What Went Wrong When One Coffee Order Took Four Attempts?

A customer at Luckin Coffee reported that staff remade a single cup four times. The first attempt arrived hot instead of iced. The second poured hot coffee into a clear plastic cup meant for ice. The third rinsed that cup with tap water and nearly added ice and milk before a colleague stopped it. Only the fourth used a fresh cup and the standard iced recipe.

The post drew wide criticism and prompted Luckin workers to weigh in, saying a wrongly made drink should be remade immediately, and any cup rinse should use drinking water. The case has focused attention on employee training, operating standards and food safety, and it raises the practical question of how to drink coffee properly when an order goes wrong at the counter.

Recently, a netizen shared on social media their experience ordering at Luckin: a cup of coffee was actually made four times by the staff before they finally got it. From getting the hot and cold order wrong to rinsing the cup with tap water, and then being stopped by a colleague from adding ice and milk, the whole process left many onlookers saying it was outrageous. The incident also sparked heated discussion about Luckin's employee training, operating standards, and food safety. What exactly happened? Was the customer's request reasonable? What problems did the store's operations expose? Let's take a look.

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Not long ago, a netizen posted on social media complaining that they bought a cup of coffee at Luckin, but the staff ended up making it four times before they finally got it.

According to the netizen's description:

The first time, the Luckin employee mistakenly made the iced coffee she ordered into a hot drink;

The second time, the employee poured the freshly made hot coffee into the transparent plastic cup originally meant for the iced drink, then planned to directly add ice cubes to turn it into a "cold drink," but was stopped on the spot by the netizen;

The third time, the employee poured out the hot coffee in the transparent cup, rinsed the cup directly with tap water, and was about to remake the drink (the netizen added in the comments: this employee also wanted to add ice and milk to the cup, but was stopped by a colleague nearby);

The fourth time, they finally switched to a new cup and remade a cup according to the normal procedure for iced coffee.

After reading the post, many netizens said that at first glance the title seemed harsh, but after carefully reading the process, they only found it outrageous. Many Luckin workers also left comments, saying this was originally the employee's mistake. If it were them, once they found the drink was made hot instead of cold, they should immediately apologize to the customer and then remake the iced drink according to procedure. Besides, even if the cup needed to be washed, direct drinking water must be used.

Regarding the issue of rinsing the cup with tap water, some felt that the first and second times were reasonable actions by the consumer to protect their rights, but if the cup was only rinsed with clean water, it actually would not have much impact on drink hygiene, and there was no need to specifically switch to a new cup.

Some netizens also believed that although asking for a new cup to remake the drink was correct, all the small utensils used for ingredients in Luckin stores are rinsed with tap water, such as milk pitchers. If coffee is made with these utensils rinsed in tap water, wouldn't that also create a situation of "hygiene not meeting standards"?

In response, the netizen who posted said that using tap water to clean items is understandable, but if tap water is poured directly into the serving cup and not shaken dry, it makes people feel unhygienic.

Regarding this matter, some netizens said that if the employee did not want to waste, they should have remade it as iced coffee the first time, and it would not have become so complicated later. Pouring the wrongly made hot coffee into a transparent plastic cup was already outrageous enough, and then wanting to rinse it directly with tap water before serving again really made the operation feel a bit perfunctory.

Many netizens also believed that such nonstandard operation was likely caused by a new employee or summer part-timer with inadequate training. But whether full-time or part-time summer worker, when staff encounter this kind of operational mistake, shouldn't they just properly remake a cup? There was no need to make things so complicated just to save the materials and cup for that one coffee.

After putting the employee through so many correction steps, the netizen who posted said the other party might also have felt angry. But they still hoped things could be done more rigorously, first so as not to waste these materials, and second to save time for both sides. In addition, since Luckin as a brand is getting bigger and bigger, it should strengthen training for newly onboarded employees, make every cup of drink standardized, and ensure food safety.

With the achievement of the "ten thousand stores" goal, Luckin's staffing demand is naturally high, and now during summer vacation, short-term part-time workers will obviously increase. Facing ever-increasing workloads, whether newly hired newcomers or battle-tested veteran employees, being faster, more accurate, and more efficient remains an implicit rule for Luckin workers. If Luckin recruits a large number of temporary part-timers but fails to train them adequately, it is very likely to invite "bad reviews" for the brand.

Image source: Internet

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