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S’pore Guide Dog Advocate Slammed for Being “Karen” to Polite Server

2023-03-10 , 4:45 pm

In this day and age, Karen is no longer just the name of someone.

You can read this article to learn more about who or what is ‘Karen’, but in a nutshell, “Karen” is a term used to describe someone who is self-entitled and displays off-putting behaviour like being rude and obnoxious.

Unfortunately, we have our fair share of “Karens” in Singapore.

One instance would be a few years ago in 2020. On 24 August, a woman was described as acting like a “Karen” when she made a big fuss after being told to wait in the queue and to wear a mask when she wanted to place her order.

In 2022, a TikTok user called Idonuttcare uploaded a video (video taken down since then) of his encounter with a woman who had displayed aggressive behaviour towards him after he had mumbled some Hokkien curses to her and her husband, who had cut the queue to the lift and blocked his way.

More recently, a TikTok was posted by Paralympic swimmer Sophie Soon, and the 47-second video quickly garnered attention from Singaporeans with over 15,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Many people did not seem to approve of her behaviour in the video, with some even calling her a “Karen”.

Here’s What Happened

The video shows that Sophie and her mum wanted to dine at Rocky Master at Hougang 1 mall with their guide dog.

They turned the staff down when told they had to sit outside with their guide dog.

According to the captions she included in the video, Sophie expressed her unhappiness at the situation. She described the restaurant’s service staff as “refusing to listen to my mum and I, calling mall security on us, and refusing to take our order”.

In the video, the service staff was seen talking to someone on the phone.

While she was doing so, they asked, “Why are you discriminating against a guide dog” and said that their guide dog was approved by MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, and was allowed in all restaurants.

Towards the end of the video, Sophie asked what would happen if they posted a video (apparently appearing to know what the answer is), and the service staff responded that they would call the police.

Sophie shared the same video on Facebook as well, and she added in her post that the restaurant said that they could stay if “your dog is leashed, not fed, and if a customer does not complain about your dog”.

This Is Not the First Time This Has Happened to Her

In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, Sophie said that when visiting a new restaurant, the staff makes them wait every time before they can be seated inside, as they have to check with their management on whether her guide dog is allowed into the dining establishment.

She also shared that it is not about going to another restaurant, but the point was that Singapore’s laws allow guide dogs in restaurants, food courts and cafes.

In case you didn’t know, under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations, guide dogs are indeed allowed in dining establishments.

According to the Rapid Transit Systems Regulations, they are also allowed on public transportation.

How Did the Restaurant Respond?

In response to the situation, Rocky Master shared on an Instagram post that they do not discriminate against any patron who chooses to dine in their restaurant.

However, they asked that, in line with the advisory from the Singapore Food Agency and MUIS, guide dogs be leashed and seated in the outdoor seating area where possible.