What Happened at the Manner Coffee Store?

Two disputes between staff and customers broke out at Manner Coffee stores in quick succession. In one, an employee under pressure over serving speed threw coffee grounds at a customer; in the other, urging an order escalated into a physical altercation. The brand said the employees involved were dismissed and pledged serious handling.

The incidents, recorded around ten in the morning on June 17, drew attention less for the arguments than for what they exposed: understaffed stores and heavy employee pressure. As coffee enthusiasts debated service quality and worker rights, the case became a wider test of labor practices in fast-growing coffee chains.

Recently, two heated disputes between staff and customers occurred at Manner Coffee stores in succession, drawing widespread attention. In one of the incidents, due to the speed of serving, an employee emotionally broke down and threw coffee grounds at a customer, while the other escalated from urging an order into a physical altercation. The brand responded that the employees involved had been dismissed, but the issues reflected behind the incidents—such as understaffed stores and excessive employee pressure—became the focus of discussion among netizens and loyal customers. As coffee enthusiasts, we can't help but ponder: while pursuing efficiency, how can we ensure service quality and employee rights? Front Street Coffee has always followed industry developments and advocates rational consumption and humanistic care.

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Recently, a video of a conflict between a Manner Coffee employee and a customer circulated on social media.

The incident occurred around ten o'clock in the morning on June 17. The footage shows that, seemingly due to slow on-site service, the customer kept urging the employee to speed up the preparation. A staff member behind the counter suddenly lost emotional control under the customer's repeated urging, grabbed freshly ground coffee powder, and threw it directly at the customer's face, leaving the customer's face and clothing covered in coffee grounds.

After the customer who was splashed with coffee grounds said they would file a complaint, the employee continued shouting loudly, "Go ahead and complain," "Go ahead and call." During the argument, this employee screamed shrilly, "I told you I'd refund your order, if you can't wait then complain," and slapped the counter hard to vent emotions. Another employee at the same counter was shocked by her colleague's extreme behavior; when the conflict occurred, she hugged the other person trying to calm her down, but it was ineffective.

After the incident became a trending topic, many netizens pointed out that the surveillance video was less than two minutes long, making it difficult to judge right and wrong between the two parties based on it.

Currently, the brand has responded, saying that headquarters had learned of the situation in the store the previous night and stating that it would handle it seriously. The store involved has replaced its staff and remains open as normal, while the employee who threw the coffee grounds has been dismissed.

Earlier the same day, another Manner store in the same city also saw a dispute between an employee and a customer. According to two surveillance videos posted by netizens, the store employee, due to the customer urging the order multiple times, first repeatedly apologized and explained that there were still pour-over orders ahead to be made, while also telling the customer that if they couldn't wait ten minutes, they could get a refund.

After the refund was completed, the customer still would not let it go, asked for the employee's name, and took out a phone to record video, preparing to complain about the slow service. Facing the camera, the employee angrily shouted, "What right do you have to film," and at one point tried to grab the phone, but the customer avoided it. During the recording, the customer's words provoked the employee, causing the employee to come out from behind the counter to argue with the customer and try to snatch the phone to delete the video.

During the struggle over the phone and the shoving between the two sides, the customer kicked the employee, and the already emotionally agitated employee immediately fought back. It was not until a passerby noticed the physical altercation and stepped in to separate the two. As of press time, this incident has not been reported by the media, and the brand has not responded to it.

Manner's offline stores have long had a problem of insufficient staffing. Employees have repeatedly complained on social platforms that the brand's scheduling arrangements and staffing allocations are unreasonable. Some stores often have only one employee on duty, and phenomena such as timed bathroom breaks and being urged by customers are common, to the point that "slow service during peak hours" has become one of the labels of Manner stores.

In response, some loyal users, having repeatedly seen Manner employees extremely busy, felt distressed and spoke up for them on the platform, believing that the brand should increase store staffing to ensure service efficiency and improve service quality. Some customers also expressed concern about the state of employees under high pressure, saying "they really look like they're about to shatter" and "the young male employee calmly going crazy while making coffee."

Regarding the two disputes that occurred in succession recently, most netizens believe that although the brand has dismissed the employees involved, it should pay more attention to the problem of excessive physical and mental pressure on store employees and take relevant measures to fundamentally prevent similar conflicts between employees and consumers from happening again.

Image source: Internet

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