Another setback for customers and drink subscribers has been announced by Pret-a-Manger: it will no longer produce smoothies, frappes, and milkshakes.
Thousands of people had previously complained to the chain that not all of the drinks included in its £25 per month subscription service were actually available.
The blended drinks, which can cost more and take longer to make, will now be completely phased out.
Pret predicted that by the summer, iced beverages would take their place.
Pret referred to this as "the biggest drinks innovation in more than five years" and stated that blenders were being replaced with new ice machines.
Until May 29, it said, some stores will still sell smoothies and frappes.
Five drinks per day, with a 30-minute gap between orders, were promised when the chain's subscription service debuted in the summer of 2020.
All varieties of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fruit smoothies, milkshakes, and frappes, along with all add-ons like syrups, cream, and extra shots of caffeine, were available as drinks.
However, thousands of complaints about the absence of cold, blended drinks were made to the Advertising Standards Authority, as the BBC reported last year.
We spoke to staff who admitted turning off machines because of the sheer pressure to serve huge queues of subscribers. Customers were allegedly informed that the machines were "broken," "we've run out," or "there haven't been any deliveries," according to the staff.
Employees have long complained that smoothies take too long to prepare, and many establishments have gradually taken them off the menu.
According to a staff member who spoke with the BBC, providing smoothies with fruit juice and other ingredients is much more expensive for the business and requires additional labor. The number of subscribers' requests is way too high. The company will swap them out for less expensive and faster to make iced drinks that are not blended. ".
Customers' complaints about the cold drink component of the subscription's availability have flooded social media. Thomas from London said he "wouldn't actually mind paying a smoothie supplement on my subscription if availability was better guaranteed," and Charlotte from Brighton noted that many neighborhood stores had informed her that "the cold drinks will return in there summer.".
"When I complained in the Great Peter Street branch, they mumbled some nonsense about there 'not being the demand for them' even though they admitted to serving 600 a day," he claimed. I wish they would be more honest rather than making up so many falsehoods.
Pret responded to Fiona from Reading's tweet about the lack of blended drinks with the following statement: "We do change up our menu from time to time, and in order to make room for new things we sometimes have to bid farewell to others. We'll make sure to make a good case to our team in case we decide to bring these back (especially if people ask). ".
There was a public outcry, so Pret listened and decided to keep frappes and smoothies as part of the subscription, contrary to what Pret had originally proposed in 2021. ".
However, it appears that despite the demand, Pret has finally decided to remove all milkshakes, frappes, and smoothies from their subscription model.
The business informed the BBC that it was starting to install new ice machines in its UK stores while removing blenders to make room for them in order to prepare the stores for the new range. Up until May 29 in a few shops, smoothies and frappes will still be available.
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