The summer temperature in Taiwan this year is almost as high as normal human body temperature. Everywhere you look in this country there is a 24/7 convenience store, so it is natural for people to walk into the nearest one to buy a cold drink to quench their thirst. Other than bottled drinks, fresh iced coffees and iced lattes remain hot-selling items that keep cash registers ringing. According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’s (DGBAS) latest monthly report published on Monday, the consumer price index (CPI) has increased 2.46 percent last month from a year ago, and the price of milk from January to July has soared by 8.70 percent compared with the same period last year. In order to cut costs, one of the four major convenience store chains has come up with an “unbelievable” idea — demanding that employees add water to iced coffees or iced lattes if customers request less ice.
And it is all true. We ordered a large iced latte with less ice at a convenience store in Jhubei City, Hsinchu County on Monday evening, and found the store clerk adding hot water with a few ice cubes, all without the customer’s consent. This kind of thing makes for a very weak cup of coffee, but you would not be any the wiser that the clerk had added water unless you watched their every move. Asked by the Taipei Times if she added water to the cup of coffee, the clerk admitted she had, and told us that she was told by the company to do so if any customer requests less ice, as if it did not amount to the same thing.
In order to confirm this, we interviewed different employees in different branches of the store chain, and they said that they were actually told to do this during training. The manager of a branch in Taipei said yesterday that the “water-adding” instructions have been in the chain’s employees’ training manual for quite some time. Both regular chain stores and franchise stores follow the same guidelines, although the latter have more flexibility. If a franchise store decides not to add water, then it would have to swallow the extra cost itself.
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報林亞蒂
With the CPI up, the weather hot, and the economy hurting, companies are doing whatever they can to cut costs, but consumers are not to be underestimated since they can be very money-conscious, too. Nevertheless, some chains, not content with taking an inch, have decided to go for the mile: Last October they increased the price of a cup of coffee by NT$5, and now they have a new trick. No longer, though, as forewarned is forearmed. Customers who want less ice in their coffee now know to tell the clerk not to add water. Then they might even get to enjoy a cup of real coffee.
Follow-up on the news:
Following the publication of the original report, the convenience store chain sent an e-mail to the Taipei Times on Aug. 9 explaining that the policy of ‘water-adding’ instructions for a coffee with less ice is in place in order to maintain the product’s flavor, and not about considerations of cost. The e-mail said that “Given that the company is a chain store retailer, it has to maintain the stability of its product’s flavor to avoid discrepancies in customers’ expectations. Therefore, if customers request no ice or less ice, the request would result in altering the amount of the product’s normal ingredients due to inadequate amounts of ice (water).” (Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times)
Photo: Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報林亞蒂
台灣今年夏季氣溫幾乎快追上人體正常體溫,而在這個全年不打烊便利商店林立的國度,民眾自然會走到鄰近超商,買杯冷飲透心涼。除了瓶裝飲品外,冰咖啡與冰拿鐵也是超商的熱賣商品。主計總處週一公布最新一期的七月消費者物價指數,年增率高達百分之二點四六 ,一月至七月累積鮮奶漲幅較去年同期多了百分之八點七。為因應高漲成本,四大超商連鎖其中一家異想天開,要求員工遇到有客人要求「少冰」時,直接在飲料內加水取代少掉的冰塊。
這是真的。記者前天傍晚在新竹縣竹北市某超商點了一杯大杯冰拿鐵,並要求少冰,無意間看到店員未經顧客同意,加入少量冰塊後再加入熱水。喝到摻水咖啡民眾可能會覺得這杯冰咖啡怎麼喝起來像是加入咖啡口味的水,除非民眾仔細盯著整個咖啡製作流程,不然很難察覺咖啡被「灌水」。被問及是否剛剛在咖啡內加水,這名店員承認此事,並告訴《台北時報》表示,公司規定只要有顧客要求少冰,就會在杯中加入少量的水。
為了查證店員說詞屬實,記者昨天再度訪問該超商其他分店員工,也得到相同的結果。位於台北市某分店店長昨天表示,「加水」的做法納入員工教育訓練已有一段時日。不過該店長強調,直營店與加盟店規定雖一致,但加盟店可以選擇不加水,但額外成本得自行吸收。
物價飆、天氣熱、經濟不景氣下,業者絞盡腦汁降低成本,而消費者也不是省油的燈,懂得精打細算。不過道高一尺、魔高一丈,繼去年十月每杯咖啡調漲新台幣五元後,「少冰冰咖啡摻水」成為某超商業者的新招。民眾下次若要求少冰,別忘了提醒店員千萬別加水,才可享用一杯貨真價實的咖啡。
後續報導:
此篇報導登出之後,該超商連鎖八月九日以電話及電子郵件向《台北時報》回應表示:「咖啡『少冰』加水之因應措施,係為維持咖啡產品之風味穩定,而非成本考量!」電子郵件內容寫道:「便利商店係為連鎖通路,應保持產品之風味穩定,避免與顧客之期望產生落差。顧客購買咖啡時提出之去冰、少冰要求,將導致產品由於冰塊(水量)不足,風味與正常規格之產品產生差異。」 (台北時報記者林亞蒂)
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