If you’re lucky, hopefully you never had the misfortune of finding bugs in your food or drink. It can be an immediate turn off and you may possibly never want to return to the shop again. Sadly, that is the case for this bubble tea drinker.
Recently, a netizen took to Facebook to make a shocking complaint. According to their post, they discovered a dead cockroach at the bottom of their drink! Tealive founder Bryan Loo has opened an investigation into the case.
The netizen claimed they had visited the Tealive branch at Bukit Jalil around 7pm for a drink. However, they didn’t expect to find a giant dead cockroach at the bottom of their nearly finished drink. Unsurprisingly, the post went viral as people started opining on the matter.
Founder Bryan Loo was quick to step in and handle matters. He mentioned in an interview that the company’s customer service have already contacted the victim. At that time, the victim stated they were in good health and promised to contact the company again. Strangely enough, the victim did not follow up with the company, nor did they leave a phone number or any requests. The post has also been set to private by the netizen.
Even with the customer’s strange reaction, Bryan is adamant that the complaint be taken seriously. The founder stated that whether the complaint is true or false, it will be treated fairly and an apology will be issued to the customer. Bryan advised the netizen to visit a nearby clinic for a checkup. He mentioned that Tealive is willing to foot the medical bill, but they will not give monetary compensation. However, Bryan is intending to cover all his angles. “Because we don’t (know) the truth, we will also check the closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the store,” he said. For now, they have done all they can to rectify the situation. But, they haven’t been able to contact the customer again.
Tealive will also be starting their own investigation into the matter. “(According to) preliminary investigations, the victim checked the drink when receiving it.” the founder said. “We believe the cockroach was not placed in the drink by an employee.” Bryan claims the store has standard operating procedures when handing them to customers. Staff are to shake and check the drink in the cup prior to handing them over.
Bryan added that all Tealive stores in Malaysia carry out pest control every month. For the Bukit Jalil branch, their last date was on 17th September. The pest control company reported they found a small number of German cockroaches in the store in August. The matter was resolved in September, but they did not find any American cockroaches in said store.
According to Bryan’s explanation, German cockroaches were smaller while American cockroaches were bigger and usually appeared in homes. “After a restaurant has finished doing pest control, large American cockroaches will not come. They have never seen such a large cockroach before,” he added.
The Tealive founder stated they will get pest control companies to visit the site again. Although there hasn’t been evidence of any cockroaches since their last visit, the founder would rather play it safe.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Tealive has had a case of an ‘extra ingredient’ in their drinks. Another netizen once made the same complaint and actually bit into the cockroach too! Hopefully, the company will be able to clear the matter up soon.
Sources: China Press, Viral Cham
