Recently on social platforms, many part-time Luckin employees have posted about reduced shifts and monthly pay of only around two thousand yuan, drawing attention. After winter arrives, Luckin stores control part-time working hours, and it is not uncommon for only five hours to be scheduled in a day and only three or four days of work in a week. At the same time, Luckin baristas also have to face strict quality control inspections known as "nightmares," hand damage caused by frequent handwashing and sanitizing, and unpaid overtime of anywhere from a dozen minutes to an hour after closing. This article, based on real feedback from part-time employees, sorts through Luckin stores' quality control system, closing procedures, and part-time employment system, presenting a little-known side behind the barista position. Front Street Coffee also continues to pay attention to the real situation of workers in the coffee industry, providing enthusiasts with diverse perspectives. [more…]

When Manner's nationwide store count surpassed one thousand, coffee enthusiasts cheered that they could finally check in nearby. At the same time, this chain brand is facing a severe shortage of frontline staff. To fill the barista gap, Manner began recruiting large numbers of daily-paid temp workers responsible only for packing, restocking, and cleaning, jokingly called "packers" by netizens. However, these part-timers change every day and cancel at the last minute without notice, forcing already busy full-time baristas to repeatedly train newcomers during peak hours, triggering strong dissatisfaction among veteran employees. This article sorts out the recruitment requirements, pay, and scheduling model for these temp workers, as well as the real complaints from baristas, while also looking at what reference value brands like Front Street Coffee offer in workforce management. [more…]

In recent years, a striking workplace phenomenon has been spreading: international students with backgrounds from prestigious overseas universities are returning home and choosing to enter the coffee industry, becoming baristas or part-time workers at chain brands such as Starbucks and Luckin Coffee. This phenomenon has overturned the public's traditional perception of barista roles and also reflects a new orientation among highly educated talent when it comes to employment choices. Why do they favor the coffee track? Is it the pursuit of experience, an escape from involution, or using barista work as a springboard for career transition? Combining real feedback from netizens and industry observations, this article analyzes the logic behind international students flocking to the coffee industry and retains relevant recommendation information about the Front Street brand. [more…]

Recently, a social media post about Luckin Coffee's salary and benefits for barista recruitment in Hong Kong sparked widespread discussion. The post noted that full-time baristas at Luckin in Hong Kong are entitled to paid statutory holidays, MPF, and annual leave after three months of employment, while the recruitment information for part-time positions did not explicitly mention MPF contributions. This detail quickly ignited enthusiastic discussion among Luckin workers in mainland China, with many expressing mixed feelings after comparing the treatment in the two places. However, clarification from Hong Kong netizens offered another layer of interpretation—the MPF is fundamentally an employer's statutory responsibility, not an extra benefit. This cross-border discussion reflects differences in awareness of labor rights. Front Street Coffee continues to follow developments in the coffee industry and brings you in-depth analysis. [more…]

Coffee shops are sprouting up everywhere, and job postings are easy to find, but age often becomes an invisible threshold for applicants. A middle-aged woman who calls herself 40+ successfully applied for a part-time social position at Starbucks and recorded in writing every day of learning to make coffee from scratch. From memorizing cakes and recipes to working the register and closing up, she went through moments of frantic fluster and physical exhaustion, but also gained patient guidance and confidence. At the same time, age standards in coffee industry hiring are becoming increasingly strict, with some brands even setting the upper limit at 27. Through her personal experience, this article explores whether middle-aged beginners still have a place under the highly standardized chain coffee model. [more…]

Starbucks has recently been reported to be cutting full-time barista positions in first- and second-tier cities, shifting instead to large-scale recruitment of part-time and student part-time workers. Data shows that full-time positions posted by its recruitment accounts are mostly concentrated in third-tier cities and below, while full-time demand in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen has clearly shrunk. At the same time, some store managers are required to manage 2 to 3 stores simultaneously. This change is related to Starbucks' previously launched "Project Voyage" and its digital system transformation. Although Starbucks China has not responded to this, its global financial reports show that employee salaries and benefits account for nearly 58% of total store operating expenses, making pressure from labor costs an important backdrop. Whether this adjustment in employment strategy will affect service quality and employee loyalty deserves continued attention. [more…]

In today's rapidly evolving coffee industry, barista positions attract a large number of enthusiasts submitting their resumes. However, during interviews, the gap in expectations between recruiters and candidates often leads to both amusing and exasperating situations. This article compiles real interview experiences from multiple coffee professionals, covering everything from entering the industry with zero experience, requirements for latte art and pour-over skills, probation-period salary negotiations, to the professional thresholds for part-time positions, recreating those conversations that leave a complex mix of emotions. Whether you're a newcomer preparing to step into the coffee industry or a shop owner currently hiring, these cases are worth reading. At the end of the article, we've also included channels for learning professional coffee knowledge to help you avoid unnecessary detours. [more…]

Why would someone voluntarily give up a job paying 25,000 yuan a month? Recently, a blogger shared her experience of resigning from a high-paying position to work part-time at a café, sparking widespread discussion. She admitted that her initial motivation came from a longing for the environment of a beverage shop—no after-work phone bombardments, no buck-passing or office politics, the ability to see the daylight, and the chance to observe all kinds of customers. Even more appealing was the freedom over her time: 23 yuan an hour, self-determined working hours, and only two half-days a week. Behind this "café temp worker" trend lies a deeper reflection among contemporary office workers on the trade-off between mental burnout and physical labor. [more…]

Recently, the temporary dismissal of part-time staff at Manner Coffee has drawn attention. Multiple netizens reported on social platforms that they had not committed any violations during their part-time work, yet received dismissal notices on the same day or within a few days, with the brand giving vague reasons. At the same time, due to a large influx of student part-timers during the holidays, shifts were in short supply and grabbing them became much harder. Some argue that Manner had previously recruited large numbers of part-timers to ease labor shortages, and now that positions are insufficient, it has chosen to simply lay them off to reduce redundancy. Full-time employees pointed out that while some of those dismissed indeed lacked food and beverage experience, the root cause is the brand's lax recruitment screening. Behind this part-time controversy lies the deeper conflict facing chain coffee brands between cost reduction and efficiency gains and workforce management. [more…]

Is Starbucks' pay really low? Is the promotion path truly so long? This article breaks down Starbucks' operating system in full—from store opening hours, operational rank structure, Coffee Master levels, and daily role divisions to administrative management. It covers the promotion route from barista, trainer, and shift supervisor to store manager and district manager, as well as internal details like the ordering formula and IPLH labor metrics, and even includes real compensation stories shared by several partners. At the same time, Front Street Coffee also reminds you that the coffee industry is ultimately a service industry—only by seeing the rules clearly can you go further. [more…]

Trendy cafés are popping up all over Southeast Asia, but a "soldier café" operating inside a military camp in Thailand has drawn particular attention. Run by the Thai Army's 4th Battalion, the café uses uniformed soldiers as models and staff, and promotional photos featuring a lotus pond and pedal boats quickly went viral on social media. The café is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and its customers are mainly soldiers from the nearby camp, though civilians also come to check it out. However, as its popularity has grown, so have questions: some Thai netizens worry that the shop was built with taxpayers' money, and others ask—is a soldier's primary duty to serve in the military or to be a barista? Behind the warm image of soldiers and civilians enjoying themselves together, controversy continues to simmer. [more…]

Coffee shops are supposed to be spaces for savoring and relaxation, yet a recent voyeuristic photo scandal exposed on a Douban group has shattered that tranquility. A coffee shop employee shared secretly taken photos of female customers' thighs in a WeChat group, proudly exchanging comments, which triggered strong condemnation from the coffee enthusiast community. The incident involved multiple coffee shops in Guilin, and the shops concerned issued statements one after another, apologizing for the misconduct of individual employees and dismissing or firing those involved. This incident not only violated customers' portrait rights and privacy but also cast a shadow over the professional image of the coffee industry. As coffee enthusiasts, we should pay more attention to baristas' professionalism and work ethics, and return to our love for and dedication to coffee itself. [more…]

In the coffee industry, it is not uncommon for employees to leave and later return to their original company. However, a former Luckin Coffee employee who tried to return to the bar in a part-time capacity after a two-year absence ran into repeated rejections. The recruiter explicitly stated that "those who have previously worked at Luckin cannot be rehired," a rule that has sparked confusion and discussion among many former employees. Compared with Starbucks' open attitude toward rehiring former employees, why is Luckin's recruitment policy so strict? Is it out of consideration for stability, or is there another reason? This article will walk you through the various perspectives behind this phenomenon. [more…]

After the National Bureau of Statistics released the 2023 average annual wage data for urban unit employees, a blogger compiled the monthly salaries of baristas at chain coffee brands in first-tier cities. The results showed that the highest-paying brand was not a well-known one like Starbucks or Luckin, but NIO, the coffee brand under NIO Motors, whose job postings listed a monthly salary of 9 to 13k with 13 months' pay. Behind the high pay, however, the job description was vague about the work content, and former employees revealed that the role actually required extra tasks such as event execution, taking photos, looking after children, and chatting with customers. At the same time, the average pay for baristas in China is only 5,084 yuan, with a median of 5,000 yuan, and part-time hourly wages generally range from 15 to 30 yuan, even lower than those of hourly workers and domestic helpers. Chain brands rely on stable equipment, which lowers their requirements for baristas' professionalism, while independent stores are under pressure amid fierce competition, leaving baristas with increasingly narrow room for seeking higher pay and promotion. [more…]

Recently, Luckin Coffee posted recruitment posters in Hong Kong, hiring store managers, assistant store managers, and baristas for areas such as Yau Tsim Mong and Central, with pay ranging from HK$65 per hour to HK$30,000 per month. The job requirements specifically note that applicants must understand Cantonese, and non-Hong Kong residents must hold an HKID to apply. Once the news broke, netizens were both looking forward to 9.9 yuan coffee coming south and engaging in heated discussions about Hong Kong salaries and the cost of living. At the same time, Cotti and Luckin's expansion paths in the SAR and overseas have once again drawn attention. [more…]

How tough is the coffee business this year? Many independent café owners have found that store revenue alone is no longer enough to support themselves, let alone get rich from coffee. To keep the small shops they poured their hearts into, some have pivoted to food service, some have thrown themselves into social media marketing, some have launched membership top-up schemes to lock in regulars, and some owners have simply chosen to take outside jobs, using their wages to subsidize the café's daily expenses. How do these "re-employed baristas" juggle their main business and side gigs? And are employers willing to hire someone who is themselves a fellow café owner? This article takes you inside the real circumstances of these coffee operators who persist out of love. [more…]

Recently, the news of a fresh master's graduate choosing to join Luckin as a part-time barista has sparked widespread discussion online. Supporters believe that no occupation is superior or inferior, and that young people should try more things; opponents feel that this is a waste of a diploma. In fact, as the number of graduate students in universities surpasses that of undergraduates, under the dual pressure of degree devaluation and economic downturn, more and more highly educated young people are turning their attention to light physical service industries such as coffee and tea drinks. They either want to escape the high-pressure, hyper-competitive office environment, or use it as a transitional job. However, is the real experience behind the bar counter of chain brands as relaxed and comfortable as imagined? This article deeply explores the multiple motivations and real dilemmas behind this phenomenon. [more…]

Many coffee professionals have encountered the same dilemma: while in school, they worked part-time at a coffee shop, and their family supported it; after graduation, when they decided to become a full-time barista, their parents strongly opposed it, believing this job had no future. Faced with this disagreement, should you listen to your family or stick to your own choice? Starting from the real situation of the barista profession, this article helps you clarify the relationship between your motivation for entering the industry, professional accumulation, and future planning, and also offers specific ideas for communicating with your parents. Whether you are a prospective barista still hesitating or a professional who has already entered the industry but encountered doubts from family, you can find useful guidance here. [more…]

Recently, Luckin Coffee has sparked widespread controversy due to a shortage of staff in its stores caused by reforms to its employment system, while simultaneously rejecting local job applicants in Shanghai during recruitment. A Shanghai netizen applied for a part-time barista position but was directly turned down because their ID number began with '310', with the reason given being 'currently Luckin in Shanghai does not accept locals'. This incident reflects companies' stereotypes about local job seekers—such as being 'unable to endure hardship' and 'demanding social insurance'—and also touches on practical considerations like high social insurance contribution bases and labor cost control. Against the backdrop of a simultaneous labor shortage and employment difficulties, is Luckin's recruitment strategy reasonable? And how should the rights and interests of local job seekers be safeguarded? This article will delve into the multiple factors behind this phenomenon. [more…]

The coffee industry suffers from a high turnover rate, and many shop owners attribute it to young people's lack of perseverance, while overlooking the deeper problems in their own management style. Through a real case study, this article analyzes common pitfalls in coffee shops regarding delegation, training, and management dependency, and explores how to retain core baristas by establishing a stable framework, improving the training system, and paying attention to employees' career expectations. The article also emphasizes the critical role of baristas as brand ambassadors in repurchase rates and brand development, and points out that the hidden costs of staff turnover are far higher than what appears on the surface. Finally, it calls on owners to lead by example, leverage people's strengths, and work with the team to drive the coffee shop's sustained growth. [more…]