Introduction:During this year’s Spring Festival holiday, national bubble tea sales saw a year-on-year surge of 180.4%. Many families incorporated bubble tea and coffee into their New Year’s Eve dinners, replacing traditional alcoholic beverages. This surge in orders kept beverage shop staff extremely busy, with operations ramping up to high intensity starting from New Year’s Eve. This article takes you behind the scenes to show the real workings of beverage preparation areas, as well as the challenges and voices of staff working under intense pressure.
Over the just-concluded Spring Festival holiday, national bubble tea sales skyrocketed compared to the same period last year180.4%, with many consumers serving bubble tea and coffee at their New Year’s Eve dinners as alternatives to alcohol and traditional drinks. This spike in demand thrust chain beverage outlets into their busiest period of the year starting from New Year’s Eve, with front-of-house receipt printers continuously spitting out orders, workstations piled high with empty cups, and blenders and induction cookers in the preparation area running non-stop.
Staff faced unprecedented work pressure, with some working12 hours a dayfor seven consecutive days, others so busy they had no time to drink water or use the restroom, and equipment frequently breaking down due to prolonged operation. Faced with a constant influx of orders and impatient customers, those on the serving line could only keep apologizing, with some staff joking that they were “sorry central.”
As early as right before the Spring Festival, major chain brands had prepared for the order surge by delivering large amounts of supplies to stores. However, this year, consumer demand for bubble tea and coffee was noticeably higher than last year. Starting from New Year’s Eve, national bubble tea sales soared, with many people choosing to replace alcohol with bubble tea during family gatherings, pushing beverage shops into “battle mode” from New Year’s Eve onwards.
Stepping into the preparation area of a beverage shop, staff can be seen hauling baskets of fruits and vegetables onto workstations, repeatedly peeling, juicing, and cooking supplementary ingredients. Blenders and induction cookers run around the clock, creating a scene akin to the busy kitchen of a restaurant. Footage circulating on social media shows that even with four or five staff members stationed at the counter, peak-time orders still overwhelm everyone, leaving some customers remarking, “Shaking bubble tea on New Year’s Day must make your arms cramp.”
Faced with such a work pace, beverage shop employees commonly say, “There’s just too much to do, it’s never done.” Some shared on-site photos showing desks piled with tangled receipts, long rows of labels, and a preparation area resembling a garbage dump. Most stores start hearing the continuous beeping of receipt printers from the moment they open, leaving staff almost no time to rest, working non-stop from the start to the end of their shifts.
“I’ve worked 12 hours a day for seven straight days,” “Today I peeled three baskets of grapes and made over ten pots of apple juice,” “The delivery guy asked if I had a spare uniform because he wanted to come help,” “Didn’t go to the bathroom all day, didn’t even have time to drink water”—these are the real voices of beverage industry workers during the Spring Festival. Even so, due to the overwhelming volume of orders, many drinks still can’t be completed within the system’s designated time frame, often resulting in customer wait times exceeding one hour.
In the serving area, staff become constant apologizers—“sorry specialists”—repeatedly explaining and handling various after-sales issues for delivery riders and impatient customers. Many joke, “While others are carrying the whole place, I’m the sorry king.” Even when stores have added extra staff and stocked up on supplies in advance, once orders spike, employees still find themselves scrambling in the preparation area—the “battlefield”—with even taking a sip of water becoming a luxury.
Some part-time workers who originally thought they could earn a bit of extra cash have, after experiencing the Spring Festival rush, said they’ve been “demystified” about the beverage industry, only hoping to get through this busy period and quit as soon as possible, escaping the endless cycle of unfinished orders. This wave of Spring Festival beverage fever not only reflects changing consumer habits but also sheds light on the hard work and challenges faced by beverage industry employees behind the high demand.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
