What does the Nayuki stone incident mean for coffee culture?

A customer at a Nayuki store in Linping District, Hangzhou, found a blue-black stone the size of a thumbnail in a drink purchased on the evening of January 14. When the customer sought compensation, the store manager accused them of extortion and fraud. After police were called, mall surveillance footage confirmed the customer's account, recording the pickup, drinking, and spitting out of the stone, while the store provided no footage of its production process.

The incident has raised concerns about food safety and consumer rights across the beverage industry, from specialty coffee shops to tea chains like Nayuki. The company's official customer service refused media interviews, and the phone line for the store involved has been suspended. Staff had initially offered a refund and two free drinks, which the customer rejected, requesting compensation under relevant regulations instead, only to be called a liar to their face.

Recently, a Nayuki store in Linping District, Hangzhou, was reported to have served a drink containing a blue-black stone the size of a thumbnail. When the consumer sought compensation, the store manager instead accused them of extortion and fraud. After the individual called the police and reviewed the mall's surveillance footage, the video fully recorded the entire process of picking up the order, drinking, and spitting out the stone. However, the store did not provide surveillance footage of the production process. Nayuki's official customer service refused media interviews, and the phone line for the store involved has been suspended. The incident has raised concerns about food safety and consumer rights protection in the food and beverage industry.

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Recently, media outlets including Jiangnan Metropolis Daily reported that a netizen posted on social media, claiming that on the evening of January 14, they found a stone in a drink purchased from the Nayuki store at Wanda Plaza in Linping District, Hangzhou.

According to the poster's account, on the night of the incident, they and a friend went to the Nayuki store at Wanda Plaza in Linping District to buy a cup of "66 Blueberry Mulberry Milkshake." Within less than two minutes of picking up the order, the customer drank something hard, and upon spitting it out, discovered it was a blue-black stone the size of a thumbnail. The individual immediately returned to the store to report the situation. The staff initially offered to refund the order and give two free drinks, but the individual did not accept and demanded compensation in accordance with relevant regulations.

Unexpectedly, upon learning of the situation, the store manager directly denied that the stone came from the store's product, claiming the customer had put it in themselves. Video provided by the individual shows two men surrounding them, calling them a "liar" and threatening, "If you drank it and got sick, go to the hospital."

The customer stated that the merchant accused them to their face of extortion and fraud, and verbally abused them with agitation, even appearing inclined to get physical. Unable to communicate and negotiate compensation, and being counter-accused, the individual chose to call the police and requested to view the surveillance footage from the Nayuki store and the mall to prove their innocence.

Police arrived at the scene and, accompanied by staff, the individual reviewed the mall's surveillance footage, which fully recorded the entire process of the consumer picking up the order at the store, opening the drink, drinking it, and spitting out the stone. However, the store did not provide surveillance of the drink's production process. The dispute remained unresolved even after police intervention. The consumer later stated they had filed complaints with Nayuki's official customer service and the 12315 platform.

Additionally, with the source of the stone still unclear, the merchant flatly denied it and accused the customer of defamation, claiming the purpose of seeking compensation was extortion. The individual stated they could not accept this and believed the store should apologize and provide an explanation.

On January 16, a reporter from Jiangnan Metropolis Daily called Nayuki's official customer service. A staff member responded, "We do not accept media interviews. If there are issues, we suggest customers go directly to the store to provide feedback and have it recorded."

Dianshi News made multiple attempts to contact the store involved, but its phone line consistently showed "service suspended." Subsequently, media reporters contacted Nayuki's headquarters. Customer service staff said that why a foreign object appeared in the drink needed to be verified with the store involved; regarding why the store manager verbally abused the customer and accused them of "fraud," further investigation was also needed.

When asked whether the store had surveillance installed and whether it could record the entire drink production process, the staff member said the store did indeed have surveillance equipment. As for whether the surveillance could be disclosed to consumers, it would depend on the store's relevant regulations. The staff member also said the matter would be reported to higher departments, and a formal response would be given after verification. However, as of the media's deadline on January 16, Nayuki had not made any further response regarding the consumer finding a stone in their drink.

Image source: Internet

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