Chinese Manner Coffee's 'Bad Manners'... Barista Throws Coffee Grounds at Customer

Famous Cafe 'Manner Coffee' Faces Repeated Staff-Customer Conflicts
Problematic Employee Fired... Company Issues Official Apology Statement

At a famous coffee shop in China, a bizarre incident occurred where an employee, after arguing with a customer, angrily threw coffee grounds from a container at the customer.

On the 22nd, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) introduced an incident at a coffee shop in Shanghai, China, where a customer was harassed by a barista after urging for coffee to be served quickly, through a video posted on its website. In the video, a female customer complains, "The coffee is taking too long," and says, "I will report this to headquarters."

Hearing this, the female barista retorted, "Go ahead and report if you want," and threw coffee grounds from a container in the coffee preparation area at the customer. The customer, who was suddenly covered in coffee grounds, wiped her face with tissue given by another customer and demanded an apology from the barista. However, the barista refused.

A barista of China's 'Manner Coffee' pouring coffee grounds onto a customer.
[Image source=Captured from Hong Kong South China Morning Post, Yonhap News]

The incident reportedly occurred on the 17th at a branch of the Chinese coffee chain 'Manner Coffee' in Shanghai. SCMP reported that Manner Coffee fired the employee involved. Local media such as Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that, besides this incident, there have been a series of conflicts between employees and customers at Manner Coffee recently. Recently, a male staff member at Manner Coffee got into an argument with a female customer who complained that her coffee was too late because she had to catch a flight, and ended up snatching and throwing the customer's mobile phone. There was also a scuffle between a male staff member and a male customer.

Manner Coffee started its business in 2015 with a single 2㎡ store, less than 1 pyeong (3.3㎡), in Shanghai. The company has grown to operate over 1,000 directly managed stores across China by promoting cost-effective hand-drip coffee. However, because it uses semi-automatic coffee machines rather than fully automatic ones, employees face heavier labor intensity compared to other coffee chains, and customers have to wait longer. The name Manner Coffee is derived from a famous line by actor Colin Firth in the movie 'Kingsman': "Manners Maketh Man."

As the controversy spread, Manner Coffee posted an official apology on the social networking service Weibo (the Chinese version of X). In the apology, the company stated, "We deeply apologize for the recent series of unfortunate incidents between employees and customers," and added, "We will strengthen training and education for all employees, reduce customer waiting times, and improve store operations to enhance service satisfaction."