What the Tea Yan Yue Se salary dispute reveals about drink brands

Tea Yan Yue Se, a leading new Chinese-style tea brand, drew widespread attention on Weibo after employees complained about low wages and reduced working hours. A heated argument between management and staff in a company group chat followed, and founder Lü Liang issued a personal apology. Reports said more than two hundred employees left the group in one afternoon.

The company later responded that about 87 people had left and described the salary adjustment as a special pandemic-era arrangement, but many netizens rejected that explanation. The incident, which produced multiple trending topics in a single day, has turned into wider public discussion of brand management and corporate culture at drink chains.

Recently, Sexy Tea has frequently made headlines on Weibo due to employee salary issues, drawing widespread attention. The incident began when employees complained about low wages and reduced working hours, which led to a heated argument between senior management and employees in a group chat, even prompting founder Lü Liang to personally apologize. According to leaks, Sexy Tea has internal issues such as chaotic management and serious classism, with over two hundred employees leaving the group at one point. Although the official response claimed that about 87 people left the group and explained that the salary adjustment was a special arrangement during the pandemic, netizens were not convinced. As a leading brand in new Chinese-style tea drinks, this turmoil at Sexy Tea has not only exposed internal conflicts but also sparked deep public reflection on brand management and corporate culture.

According to incomplete statistics, yesterday Sexy Tea appeared on Weibo's trending topics more times than in all of 2021 combined: #SexyTeaEmployeesComplainMonthlySalaryUnder3000Yuan#, #HowToViewSexyTeaEmployeesComplainingAboutLowSalaries#, #OverHundredSexyTeaEmployeesLeaveGroup#, #SexyTeaFounderLüLiangApologizes#, #SexyTeaApologizesForSalaryIssue#...

In fact, from these trending topics, everyone can roughly piece together the sequence of events.

On December 17, a netizen posted on platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu: "Due to complaints about too little pay and unreasonable meeting times, the three biggest bosses of Sexy Tea argued with employees in a company group of over seven thousand people. The bosses didn't win the argument, and finally personally called to demand employees resign. The company group lost over two hundred people in one afternoon."

As screenshots of the Sexy Tea company group chat were exposed, related topics quickly surged to trending status.

At the same time, keywords such as "Teacher Xiaocong," "Sister Xiaomai," "Zhang Xuepan," and "Wang Bo" also became hot topics of online discussion.

It is understood that "Teacher Xiaocong" is Lü Liang, legal representative of Hunan Chayue Cultural Industry Development Group Co., Ltd., "Sister Xiaomai" is Lü Liang's wife, Wang Bo is the operations director of Sexy Tea, and "Zhang Xuepan" is an employee in the Wuhan region for Sexy Tea.

(Note: In the following text, the editor will use Sexy Tea's internal nicknames to refer to the relevant individuals.)

From the chat screenshots, on the evening of December 17, an employee reported: "Due to reduced working hours and pay cuts during the pandemic, take-home pay dropped from around 5,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan, with commissions at only 8 yuan. With the year-end approaching, it's hard to even enjoy the New Year."

At this point, Zhang Xuepan retorted: "Why isn't it enough? That's because you're clubbing every day and spending heavily—how could it be enough? If your virtue doesn't match your position, disaster will follow. You get paid according to your ability."

Subsequently, "Teacher Xiaocong" revealed that "the company lost over 20 million yuan per month during the pandemic," and bluntly stated that employees did not empathize with the company's losses.

Meanwhile, "Sister Xiaomai" played on a pun with an employee's name: "@Xiao Ting, please come to process your resignation as soon as possible. You really just can't settle down."

After the company's internal strife trended on Weibo, Sexy Tea issued a statement regarding the November salary communication issues with employees.

In response to employees' complaints about low pay, the official explanation stated: During the pandemic, Sexy Tea temporarily closed dozens of stores, causing some employees to be unable to meet normal working hours, so the salary calculation method was temporarily adjusted during this special period. However, due to inadequate explanation of the adjusted rules, employees had doubts about their salaries.

The statement also mentioned that on that day, "Teacher Xiaocong" had issued an apology letter to internal employees and communicated with employees who received "resignation suggestion letters."

Regarding the online rumor that "the group lost over two hundred people in one afternoon," Sexy Tea officially responded that the information was false and provided records of departures from the company's main group since December 14, totaling about 87 people.

"Winter is coming, and we are actively saving ourselves"—seemingly warm words, yet netizens were not buying it. Internal employee Xiao Ting even pointed out on her personal account that the apology letter was a whitewashing move by Sexy Tea's senior management, and directly posted on Weibo a notice issued by Sexy Tea after the internal strife prohibiting employees from accepting external interviews.

Small sands make a tower, and small patches make a robe. In fact, Sexy Tea's internal problems had already shown signs in daily operations. According to netizen leaks, they can be summarized as follows:

1. Chaotic management, cumbersome internal processes, and unclear rights and responsibilities.

2. Serious classism, new employees are not respected for their work, and internal cliques are prevalent.

3. Management lacks work capability; expanding and upgrading new businesses requires higher-level professional talent, but management's abilities remain at a primitive stage.

Netizens sighing about this matter said, "To be rich, one must be benevolent; the great way lies in supreme virtue," lest employees "leave hastily despite their full enthusiasm."

As a leader among new Chinese-style tea beverage brands, Sexy Tea should carry forward the cultural core of new Chinese style from the inside out, truly nourishing new Chinese tea beverage brands.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.