MB Civic

Tim Noah at the New Republic ..

Pret workers[] are required to master what the company calls the “Pret Behaviours,” which in addition to the usual requirements—courtesy, efficiency, etc.—include “has presence,” “creates a sense of fun,” and “is happy to be themself” [sic] .. Pret doesn’t merely want its employees to lend their minds and bodies; it wants their souls, too .. Noting that one Pret worker in London got fired soon after he tried to start a union .. Pret keeps its sales clerks in a state of enforced rapture through policies vaguely reminiscent of the old East German Stasi. A “mystery shopper” visits every Pret outlet once a week. If the employee who rings up the sale is appropriately ebullient, then everyone in the shop gets a bonus

its getting harder and harder to buy something these days w/out guilt .. read more