How does the Manner SOE coffee chocolate perk work?

Manner stores have been handing customers a free Meiji chocolate bar with purchases, without any public announcement. The perk applies to this week's SOE coffee bought at an offline store or through the mini-program, and stock is limited and given out first come, first served. Some staff were unclear on the rules, so a few customers missed out.

It is not the first quiet chocolate giveaway from the brand; a similar surprise ran earlier this year. Consumers disagree on whether Manner should promote it openly. Some want clearer notice, while others argue the low-key approach suits the original intent. The gap between staff awareness and campaign rules is the main reason some SOE coffee buyers went home empty-handed.

Recently, a customer at a Manner store unexpectedly received a Meiji chocolate bar from the staff when buying coffee. This unpublicized hidden perk quickly drew attention on social media. It is understood that consumers must purchase this week's SOE coffee through offline stores or the mini-program to receive it, and supplies are limited on a first-come, first-served basis. Some staff were unclear about the campaign rules, causing a few customers to miss out. Loyal Manner users pointed out that this is not the first time the brand has quietly given away chocolate—a similar surprise occurred earlier this year. Consumers are divided on whether it should be publicly promoted: some call for more transparency, while others believe keeping it a niche perk better fits the brand's original intent.

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A few days ago, a customer stopped by a Manner store on the way to work as usual to buy coffee and take it back to their desk. When picking up the order at the bar, besides the drink they ordered, the staff also handed them an extra bar of Meiji chocolate. This sudden little surprise caught the customer off guard, and they immediately shared the pleasant experience on social media.

After the post was published, it drew envy from many regulars. Upon learning that this was chocolate given away for free at Manner offline stores, netizens placed orders one after another, hoping they too could receive this "special attention" from the staff like the blogger.

However, the reality is that some are happy while others are confused—why do some people get chocolate when buying Manner coffee while others go home empty-handed? Helpful netizens summarized the pattern based on purchasing experiences of consumers in various places: to get this surprise, you need to buy this week's SOE coffee at an offline store or through the mini-program.

At the same time, they reminded those interested in getting the chocolate to act quickly, because although the campaign covers stores nationwide, each store has limited chocolate stock, and it's gone once given out. This news made many Manner fans who had just learned about it feel anxious, worried that they wouldn't be fast enough and someone else would beat them to it, so they hurriedly placed orders at the store nearest to them.

During the redemption process, however, some customers were asked by staff where they had heard about the campaign of buying designated coffee to get chocolate. The staff said that this chocolate giveaway had not been publicly promoted on major platforms, so many people assumed the chocolate in stores could be given out for several days. But as more and more people placed orders, some staff worried that this hidden perk might be given out within a single day.

Some staff were even unclear about the campaign rules and mistakenly thought it was one chocolate per cup of coffee, causing a few customers to complain because they did not receive a whole bar of chocolate.

Therefore, some believe Manner should increase promotion of such buy-one-get-one campaigns, or post campaign notices in stores, so that both staff and customers can clearly understand the rules, avoid misunderstandings, and prevent customers with slower internet or those who don't often use social media from missing out. At the same time, it could also attract passersby to enter and buy, boosting product sales—killing several birds with one stone.

However, some loyal Manner users said that this is not the first time the brand has quietly given away chocolate. Earlier this year, Manner had also given chocolate to regulars once, also without any public promotion at the time, creating a surprise for frequent customers.

Therefore, fans believe that given Manner's current brand influence, if the campaign were publicly promoted, netizens who love browsing online might rush in droves, and there could even be queues to buy. This would go against Manner's original intent of giving perks to fans, so they think this kind of hidden campaign should not be publicly promoted, and that spreading "word of mouth" among Manner regulars is enough.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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