The Life of Karen:

A Tale of Two Nights

It’s 6:47 PM on a Friday, the dinner rush is in full swing, and Michael, the restaurant manager, feels like he’s juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle. A table in the corner is complaining that their food took too long. A kid at another table just spilled orange juice all over the floor. His Head Chef is yelling something unintelligible about a broken fryer.

Michael takes a deep breath, straightens his tie, and mutters, “Just another day in paradise.”

And then, she walks in.

Click-click. Click-clack. The sound of Karen’s heels ring like a warning bell. Michael has seen her type before, head held high, a sharp eye scanning the room for imperfections. She strides in, exuding an aura of expectation.

Michael seats her at a nice table by the window, trying to mask his unease. Karen orders a glass of Chardonnay and the steak frites. He relays the order to the kitchen, hoping this will be a smooth service.

But tonight, everything that can go wrong, does.

The wine takes too long to arrive. When it does, the glass has a smudge. Karen sighs dramatically. The steak comes out overcooked, the fries lukewarm. Karen calls over the waitress, her voice tinged with sharpness, “Is this supposed to be medium rare? Because this is more like medium burnt.”

Michael rushes over to smooth things over. He apologizes, offers a replacement, even takes the steak off the bill. But Karen is unimpressed.

“This is a joke,” she declares, loud enough for half the restaurant to hear. “I’ve had better meals at a gas station.” Michael resists the urge to ask which gas station, purely for research purposes.

Karen storms out, leaving a Yelp review before she even reaches her car: “1 star. Avoid at all costs. Dirty glasses, cold food, rude staff. This place ruined my night. Never again.”

As Michael watches her leave, he feels defeated. Exhausted. His team worked hard tonight, but it didn’t matter. One bad experience erased all their effort. Karen’s words will linger online, turning away potential customers before they even give the place a chance.

Michael sinks into a chair after closing time, wondering how it all went so wrong.

But what if it could have gone differently?

The Alternate Ending

It’s 6:47 PM on a Friday, and Michael is just as busy as ever. The dinner rush is chaotic, but tonight just feels different. Why? Because Foodback is running in the background, giving Michael and his team real-time insights into what’s happening.

When Karen clicks into the restaurant, heels clicking like a metronome of doom, Michael greets her with a warm smile. He seats her at the same window table.

The wine arrives promptly. Karen takes a sip and frowns ever so slightly. But instead of making a scene, she notices the small QR code on the table: “Let us know how we’re doing in under 20 seconds!”

Karen scans the code, curious. The first question pops up: “How’s your drink so far?” She types in, “It’s fine, but the glass has a smudge on it. Just FYI.”

Michael sees the notification instantly. He discreetly signals the waitress to bring a fresh glass of wine. She’s on it immediately, the whole team in on the ball tonight. Within seconds, Karen’s glass is replaced with a sparkling clean one.

The steak arrives, and this time, Karen thinks it’s overcooked. But instead of escalating, she gets her bumbling yet beloved husband Kenneth to use the QR code again: “Steak is a bit overdone. Can I get it cooked more to my liking?”

In the kitchen, the chef gets the notification. A fresh steak is prepared and delivered promptly. Karen is impressed. She looks up at Michael and smiles for the first time that night.

“Thank you for fixing that so quickly,” she says.

Michael nods, “We’re just happy you’re enjoying your evening.”

Karen goes on to finish her meal with a Crème Brûlée—on the house, as a thank-you from Michael for her feedback. On her way out she thanks the waitress for her service tonight and asks her on her compliments and thanks to the chef for the second steak-frites, “it was perfect!” As she leaves, she’s already texting her BFF´s Becky and Stacy about how great the experience was.

The Real Lesson for Managers

As Michael locks up for the night, he reflects on how things went. Sure, there were hiccups. But thanks to real-time insights and live notifications, they didn’t spiral into disasters.

Here’s the thing: Foodback didn’t just help Karen feel heard. It also kept Michael’s team on their toes, knowing their work mattered. When staff knows someone’s paying attention, not to catch mistakes, but to celebrate effort and performance, they work harder. They notice the smudged glasses. They double-check the steak before it goes out.

This isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about caring. It’s about empowering.

Because when you care about the details, and you empower your staff to deliver on every single little detail, that’s when you go from managing to caring to empowering to delighting. Both Karen and your staff.

The Hawthorne Effect, the idea that people perform better when they know their work is being observe, isn’t some abstract theory. It’s real. And when applied with care, it can transform your team from good to exceptional.

With real-time insights, you can go from putting out fires, to preventing them. You see the small problems before they become big ones. And your team knows their hard work is seen and appreciated. That what they do matters.

At the end of the day, Foodback doesn’t just help you listen to customers like Karen. It creates a culture of accountability, pride, and excellence.

Because when every detail matters, everyone wins.

You. Your team. Even Karen.

Stian Løkling Pedersen

Founder & CEO

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