Why the Luckin Coffee store photo rule caused a dispute

A customer at a Luckin Coffee store was told to stop filming the in-store TV advertisement featuring new spokesperson Jackson Yee. Staff said photography was not allowed inside. Other employees said no such rule exists, and Luckin's official customer service confirmed there is no rule against taking photos, adding that the case would be verified.

The incident spread quickly among fans who visited stores to photograph the rotating ads and standees. It points to inconsistent management standards between branches, since some staff applied a restriction that the brand does not formally enforce. For the coffee industry, it is a reminder that celebrity marketing campaigns need clear, uniform store guidelines to avoid disappointing the fan customers they are designed to attract.

Recently, after Luckin Coffee signed Jackson Yee as its spokesperson, fans flocked to stores to take photos as mementos. However, some customers reported being discouraged by staff when filming the TV rotating advertisements in stores, who claimed that photography was prohibited inside. The matter sparked widespread discussion, with some employees stating that such a rule indeed existed, but more employees saying there was no such restriction. Luckin's official customer service responded that there is no rule against taking photos and that they would verify the situation. The incident reflects inconsistent management standards across brand stores and has also left fans disappointed in their expectations for spokesperson promotions. Front Street Coffee follows coffee industry trends and brings you a summary of the whole incident.

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Inviting celebrities as spokespersons has now become a routine marketing tactic for many coffee brands. Fans, out of support for their idols, are often willing to spend money on the brand, while the brand also uses the opportunity to reach new customer groups. Recently, the news of Luckin Coffee's endorsement collaboration with Jackson Yee has surely been heard by many. Right now, his image has already appeared in the TV rotating advertisements in various stores, and standees have also been gradually put in place, attracting a large number of fans to go and take photos.

Yesterday, a post titled "How noble are you, Luckin? No photos allowed?" sparked heated discussion. The fan who posted it said she went to a Luckin store near her residence to buy a drink and also wanted to take a photo of the advertisement board. During that time, she asked a staff member whether the spokesperson's photo would appear in the TV rotating advertisement, and the staff member said no. However, after waiting about twenty seconds, the spokesperson's image appeared on the screen.

What surprised her even more was that the staff member also stopped her from filming the TV screen at the time and claimed that photography was not allowed anywhere in the store. This is quite puzzling: if there really is a rule prohibiting photography, why not post a notice in a prominent place in the store? And if it cannot be ensured that every customer knows and follows it, what practical meaning does such a rule have? At the end of the post, the fan asked: "Since you hired a spokesperson and put up the photos, why can't fans happily take pictures?"

In the comments section, a netizen also showing a Jiangsu IP said that she too was stopped when taking photos in the store. After checking their locations, the two found that they had actually visited the same Luckin store on the same day and encountered exactly the same situation. However, clearly not all Luckin stores are like this. Many netizens commented that stores near them do not interfere with photography, and they had never heard of any prohibition on taking photos.

However, some netizens claiming to be Luckin employees said that photography is indeed not allowed. As for why photography is prohibited in stores, this question is like asking why emergency rescue equipment in an ambulance cannot be lent out. According to this account, stores prohibit photography in any form unless it is reported to Luckin's public relations department and approved; otherwise, once it is discovered, the employees involved will have their performance reviews deducted.

But more Luckin employees came forward to say that their stores did not have such a rule. Usually, photography in stores is allowed, and if a blogger merely wants to photograph a celebrity on the TV, that is even less of a problem. In short, as long as the storage area and service counter area are not photographed, you can take pictures however you like.

In fact, Luckin had previously also been reported in cases of prohibiting customers from taking photos. On September 24, a netizen buying coffee at Luckin casually used a camera they were carrying to take a photo of the drink with the promotional paper bag at the time as the background. Their professional-looking photo-taking stance "scared" the staff member, who mistakenly thought the customer was there for a store visit or interview, and therefore stepped in to stop them. According to Luckin's rules, these two situations need to be reported first to the regional manager, and staff must record the relevant person's name, contact information, department, and job title so that the public relations department can respond promptly.

But this time, even mobile phone devices were not allowed for photography. Is this an isolated issue with the store and staff, or is this simply the official rule? Multiple netizens tagged @Luckin Coffee, hoping for a reasonable explanation. After the netizen complained to official customer service, Luckin contacted them and said they would verify the situation at the store. As for whether Luckin has an explicit rule prohibiting photography, customer service said: No, it will be reported, and the netizen will be contacted again within 24 hours.

At present, there have been no further updates on the incident.

Image source: Internet

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