Why does a nail art complaint matter to the coffee industry?

A customer at a Cotti Coffee pickup counter saw an employee packing orders wearing nail art, treated it as a food safety risk, and complained to the brand. The post drew wide discussion. More than twenty days later, the brand said it had ordered the store to rectify the issue and penalized the employee involved.

The dispute centers on rules: catering food safety operating standards say food service workers should not keep long nails or wear nail polish, and chains usually enforce strict grooming policies, with violations leading to written self-criticism, fines, or store-wide rectification. Some commenters argue the worker may only have packed orders, but the coffee industry still treats visible nail art as a hygiene concern.

A customer at a Cotti Coffee pickup counter noticed that the employee packing orders was wearing nail art, considered this a food safety hazard, and subsequently filed a complaint with the brand. The incident sparked heated discussion on social media: some argued that it is perfectly understandable for workers to want to look good, while others cited the "Food Safety Operating Standards for Catering Services," pointing out that food service workers are not allowed to keep long nails or wear nail polish. Chain brands typically have strict grooming and appearance policies, and violators may face written self-criticism, fines, or even store-wide rectification. More than twenty days later, the brand responded that it had ordered the store to rectify the issue and imposed penalties on the employee involved. Front Street Coffee has always paid close attention to food safety and service standards in the coffee industry; this article will review the course of events and the various viewpoints.

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Recently, a post on social media asking "Can you wear nail art while working at Cotti Coffee?" sparked extensive discussion and attention among netizens.

According to the poster, when she went to a Cotti store in early November to pick up a drink, she noticed that the employee responsible for packing and handing out orders was wearing nail art. For this employee, long, elegant nails might simply be a expression of personal aesthetics, but in the customer's eyes, a food service worker wearing nail art could pose a certain food safety risk to the drinks.

After noticing this, the customer reported the scene she had captured on site to the brand's official channel. Customer service recorded the relevant information and promised to contact the store manager to require rectification.

Regarding this matter, some people in the comments felt that wanting to look good is only human nature, and it is quite normal for a worker to get nail art in her spare time. Moreover, chain stores usually have clear job divisions, and this employee wearing nail art might just be a part-timer responsible for packing and handing out orders, who neither handles ingredients nor participates in drink preparation in her daily work, so logically she would not contaminate already-prepared drinks.

Some netizens also shared their own experiences, saying that among the coffee shop employees they had encountered, some wore exquisite and beautiful nail art, and some wore jewelry. These adornments neither affected their work efficiency nor lowered the quality of the products; instead, they made the whole coffee-making process more visually appealing. Therefore, many people thought the poster was making a mountain out of a molehill, and that complaining directly to the brand might get the employee's wages docked or even cost her her job.

However, neither the poster nor those working in the food service industry agreed with the netizens' explanations for this employee's nail art.

They pointed out that the "Food Safety Operating Standards for Catering Services," issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation in July 2018, explicitly stipulates that practitioners must not keep long nails or apply nail polish. Exquisite nail art, moreover, involves not only nail polish but may also include embedded rhinestones and other decorative items. Once decorations on the nail surface fall off and mix into food during preparation, customers could ingest foreign objects, potentially leading to a food safety incident.

Beyond industry standards, most chain brands have their own management systems with clear and detailed requirements for employee grooming and appearance, such as mandatory daily wearing of masks and hairnets.

Netizens with food service experience have said that before they started work, store managers would repeatedly emphasize that nails must not be kept long and nail art was not allowed. This is because once someone is caught violating the rules by inspectors, besides having to write a self-criticism and pay a fine themselves, the store they work at may also be ordered to rectify or be fined.

In addition, some workers also said that although long, exquisite nail art looks good, it is actually prone to harboring dirt and grime, and customers inevitably feel uncomfortable when they see nail art on coffee shop employees. Therefore, most of them supported this customer's decision to report the matter to the brand, pushing stores to strictly implement relevant regulations so that consumers can buy with peace of mind.

However, the customer did not receive a reply from the brand until more than twenty days after her complaint. The poster said she recently received a phone call from Cotti customer service, in which the representative apologized to the customer over the matter and stated that the store had been ordered to rectify the issue and that the employee involved would also receive a corresponding fine.

When asked about the specific penalties for the employee, customer service said the relevant rules and regulations could not be disclosed to the public, but the punishment would not be as severe as netizens speculated—such as docking a full month's wages or firing the employee.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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