What Does the Milk Tea Shop Wage Case Mean for Coffee Jobs?

A college student applying for a part-time job at a milk tea shop in China was offered 8 yuan an hour and then called 'scrap' by the recruiter after questioning the rate. The student posted the chat records online, and the story spread quickly through Chinese media, prompting the brand Shuyi Tealicious to apologize, close the store for processing, and promise to review franchisee pay practices.

Much of the online argument turned on dialect: the student's reply used a Sichuan-Chongqing slang word, which some readers saw as the trigger. Beyond the slang debate, the case puts part-time wage standards and respect for student workers in the drinks trade under scrutiny, a subject that matters to coffee shops as much as to tea chains.

Recently, a college student looking for a part-time job at a milk tea shop was stunned by an hourly wage of 8 yuan, only to be retorted by the recruiter as "scrap." The incident quickly sparked heated discussions online. After the job seeker made a video of the chat records and posted it, netizens engaged in intense debate over the understanding of dialect slang, the recruiter's respect issues, and part-time wage standards. The employee involved in the store has apologized, and the brand Shuyi Tealicious also responded, stating that the store has been closed for processing and promising to negotiate and rectify franchisee salary management in the future. The part-time ecosystem behind a cup of milk tea deserves the attention of every coffee lover and job seeker.

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Recently, Cover News, Sichuan Daily, and other media have successively reported that a netizen, while applying for a part-time job at a milk tea shop, was mocked by the recruiter with the term "scrap" after questioning the hourly wage offered by the store.

It is reported that the job seeker is a college student planning to find a part-time job at a milk tea shop during vacation. He contacted a local chain milk tea shop through a recruitment platform and learned during communication that the pay for this part-time job was only "8 yuan an hour," then blurted out "toothbrush (note: Sichuan-Chongqing dialect) 8 yuan." Unexpectedly, the store staff replied: "Know your place, scrap."

(Image from the parties' chat records)

Upon receiving such a reply, the job seeker felt very angry: "I was just inquiring about a part-time job. Him offering 8 yuan an hour is fine and none of my business. The main issue is that he casually evaluated us college students as scrap, which is very disrespectful no matter what." So, he made a video of his job-seeking experience and posted it on an online platform, quickly attracting a lot of attention and discussion from netizens.

(Image screenshot from Sichuan Daily Douyin account)

In the view of some netizens, the "toothbrush" said by the job seeker upon learning the hourly wage was likely the trigger for the other party's "scrap" remark. They pointed out that "toothbrush" is slang in the Sichuan-Chongqing dialect, and its specific meaning needs to be judged based on the context and tone. In this conversation, most people believe it can be understood as the job seeker's surprise and disbelief upon learning the pay, similar to interjections like "wow!" or "oh my," and is not malicious in itself.

However, the same sentence may be understood completely differently by different people. Some speculate that the dialect slang casually said by the job seeker might have sounded somewhat aggressive to the store staff, and combined with the context that seemed to imply questioning the low pay, this prompted the recruiter to retort angrily with "scrap."

But in the view of more netizens, the store staff calling the job seeker "scrap" during the communication clearly lacked respect, and they believed the milk tea shop manager should apologize to the college student who applied for the job.

After the incident escalated, the employee involved in the milk tea shop contacted the person through the recruitment platform and apologized, stating that they had lost control of their emotions at the time and used inappropriate language during the communication, and promised to be more mindful of their words and actions in the future to avoid similar situations.

Reporters who learned about this also contacted the official customer service of the brand Shuyi Tealicious. The staff responded: "We have closed the store for processing and communicated with the student, obtaining forgiveness. The relevant remarks posted on the recruitment platform are the personal behavior of the store manager, which violates our company's values and deviates from our Shuyi Tealicious service philosophy."

Regarding follow-up handling, the brand stated that through further communication, corresponding penalties will be made in accordance with the company's internal management regulations. The public concerned about this matter can pay attention to relevant information posted by the official on social platforms.

As for the issue of "8 yuan hourly wage for part-time" that some netizens are concerned about, the staff also responded: "Because we are a franchise model, salary management in this area is managed by the franchisees themselves. But after this incident, we will definitely negotiate and rectify the franchisees' salary management in the future."

Image source: Internet screenshot

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