Zus Coffee Shows Empathy With Staff Allegedly Abused By Rude Chinese Mainlander Customer

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OLD hands at responding to online furore, ZUS Coffee reacted to the latest storm-in-a-tea (coffee?) cup with a well-timed statement.
Social media addicts will by now be aware of a clip going viral of a ZUS Coffee staff having a heated exchange with a customer who sounds like a Chinese Mainlander.
Exact details are unclear but apparently there were raised voices, tossed beverages and even a middle finger in the less-than-cordial interaction at the unnamed branch of one the country’s leading food & beverage (F&B) franchises.
Kurang ajar….dengar kata China tanah besar ….
Akk zus : pergi pergi kluar
Cina : siapa awak nak suruh saya kluar
Saya datang nak beli kopi , tak ada adab, betul
And mula baling membaling kopi pic.twitter.com/yzRO0FNixI
— MYNEWSHUB (@mynewshub) November 9, 2025

In a tri-lingual statement (English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin), ZUS Coffee was at pains to stress that the employee in question had NOT been terminated. The poor lass was even given the time and space to recuperate from this traumatic incident.
The language used in the statement was couched in empathy as ZUS Coffee made it clear that it was “standing with our Zurista through this time”.
pic.twitter.com/bJ1BpoOxJS
— ZUS Coffee® (@ZUSCoffee) November 10, 2025

“At the end of the day, we’re all only humans doing our best,” the statement continued, painting a picture of an organisation that is in tune with employee well-being and acknowledging that life in the service and retail sectors can be challenging.

This is probably the consequence of ZUS Coffee frequently being in the media spotlight. For some reason, ZUS Coffee seems to invite unwanted attention ranging from a social media campaign questioning the provenance of its name and logo to working with alleged pro-Zionist brands.
ZUS Coffee would have learnt valuable PR (public relations) lessons from these past incidences by knowing full well that a wrongly worded or ill-timed response could lead to negative perceptions, poor online search results – or worse – boycotts!

The ‘people-first’ approach that is writ large in the statement was also well-received by many commenters who had rallied around the abused staff.

The end result? Lotsa of positive PR and the company gets to benefit from the feel-good factor generated from the statement that was kind and understanding.

This approach was also applauded by well-known influencer Cedyy (@CeddyOrNot) who also breathed a sigh of relief that the company did not make a knee-jerk reaction by sacking the poor lady.
The cina (Rakyat Malaysia version) in me jumped out. Zus don’t you fire this girl please. Not every customer is reasonable! pic.twitter.com/QVUHlJATbp
— Ceddy (@CeddyOrNot) November 10, 2025

The online entrepreneur also had a few choice words for the Mainland Chinese customer who is described as untoward and belligerent.
Urging a little patience, Ceddy explained that this was a popular franchise and sometimes, it takes time to fulfill an order. If one in is in such a hurry, just forgo the cuppa for the day or until later. Why create a scene?
As for the alleged middle finger brandished? Ceddy suspects there was probably something that provoked it.

More than a few commenters also did NOT subscribe to the “customer is always right” motto.

But fact of the matter, ZUS Coffee’s response has helped avert another unwanted episode in its meteoric rise as one of the country’s top café franchises.
In a climate itching for excuses to boycott businesses, it is imperative that organisations know how to respond efficiently, effectively and most pertinently in the correct tone and language.
This, it seems, ZUS Coffee has learnt to do very well.

- focus malaysia

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