What Is Behind the Barista Level Complaints at MStand?

A customer post titled "MStand Coffee Is Bitter" turned into a collective complaint thread from current MStand baristas. Employees report that over the past two or three months, management has tightly controlled labor efficiency, so even formally confirmed baristas cannot get full scheduled hours, and the attendance bonus exists in name only while New Year benefits went missing.

Staff also describe a salary structure adjustment they call a disguised pay cut, plus a daily quota of one stored-value card and four combo packages per employee, with reports, surveillance review, and reason analysis required for misses. Frontline workers say the added sales pressure has changed what the barista level job actually involves, since they spend part of each shift selling rather than making coffee.

Recently, a customer post titled "MStand Coffee Is Bitter" sparked widespread resonance among current employees on social media, and the comment section quickly turned into a "complaints camp" for MStand baristas. Customers complained that during peak hours only two people were on duty at the store, wait times were too long, and management was chaotic, while employees revealed deeper problems: over the past two or three months, management has frantically controlled labor efficiency, so even the working hours of formally confirmed baristas cannot be fully scheduled, and the perfect attendance bonus exists in name only; New Year benefits are missing, and the salary structure adjustment has been accused of being a disguised pay cut; even more harshly, every employee must complete "one stored-value card and four combo packages" each day, otherwise they have to write a report, review surveillance footage, and analyze the reasons. Frontline baristas mock themselves, saying they cannot tell whether they are making coffee or doing sales. This article will fully present this collective employee complaint triggered by a customer speaking out.

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Recently, a post titled "MStand Coffee Is Bitter" appeared on social media and quickly attracted the attention of many current workers, and the comment section then turned into a "complaints camp" for these employees.

It is reported that the publisher of this post was an MStand customer. The customer said that during the Chinese New Year they went to a branch in a shopping mall near their home, and both the decor and the coffee itself were satisfying, but as a chain brand with an average price of twenty or thirty yuan, MStand's service really made people unable to resist complaining a bit.

This consumer pointed out that during peak order periods there were only two people on duty in the store. In addition to taking orders, grinding coffee, and making coffee, employees also had to keep pouring free water for those who had not ordered, and the work in their hands never stopped for a moment. But even though they were busy, when facing impatient customers, the baristas did not make any impolite moves, only smiling helplessly while trying their best to finish the work.

However, precisely because they were so busy, there was no one at all to help take orders, and no one could clear the tables. Customers buying a cup of coffee had to wait at least ten to twenty minutes. In short, the management of the entire store was very chaotic, and the consumer experience was quite poor. As for the root cause, these phenomena were obviously caused by insufficient staffing arranged by management.

Not long after the post was published, the MStand baristas who were the main figures in the article quickly came over after hearing the news, thanking the netizens who spoke up for them in the comments. Although work was tiring, encountering understanding customers still made them feel very happy.

Regarding the staffing shortage mentioned in the post, many current employees repeatedly said it was indeed true. Perhaps affected by the broader environment, starting two or three months ago, management began frantically controlling labor efficiency.

According to their description, like other chain brands, MStand now also continuously "squeezes manpower" by setting various outrageous rules and requirements, among which controlling working hours is the most common problem. Even for baristas who have already been formally confirmed, under the condition of no leave and normal scheduling for a month, they cannot be guaranteed enough working hours, because management can always find reasons to "cut" them all. Since even working hours cannot be satisfied, the perfect attendance bonus naturally need not be mentioned.

In addition, some people added that this year MStand not only did not provide employees with any New Year benefits, but did not even offer a New Year greeting. It also changed the salary structure, with only store managers and above at the management level receiving a bonus once every quarter, while in other months they only receive base salary. Stores with many orders likewise have no performance reward. From the perspective of frontline baristas, this is a "disguised pay cut."

However, for most current workers, production is actually not the most headache-inducing work, because they have long been accustomed to this busy rhythm.

Compared with making coffee nonstop, what makes employees most speechless is that when they request more staffing from upper management, the reply they get is "push more stored-value cards" and "sell more combo packages."

From the complaints of MStand employees, it can be learned that under the extreme labor efficiency management model and numerous rules and regulations, senior leaders also imposed strict sales requirements on every employee: at least "one stored-value card and four combo packages" must be completed every day. If one is missing, they have to write a report, review that day's surveillance footage, analyze the reason why the sale was not completed, and then write down the next day's goal.

In order to督促 the performance of stored-value cards and combo packages , some leaders even once said in the internal work group, "If you sell combo packages well, I won't cut your working hours." For a while, workers could not tell whether they were baristas or salespeople.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

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