The benefits for employees at directly operated stores are that, apart from pudding and Yakult, you can drink as much of the other beverages as you want—drink your fill.
It is truly an inexhaustible list of complaints.
1. Scheduling—There is a severe staff shortage (the reason is explained below), which often forces full-time employees to work a late shift followed immediately by an early shift, or a late shift followed by two split shifts, at least five days a month. Do you think raising the issue is useful? These five-plus days only came after I complained; there were more originally.
2. Company culture—A textbook seniority system. When newcomers are initially learning, everyone can yell at you. But why are you being yelled at? Did you do something wrong? Are your movements too slow? Neither. It is simply because you are new! The ridiculous thing is that, for the same tasks, senior employees can use shortcuts and nonstandard motions, but newcomers cannot even be slightly slow and fail to perform the standard motions. Where exactly are the standards?
3. A complete promotion system—During my interview with the supervisor, I was told there would be a complete promotion system, and the supervisor also knew that I was motivated to advance and take assessments. After actually reporting to work, not only was the entire store staffed by veterans, but their attitudes suppressed newcomers at every turn. Even after I reported it, there was no substantive improvement. Even worse, the training was also exploitative throughout. If you did not do well, they would scold you: “Are you an idiot? Why are you so stupid? Please, I learned this in one or two days back then—how can you still not know how?” Come on, I came here to work, so why should I be humiliated like this?! Besides, I did not receive professional training at headquarters. I was moved back and forth between the counter and the tea room, while you learned at headquarters for two days, so of course you picked it up right away!
4. Salary—The working hours are ridiculously long: 9.5 hours a day with a one-hour break, and eight days off per month. The company follows the Labor Standards Act, so the base salary is NT$23,100, with hours beyond that calculated as overtime pay. There are also meal and fuel allowances. The hours are very long, and sometimes you have to support another directly operated store or are forced to work overtime. Every month, you also have to stay late for a thorough cleaning, meetings, and inventory counts. As for overtime, it is called overtime, to put it nicely, but what is it really? The supervisor holds a meeting at the beginning of the month, schedules a thorough cleaning in the middle of the month, and at the end of the month directly schedules you for a 9.5-hour shift while telling you to work 7.5 hours. The overtime pay effectively never materializes.
My sincere advice: if you are a job seeker who was motivated to interview because the news announced that this company group is a “happy enterprise,” you should look elsewhere. This is especially true for ambitious young people who want to show their abilities. If you want to get ahead in this group, you need the perseverance to endure humiliation, unjustified scolding, and bullying before eventually advancing smoothly. Do you think this is an isolated case? When I was asked whether I wanted to transfer to another store and remain with the company, I asked other senior employees. One said, “Sorry, the entire company, including the parent brand, operates under this kind of seniority system.” There are many other jobs in society with better prospects. You certainly do not need to go there to be mistreated.