Why a coffee pot approach to service fails tea brands

Tea Yan Yue Se has closed several stores in recent months, including a nearly ten-year-old shop at Changsha's Yinpenling Wanda Plaza, plus locations at Changsha South Railway Station, Huachuang International Plaza, Changde Wanda, and Wuhan Buddha Ridge subway station. The closures stem from a mix of declining mall foot traffic, falling drink quality, and an in-store order verification rule that forces customers to wait before drinks are made.

That verification system, where drinks are only prepared after customers confirm orders on-site, clashes with modern expectations of speed and convenience. While some observers frame the pullback as a deliberate store layout adjustment, longtime fans point to weaker value for money. The brand appears to be cutting underperforming stores to limit losses rather than reversing the decline.

Recently, a netizen revealed that a nearly ten-year-old Tea Yan Yue Se store in Changsha's Yinpenling Wanda Plaza had quietly closed, sparking widespread discussion. Subsequently, more netizens posted photos pointing out that stores in multiple locations—Changsha South Railway Station, Huachuang International Plaza, Changde Wanda, and Wuhan Buddha Ridge subway station—had also been successively withdrawn in the recent period, and the actual number of closures could be even higher. Regarding the reasons for the closures, some believe it is the brand adjusting its store layout, while others attribute it to declining mall foot traffic. But more consumers point the finger at Tea Yan Yue Se's insistence on the "standing punishment" verification mechanism—drinks are only made after customers verify their orders in-store, which runs counter to today's consumption habits that pursue efficiency and convenience. In addition, longtime fans generally report a decline in quality control, with the value for money of the drinks being far worse than before. Once a must-visit spot for check-ins, its charm has now faded, stores are deserted, and the brand closing underperforming stores to cut losses in time may also be a helpless move.

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Recently, a post titled "Yay, even Tea Yan Yue Se has been driven out of business" on social platforms sparked a large number of netizens to observe and discuss.

According to the poster, the store closed this time is located in Changsha's Yinpenling Wanda Plaza. Based on online information and local residents' memories, the store opened around 2016, when the mall was still called Aux Plaza.

Nearly ten years later, the mall has been renamed Yinpenling Wanda Plaza, while this old Tea Yan store stationed on the first floor quietly locked its doors and exited the stage before customers noticed.

The sudden news of closure at a familiar store surprised nearby residents, and memories related to this store could not help but surface in their minds. Amid the regret, local residents analyzed that increasingly fierce competition in the tea beverage industry, combined with factors such as declining mall foot traffic, ultimately led this nearly ten-year-old store to choose not to hold on any longer and withdraw from the site.

However, some netizens also pointed out that within the past half month, this was not the only Tea Yan Yue Se store to close. According to posts published by users on social media, four stores at Changsha South Railway Station, the first-floor store at Huachuang International Plaza, the Tea Leaf store on the first floor of Changde Wanda, the store inside Hubei University of Education, and the store at Wuhan Buddha Ridge subway station all closed successively in the recent period.

Judging from comments and posted photos, the actual number of Tea Yan Yue Se closures may be even higher. "Chongqing's are also closing one after another," "The Tea Yan in the subway station behind my home has also closed," "Several in the Wangjiawan area have closed...," "I can't find a Tea Yan within three kilometers of me anymore."

As for the reasons for the closures, accounts differ. Some revealed that the brand is adjusting its store layout, "because Tea Yan canceled the model of opening stores in universities"; some users believe that Tea Yan stores in malls no longer operating may be related to declining mall popularity.

But more people believe that one of the reasons Tea Yan Yue Se has gradually lost public favor is the "standing punishment" verification mechanism frequently complained about by customers. Milk tea consumers say that nowadays everyone values efficiency more, and after tea beverage stores finish orders, customers receive a notification and immediately verify and pick up their drinks and leave.

However, Tea Yan Yue Se has always insisted that drinks only begin to be made after customers verify in-store, disregarding current consumers' pursuit of an efficient and convenient experience, and instead making the process of buying milk tea cumbersome. Because of this distinctive mechanism, many people say frankly that after experiencing it once, they will not visit again and are unwilling to repurchase.

In addition to this reason, longtime fans also believe that Tea Yan Yue Se's quality control has clearly declined in recent years. Some complain after receiving their drinks: "Remove the ice and remove the milk foam and there's only a little more than half left," "Half of a cup of milk tea is foam," directly saying that the value for money of Tea Yan drinks now struggles to arouse the desire to consume.

In the eyes of many milk tea lovers, Tea Yan Yue Se was once the white moonlight in their hearts, a must-visit check-in spot when going to Changsha. But with changes in consumption habits and taste preferences, Tea Yan Yue Se's appeal to milk tea lovers has gradually weakened, and the scene of bustling crowds is hard to reproduce, with many stores becoming deserted. Seen this way, the brand closing poorly performing stores to cut losses in time is not an unreasonable choice.

Image source: Internet

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