Paying to eat at lousy service

The restaurant’s waiters will not greet you warmly, but will immediately disparage the customer’s fashion or hairstyle while waiting for the order to be recorded. They threw the menu on the table, rebuked when guests chose drinks and deliberately brought the wrong food. Some diners even had to take their drinks from the serving tray, as the staff wouldn’t put them down on the table.

Used to visit the restaurant, Sally Quinn recounted in the newspaper The Age that the waiter shouted at her, laughing at her daughter’s hair. The employee left midway before Quinn finished ordering, and “accidentally” tripped over her bag, swore and made various rude gestures whenever anyone asked.

“I would be really upset if I happened to walk in here, as a tourist, without knowing it. I thought this was a 50’s burger place,” she wrote. Thanks to her daughter watching a TikTok video about the restaurant, Quinn understood the waiter’s attitude. Obviously all of their actions are intended to irritate guests.

“Good food, bad service” is the motto of this newly opened fast food chain in Australia. In particular, Karen is a popular slang term in the US for difficult middle-aged customers who always ask to see the manager to complain about small things. It is this slang word that gives the restaurant owner the idea: to create an “unforgettable” experience for diners when the staff has an offensive attitude and action like Karen.

The official website introduces: “At Karen’s Diner diners will be greeted and served by rude waiters who are also waiting for you to be annoyed. This is where you can complain and complain freely. because we really don’t care.” Facebook Fanpage describes: “We pride ourselves on providing the worst service in the world. Come experience a different dinner and be the most demanding Karen”.

Alannah Maher, a writer of Time Out, had been dining at the Sydney facility in February. “It’s actually a fun way to get rid of that weird awkward feeling after being at home because of the prolonged lockdown,” she commented.

For her, the scariest scene began when the staff announced on the loudspeaker about the game “Race of chance” and the diners were dragged in. It’s their turn to tell a joke, confess to a time when they acted like a Karen or sang karaoke…

Maher caught up with the atmosphere as the scowling waitress complained about how she had wasted napkins and waited for the customer to get mad. Understanding that it was a joke, Maher quickly snatched the last tissue from the box and looked back with a smug look. The waiter paused for a second, before shaking his head and walking away, holding back his laughter.

She also persuaded an employee to share what it was like to work at a restaurant. This person said the job brings a lot of joy, but there are also awkward times when diners don’t react.

Aden Levin, director of Karen’s Diner’s parent company, said he wants the restaurant chain to become a space where people can say anything, be themselves, and enjoy a comfortable, fun dinner. Despite the impolite service, the waiters here still expect customers to tip like other places.

The first Karen’s Diner is located in Sydney, open since October last year. After the model attracted a large number of diners to experience, the company opened more locations in Melbourne and Brisbane. The plan to open new facilities in the cities of Sheffield and Manchester, England has also been accelerated since March. According to a manager, 10 new branches will be built next year, including Los Angeles and New York, America.

Khanh Tran (According to Oddity Central)