On May 24th, Red Star Capital Bureau reported that a man was kicked out of a Starbucks in Xi'an after sitting down for a minute without placing an order. Regarding this, the Red Star Capital Bureau called Starbucks and their staff said, "I believe our partner's original intention is to provide a better dining experience, but we also fully respect your choice."
According to media reports, the man asked, "You're not allowed to sit, are you?" Starbucks employees responded, "If you want to sit, just place an order on your phone, or you can go to the mall to sit." Finally, the man stood up and left. Witnesses at the scene saw the man being persuaded to leave just one minute after sitting down, stating that the salesperson had persuaded a total of three groups of people to leave.
The Red Star Capital Bureau has noticed that some netizens on social media have reported that Starbucks has started implementing "consumption seating", and some people have been persuaded to leave due to not consuming. Starbucks customer service did not directly respond to this.
Netizens have different opinions on this matter. A netizen said, "Doing business is not like this. The video shows a lot of empty spaces. Hurrying people should be done when there are too many people, not when there is no business." Some people also said, "That's a place for consumption, and the house is rented by them. Why rest in their business premises if they don't consume?"
Starbucks' second quarter financial report for the 2024 fiscal year shows a net profit of 772.5 million US dollars in its China region; In the second quarter, there were a net increase of 118 Chinese stores, a year-on-year increase of 14%, bringing the total number to 7093, moving towards the goal of "9000 stores by 2025".