Why are Manner coffee shops closing without notice?

Manner coffee shops in several areas have closed temporarily, with the mini-program showing stores as resting and no posted notice or reopening date. The closures follow internal personnel adjustments: baristas over their working hours were put on leave, while those under their hours were moved to support other branches. Some stores also shortened opening hours.

Customers noticed the pattern since June 25, and a call about a Shanghai store near Swimming Center Metro Station was met with the response that it may be closing. The barista coffee origin of Manner lies in small-format specialty service, and the chain of coffee shops now faces the question of balancing expansion, specialty quality and affordable pricing.

Recently, many consumers have noticed that Manner coffee shops near them have suddenly closed their doors to customers, with the mini-program also showing "resting," neither with a clear notice nor a timetable for resuming business. Upon investigation, this phenomenon is closely related to Manner's internal personnel adjustments: baristas who exceeded their working hours were arranged to take leave, while those who had not fulfilled their hours were transferred to support other stores, causing some stores to temporarily shut down. At the same time, the brand also shortened the operating hours of some stores, with morning shifts delayed and evening shifts moved earlier. Whether this adjustment can allow Manner to find a balance between chain expansion, specialty quality, and affordable positioning has become the focus of industry attention.

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Recently, many consumers have posted on social platforms reporting that the Manner coffee shop they frequently visit has suddenly closed for unknown reasons. Since the brand did not post any closure notice outside the stores, the real reason for these stores' suspension of business quickly sparked various speculation among netizens.

A few days ago, several office workers complained online in succession that they had planned to grab a cup of coffee at Manner on their way to work, only to find nothing, and after going to the store several days in a row, they still could not catch it open normally.

Coincidentally, many customers who are used to ordering online also noticed on the Manner mini-program that the stores they often order from had shown "resting" for several consecutive days. People neither understood the specific reason for the closure nor knew when business would resume.

Because of this, someone called Manner Coffee's official customer service phone number to ask why the store located at Shanghai Swimming Center Metro Station had not opened for so long. The response was: "This store may be closing. You can keep an eye on other stores."

In fact, since June 25, netizens have been posting photos and texts one after another saying that Manner near their area had suddenly closed. Unlike the aforementioned situation, these stores posted a suspension notice on the glass door or bar counter, some suspending business for five days, others closing for a week, but all planning to resume normal business on July 1, which is today.

In response to this situation, some netizens speculated that these stores' temporary closure might be related to several previous conflicts between staff and customers. In addition, Manner itself has a problem of insufficient staffing. The baristas originally working at these stores may have already been severely overworked, so in order for the stores to operate normally later, the baristas may have been arranged to take leave and rest.

As more and more people noticed that the Manner near them was not open, discussions about the reason for the closures were also inconclusive. Later, an employee finally appeared in the comments section to explain: "We went to work at other stores."

It is understood that Manner recently made internal personnel adjustments: first, employees whose working hours had already exceeded the limit were arranged to take leave during these final days of the month, while those whose hours were not yet fulfilled went to support output at other stores, which also caused some stores to have to suspend business.

In addition, consumers also found that Manner had adjusted the business hours of some stores. Many shops delayed their morning shift by half an hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., while closing time was moved up from the original 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or even earlier.

For example, a screenshot of a group chat posted by a netizen this morning showed that starting from July 1, the business hours of a Manner in Beijing will change to 8:00-17:00. It is worth noting that Manner initially announced the new business hours as 7:30-18:00, but not long afterward it issued another notice stating that due to the store's operating conditions, the store's opening time was shortened again by 1.5 hours.

Following the Manner incident, the brand's operational management can be said to be a topic of concern across the entire coffee industry right now. Last week, Manner's responsible personnel also mentioned that adjustments would be made to "one-person stores" later, so the current implementation of "staff reallocation" may be the trial stage of the rectification policy. Facing the current market trend of competing on low prices, efficiency, and products, whether Manner can find a balance among chain, specialty, and affordability, let us continue to wait and see~

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

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