Pret A Manger - Exeter

For a few years now I would regularly meet my daughters in Pret for lunch,but now this is no longer a viable option.During the week there are queues out of the door of customers,mainly students,taking advantage of the endless drinks"offer and students taking up most...of the table space,whilst working on their laptops Is the establishment now operating solely on this basis,much to the detriment of other regular customers past and present,who do not take advantage of the offer and are prepared to pay full price for their food and drinks?

I normally avoid these places but due to lockdown restrictions there wasn’t much availability. I wanted coffee’s and a sandwich, had to settle for just coffee as all the sandwiches contained Mayo. So bought 2 coffees and walked 5 minutes back to the car to...drink them, threw them away as they were both cold.

We came here a lot after it re-opened post lockdown. However, since the university term started, it is virtually impossible to get a table. I am not student bashing, I can see the advantage of paying for a small drink and having unlimited time in...store, but the store is losing it's regulars. We ended up going to another coffee shop and spending there. shame, we used to enjoy eating and drinks here.

I recently visited Pret to take advantage of the Endless drinks for £20', which is a great deal and I have been using for the past couple weeks with no problems. This time, however I ordered a banana and strawberry smoothie. Waited for 10 minutes,...watching all the customers who ordered after me receive their drinks, I then decided to ask about my smoothie. I was then basically accused of lying about it, told that they had not received any orders for the smoothie, asked to scan again, then told I could not order a drink as I had ordered a drink in the past 30 mins- I wonder what I ordered?? The man who I ordered off-who seemed to be in charge then followed me out of the store, making sure I was going to leave without causing a fuss.

I always liked to preach as twentieth and I like to come here when it reminds me of my days as a student in london. they still do the beautiful coffee and fresh food, but in the packaging they really went backwards. I'm sure it used to be real coffee?! the pret needs a great rethink of its packaging policy and its business development to reflect the urgency of the environmental situation. if they really make the witness in the kitchen, why on earth it can't be easy. placed on a plate and then washed? Why should I bring my own cup when I want to eat and not create plastic waste? the personal and the eating here are nice. I really hate the toilets. the embarrassment of bringing my grandmother down and then explaining why she had to go to the toilet of the men. not good (they are unisex, but with shared handbasins, so it looks as if they were going to the men when men are silent.) if they want unisex loos, then they make them bigger and put the hand-assins in them. I remember that a man who commented so close to me to his buddy, how much they prefer unisex loos as they are cleaner. Now, they are not cleaner than the ladies, unisex toilets are getting dirty in my experience. my wee had on the floor and it was definitiw men as I could smell it. I hated to go to the loo so close where these youngs waited and chat in what felt like my physical space (the toilets are small, but admittedly flooring to coverkubikeln) and I definitely visit less often than result.