What happened in the Zus Coffee store conflict in Kuala Lumpur?

A conflict broke out on November 9 at a Zus Coffee store in Kuala Lumpur. Video of about 15 seconds shows an employee telling a customer to get out, the customer pouring coffee on the counter and throwing a cup, and the employee hurling a drink back. Objects and glass were thrown before the scene calmed.

Malaysia's Oriental Daily Express and Asia Television News were among the outlets that reported the incident, and the clip spread quickly online with speculation about the cause. Zus Coffee issued two consecutive statements denying the employee involved had been fired and saying the matter had been handed to the police, prompting wider discussion of how brands protect frontline staff.

Recently, a heated conflict between a customer and an employee broke out at a store of the local Kuala Lumpur coffee chain brand Zus Coffee. A video of about 15 seconds spread rapidly online, showing both sides throwing drinks and objects at each other, with the scene briefly spiraling out of control. The incident sparked all kinds of speculation among netizens about the cause of the conflict and also set off discussions about how brands should protect frontline employees. After the incident, Zus Coffee issued two consecutive statements denying that the employee involved had been fired and saying it had handed the matter over to the police. This article will sort through the course of the incident, the reactions of various parties, and the brand's official response.

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Recently,多家 media outlets including Malaysia's Oriental Daily Express and Asia Television News reported that a conflict incident occurred on November 9 at Zus Coffee, a local coffee chain brand in Kuala Lumpur.

The video shows that an employee at a Zus Coffee store, for unknown reasons, made gestures at the person filming and repeatedly said "Get out" in Chinese, apparently trying to drive the person away. But the customer refused to leave and loudly questioned in Chinese, "Why should I get out? I'm buying coffee here!"

As the two sides argued, the customer first poured coffee onto the counter, picked up a cup and threw it at the employee, and the provoked employee grabbed a drink cup and hurled it at the customer outside the counter. The customer then, while cursing angrily, grabbed a container holding condiments from the counter and threw it at the employee, and the sound of shattering glass could be heard at the scene, making it very chaotic.

After this roughly 15-second conflict video was posted, it quickly attracted a large number of users' attention. Many onlookers felt especially sympathetic toward the store employee's situation and strongly disapproved of the customer's behavior in pouring coffee on and throwing objects at the employee, pointing out that the employee was only carrying out their duties and should not become the target of a consumer's anger.

At the same time, various speculations about the cause of the incident emerged online. Some said, "The customer said the coffee was made too slowly, and the employee gave them the middle finger, which triggered the argument," while others said the customer was driven out by the employee because they wanted to smoke indoors, but these claims have not been confirmed.

Rational netizens believed that the widely circulated video only showed the course of the argument but could not reveal the reason from the footage, making it difficult to judge the responsibility of both parties involved, and then left messages under the official account demanding that the brand release the complete surveillance footage from the time of the incident.

In addition, during the spread of the video, gossip appeared saying that "the store dismissed the employee involved," which prompted many users to speak out online, calling on the brand to protect frontline employees and saying that if the company disciplined or fired the employee involved because of this incident, they would launch a boycott.

As the incident intensified, on November 10 Zus Coffee issued a statement on a public platform in three languages, saying that after the incident the company had proactively contacted relevant people to understand the details and had provided companionship and support to the employee involved. The company called on the public to respect the personal privacy of the employee involved and not to share or forward videos that could identify individuals without permission; at the same time, it hoped the public would stop spreading unverified content.

Zus Coffee pointed out in the statement that the employee involved was currently recovering from the incident, and the company hoped the outside world would give her time and space, and promised to conduct a careful and fair review of the incident. In addition, the brand denied rumors that the employee involved had been fired, saying, "We have noticed several posts claiming that the partner involved in the recent incident has been dismissed. This is not true."

However, the statement did not explain the cause of the conflict between the customer and the employee or the specific circumstances, nor did the brand release the store surveillance video as netizens had hoped, so some members of the public believed that the brand's statement avoided the important issues and failed to give a reasonable explanation to those following the incident.

Therefore, on the afternoon of November 12, Zus Coffee issued another statement, saying that the relevant content of the sudden situation had been submitted to the police for handling this Monday, and that the employee involved was currently on paid leave and adjusting their condition, but this latest announcement still did not disclose the complete course of the conflict to the public.

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