--- title: How to Get Free Coffee at Pret a Manger description: Basically: look nice and be charming canonical: https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T16:21:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:29.206Z og:title: Here's How to Score Free Coffee at Pret A Manger og:description: Basically: look nice and be charming og:url: https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4938317206cee72c/6987ec163c163951d74559bf/453299024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Airside Operations At London City Airport Ltd. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How to Score Free Coffee at Pret A Manger twitter:description: Basically: look nice and be charming twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4938317206cee72c/6987ec163c163951d74559bf/453299024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How to Score Free Coffee at Pret A Manger > Sponsored content. 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So, how can a London department store get away with selling a cup of Joe at this kind of price?_ by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Apr 21, 2015 4:21 PM UTC  Customers take refereshment in a Pret A Manger restaurant at London City Airport Ltd. in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014\. London City Airport, where a short runway has prevented operations with long-haul planes, said it's in talks about flights to the Middle East, Turkey and Russia as new jets bring more distant destinations within reach. Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg via Getty Images Customers take refereshment in a Pret A Manger restaurant at London City Airport Ltd. in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014\. London City Airport, where a short runway has prevented operations with long-haul planes, said it's in talks about flights to the Middle East, Turkey and Russia as new jets bring more distant destinations within reach. Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg via Getty Images Matthew Lloydg—Bloomberg / Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Apr 21, 2015 4:21 PM UTC If you’ve ever dined at Pret A Manger, you might have received a free coffee, or noticed another customer getting one, for no reason at all. But it turns out there _is_ a reason for this, and it’s all part of CEO’s Clive Schlee’s business strategy. Schlee has given all employees the power to hand out free drinks (or even, sometimes, free food) to customers they like best. They can give out a limited number of items each week, and that means 28% of customers receive something free. It just depends on whether or not the staff finds you attractive and likable. “They will decide ‘I like the person on the bicycle’ or ‘I like the guy in that tie’ or ‘I fancy that girl or that boy,'” Schlee [told](http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/pret-a-manger-staff-give-free-coffee-to-their-favourite-customers-sandwich-chain-boss-reveals-10191611.html) the London _Evening Standard._ He said the company thought about offering loyalty cards, but ultimately “didn’t want to spend all that money building up some complicated Clubcard-style analysis.” Occasionally giving customers free stuff is part of Schlee’s strategy to eventually become as big as McDonald’s or Starbucks, with shops all over the world. So, next time you’re in Pret, try flashing an extra-special smile at the employees or wearing your cutest shirt. Maybe you’ll get a free cookie out of it. ([h/t _Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-you-get-free-coffee-at-pret-a-manger-according-to-the-ceo-clive-schlee-2015-4)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/"},"headline":"Here's How to Score Free Coffee at Pret A Manger","datePublished":"2015-04-21T16:21:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:29.206Z","description":"Basically: look nice and be charming","url":"https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","Business topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4938317206cee72c/6987ec163c163951d74559bf/453299024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4938317206cee72c/6987ec163c163951d74559bf/453299024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Airside Operations At London City Airport Ltd.","caption":"Airside Operations At London City Airport Ltd.","creditText":"Matthew Lloydg—Bloomberg / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3829722/free-coffee-pret-a-manger/","name":"Here's How to Score Free Coffee at Pret A Manger"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 50 Pound Cup of Coffee","description":"Perceived wisdom has it that we're entering a worldwide recession. 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