1. The salary for 104 is very attractive.

2. The employee meals are said to be provided five times a day.

3. The colleagues seem very easy to get along with.

4. You work at almost the same position every day, with little variation.

5. It is claimed that the working hours are eight hours every day.

1. The employee meals are said to be provided five times a day, but you basically have to be able to get them in the first place. In my experience, when working the morning shift, I could only get two meals; breakfast was usually very perfunctory (frozen packages, white rice with stir-fried meat, or frozen meatballs, the same every day). You have to finish eating within the 30-minute break. (During my first six months after joining, there was so much work that I could not finish it, so I almost never got to eat.) Someone will tell you to eat during mealtimes, but then you will not be able to finish your own work.

2. Customers come first, but employees are not included. The workstation training requires you to memorize and learn everything within three working days (do they treat everyone like a superhuman?). If you cannot finish within eight hours, you have to work overtime on your own (and it will not be paid), even if you are a new employee.

3. After joining, you are forced to use the Chinese software DingTalk and receive Communist Party propaganda every day.

4. Every corner, customer seating area, and work area is filled with surveillance cameras. Quality-control inspectors may watch your every move through the cameras at any time, and you will then see messages after work (because employees are required to store their phones together during working hours). (I do not know whether the footage is uploaded to China.)

5. You do not clock in at work; working hours are calculated using a handwritten logbook. You must also upload photos of yourself wearing your uniform, working-hour calculations, and other messages to DingTalk every day. If you are late, HR will announce it in the large group chat, telling everyone that you were late (a pop-up appears saying: “Whole-store public criticism!! XXX was N minutes late, the Nth time late this month...” ).

6. Managers and other supervisors smile when they see you at work, but afterward your negative work evaluations will be posted in the work group for everyone to see. (If tableware has stains or table-side service was not provided promptly, a warning will be posted: “Person responsible: ○○○.”)

7. Every day, every hour, quality-control inspectors and different managers inspect your environment, products, and so on. Every week and every month, there are countless unannounced inspections (including inspections by managers from other branches, headquarters, and under other names), and you may receive a warning each time (there are different systems involving yellow, green, red, and blue cards, but you will not know the rules in advance—you only find out after violating them). If you receive three warnings in a month, you can only receive the minimum wage.

8. There are many rules for monetary penalties (not returning employees’ seats to their proper places, accidentally dropping tableware and making a noise, placing food in the beverage cabinet, or failing to close the door behind you). Even if a supervisor does not see it, there are cameras everywhere.

9. There is a mentor-apprentice system, and who your mentor is matters a lot. If your mentor is never promoted or is ostracized, you can forget about having an easy time; conversely, even if your abilities are mediocre, you can still advance smoothly. In short, personal relationships matter more than the rules.

10. The schedule only tells you which days you are off. You will not know which shift you are working tomorrow until the afternoon of the previous day.

11. The food-safety requirements are beyond common sense. You even have to scrub the underside and back of the worktable, and clean the backs of the dining-table legs. There are unannounced spot checks, and if you fail one, they will take photos and upload them to the group chat to tell everyone what you did wrong.