Karen Was So Not Into This – Untill She Was

Stian Løkling Pedersen
CEO & Founder
You remember Karen right? Wife of Ken. Toughest of critics. Avid Yelper.
That’s the one. Blonde bob. You remember.
But Karen is also passionate, detail-oriented, and well admittedly, a bit high-strung. As an event manager for one of the largest venues in the region, she’s seen it all: last-minute cancellations, overflowing restrooms, and even rogue pigeons invading an open-air gala.
Karen had her way of doing things. She was content. She thought the way she did things was fine.
Karen Was So Not Into This (Until She Was)
When Karen first heard the words “customer feedback solution,” she reacted the way she reacts to somebody applauding when an airplane lands: with a mix of deep suspicion and visible disdain.
She didn’t choose it. Someone at HQ did. Probably someone named Lars. Lars loves words like “implementation” and “synergy.”
She could just imagine all the “circling back” and “touching base” she’d have to do with this Lars character. Sigh.
And just like that, Karen found herself suddenly “owning” this new feedback platform she had never asked for. Lucky her.
Feedback Fatigue: The Prequel
Karen had visions of doom: daily dashboards, never-ending alerts, and pie charts multiplying like rabbits. Would she have to learn data analytics? Pivot tables? Was this going to be her villain origin story?
She braced for what she assumed would be a tsunami of extra work. More emails. More logins. More reasons to consider early retirement. Imagine spending all day everyday with Ken. She shuddered at the thought.
Spoiler: It wasn’t like that. At all.

Karen Logs In (Reluctantly)
On Monday morning, coffee in hand and skepticism at DEFCON 1, Karen finally logged in.
And… you know what? It was kind of fine. Actually, it was better than fine.
No ten-step onboarding. No data bootcamps. No “Karen, can you pull a report on customer demographics per venue by region by yesterday?”
Just one login. A sparkling clean dashboard. An intuitive interface. And one very relieved Karen.
Wait- This Thing Sorts It For Me?
She clicked through. The AI had already:
- Grouped all feedback into neat, readable categories
- Flagged priority items (a.k.a. potential dumpster fires)
- Highlighted the good stuff, too (Karen loves a compliment)
It even ranked the impact of every question on overall satisfacion so she could see what mattered most to guests, without squinting at spreadsheets or decoding vague complaints about “ambiance.”
“Oh,” she muttered. “This is… helpful.”
The Feedback That Almost Broke Her
Later that week, one venue got hit with a flurry of guest feedback:
- “Tables not clean.”
- “Staff seemed distracted.”
- “Where are the forks?!”
Normally, this would’ve sent Karen spiraling into a passive-aggressive email drafting session. Typing away like a blonde-bobbed Bruce Almighty answering prayers. But this time?
She saw the alerts in real time. Pinged the site manager. Problem solved before lunch.
By the next day, guests were raving about how responsive the team was. One even said: “You can tell someone’s actually listening.”
Karen may have even cracked a smile. Just a little.
The Final Plot Twist
By the end of the month, Karen wasn’t just using the feedback tool-she was recommending it. To Lars. To the site managers. Even to her friend Emily, who still uses google forms like it’s 2003.
Karen realized feedback doesn’t have to be scary, messy, or overwhelming. Not when the system does the sorting, the prioritizing, and the translating for you.
Karen’s Takeaway: Resistance Is Futile (and Unnecessary)
If you’ve ever worried that adopting a feedback system would create more work, require a PhD in data science, or send your blood pressure through the roof, Karen gets you.
She was so not into this.
Until she was.
All it took was logging in.
Feedback doesn’t have to be your enemy. With the right solution (ahem, like Foodback), even a Karen can become a convert.
No spreadsheets. No chaos. Just clarity.
No extra work. Just actionable insights.
And you know what? Maybe even a few compliments along the way.
Make Sure You Never Miss A Karen Article
Recent blog articles from Foodback
Experience Over Price: The Hospitality Industry’s New Reality
Would you believe that nearly two-thirds of full-service restaurant customers say experience is more important than price?But here’s the challenge: What defines a “great experience” varies from person to person.
So, how do you create something that is, by nature, subjective
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…
The Life of Karen: Date Night
Click-click. Click-clack. The sound of Karens heels reverberates through the car park with a menace that seems to grow step by step.
Karen’s upset already. She’s had a rough morning, a client was late for a meeting, and her beloved Chihuahua, Coco, spilt coffee all over her favorite tablecloth.
Anyway, it’s date night. “Breathe, Karen,” she says to herself. “You deserve a nice evening.”