S’pore’s Unintentional Karen’s Diner Now Hiring & Staff Need Not Smile

Anyone working at a customer service job has had their fair share of unpleasant customer interactions, and yet your boss will tell you to welcome these Karens with a smile anyway.

At this Lucky Plaza chicken rice store, however, you can finally drop your fake customer-service decorum and unleash your own inner Karen- according to their hiring post, no smile is needed to work there. 

That’s apt after all, considering the owner of the shop has a reputation for his rather no-frills attitude towards customers—to the point when queues formed after 8days published an article about him. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

The Angriest Shop Ever

Earlier this month, the shop gained attention by way of an 8days feature.

Prior to that, unhappy (or maybe happy) customers had given the eatery numerous 1-star rating, citing the owner’s bad service and “attitude problem”.

Located at Lucky Plaza, the eatery has been serving excellent fried chicken rice for more than 20 years, but has recently exploded in popularity not just because of its delicious food, but its shockingly-rude seller. 

In the interview with 8days, he famously stated that customers expecting good service should “go to Jollibee” instead. He added that some customers were “very entitled”, and even called them idiots.

An interesting comparison was made to the Australian restaurant Karen’s Diner, which operates on the central gimmick of servers acting like Karens to the customers, reversing the common dynamics. 

It’s Because of a Manpower Crunch (What’s New?)

Some netizens have taken it upon themselves to inform others in Facebook comments about the root cause of the owner’s grumpiness, usually from anecdotal evidence. One claims that the owner is grumpy because of sore wrists from chopping chicken, as well as diners breaching COVID-19 measures that resulted in him having to pay a fine. 

If the latter is true, can you really blame him, though? Everything else is fair game, but when money comes into the mix? That’s a step too far.

The owner, however, insists that his grumpy attitude is due to the lack of manpower that his shop, like most eateries in Singapore, is plagued by. Especially after the article went viral, queues have been spotted snaking all the way to the other end of the mall.

Earn up to S$3,000 a Month Working There

If you’re willing to brave the owner’s attitude and you’re excited to give the evil eye to customers in return, they’re hiring right now. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Fiie’s Cafe (@mistergrumpyfriedchicken)

It might be a good deal- usually, you’re not even allowed to take out your frustrations with your tyrannical boss on the customers, but here’s the exception. 

They’re offering a salary range of S$2,600 to S$3,000 for full timers, and S$10 an hour for part-timers, with flexible work hours.

You’ll need to be prepared to work six days a week, however, from Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm. Applicants are asked to DM the eatery on Instagram or directly contact the phone number listed to indicate interest. 

The post also reassures potential applicants that no experience is needed, and even better—absolutely “no smiling” is required as well.

If you’re a frustrated worker looking for an opportunity to lash out at the Karens like you’ve always wanted to and get paid for it too, your chance is now. 

And yes, it’s a new Instagram account and they’ve just called themselves “Mister Grumpy Fried Chicken”, and even named the owner “Mister Grumpy”.