Samantha Wood interviews Pret A Manger’s Head of Communications, Jay Chapman, and she is more than happy to divulge some of their secrets of success.
I especially love the opening:
She tells me she’d love to have a scary sounding formula to impress people with, but in her mind it’s all pretty simple stuff:
“If you treat your employees well and involve them in the decisions that will affect them, they’re much more likely to be engaged in carrying out the effects of those decisions.”
There’s another gem when they talk recruitment:
“You can’t hire someone who can make sandwiches and teach them to be happy,” says Jay, “So we hire happy people and teach them to make sandwiches”.
If you don’t know Pret A Manger, they make coffee, sandwiches and other great food. It’s sort of like the British Starbucks – only better!
What I’ve always liked about them (apart from the outstanding quality of their products and the great service you get) is their passion. It’s obvious that this company cares deeply about what they do – and that’s huge to me.
Go read the whole thing – it’s excellent!
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