The British sandwich chain Pret A Manger rewards its staff for cheerful service. A mystery shopper visits every shop each week, and if the visit goes well, the whole team earns a bonus. In 2013, its chief executive, Clive Schlee, described his store visits: “The first thing I look at is whether the staff are touching each other. Are they smiling, reacting to each other, happy, engaged?”
The same year, the chain was accused in the British press of demanding “emotional labour.” Its own list of behaviors it did not want included doing things “only for show.”