What Happens When a Coffee Store Closes With Stored Cups?
A consumer in Kaohsiung paid NT$30,000 for a "buy 100 cups, get 100 free" deal at a chain coffee store, storing 480 cups. The location shut on September 1 with 362 cups unredeemed. The franchise and brand headquarters disagree over who should refund the balance, leaving the customer waiting.
Cup storage lets a coffee enthusiast prepay for dozens or hundreds of drinks, then collect them over time, and it appears at independent cafés and chains alike. When a franchised shop stops operating, that prepaid balance often becomes the center of a dispute, since neither the franchisee nor the brand accepts clear responsibility for returning the money.
For many coffee enthusiasts, buying coffee at a regular shop every day has become a lifestyle habit, and some even purchase dozens or hundreds of cups in advance to store at the shop, redeeming them one by one over time. This consumption method, known as "cup storage," appears in both independent cafés and some chain brands, seemingly convenient and offering discounts. However, when a shop suddenly ceases operation, how should those unredeemed stored drinks be handled? Recently, a consumer in Kaohsiung encountered exactly this predicament—he had stored 480 cups of coffee at a franchise location of a chain coffee brand, and after the shop closed, 362 cups remained unclaimed, while the division of responsibility between the brand headquarters and the franchise made a refund seem indefinitely delayed.
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For many coffee fans, buying a cup of coffee at a familiar shop every day is like clocking in for work—rain or shine. Precisely for this reason, some people, to save hassle, arrange "cup storage" with the shop—that is, purchasing several cups of coffee at once and then simply picking them up daily afterward.
This customer-friendly "cup storage" model is not limited to independent cafés; chain brands like Mstand also offer similar services. Consumers are often drawn by promotional offers or limited-edition merchandise to buy multiple coffee punch cards, then slowly redeem them within the validity period.
In many people's eyes, chain brands with numerous locations and large scale should offer more reliable "cup storage" services. But a recent customer experience shattered that trust—he had stored 362 cups of coffee at a chain brand location, only to find things were far more complicated than imagined.
According to TVBS, last month a location of a chain coffee brand in Kaohsiung launched a "buy 100 cups, get 100 free" promotion. Upon learning of it, a local consumer, considering his high coffee consumption frequency, thought buying more meant better value, and paid NT$30,000 at once to store 480 cups of coffee at the shop.
However, just over half a month later, the customer discovered that the shop had pulled down its metal gate starting September 1, with a notice posted on the door reading: "Due to staff shortage and health issues, the shop will be temporarily closed from September 1 to September 30."
If it were merely a brief closure, the customer could understand. But when he saw on social media that the shop had posted about putting the store up for transfer, he couldn't help but worry whether the shop would continue operating.
The customer stated that since storing the large batch of coffee, he had frequently visited the shop to consume it, but so far 362 cups remained unclaimed. He contacted the shop owner via messaging app, and the other party verbally promised a full refund of the remaining amount, but when the agreed date arrived, they changed their tune and said it would be delayed by a week, and afterward stopped replying to messages, completely disappearing.
Since this coffee shop belonged to a local chain brand, the customer tried to contact the brand's official channels, hoping to get assistance from headquarters.
But unexpectedly, the brand stated that the discount package the customer purchased was only usable at that franchise location. Additionally, customer service said that normally consumers making purchases at a shop need to do so through the App, and the system would have corresponding transaction and cup-storage records. However, this customer only had a paper voucher recording the stored cups, so he could not claim the coffee stored at this now-closed location at other branches.
The consumer protection officer stated that because the franchise and headquarters have "independent accounts," the franchise should bear the responsibility to settle and refund the consumer's losses. However, the officer believed that since the franchise owner's whereabouts are currently unknown and they cannot be reached, the consumer's losses would likely be difficult to recover.
Officials stated they cannot help the consumer locate the franchise owner, but headquarters has now contacted the consumer to discuss a solution. Whether this customer can successfully get his money back, however, remains uncertain.
Image source: TVBS related report
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
