What Happened With Luckin Coffee Proxy Ordering Prices?

Luckin Coffee is facing questions after reporters found that some stores do not take direct in-person orders, pushing customers to scan a QR code through the mini-program or app. When staff place the order on a customer's behalf, payment is at the original price, several yuan more than the price after an online coupon. The mini-program login also asks for phone numbers and other data.

Luckin customer service said discount calculations in the ordering system are complex, so proxy orders can produce price gaps, and stores can still accept cash with an alternative arrangement depending on the location. Many consumers said they understood, treating on-site ordering as giving up online discounts. The case adds to ongoing coffee online news about app-only ordering and data collection in chain cafes.

Recently, Luckin Coffee has once again become a hot topic of discussion. A media reporter's on-site tests found that some stores do not offer direct in-person ordering service, and customers can only place orders by scanning a QR code via the mini-program or APP. When staff place orders on their behalf, payment must be made at the original price, which differs by several yuan from the price after using an online coupon. At the same time, the reporter also noticed that Luckin's mini-program requires users to provide their phone number and other information during the login process, and its privacy policy mentions that it may collect browsing history, app installation lists, and other content, raising questions about excessive information collection. In response, Luckin customer service said that the discount calculations in the ordering system are complex and that placing orders on behalf of customers may result in price discrepancies, while many consumers said they understood, believing that ordering on-site means giving up online discounts. This article will sort out the course of the incident and the views of all parties in detail.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Yesterday, Luckin was once again, once again, once again trending on social media. The reason was that a reporter's test found that there is a price difference when Luckin staff place orders on behalf of customers offline, and the mini-program is suspected of excessively collecting information.

According to a report by Kankan News, some consumers recently reported that Luckin does not provide offline ordering, and consumers must scan a QR code to place an order, which has caused inconvenience for some consumer groups. In response to this situation, a reporter personally tested several Luckin stores and found that most staff said orders could only be placed by scanning a QR code, and one store even explicitly refused offline payment.

In response, the reporter consulted Luckin customer service. Customer service emphasized that stores can also accept cash and will provide an alternative solution, but the specifics depend on each store's situation. The so-called "alternative solution" is for store staff to help place the order through the APP or mini-program, and after confirming that the order information is correct, the customer pays the corresponding cash to the store. For details, please consult in-store.

In fact, as early as two years ago, netizens on social platforms reported that Luckin did not provide offline ordering. At that time, Luckin's response was that store staff used their own phones to help elderly people place orders and solved the problem. In other words, for the on-site ordering needs of offline stores, Luckin still uses this solution to this day.

Even though they considered this alternative solution "not very formal," the reporter still had a staff member place the order on their own phone and then transferred the money to the other party via WeChat or Alipay. However, after experiencing having a staff member place the order on their behalf, the reporter found that this solution was not only inconvenient, but also not cost-effective. Taking the recently launched "Huangshan Maofeng Latte" as an example, at the same store, placing an order online and paying with a coupon cost only 13.76 yuan, while having a staff member place the order on their behalf required charging the original price of the drink, namely 19 yuan, a difference of 5 yuan between the two.

In addition, when the reporter scanned the QR code and viewed the online mini-program ordering interface, they noticed that the page would jump directly to the login window, including two options: "Secure login with mobile phone number" and "One-click login," with no option such as "Skip." In other words, users must provide information such as their mobile phone number and log in before they can place an order.

Subsequently, the reporter also checked the details of the "Luckin Coffee Privacy Policy," which showed that Luckin may collect information such as the phone's historical browsing records and device app installation lists, and believed that this was suspected of excessive information collection.

Regarding the collection of personal information due to login mentioned in the news, some netizens pointed out that in the era of big data, various APPs and mini-programs are everywhere, and many brands provide daily-use functions by obtaining various permissions on mobile phones. Luckin is far from the only one.

As for the price difference issue with staff placing orders on behalf of customers, many consumers said they could understand. Brand APPs or mini-programs already have exclusive coupons, while offline ordering mainly serves elderly people or consumer groups who have difficulty operating devices. Since they choose to pay and order on-site, it means they actively give up using these discounts, so it is also reasonable to buy coffee at the original price.

In response to the above doubts, Luckin customer service explained that this is because Luckin's ordering system has a complex discount calculation scheme. Each account uses different discounts, so the final settlement price will also differ. When placing an order, the system will automatically match the most favorable settlement method for deduction. Therefore, when on-site ordering is carried out through "staff placing the order on behalf of the customer," there will be a certain price discrepancy.

Image source: Kankan News Knews

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be individual images or texts for which the source has not yet been indicated. Please understand. If the original author has any disputes, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will immediately correct it. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reprinting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

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