When ordering on a food delivery platform, many consumers have experienced the mistake of confirming too quickly without carefully reading the options. Third-party platforms usually support time-limited cancellations, but if it is a merchant's own mini-program or app, the process for modifying or canceling an order is often more cumbersome, and many people's first instinct is to call the store directly. Recently, however, some customers have discovered that what is listed on the Luckin Coffee platform is not the store's direct line, but the national unified customer service hotline, making it difficult to reach the store level in a timely manner. This situation has sparked discussions about the contact information of chain brand stores, order modification and cancellation permissions, and has also brought to light the real conflict in communication efficiency between consumers and stores. [more…]

A customer purchased a Starbucks Frappuccino coupon on Meituan, successfully placed an order and received a pickup code, but upon walking to the store to collect the drink, discovered that the store had already closed down. The store's phone was disconnected, and Starbucks customer service and Meituan customer service passed the buck to each other over refund responsibility, leaving the consumer in a predicament. An investigation revealed that the store is located at Suning Plaza on Jiefang Road in Xi'an, where the mall is undergoing comprehensive renovation, and the store has actually ceased operations—yet the official app still showed it as open, and orders could even be placed through "Feikuai." Ultimately, after the customer's feedback, Starbucks shut down the ordering channel, Meituan refunded the order amount and stopped delivery services. The incident also sparked discussions among netizens about wrong-store pickup services and the 12315 complaint channel. [more…]

Recently, a woman in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, found an insect in a Luckin Coffee beverage. The incident quickly trended on Weibo, sparking widespread discussion. The individual involved said that customer service successively offered compensation of two and then five drink coupons, but she was dissatisfied with this and has filed a complaint with 12315. Netizens shared similar experiences and questioned Luckin's compensation plan and hygiene management. At the same time, some voices pointed out that mosquitoes and insects are hard to completely avoid in summer, and a single case should not be used to make sweeping generalizations. This article will review the course of the incident and the views of all parties, and explore the quality control challenges facing the coffee industry. [more…]

A traveler from Zhengzhou on a business trip to Chengdu drank the complimentary instant coffee provided in his room after checking into a local Holiday Inn, and subsequently suffered gastrointestinal discomfort. Upon inspecting the packaging, the coffee was produced in March 2022 with a 24-month shelf life, meaning it was nearly half a year past its expiration date when the guest drank it. After the customer reported the matter to the hotel, the hotel offered to refund the room fee and provide 2,000 yuan in compensation, but stressed that the payment was a "reward for discovering the problem" rather than compensation, which the customer did not accept. At present, the Chengdu market regulatory authorities have intervened in the investigation, and the matter is still being handled. This case has also sounded an alarm for food safety management in guest rooms across the hotel industry. [more…]

Recently, a consumer in Xi'an posted on social media that when opening a canned Nescafé Absolute Black coffee powder purchased on an e-commerce platform, the coffee powder burst out explosively, leaving a mess on their face, clothes, and floor, and causing a wound near their nose. After contacting the seller and manufacturer, the company explained it away as being due to altitude and air pressure, and was only willing to gift two cans of coffee powder, refusing to compensate for contact lenses or medical expenses. The incident sparked heated discussion online, with many questioning the customer service explanation and noting that brands such as illy have also had similar occurrences. Front Street Coffee has noted that the lack of safety warnings on canned coffee powder deserves industry attention. [more…]

Recently, Half Box Farm Coffee has found itself in a public opinion storm due to a slogan on its product packaging: "Every working mom owes her child an apology." The slogan was criticized by netizens as discriminatory against working women. The brand's customer service explained that the original intention was to encourage mothers to spend more time with their children on weekends, but this failed to quell the controversy. As the incident continued to escalate, working mothers spoke out one after another, expressing their dissatisfaction with such copywriting. The brand has no flagship store on mainstream e-commerce platforms and sells only through Douyin, and its customer service responses have been vague. This storm not only exposed the brand's lack of sensitivity on gender issues, but also sparked discussions about the boundaries of marketing. For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop. For specialty coffee beans, you can add Front Street Coffee on WeChat. [more…]

Recently, a post about Starbucks removing charging outlets from customer areas sparked widespread discussion on social media. Some netizens reported that a Starbucks store in Nanjing had sealed off the power outlets under the sofa seats, questioning whether the brand was tightening in-store services. Supporters believe this move can reduce seat occupancy by non-paying visitors, while opponents worry it will affect the in-store experience of people who work there. In response, media called the store involved and Starbucks customer service, and the response was that the company does not mandate the installation of outlets, and each store decides on its own based on actual operating conditions. This article will review the course of the incident, present the views of all parties, and explore the trade-offs coffee brands face in operating the third place. [more…]

Recently, a consumer posted on social media reporting that when ordering lunch through a third-party delivery platform at a Starbucks store, they received a box of yellow peach-flavored Greek-style yogurt with a grain mix that was three days past its expiration date. During consumption, the customer noticed that the date code on the packaging showed an expiration date of March 4, while the day of receipt was already March 7. The incident quickly drew netizens' attention, with many suggesting keeping evidence and filing complaints through official channels to defend their rights. However, after the customer contacted Starbucks customer service, the reply was that because the order was placed through a third-party platform, only the platform could handle the refund. This response left onlooking netizens dissatisfied, as they felt the brand showed little concern for the store's mistake. As of press time, the individual has filed a complaint on the 12315 platform, but the outcome has not yet been announced. [more…]

Ordering through mini-programs is quick and convenient, and you can even get coupons, but once you place a wrong order and want a refund, you may run into obstacle after obstacle. Recently, a blogger mistakenly ordered 17 cups of coffee through the Luckin mini-program. Within one minute, they tried to cancel, only to find that the mini-program did not display the store’s phone number, while the headquarters customer service kept passing them back and forth through an intelligent robot. In the end, they had no choice but to bear the loss themselves. This incident struck a chord with many netizens, and quite a few shared similar experiences. Consumers are calling for store contact information to be made public or for the self-service refund function to be improved, while Luckin staff also said that stores cannot directly process refunds and that the procedure is cumbersome, expressing hope that the system can be optimized. When convenience and after-sales service become disconnected, how should brands balance efficiency and consumer rights? [more…]

Recently, a Mixue Bingcheng store in Shenyang made trending news after a dispute broke out between a staff member and a customer. According to a report by Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, a woman ordered three drinks in advance but was delayed by more than ten minutes after going to the wrong store. When she arrived, she was unable to get the drinks that had already been made, and then got into an argument with a male employee, who even made harsh remarks such as "Eat it if you want, if not, get out." After the incident video was exposed, it sparked widespread discussion among netizens. Some criticized the employee's poor service attitude, while others pointed out that freshly made iced drinks have their own reasonable preparation requirements, but more people believed that the responsibility of both sides needed to be judged based on the full sequence of events. At present, the employee involved has been fired by the store and has compensated the customer. [more…]

Luckin Coffee has once again trended on Weibo over an ice cube issue, just over ten days after the previous controversy of "half a cup left after ordering no ice or less ice." On March 25, a woman in Heze, Shandong Province, posted a video saying that a full-price Raw Coconut Latte she bought was gone after three or four sips, with nothing but ice left, sparking widespread resonance among netizens. Many netizens shared similar experiences, joking that "a cup of Luckin is half a cup of ice." A Jimu News reporter contacted the store involved, and an employee said that an iced Raw Coconut Latte itself is only half a cup, with the other half being ice, emphasizing that ice also costs money. Luckin customer service responded that the drink is made according to a unified recipe but did not directly address whether the amount of ice complies with regulations. This article will review the course of the incident and the responses from all parties. [more…]

Recently, a Sam's Club store in Nanjing was exposed by a consumer: a full case of blood orange chia seed juice tea beverage they purchased contained two foreign objects, one large and one small, despite being unopened, and the smaller piece was suspected to be black mold. After the consumer's communication with the store yielded no result, Sam's national customer service only offered compensation in the form of a coupon of equivalent value. This is not the first time Sam's Club has been embroiled in a food safety controversy; previously, Shenzhen, Changzhou, and other places also reported incidents one after another, including insect eggs attached to milk and teeth found in fresh meat mooncakes. Complaints of this kind are common on social platforms. Data from the Black Cat Complaint platform shows that in September alone, Sam's Club received 70 complaints, many involving food safety. As a high-end membership store under Walmart, Sam's quality control problems are arousing concern among more and more consumers. [more…]

Recently, a consumer posted a video on social media claiming to have found a foreign object resembling a cockroach in a Luckin Coffee beverage, sparking widespread attention. The consumer said they drank it several hours after picking it up, and upon discovering the foreign object immediately filmed a video and contacted the store and headquarters to complain, demanding an investigation into the store's hygiene conditions and its suspension for rectification. Luckin responded that it was handling the matter but did not provide surveillance evidence, and the two sides each stick to their own account regarding the origin of the foreign object and who is responsible. The consumer has now filed a complaint with 12315, and the incident is still escalating. [more…]

Recently, a netizen from Zhejiang posted a video on social media claiming to have found several white wriggling worms in a Luckin Coffee drink, sparking widespread attention. According to the netizen, the coffee was purchased by a friend at a newly opened Luckin store in Jiaxing, and the foreign objects were only discovered after more than half of the drink had been consumed. The video shows worms crawling slowly on the cup lid, while similar small white objects can also be seen floating in the dark coffee. After the incident came to light, netizens began discussing the source of the worms, with some speculating they were hatched fly eggs and others questioning whether the coffee had been left too long and become contaminated. The poster stressed that the cup remained sealed throughout, making it difficult for flies to enter. The netizen has contacted Luckin customer service but has not yet received a reply. [more…]

Recently, a consumer exposed on social media that she found several still-wriggling live maggots in a meteorite-series drink she bought at Luckin, by which time she had already drunk more than half the cup. The store involved responded that surveillance showed no abnormalities in either operations or material storage, and proposed three drink coupons as compensation, but the customer explicitly refused. This is not the first time Luckin has been caught up in a storm over insect foreign objects; several similar incidents were exposed last year. As the incident continues to ferment, market regulators have stepped in, and the consumer has yet to receive any further official communication. Food safety has once again become an unavoidable core issue for the beverage industry. [more…]

The chain milk tea brand Grandpa's Tea launched a limited-edition garden thermos to celebrate its sixth anniversary, attracting many fans to collect the merchandise. However, some consumers discovered rust at the rim of the cup along with a strange odor after use, raising concerns about product quality. Multiple users posted about similar issues on social media, yet the after-sales handling failed to satisfy consumers. After media reports on October 22, the brand took the matter seriously, sent the product for testing, and released preliminary investigation results confirming that the metal inner liner was indeed 316 stainless steel, and that the rust was caused by the manufacturing process, after which it immediately initiated a recall of the affected batch of thermoses. Front Street Coffee reminds coffee lovers that when choosing a thermos, they should pay attention to material and craftsmanship details, and promptly defend their rights if they encounter quality issues. [more…]

Recently, a screenshot claiming that a delivery rider took an order for 1,750 cups of Mixue drinks with a delivery fee of 76.13 yuan and a total weight of 875 kilograms spread widely on social media and quickly trended on Weibo. However, after verification by multiple media outlets and relevant departments, the store address indicated in the screenshot does not exist, and two nearby Mixue stores both denied having received such an order. After an on-site inspection, the Market Supervision Administration of Xiang'an District, Xiamen, confirmed that the address is actually a hot pot restaurant. This massive delivery order that sparked heated discussion was ultimately confirmed to be false information. As coffee enthusiasts, Front Street Coffee reminds everyone to pay attention to verifying the source of information when following online hot topics. [more…]

During this year's Dragon Boat Festival, several Starbucks stores in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region ran short of Frappuccino Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), leaving customers holding redemption vouchers unable to collect their goods as scheduled. At some stores, heated arguments broke out between customers and staff. Some employees were reduced to tears by verbal abuse, while other customers threatened to call the police or expose the situation. Starbucks responded that it had made every effort to meet redemption demand, but some consumers remained dissatisfied with the compensation package. This supply-demand conflict triggered by a zongzi shortage reveals deeper issues in the brand's allocation and inventory management of seasonal products. [more…]

Originating in Toronto, Canada, Tims has always accompanied its loyal customers with warm freshly brewed coffee and is hailed as Canadians' national coffee. Recently, however, multiple consumers have reported serious quality issues with its takeaway cups for hot drinks: after being filled with hot coffee, the cups collapse, their seams split, and in some cases the bottoms even fall off, causing coffee to leak out and nearly scalding some people. So far, 20 consumers have provided photographic evidence. Tims officially responded that it is investigating the matter with its suppliers, has apologized to affected customers, and has promised to improve the takeaway cups to ensure they meet usage standards. This article will walk you through the details of the incident. [more…]

Recently, a netizen exposed that a certain Cotti Coffee store placed a notice sign in its outdoor seating area, explicitly prohibiting customers from bringing coffee of other brands to sit down, and marking competitor logos with a prohibition symbol. This practice quickly sparked heated discussion: supporters believe that businesses have the right to set consumption-based seating rules, while opponents question whether it涉嫌 excludes competitors and infringes on consumers' right to choose independently. As the topic trended on social media, Cotti officially responded that it had not uniformly required stores to use such notice signs and would verify the relevant situation. Behind the incident, the boundary between business autonomy and consumer rights has once again become the focus. [more…]