Why Are Manner's Barista Levels So Hard to Pass?

A netizen complaint about Manner Coffee's pay raise assessment system has drawn wide attention among baristas. The post claimed the high salary advertised on recruitment pages requires passing exams comparable in difficulty to SCA intermediate or advanced certification. Each subject needs a score of 80 to pass, failed subjects can be retaken, and three cumulative failures lead to dismissal.

Recruitment listings show Manner barista monthly pay ranging from 4,000 to 13,000 yuan, higher in big cities. Workers report mandatory training in Shanghai before the first assessment, and insiders say reaching an 8,000 yuan salary is equivalent to SCA intermediate barista level, with raises beyond that harder than SCA advanced. The debate centers on how barista levels are measured and rewarded.

Recently, a netizen complained on social media that Manner Coffee's pay raise assessment system is too strict, claiming that to get the high salary advertised on the recruitment page, one must pass an exam comparable in difficulty to SCA intermediate or even advanced barista certification, sparking resonance among many baristas. What exactly is the assessment threshold behind Manner's high pay? Compared with other brands, what makes its promotion system so difficult? This article takes you to find out.

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Manner's workers are breaking down again!

Recently, a netizen posted on Xiaohongshu, listing one by one various complaints about working at Manner, among which the compensation and assessment mechanism especially sparked a lot of discussion.

The post mentioned that the high salary Manner publicly claims actually requires passing layer after layer of exams to obtain, making it almost nominal. "During the exam, all the examiners hold you back and won't let you pass; basically you can't pass. Among the people who joined in the same batch as me, I haven't seen a single one pass."

According to information from recruitment platforms, Manner baristas' monthly salary ranges from 4,000 to 13,000 yuan, with salaries for positions in big cities generally higher than those in small cities. Many baristas in the industry also confirm that Manner's pay is indeed on the higher side among peers.

However, workers attracted by the high salary face a test as soon as they join—not only must they gather in Shanghai for training, but the training assessment is also quite difficult. According to netizens, each subject's assessment score must reach 80 to be considered qualified.

If you fail, you have to retake the exam, and if you still fail after a cumulative three retakes, you will be dismissed. A netizen joked: "In the afternoon, many of us in the classroom had already opened Boss Zhipin."

This is only the first hurdle. To truly get the salary marked by HR on the recruitment page, one still needs to go through many more difficulties. Searching for Manner-related topics on Zhihu, insiders likewise complain that the assessment system is too difficult. "To get an 8,000 yuan salary, the assessment difficulty is equivalent to an SCA intermediate barista; to get a raise beyond that is harder than passing SCA advanced, basically similar to the requirements for competing in competitions." The netizen also said bluntly: "Currently 90% of people can't pass. Apart from a few top workaholics and people with connections, most employees can only get the base salary and be exploited."

From the screenshots posted by netizens, even the thickness of the milk foam must be measured precisely with a ruler. No wonder some people joke: "How long does it take to pass Manner's pay raise exam? The answer is: you can never finish it, you simply can never finish it."

In the comment section of this post, a netizen shared the specific content of Manner's pay raise assessment: all items must be passed in one go, complete 9 espresso coffees and 1 pour-over within 15 minutes, and there are even strict standards for latte art patterns, temperature, milk foam height, espresso extraction time, etc.... The netizen was very puzzled: "Two people can generate 10,000 in sales and still keep the store running normally, so is this kind of assessment really still needed?"

This complaint deeply struck a chord with Manner workers, and netizens left comments expressing agreement. "The exams are much harder now than before!" "If you don't take the exam, after working several months you still get the original salary, so you can only go take the pay raise exam, and the pass rate is still very low, and the milk foam even has to be measured with a ruler." "I took the exam for a month and a half, and luck was also part of it." "I've already taken it twice, and only passed grinding."

By comparison, the promotion assessment systems of other coffee brands seem much simpler.

Take the international brand Starbucks as an example. Barista levels are distinguished by apron style, generally divided into green and black. Those wearing green aprons are usually newly hired star baristas, symbolizing "coffee explorers." After completing 8 to 12 weeks of coffee theory and practical learning and passing internal certification, star baristas can obtain a black apron and are also awarded the title of "Coffee Master."

From netizens' feedback, Starbucks' assessment promotion cycle is not long and the difficulty is not great either: "I prepared for half a month and passed the black apron exam~" "I used to think this exam was quite difficult, but later I found it was especially simple in actual practice."

In a horizontal comparison, the difficulty of Manner's pay raise assessment system is indeed quite high. Feeling sorry for Manner workers for a second~

Image source: Internet

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