What does barista level mean when staffing runs thin?

Videos of physical conflicts between Manner Coffee employees and customers appeared one after another and drew wide attention. One clip, filmed on May 22 at a mall store, shows a customer arguing with a barista over order pickup, entering the bar area, throwing items and assaulting the employee. Police mediated, and the customer paid 1,000 yuan in compensation.

Reports later said the brand asked the employee to return that compensation and apologize, which the public questioned. Behind the incidents sit deeper problems during rapid expansion: insufficient staffing, heavy work intensity, and pay that does not match effort. The cases highlight the gap between the pace of coffee chain growth and the daily working conditions of the baristas behind the bar.

Recently, videos of physical conflicts between Manner Coffee employees and customers have been exposed one after another, sparking widespread social concern. One of the videos was filmed on May 22 at a store in a shopping mall, where a customer, after arguing with a barista over picking up an order, entered the bar area and assaulted the employee. Police later mediated the dispute, and the customer paid 1,000 yuan in compensation, but reports emerged that the brand demanded the employee return the compensation and apologize. Behind these successive conflicts lie deeper issues at Manner under rapid expansion: insufficient staffing, excessive work intensity, and a mismatch between pay and effort. This article reviews the course of events and responses from various parties, and explores the contradiction between the coffee industry's rapid expansion and employee management.

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Yesterday, two Manner stores were successively reported to have had conflicts between staff and customers, and multiple related topics quickly trended on social media, sparking widespread discussion.

Meanwhile, a third video related to Manner circulated on social platforms. It is said that the incident occurred on May 22 at a store inside a shopping mall. In the video, a customer apparently got into an argument with a male barista after failing to pick up a drink smoothly. Agitated, the customer walked directly behind the bar, loudly berated the male barista, and shoved a female barista who tried to stand between them to break up the fight.

During the argument, the physical conflict escalated further. The customer grabbed items from the bar and threw them at the male barista, then rushed forward and assaulted him, injuring the employee. After the conflict broke out, mall security arrived at the scene but failed to stop the customer's assault in time.

Some netizens claimed that someone called the police after the incident, and after police mediation, the customer compensated the employee 1,000 yuan. However, upon learning of this, the brand demanded that the employee return the compensation to the customer and apologize to them.

Currently, mall staff have responded that, to ensure the accuracy and authority of information, it is advisable to follow the brand's official announcements; the brand will investigate the matter and publish the results promptly, and the mall will fully cooperate. But as of press time, Manner has not made any official response regarding the customer's assault on the employee or the rumored "company demanding the employee return the compensation."

The three videos that successively appeared on social media have undoubtedly fully exposed the conflicts between Manner employees and customers. Online discussions are also varied, with differing views. Among them, Jiemian News analysis pointed out that the reason Manner employees vent their stress and resentment on customers may be closely related to the brand's rapid expansion.

According to Jihai Brand Monitoring data, since September 2023, Manner has opened an average of 2 new stores per day. Zhaimen Canyan data shows that MANNER opened 45 new stores in November 2023 alone. The accelerated pace of expansion allowed Manner to open its 1,000th store earlier than expected and emboldened it to set a new goal of 2,000 stores. Compared with the pace of opening only 3 stores in Shanghai in its first 3 years, Manner's current expansion rhythm has multiplied.

However, store expansion does not equate to a synchronous expansion of staffing. Some Manner employees told the media that the company's arrangements for store staffing, role allocation, and working hours are currently unreasonable.

The employee said the brand allocates manpower based on store performance. Some stores with daily revenue below 5,000 yuan usually have only "one employee per store," and the employee must handle all tasks alone, including making coffee, organizing goods, and taking orders. Due to insufficient staffing, some baristas have to work from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., afraid to leave their posts without permission, and even timing their bathroom breaks and meals.

Such a high-intensity work pace inevitably leads to oversights by baristas. Therefore, when a customer complains about an issue, the brand's first way of handling the complaint is to directly refund the order, and the employee who caused the complaint receives a warning notice from headquarters. Once three notices are accumulated, the employee is dismissed by the brand.

It is worth noting that, in the eyes of the employees, work of such intensity has not brought the ideal salary level.

According to Manner employees, even in first-tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, Manner baristas' monthly salary is basically around 5,000. If employees work crazy overtime and give up their two days off, they can get extra rewards. Moreover, employees must be ready to be dispatched by the company to work at any store at any time, and the company holds absolute control over shift scheduling.

Industry insiders say that the overall salary level of the barista industry has regressed compared with its peak around 2021. Therefore, by comparison, Manner baristas' pay is considered high in the industry, which is why people still keep flocking to join the company.

However, while Manner races to expand its territory and increase store scale, it struggles to find a balance in employee management, operational efficiency, and customer experience, resulting in unreasonable institutional arrangements that invisibly fuel frequent conflicts between employees and consumers, plunging the brand into public controversy.

If this continues long-term, similar conflicts will still arise between staff and customers, intensifying dissatisfaction with the brand across society and further damaging its corporate image.

Image source: Internet

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