Pret app chaos spreads to sister company Krispy Kreme
The owner of Pret a Manger is facing fresh questions about problems with its loyalty scheme after similar complaints were made by customers of its sister company Krispy Kreme.
People using the Krispy Kreme app said they were unable to redeem rewards earned through the scheme and also reported problems resetting passwords.
Both companies are owned by the German firm JAB Holding Company, which bought Pret in 2018 and owns multiple food and coffee chains around the world.
Pret faced calls to offer all subscribers to its £30 a month Club Pret scheme compensation after some complained of being “locked out” from its app, meaning they could not claim the five daily drinks they are entitled to.
The coffee shop changed its app earlier this year to force users to log in every time they wanted to access their membership code, and Krispy Kreme also updated its app in January.
One user of the Krispy Kreme app posted a review on Google in April saying it was “the worst app” and kept losing points they had earned.
The one-star review said: “The login details are not stored and every single time it asks to enter a password. I’ve made better apps than this.
“Krispy Kreme needs to change their contract with a more competent app designing company. This is the worst app, very temperamental. Shows points then the next moment they disappear.”
Another customer said: “The app has lost all of my points and transaction history. Brilliant one again…it’s awful.”
Another review written in March said that the app crashed every time the user tried to log in, and that it made him change his password “all the time” as it didn’t recognise his details.
“It’s crashing every time I try to use it,” the reviewer wrote. He said that the app, “doesn’t let me in, as well as needing to change password all the time.”
Another complained that the app doesn’t recognise passwords and took 10 minutes to send a reset link.
One customer wrote: “I don’t normally write reviews but the experience with this app has been so poor. It was fine up until about two months ago. Since then I’ve been trying to login on the app but have struggled. Contacted customer support who seem to want to help but appear to lack the technical expertise with the login issue I have been having.”
Customers can earn 10 “smiles” for every £1 spent in-store, which they can redeem against the value of doughnuts or hot drinks. The equivalent of £125 spent means that customers can claim a box of 12 doughnuts free.
A spokesman for JAB said individual brands were responsible for their own loyalty schemes and apps.
A spokesman for Pret previously told The Telegraph that: “A few customers may have experienced technical issues in accessing their new codes while logging into the Pret app.
“Anyone with problems accessing their new code can contact our customer support team who will be happy to help.”
The spokesman later added: “Since we made this change in March, our team have either given refunds or applied the Club Pret discount as normal to any customers who have genuinely struggled to log in.”
A spokesman for Krispy Kreme UK & Ireland said: “We’re very proud of the 4.8 star rating we have for our Krispy Kreme Rewards App across both the Android and Apple app stores.
“This rating is based on thousands of satisfied customer reviews.
“We’re sorry that some people have experienced problems but we’re not aware of any wider issues.
“We regularly update our app to ensure it remains compatible with the full range of smartphones used by our customer base.”
