Here's All the Tea You Need to Know About the CHAGEE Drama That's Recently Gone Viral

According to their social media post, from November 16 to November 17 2024, all you’d need to do is to order a Large White Peach Oolong Milk Tea or Large Jasmine Green Milk Tea in-store at ALL CHAGEE outlets to stand a chance of winning exciting rewards with every cup.

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Despite all the hype surrounding the event, the chain found itself in hot water after it was accused of rigging its lucky cups to allow influencers to win high-tier prizes.

A now-deleted TikTok video allegedly showed how a staff member was caught removing detachable cups from CHAGEE’s large cups to check the prizes inside the Tear & Win section before allegedly separating the cups containing luxury prizes from the rest.

The video went viral on social media, and netizens accused CHAGEE of doing this to ensure influencers, as well as the staff’s family and friends, would receive the cups with the luxurious prizes.

Calls for a boycott

Following the publication of the video, a couple of netizens shared screenshots of how CHAGEE had reached out via direct message to acknowledge the incident and share that they had taken action against the staff member.

However, they also requested that these netizens delete their reposts of the video to respect the staff’s privacy, or they will take legal action.

When netizens questioned why legal action was even being discussed, CHAGEE responded via an X post, stating, “Hi, we’re requesting to delete (the reposted video) as it involves one of our staff’s privacy. We truly appreciate every feedback for us to improve and of course, we do not encourage any of the actions in the video. We also have taken necessary action against the relevant staff.”

Their response caused further backlash online, with many calling for a boycott against CHAGEE for their handling of the situation.

CHAGEE’s recent statement

Since then, CHAGEE has shared a statement titled ‘Your Voice Matters’ to which they wrote, “We sincerely apologise for any disappointment or concern caused by a recent TikTok video related to our Tear & Win event. The behaviour depicted does not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to, and we deeply regret any negative experience this may have created.”

CHAGEE added, “Please be assured that we take this matter very seriously, as providing a positive and respectful experience for all our customers is at the heart of everything we do.”

Meanwhile, they went on to explain that they are conducting a “detailed investigation to better understand the situation” and will take appropriate action and review the outlet's operational procedures.

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CHAGEE explained that to fix the Tear & Win issue, they will switch to QR codes to prevent such incidents from happening again.

“We are also grateful for the feedback we have received regarding the mechanics of the Tear & Win event. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, starting in December, we will replace the physical items in cups with QR code slips.”