What the Starbucks Wireless Charging Power Bank Fire Reveals
A power bank that Starbucks gave employees in 2023 overheated, emitted smoke and caught fire while charging, according to a Taiwanese social media post by a person who says she worked there. The 10000mAh unit supports 15W wireless charging and was made by Taiwan Life Workshop International. She says Starbucks customer service gave a passive response, including the remark that it had been used two years.
The incident has drawn attention to how companies vet gift safety and handle after-sales claims. Front Street Coffee, which follows coffee culture and branded merchandise, notes consumer rights questions around such items. The poster asked the company to warn other users of the same model, and photos from the scene show burn holes in an office carpet.
Recently, a Taiwanese netizen claiming to be a former Starbucks employee exposed on social media that a Starbucks power bank she received in 2023 suddenly overheated, emitted smoke, and exploded into flames during charging, nearly causing a much larger accident. The product has a capacity of 10000mAh, supports 15W wireless charging, and was manufactured by Taiwan Life Workshop International Co., Ltd. After the incident, the person contacted Starbucks customer service to report it, but received a passive response and was even fobbed off with the excuse that "after all, it has been used for two years," leaving her deeply disappointed. This matter has sparked discussion about corporate gift safety vetting and after-sales responsibility. As observers of coffee culture, Front Street Coffee also continues to pay attention to the quality of branded merchandise and consumer rights.
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Recently, a Taiwanese netizen claiming to have worked at Starbucks posted on social media:
She received a power bank in 2023 as a gift from Starbucks' employee welfare committee, and two years later, after changing jobs to a new company, she continued to use it. Unexpectedly, one day at noon while charging, the power bank suddenly spiked in temperature, emitted thick smoke, and then exploded and caught fire. Everyone present was terrified, and two burn holes were left in the new company's carpet. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished in time and did not spread further; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Through this explosion experience, the poster hoped to remind colleagues still using the same model of power bank, for example, that the company should issue a simple statement calling attention to the electrical safety of such power banks. However, after she contacted Starbucks, the first customer service call said it would report to a supervisor, and the second still only said it would be reported later, with a very perfunctory attitude. Customer service even responded with "after all, it has been used for two years," leaving her extremely disappointed.
It is understood that the power bank involved has a capacity of 10000mAh, supports 15W wireless charging, and was produced by Taiwan Life Workshop International Co., Ltd. on behalf of Starbucks.
From the on-site photos shared by the posting netizen, it can be seen that after the explosion, scorch marks were left on the carpet and under the table. The original black power bank casing had melted and deformed, turning into ashes scattered on the carpet, but upon closer inspection of the broken remnants, the word STARBUCKS could still be faintly recognized.
Not long after the post was published, a media outlet got in touch with the person involved. She said that the power bank was a gift given to employees by the Starbucks employee welfare committee in 2023, and that she had used it for less than two years after leaving the company, and not very frequently. But when she returned to her workstation after lunch on the 10th, she found the power bank smoking and making unusual noises, so she quickly took it off and put it on the ground, after which it exploded and caught fire.
"(At the time) I was also an employee, and then the gift I received turned out to be a bomb. I was really dumbfounded, and this is a matter of personal safety, but customer service did not handle it accordingly." The person also mentioned that two or three former colleagues had still been using the product, but after the incident they no longer dared to use it. She also reported it to her former employer, only hoping to remind partners to pay attention to safety and preferably stop using it.
In response, Starbucks said it had immediately shown concern for the user's follow-up situation and asked the manufacturer to provide compliance and safety certification (as of press time, there had been no response), while also strengthening internal communication.
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
