Introduction:A recent internal leak from M Stand employees on social media has exposed a series of management disputes at the chain coffee brand in recent months. In addition to customer complaints about service chaos during peak hours, frontline baristas are also facing issues such as controlled working hours, the cancellation of attendance bonuses, adjustments to salary structures, and even being required to meet fixed daily sales targets. This article delves into the operational conflicts behind the incident and offers a reference perspective on the current workplace situation in the chain coffee industry.
A social media post titled “M Stand Baristas Are Suffering” unexpectedly became an outlet for collective venting by M Stand baristas. In the post, customers shared their experiences visiting M Stand stores during the Spring Festival. While they praised the store’s interior design and coffee quality, they criticized the long wait times—often over ten minutes—despite only two employees handling the entire store during peak periods. More crucially, the post garnered responses from many current employees, revealing the brand’s underlying human resources and operational strategy adjustments.
According to several anonymous employees, over the past two to three months, M Stand’s management has tightened efficiency controls. Even regular baristas struggle to secure their legally mandated working hours. Even with perfect attendance, working hours may be reduced for various reasons, rendering the original attendance bonus effectively meaningless.One employee pointed out that even without taking leave, the scheduling system would still cut actual working hours through roster adjustments.
Beyond working hour issues, reduced holiday benefits and changes to the salary structure have also sparked dissatisfaction. This year, M Stand did not distribute New Year’s benefits to employees, and under the revised salary system, only store managers and above are eligible for quarterly bonuses, while general staff receive only base salaries.Even in high-volume stores, there are no additional performance bonuses, which is seen as a disguised pay cut.
However, what frustrates baristas the most is the sales pressure imposed by the operations team. Despite the current staff shortage, management has not considered hiring more employees but instead requires each staff member to complete “one stored-value transaction and four set meal sales” per day.Those who fail to meet the targets are required to write reports, review surveillance footage to analyze the reasons, and set goals for the next day.Some management personnel even stated in internal communication groups, “If you sold more set meals well, we wouldn’t cut your hours,” leaving baristas to joke that they can’t tell whether their job is to make drinks or sell products.
This combination of high-pressure sales targets and strict efficiency controls has placed frontline employees under double pressure. Even those accustomed to a busy pace feel a blurred sense of their workplace role when faced with uncontrollable working hours and additional performance demands.Industry insiders point out that the operational model of chain coffee brands often seeks a balance between expansion and cost control, but an overly performance-driven approach may affect service quality and employee stability.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
