Customer sparks outrage for throwing coffee at Malaysian ZUS Coffee employee

The footage, supposedly recorded on Sunday in Malaysia and going viral on Monday, shows a female barista telling a female customer in Mandarin to leave the ZUS store.

The customer, holding the camera, can be heard yelling back in Mandarin, as quoted by local newswire SAYS: "Why do I have to leave? I paid for my coffee!"

She then knocked over a cup of coffee, splashing the drink across the counter, and then threw it at the barista’s hand.

In response, the barista threw the empty plastic cup back over the counter, narrowly missing the customer. The customer then tossed the cup directly at the employee, striking her head, while shouting vulgar language.

The video does not capture how the argument started, but local reports cited by The Sun say the confrontation was triggered by the customer’s frustration over the speed of service.

The video shows a customer splashing coffee and throwing a cup at a barista at a ZUS Coffee outlet in Malaysia. Screenshots taken from video shared on Reddit

The incident quickly spread across social media, with many Malaysians expressing support for the barista and urging ZUS to stand by its employee.

Several netizens stressed the need for the company to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that local workers are not mistreated by foreign customers.

"Really hope ZUS doesn’t fire her. Working in retail is hard enough without dealing with a [difficult] customer," one Reddit user commented.

The incident has also sparked discussions about workplace respect, especially for retail and service staff.

Some even threatened to boycott ZUS if it stayed silent or took actions against the barista, putting pressure on the chain to respond promptly.

The company released a statement later on Monday supporting its barista, whom it refers to as a "Zurista."

"Since the incident occurred, we have taken the necessary steps to conduct a thorough investigation and we are standing with our Zurista through this time," the chain said.

"Working in retail isn't always easy, and things should never have escalated the way they did. At the end of the day, we're all only humans doing our best."

The chain also asked the public to respect the employee’s privacy and to avoid spreading false information online or offline while the investigation is ongoing.

"At Zus, we do not tolerate any disrespectful attitude and behaviour towards our communities and we are committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for everyone."

ZUS is the largest coffee chain in Malaysia, having taken the spot from Starbucks in 2024. The chain operates 743 outlets nationwide, as against Starbucks’ 320, according to Bloomberg.