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United States Pret A Manger racks up thousands of complaints over missing drinks for loyal members
Coffee chain Pret A Manger has had thousands of complaints over its drinks subscription service, with customers annoyed that not all the drinks are available.
Pret's subscription deal allows unlimited hot and cold drinks for £20 a month.
Pret launched the service in September 2020 after sales for physical stores fell due to Covid lockdowns .
But the coffee chain has had around 5,000 complaints about its subscription deal in that time, the BBC reports.
Many are about drinks not being available.
Pret customer Rachel told the BBC she had started commuting to London again after months of furlough.
"As I was now travelling into London again I thought I'd treat myself to drinks I wouldn't usually try," she said.
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"But most of the time I'm told that I can't have a cold drink because they're unavailable."
Another customer, Brendan said he was "starting to feel I've been ripped off" due to the same problem.
Other customers have complained to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
A Pret spokesperson said: “Our coffee subscription was launched last year and is the first of its kind in the UK.
"While it’s been incredibly popular, we’re constantly working with our teams and customers to make it better, so that we’re able to continue to deliver the outstanding service our people are known for.
“Significantly less than 1 percent of all coffee subscribers have raised any concerns about this issue, however we always welcome feedback to try and provide the best possible experience for every customer."
Last month Pret launched a trial for its first-ever loyalty programme - but it’s not available to everyone just yet.
Pret Perks sees customers earn stars which they can then exchange for personalised freebies.
The cafe giant says users will earn a star every time they spend money in store or when they use click and collect.
The star is added per transaction, rather than per item you buy - so making a bigger purchase won't earn you any more stars compared to buying just one drink.
Pret Coffee subscribers will also earn a star for every month they renew their subscription, along with every snack or meal they purchase alongside one of their free drinks per day.
After receiving ten stars, customers can then choose a free reward which should be tailored to what they usually buy.
Pret says some of the freebies will include food such as popcorn or cookies.
Customers can redeem their reward in shops up to 30 days after earning it.
There will also be the option to earn bonus stars at random through “acts of kindness” although Pret hasn’t said exactly how this will work in reality.
Pret Perks isn’t available to download for everyone just yet.
But if it is a success then Pret will roll out the scheme to everyone in the new year.
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