Is coffee promotion by free bikini entry fair to customers?

A coffee shop in Huzhou, Zhejiang, with a waterfall photo spot launched a promotion giving women in bikinis free admission, drawing wide criticism online. One visitor said a male ticket checker questioned her friend's swimsuit and gestured at her. Officials from the culture and tourism bureau and township government are verifying the matter.

The shop said the event answered requests from female customers and aimed to offer women a private photo space, denying any deliberate plan. Critics called the free-entry threshold unfair, arguing it used female guests to attract male spending. The shop sits in the mountains and has operated for several months.

Recently, a coffee shop in Huzhou, Zhejiang, which uses a waterfall landscape as its selling point, launched a "women in bikinis get free admission" promotion, quickly sparking widespread discussion on social media. Some customers reported that when a friend in their group arrived in a swimsuit, she was sized up by a male ticket checker who questioned whether there was too little fabric, making her feel uncomfortable. Netizens generally believed that the free-admission rule was unfair and suspected that it was using female customers to attract male spending. The shop responded that the event was set up in response to female customers' requests, aiming to provide women with an exclusive photo space, and was not deliberately planned. The local culture and tourism bureau and township government have taken note of the matter and are currently looking into and verifying it.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

According to a recent report by Dafeng News, a coffee shop in Huzhou, Zhejiang, known for its waterfall photo spot, drew doubt from many netizens after launching a "women in bikinis get free admission" event.

A poster on social media recounted that when she and her friend visited this waterfall coffee shop, which claimed "women in bikinis can get free admission," because her friend was wearing a swimsuit, the male staff member at the ticket check "looked her up and down, said there was too much fabric, and even gestured a triangle with his hands."

Regarding this unpleasant experience and the coffee shop's promotional event, netizens expressed their dissatisfaction in the comments section: "Women in bikinis getting free admission sounds really uncomfortable!", "Either both men and women get free admission, or neither does," "Outrageous rule." Most people said bluntly that the shop's free-admission threshold is unfair to consumers, and that using female customers to attract male customers to spend is very inappropriate.

It is understood that this coffee shop is located in the mountains of Huzhou, Zhejiang, and has been open for several months. The shop places tables and chairs in a mountain stream, surrounded by greenery, making it a good place for tourists to escape the heat and cool off. Customers can buy tickets and enjoy the comfort brought by the natural scenery here.

A Dafeng News reporter learned from staff at the shop involved that the store has a Southeast Asian style, and the mountain waterfall at the store's signboard has been called by some bloggers a "Bali-style waterfall." Some female customers, in order to match the store's style, wanted to wear swimsuits to take photos in front of the waterfall, so they asked staff whether they could be given a discount.

Based on this, the coffee shop "went with the flow to meet female customers' needs" and launched the promotional event "female customers in bikinis can get free admission," rather than deliberately planning it.

Staff introduced that Hangzhou has many influencers, and many female customers want to take photos by the waterfall, but are afraid of being harassed by men, so this event was also specially set up for women. "A waterfall was specially prepared for girls to take photos... When they enter, they have to wrap themselves up. We require them to change in that room; they all get changed there."

The employee said that generally, female customers taking photos at the second waterfall can wear swimwear on their upper body and normal clothing on their lower body. The fourth waterfall can be used by female customers to take photos in full bikinis, and this area is guarded by staff, with male customers prohibited from entering. "It is at the second waterfall and the fourth waterfall, but it is not in a completely public situation, and besides, among 1,000 people there might be 0.5."

After this situation was complained about in a netizen post, it attracted the attention of relevant local departments. Staff at the local culture and tourism bureau responded to reporters that the waterfall near the coffee shop is not a star-rated scenic spot and is not within the bureau's jurisdiction, and they believe it may have been developed by the local township. However, they will report the situation to the law enforcement team and have someone look into and verify it first.

Staff at the local township government said that they had recently noticed the above public opinion and were handling it, but the colleague responsible for the public opinion was out and did not know the specific situation.

Image source: Internet

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, some images and texts may not have been credited in time. Please forgive us. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

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