The owner of Haus Coffee, a café in Golden Mile Tower, will step down from running the business, with new management taking over operations.
He said this in an Instagram post on Saturday (26 Sept) where he admitted to failing in his responsibilities, including late payment of staff, suppliers and collaborators.
The owner, who identified himself as Tan Junyu, acknowledged that there had been “considerable discussion” about the café.
This included not only matters related to the business, its staff and suppliers, but also his “personal affairs”, he said.
Thus, he decided to address the issues with “full transparency and accountability”, adding:
My reckless lifestyle and habits have caused great inconvenience and disappointment to everyone who worked at Haus, customers, collaborators, and friends and family.
Over more than a week, several netizens had left comments on Haus Coffee’s Instagram account accusing the café of, among other things, not making payments promptly.
In a post on 17 Sept, the café said it would be “closed for the time being” to sort out “internal matters”.
Source: @hauscoffeesg on Instagram
But it triggered a flood of comments from users who claimed that it did not pay employees and suppliers on time.
Source: Instagram
One commenter alleged that the business took seven months to pay her S$100 for a shoot in January.
Source: Instagram
Another netizen, who appeared to be or have been an employee, said she was still owed her salary.
Source: Instagram
The post was shared by @sgnaratiff on TikTok, drawing more negative comments, one of which claimed that the café staff had an “attitude problem”.
Source: TikTok
On TikTok and in a Reddit thread, netizens also shared a screenshot of a post said to be by a former girlfriend of the owner.
She claimed, among other things, that he had cheated on her while on frequent “business” trips, leaving her to run the business by herself for months.
Despite this, she did not receive a salary nor a cut of the profits, she alleged.
She also alleged that he used company funds to subsidise his “lavish lifestyle” while not paying staff, suppliers and rent.
While Mr Tan did not address the cheating allegations in his post, he did admit to paying his staff “significantly later than expected” despite reminders.
His staff even had to pay for stock from their own pockets as he was “irresponsible” in making arrangements to ensure availability of supplies, he said.
He thus admitted to taking his employees’ trust for granted, adding:
I failed in my responsibilities as an employer and business owner.
He took full responsibility for this and thanked suppliers, collaborators, brands and customers who have consigned their items for their “patience” despite his “shortcomings”.
Aware of social media complaints about poor service, Mr Tan also apologised to customers who have had a negative experience at the café.
He said the business has always believed in “fostering community” and putting customers first.
Thus, he would like “another chance” to show customers what it stands for, he added.
Moving forward, Mr Tan will step down from Haus Coffee to “reflect” on his actions and how to be a better employer, business owner and person, he said.
New management is in place and will handle staff recruitment, training and finance so that the same mistakes will not recur.
He also promised that this would be the last time its stakeholders would have to chase for late payments.
In conclusion, he said he deeply regretted putting people through “unnecessary problems” and acknowledged that an apology was not enough, adding:
I would like to make things right again, and I’m committed to taking the right steps to do so.
He then thanked everyone for their patience and understanding.
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Featured image adapted from Eatbook.