A Harrogate disability charity has called on Pret A Manger to address accessibility issues at its Cambridge Street café.
Disability Action Yorkshire says wheelchair user and trustee Andrew Simister visited the café twice in July and found the assistance bell was not working on both occasions.
The charity claims that during a second visit on 27th July, staff told Mr Simister the access ramp had been broken for at least three months.
According to Disability Action Yorkshire, a member of staff then offered to carry Mr Simister and his wheelchair into the café after being unable to use the ramp.
The charity says the incident highlights wider concerns about accessibility and disability awareness.
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."
Disability Action Yorkshire says it first raised accessibility with Pret A Manger before the Harrogate branch opened in 2022, when then-trustee Robert Kernaghan contacted the company seeking assurances about access provisions.
The charity says it has since received feedback from disabled people about accessibility at the store.
Chief Executive Jackie Snape 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."
Disability Action Yorkshire is calling on Pret A Manger to publish a repair schedule for the Harrogate branch, carry out a national audit of physical access equipment across its UK stores and introduce mandatory disability equality training for frontline staff.
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.”
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