'It is not acceptable': Pret A Manger apologises after disabled customer unable to access Harrogate branch
Pret A Manger has apologised after a wheelchair user said he was unable to independently access its Harrogate cafe because an assistance bell was out of order and the access ramp had been broken for months.
The apology comes after disabled customer Andrew Simister, a trustee at Disability Action Yorkshire, said he was left unable to enter the Cambridge Street on two separate visits.
Mr Simister first visited the cafe on July 2, when he found the assistance bell was not working.
When he returned on July 27, the bell remained out of order and staff told him the access ramp had been broken for at least three months.
Disability Action Yorkshire said a member of staff then offered to physically carry Mr Simister and his wheelchair into the cafe, an offer the charity described as unsafe and inappropriate.
Mr Simister said: "Being offered a physical lift into a coffee shop is patronising, unsafe and completely unacceptable.
"I do not want to be carried into a store like cargo – I want to enter independently and with dignity, just like every other customer.
"This is not about attacking frontline store workers - Pret A Manger has left its staff without the right tools or training to ensure the store is accessible and inclusive to all.
"The result is that disabled customers are effectively locked outside."
The charity said the incident reflected wider concerns about accessibility standards, claiming disabled people can be excluded from businesses when equipment intended to improve access is not properly maintained.
Disability Action Yorkshire also said the issues were particularly disappointing as the organisation had sought assurances from Pret's head office before the Harrogate branch opened in 2022.
Ahead of the opening, Robert Kernaghan, now Chair of the Board of Trustees at Disability Action Yorkshire, contacted the company requesting confirmation that appropriate accessibility measures would be in place and maintained.
Jackie Snape, Chief Executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said: "This is a textbook systemic failure by Pret A Manger.
"Installing an access ramp or a call bell for corporate compliance means nothing if that equipment is left broken for months on end.
"Offering to physically lift a wheelchair user exposes a total vacuum of staff training and organisational oversight.
"Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses have a clear legal duty to maintain reasonable adjustments.
"Pret Head Office must fix their infrastructure, retrain their teams and stop treating basic access as an optional extra."
The charity is calling on Pret A Manger to publish a repair schedule for its Harrogate branch, carry out a national audit of physical access equipment across its UK stores and introduce mandatory disability equality training for frontline staff.
Responding to the concerns, a spokesperson for Pret A Manger said: "We're very sorry about the experience Mr Simister had in our shop.
"It is not acceptable that sufficient measures weren't in place.
"We have since investigated this with team members and reinforced with colleagues our expectations on customer service and accessibility.
"The assistance doorbell and access ramp are now fully operational."