When you first join, it may seem like there are many advantages, such as: high pay, lots of days off, no deliveries, air conditioning, one free drink every day, and generous owners, among other things...

Breaks: When I first started, there were no breaks. Later, because some colleagues resigned due to long-term irregular eating habits, the owner finally allowed a 15-minute break. But 15 minutes was really too short; I often got bloated from eating too quickly. Later, it was extended to 20 minutes, but I still feel that isn't long enough! I wonder what everyone else thinks?

The salary is genuinely considered high: a monthly salary of NT$35,000 for 200 working hours per month. Most people think that sounds great, but is it really? First, even when you're on leave, you still have to be prepared for the owner to call you in to work at any time. Otherwise, you have to deal with the owner messaging you on LINE from 8 a.m. about something you didn't do properly. Even after you've answered the question, he will keep going in circles and ask you the same question again. You could lose an entire morning of your day off because of this, and it can ruin your mood for the whole day. Also, there are no holiday bonuses, and you shouldn't even expect gift boxes or anything like that. As for the year-end bonus, I worked there for more than three years and received one year-end bonus only once, in my final year—and it was NT$200.

Contract: Basically, if you want to work here, you have to sign a one- to one-and-a-half-year contract. If you can't stay until the contract ends, you have to pay the company NT$30 for every hour you have actually worked. For example, if you have worked for two months at 200 hours per month: 2 (months) × 200 (hours) × NT$30 = NT$12,000. Of course, many people couldn't endure it and resigned. Once, someone tried to fight back, but the owner actually said, “No problem. Go ahead and sue me—I have plenty of time and money to accompany you through the court process.” Of course, ordinary people like us could only accept it and let him deduct the money.

Lateness: Deducting pay for being late is understandable, but in my first year, the deduction was NT$500 for the first late arrival, NT$600 for the second, NT$700 for the third, and so on. Later, this was adjusted to start at NT$200... Forgetting to clock in resulted in a NT$100 deduction; forgetting to clock out, or clocking out more than three minutes late, seemed to result in a deduction of either NT$100 or NT$200.

Benefits: Basic labor and health insurance are provided. The regular staff dinners are actually meals attended by the owner and his wife, paid for with money collected from our lateness deductions. There are no employee trips either. Paid annual leave is available, but you need the owner's approval to take time off, and if the owner says no, then it's no.