Pret A Manger are proud of their customer service. Wed like to think we react to our customers feelings (the good, the bad, the ugly) with haste and absolute sincerity, they say. Pret customers have the right to be heard. Do call or email. Our UK Managing Director is available if you would like to discuss Pret with him. Alternatively, our CEO hasnt got much to do; hassle him! Its a bold approach to customer service, but Pret has always been innovative. Described by the press as having revolutionised the concept of sandwich making and eating, Pret A Manger opened their first shop in London and now they have over 260 shops in the UK, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. They say that their secret is to focus continually on the quality of their food and of their service. They avoid the chemicals and preservatives common in most fast food. Many food retailers focus on extending the shelf life of their food, but thats of no interest to us. We sell food that cant be beaten for freshness. At the end of the day, we give whatever we havent sold to charity to help feed those who would otherwise go hungry. Pret A Manger shops have their own kitchen where fresh ingredients are delivered every morning, with food prepared throughout the day. The team members serving on the tills at lunchtime will have been making sandwiches in the kitchen that morning. We are determined never to forget that our hardworking people make all the difference. They are our heart and soul. When they care, our business is sound. If they cease to care, our business goes down the drain. In a retail sector where high staff turn over is normal, were pleased to say our people are much more likely to stay around! We work hard at building great teams. We take our reward schemes and career opportunities very seriously. We dont work nights (generally), we wear jeans, we party! Customer feedback is regarded as being particularly important at Pret. Examining customers comments for improvement ideas is a key part of weekly management meetings, and of the daily team briefs in each shop. Moreover, staffs at Pret are rewarded in cash for being nice to customers. They collect bonuses for delivering outstanding customer service. Every week, each Prets outlet is visited by a secret shopper who scores the shop on such performance measures as speed of service, product availability and cleanliness. In addition the mystery shopper rates the engagement level of the staff; questions include, did servers connect with eye contact, a smile and some polite remarks? Assessors score out of 50. If the store gets 43 points or more every team member receives an extra payment for every hour worked; and PDBM: AOM Regenesys Business School 6 if an individual is mentioned by the mystery shopper for providing outstanding service, they get an extra payment. The emphasis on jollity and friendliness has been a winner, said James Murphy of the Future Foundation, a management consultant. In the highly competitive sandwich market, thats been a big contributor to their success. But not everyone agrees with using mystery shoppers. It is the equivalent of asking one customer in a shop what they thought at that exact moment, and then planning an entire store improvement strategy around the one piece of feedback, says Jeremy Michael of the Service Management Group, another consultancy. Identify and deliberate on the operational risk scenarios at Pret. How would you as an operations manager, manage these risks using an appropriate risk management framework?