Fury as Pret scraps 'too good to be true' £30-a-month coffee subscription in favour of new scheme
18 July 2024, 13:13
Pret A Manger has scrapped its 'free coffee subscription' after deeming the offer 'too good to be true'.
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Customers have been able to pay £30-a-month, or £360-a-year, for up to five free coffees a day and discounts on the wider menu.
The sandwich chain has overhauled the scheme in favour of a new programme where customers can get 50 per cent off up to five coffees a day for £10 a month.
Pret said customers could sign up for the revamped Club Pret at a "much more accessible price than the £360 a year people have to pay for the current scheme" from September.
The change means an end to the 20 per cent discount on food for subscribers, with the chain saying it "never really got comfortable" with dual pricing.
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Given the majority of its customers were not Club Pret subscribers, its priority now was to focus on better value for everyone, it added.
Currently, Club Pret membership offers the perk of ordering up to five barista-made drinks daily for a monthly fee of £30.
In a letter sent to customers on Thursday, Pret's managing director Clare Clough said: "It's almost four years since we introduced our coffee subscription at the height of the pandemic, and I'm proud of the role Club Pret has played for us and our customers since.
"It was an innovative way to reconnect with our loyal customers and introduce Pret to tens of thousands of new ones, bringing customers back into our shops with an offer that almost seemed 'too good to be true'.
"Four years and over a quarter of a billion coffees later, we have decided that it's time to rethink how it works.
"So, the current subscription benefits will end in September and be replaced by a new and simpler offer.
"Club Pret subscribers will get 50 per cent off up to five barista-made drinks a day for a reduced monthly fee of £10 - and just £5 for existing and new subscribers until 31 March 2025.
"This also means we will remove the 20 per cent discount on food and get rid of dual pricing across our food products - something we never really got comfortable with."
Ms Clough added: "We know this is a change. But with Club Pret subscription, our coffees, teas, coolers and iced drinks will continue to be the best offer on the high street, and at a much more accessible price than the £360 a year people have to pay for the current scheme.
"Given the majority of our customers are not Club Pret subscribers, our priority now is to focus on better value for everyone."
The update was met with fury online with users threatening to cancel their subscriptions when the new deal comes into affect.
"Upset about Pret subscription ending," one wrote.
"I’m absolutely fuming at this announcement from Pret," another said.
"Pret continuing to push the boundaries of how chaotic you can make a sandwich shop," a third wrote.
Pret also announced that its signature 100 per cent organic arabica filter coffee would drop to 99p, and its all butter croissant will also drop to £1.99.
In March, the chain implemented a crackdown to prevent Club Pret subscribers from sharing free drinks with others. Some customers were exploiting loopholes by sharing subscription benefits, prompting the changes.
Subscribers have since been required to use the app to redeem their complimentary drinks, rather than accessing QR codes via Apple Wallet or smartwatches.
