you continue to edit-war, you will simply end up blocked, and the article protected. Your only option to "right the great wrong" here is to explain why it needs changing. So far that's not visible. Andy Dingley (talk) 12:02, 12 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• @Andy dingley:

I will attempt to explain for a 4th time why citing Hyman as the founder of Pret a Manger on this page is not correct. There is proof and agreement on all sides that Hyman started a restaurant called Pret a Manger. This restaurant then went into liquidation and the name was then bought by Metcalfe and Beecham.

What is important to note, is that Metcalfe and Beecham did not buy the company from Hyman. The company Hyman "founded" which his cafe traded under went into liquidation and no longer exists. A separate company, founded by metcalfe and beecham bought the just the name from the liquidators.

i think its fair to say that those looking up Pret a Manger on wikipedia are not looking for the cafe which was open for 18 months in the 80's, they are looking for Pret a Manger, the global sandwich giant. This company was founded by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham.

Citing Jeffery Hyman as the founder on this page is at best misleading and at worst vandalism. Personally i think there should be a new page made for Pret a Manger (the cafe in Hamsted), in which it would be factually correct for Hyman to be listed as the founder. But seeing as this has already been turned down i think its best to leave the founder section blank. Even though factually, the compnay, Pret a Manger that still trades today, and that this article is clearly about, was founded in 1986 by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham.

The distinction is incredibly clear, i hope this has cleared things up for everyone.

• So if it's "incredibly clear", why is The Grocer happy to credit him? He seems to have created the name, the logo, but also the concept. Now, maybe there's no sense of financial continuity from one entity to the other. We certainly ought to make this clearer in the article. But I'm seeing no reason to exclude him as founder, or at least "innovator".

Supose I was to set up tomorrow as a Pret franchisee [sic]. I'd get the "Pret handbook", on how to set out the store and what to offer there, and for how to brand it. And that would be (AFAICS) hardly different from how it was for Hyman's original. There is clear continuity there, just as if I'd started a "Tennessee Warm Dead Bird" or a "Call me Ishmael" Moby Dick-themed coffee fryer. We should be covering both versions here, because Hyman's concept is still at the core of Pret, and The Grocer recognised that. Andy Dingley (talk) 12:33, 12 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The article in the Grocer was most likely influenced by somone close to Hyman. There is no information, photographs, or records of Hymans cafe on the internet. The only source the Grocer could have got this information from was someone close to Hyman. To focus on one article when there are probably 1000 articles written by far more respectable sources that directly contradict it is not very in keeping with fact checking is it? Why do you consider an obituary in the grocer to be of more significance than 1000's of other sources. its the only article on the internet, apart form Hyman himself on here, that even connects him with Pret. I am the only one who thinks this is insane?

Pret a manager didn't even sell sandwiches in boxes until 1989! It was just a shop in victoria that made custom sandwiches "to order" for 2 years before switching to boxes after Marks and Spencer first launched the sandwich box. Perhaps we should credit Hyman with this innovation too? Maybve he founded marks and spencers?

lastly (and thankfully) you cant set up a Pret franchise. Pret rents and manages all stores internally. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cos02125 (talk • contribs) 13:15, 12 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

• You haven't addressed the points I raised.

You also persist in falsehoods and abuse of other editors such as "Continued to delete founder section as this has been flagged by admins." "Please stop letting him put in a foundation line. This has been flagged and banned" "This Hyman story is just vandalism" "I have been asked to stop the vandalism on the pret page. " " It’s quite clear you have a personal connection to Mr Hyman. " "Removal of serial page vandal PoshCoffee's edits". You also admit to having a

WP:COI

with this page, "having been asked to stop the vandalism(sic)".

Your edits here, for several reasons, are in breach of acceptable editing. You have made no other edits to WP in your two years here. So here's one last chance: either put forward a case for why Hyman shouldn't be mentioned, or else work towards a compromise form which includes the history of Pret in two stages of ownership. Because otherwise your account is simply going to be blocked for disruption. Andy Dingley (talk) 14:16, 12 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Andy. The assertion by Cos02125 that the only mention of Hyman on the Internet is the article from The Grocer is false. See, for example,  Metro, FDIN, The Jewish Chronicle, The New Statesman etc. The claim that the article in The Grocer was "was most likely influenced by somone [sic] close to Hyman" is utterly unsubstantiated speculation. Adding the sourced fact Hyman as the founder is absolutely *not* vandalism. However continuing to edit under a

talk) 15:03, 12 February 2019 (UTC)[reply

]

Hello all, while i can see that there is clearly a breach in the rules regarding conflict of interest from Cos02125 it is un deniable that there is a lot of sources citing Metcalfe and beecham as founders (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10325471/Sunday-Interview-Pret-A-Manger-founder-Julian-Metcalfe.html, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/29/pret-a-manger-sold-jab-holdings-krispy-kreme-sandwich-shop, https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2015/apr/14/pret-a-manger-happy-coffee-chain, https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2720629/Julian-Metcalfe-interview-Were-ahead-America-fast-food-says-Pret-A-Manger-boss.html, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39871217, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7255207.stm) In fact there 100's more sources that suport metcalfe and Beecham than Hyman. It's clear the conflict begins with the name purchase. Perhaps its best to just leave the "Founder" section blank in the bio at the top and let the history speak for itself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dunmore.hi.4 (talk • contribs) 22:32, 19 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Many companies have more than one "wave" of founders. It is entirely unexceptional for a company to be "founded" two or more times. Hyman founded the original incarnation of Pret a Manger. Metcalfe and Beecham founded the next one.

talk) 23:00, 19 February 2019 (UTC)[reply

]

Cos02125 (talk · contribs) and Dunmore.hi.4 (talk · contribs) have both just been blocked as sockpuppets.

See Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Cos02125 Andy Dingley (talk) 10:40, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if this is worth mentioning in the article: [4] "Fast casual restaurant Pret A Manger closed its stores in Chicago after the unexpected death of co-worker Dante Colloly." Is it reflective of overall company culture, or an isolated local incident? --Theodore Kloba (talk) 13:35, 2 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It's not. Colloly died in a motorcycle crash on the way to work, has nothing to do with the workplace environment, Herostratus (talk) 20:21, 26 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

On Season 4 Ep56 of game show Tenable a contestant claimed to have vandalised this page and that “after three years, it finally got changed back” – a bit of an exaggeration here – the edit he was referring to was added 31 October 2013 and rendered not visible by another edit less than half an hour later. Visibility was accidentally restored 27 November 2014, but it was removed 19 July 2015. As luck would have it he lost. EdwardUK (talk) 15:26, 16 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I am homeless and have been using Pret on the King's Road in Chelsea all day for the past several weeks I have been occupying myself by doing calligraphy, yesterday the store manager informed me that he had received an email from head office saying I was no longer allowed to do this, this because a customer had made a complaint. Plenty of other customers liked what I do as I don't bother other customers in fact I don't engage into conversation with anyone unless they talk to me first. Customers are always buying me coffee and sandwiches. When I told some people what had happened they then told me that they would boycott Pret, I've asked them not to do this. One person makes a complaint and I get told that I can't carry on and yet I know people who go into Pret every day and use the internal internet and use pret as an office 2A01:4C8:104B:DE9:1:1:5F35:6E11 (talk) 12:38, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]