‘Outrageous’: China boss demands US$200 refund from ex-colleagues for milk tea ‘treats’ after leaving firm mocked on social media
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It may have become a replacement alcohol in the Chinese workplace but people have been stunned to discover that a departing supervisor demanded ex-colleagues refund him the 1,500 yuan (US$200) for the milk tea he “treated” them to.
On September 1, a Xiaohongshu account holder called @Shengxiao, from eastern China’s Anhui province, said her former boss asked her and her colleagues for the milk tea refund.
The man sent them a detailed breakdown of the number of cups and the total amount owed by each person, ranging from 90 to 255 yuan. In total, the bill came to 1,500 yuan.
The poster said the man also used his girlfriend as an excuse, blaming her for his money-grabbing behaviour.
Despite finding the message unbelievable and offensive, @Shengxiao transferred the money immediately. She said her colleagues also paid up.
On Xiaohongshu and Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, people were shocked by the man’s penny-pinching.
“This is not most outrageous, only more outrageous,” said one person.
“I don’t believe it was his girlfriend that asked him to claim back money, or he wouldn’t have kept such a detailed list,” said another.
“What a good deal. He bought his colleagues milk tea to win them over, then asked for a refund after he left. This is ridiculous,” said a third online observer.
Milk tea culture has become a new way to socialise with colleagues in China, as the traditional drinking culture is increasingly frowned upon by young people.
Although the older generation believe drinking together helps strengthen friendships, young people constantly complain about being forced to drink alcohol by their superiors at work.
It is not the first time social media has been stunned by stinginess at work.
In 2021, a man from southern China’s Hunan province was arrested after scrounging meals off his former company for a year.
The man, in his 40s, had kept his uniform after quitting the job so that he could visit the company’s canteen for free.
