April review, Good Bad and Ugly

Welcome to this week's Water Cooler Wisdom newsletter! We have exciting news about our latest service updates, industry insights, and helpful tips to enhance your experience. Thank you for being part of our community.

As we reflect on the past month, it's been interesting to see the procurement landscape dominated by price increases and discussions around benchmarking and TFM tendering.

What price for your lunchtime sandwich?

However, Let's start with the Good! There's a topic that's particularly close to my heart - the cost of the Great British Sandwich. In this week's newsletter, let's delve into this subject and explore its significance.

I recently shared a BBC article on the rising cost of lunchtime sandwiches, and it sparked an interesting conversation about the varying prices and quality of this beloved British tradition, both in and outside of the workplace. Personally, I'm a big fan of a delicious cheese and tomato sandwich with granary bread, real butter, mature cheddar, and sweet piccolo tomatoes. But with rising prices, it begs the question: how much are we willing to pay for a quality sandwich? Let's keep the discussion going!

The current going rates in London for a sandwich vary between ￡3 and ￡11 dependent on quality and location.

Do you have a go-to sandwich that never disappoints? And have you noticed any changes in its price lately?

Telling the client they are wrong! The Bad!

Last month, a large utility company approached me to support them with challenges they were experiencing with their incumbent Total Facilities Management (TFM) contractor.

After conducting various phone calls and carefully examining their KPI/SLA performance documents, it is evident that the team is facing operational quality and compliance challenges. It was imperative that they collaborate and identify solutions to enhance their overall performance.

However, it became clear that the utility company did not appear to want reconciliation with their incumbent provider. They wanted an independent consultant to audit their compliance to allow them to present their contractor with evidence of non-compliance and potential breach of contract.

Now whilst I am not in the habit of turning away up to ten days of consultancy work, I questioned their motives. The solution, from my perspective, was to undertake a sample compliance audit of several key areas and then arrange a review meeting to discuss and deep dive with both Teams into the root cause of the problems and agree on actions to rectify.

The reality was that the utility company just wanted to use us as consultants as a blunt tool to evidence a breach of contract. I reviewed the terms of their TFM contract and advised against it, arguing that my proposed solution was the right course of action.

We agreed to disagree, was I right, or should I have taken the money and run?

Pret A Manger hikes the price of its Coffee subscription service to ￡30

Pret A Manger has hiked the price of its five-a-day coffee subscription service by 20% to ￡30 a month.

The sandwich and coffee chain said the new deal would also entitle customers to 10% off every item of food or drink sold in its outlets.

Pret a Manger launched the subscription in September 2020 after sales plunged during Covid lockdowns.

On Wednesday it told subscribers the rise was down to the jump in the cost of ingredients, pay and energy.

According to the latest figures, inflation - the increase in the price of something over time - was 10.1% in the year to March.

However, prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks jumped 19.1% in March, the biggest rise since August 1977.

In an email to existing subscribers informing them that the ￡5 increase would kick in from 5 June onwards,

Pret said: "No business wants to raise prices, but of the new subscription price, around ￡1 will cover increasing ingredient prices, ￡2 will go towards Pret team pay, and around ￡2 will help with rising energy costs."

The scheme has been renamed Club Pret and is available in most of Pret's 439 UK stores.

When the chain launched the Pret Coffee Subscription scheme it charged ￡20 a month for five hot or cold drinks a day, raising that to ￡25 in February 2022.

However, last year, the BBC reported the Advertising Standards Authority had received thousands of complaints about the lack of available cold, blended drinks.

Then earlier this year the company scrapped smoothies, frappes and milkshakes altogether.

Pret said the subscription service was used 1.25 million times a week in the UK, up 11% year-on-year, and had been introduced to stores in the US and France.

Coffee Subscription Services: Are They Worth the Investment?

Do you find yourself constantly on the hunt for the perfect cup of coffee? Have you considered subscribing to a coffee service, but are unsure if it's worth the investment? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Personally, I haven't been a big fan of Pret's coffee. However, I'm curious to know if any of you have had a different experience. Let's discuss and share our insights on the value of coffee subscription services.

What Is The Real Cost Of Your Workplace Catering Operation?

When your current service is not delivering the results and end-user experience you want

Catering is a multifaceted and complex discipline where even getting the most straightforward performance metrics can be challenging. Having worked with many organisations in the past, our experience in modelling and benchmarking catering operations allows us to clarify and measure just how well your catering environment is working for you. It doesn’t stop with measurement and performance metrics. A review of the department can be the first step in a development plan which will highlight your future options.

Improve Your Catering Services

A review is not just about the present; it’s about planning for the future. Let us give you valuable feedback on your catering environment with our catering consultancy services and future-proof your business today.

• Develop a strategic plan to meet the current and future needs
• Benchmark and review the financial & operational performance?
• Consider whether the operation is operating at optimum efficiency, by examining working practices, quality of output, departmental systems, and customer satisfaction?
• Identify a way forward which is right for your organisation, improving the performance and effectiveness of your service

British Land launches The Grand Press at Printworks site

Every month we undertake a review of the most exciting developments taking place across the UK. This month it has to be "The Grand Press at Printworks" Have you got a development that we should know about?