Why Do Luckin Coffee Stores Post Order Restriction Notices?

Notices at Luckin Coffee store counters list limits such as no room temperature or ice-free coffee, and no sugar-free hand-muddled drinks. Employees say flexible changes to ice amounts may not earn good reviews, while breaking the standard recipe can bring fines, so the rules are posted to protect them.

Similar reminders appear at other chain beverage brands, and the pattern is the same: baristas caught between standardized formulas and personalized requests from customers. When a drink's taste changes, negative reviews can follow. The notices reflect how chain stores balance consistent output against individual preferences.

Recently, notices have been posted prominently at the bar counters of some Luckin Coffee stores, explicitly listing production restrictions such as "coffee has no room temperature or ice-free options," "hand-muddled/perfume drinks cannot be sugar-free," drawing attention. In fact, similar friendly reminders appear at stores of multiple chain beverage brands, and staff members candidly admit: flexible adjustments to the amount of ice may not earn good reviews, but non-compliant operations could lead to penalties. At the same time, some consumers give negative reviews due to changes in drink taste, putting frontline employees in a dilemma. This tug-of-war between formula standardization and personalized demands reflects the deep-seated contradiction in the chain beverage industry between unified output and accommodating consumer experience.

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If you walk into a store and find a prominent "Attention" sign posted at the bar counter, most customers can't help but stop and take a closer look.

Recently, when a netizen visited a Luckin Coffee store, their attention was drawn to the two large characters in front of the bar counter, and they then noticed the list of precautions above. Among them, items such as "no one, two, three, four, five ice cubes," "hand-muddled/perfume drinks cannot be sugar-free," and "no ice-free, no room temperature" were deliberately enlarged and bolded, with the words revealing the staff's helplessness when facing these requests.

Actually, this is not the only Luckin Coffee store that has posted such notices. In the ordering areas of other stores, similar friendly reminders listed by employees can also be seen. It is worth noting that the first item in these reminders is almost identical: "Coffee has no room temperature or ice-free options! Nor one, two, three, or four ice cubes."

In the eyes of some customers, putting in a few less ice cubes during preparation is just a small favor, and it can also win praise and compliments from guests. However, the employees who list these rules frankly say that whether flexible handling of ice amount can earn good reviews is really hard to say, but once the drink is not made according to standards, they will most likely face criticism and fines.

Not only Luckin Coffee is like this; workers at other tea beverage brands also feel the same way. They reveal that they have also received note requests like "five ice cubes, complain if there's one more," but the store's drink formulas have clear regulations on the amount of ice, and non-compliant operations inevitably lead to scolding. Moreover, during peak hours, staff simply don't have extra time and energy to count ice cubes one by one.

Therefore, most frontline employees, in order to avoid criticism and deductions, will explain in advance before customers order that the drink cannot be made according to the note, letting consumers decide for themselves whether to continue purchasing, thereby reducing the risk of negative reviews and also freeing themselves from the consequences of non-compliant operations.

Some employees also shared their experiences: they once tried their best to satisfy customers' requests for ice-free, less sugar, etc., but ended up receiving negative reviews like "doesn't taste good" or "the flavor is weak." Some staff members said that even if they repeatedly informed customers before preparation that the taste would change after adjusting the formula, and received verbal promises like "it's fine, just do it this way," they could still encounter situations where customers gave a negative review right after leaving due to poor taste.

This kind of "backstabbing" experience makes some people unwilling to put in effort for no appreciation. They would rather directly say "can't do it" or "not possible," or even proactively help customers cancel the order, than make it according to the customer's note.

Drinks from chain brands usually have a corresponding formula, with sugar level, ice amount, etc., all having quantitative standards, to ensure that every cup of drink from each store tastes basically the same. Once the temperature of the drink changes, or the proportions are adjusted, the flavor and mouthfeel of the entire drink may undergo huge changes.

For this reason, most tea beverage brands that focus on standardization of output do not allow employees to arbitrarily change formulas, to avoid the drink customers receive deviating from the original flavor and mouthfeel. However, a few brands allow staff to satisfy customers' requests for "a few ice cubes," perhaps because in their view, accommodating consumer experience is more important.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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