A popular Korean barbecue restaurant has raised eyebrows after offering students a discount if they came to lunch in school uniform.
The Butchers Buffet chain, which has restaurants in Blacktown, Chinatown, Eastwood, Cabramatta and Strathfield, is offering students up to 30 per cent off when they eat lunch during the week.
To take advantage of this deal, guests must show up dressed in their school supplies and leave two Google reviews per table. These terms and conditions leave critics scratching their heads.
A local resident posted on Reddit to ask why students should wear their school clothes, asking ‘Who is this useful for?’.
‘Can we use a student card instead of our uniform?’ asked another.
Others boldly suggested the rule left room for interpretation.
“They don’t technically say you have to be a high school student either, just wear a high school uniform,” one person wrote.
A popular Korean barbecue restaurant has raised eyebrows after it offered students a discount if they showed up for lunch in their school uniforms
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, a spokesperson for Butchers Buffet said they had tried using ID cards on students but were unsuccessful.
“Many students had lost their cards or did not have their cards with them when they entered our eatery, leaving them feeling like they could not take up the offer,” they said.
“Student IDs are still welcome, but now no longer required to access the deal,” she added.
It also helps staff identify students at a glance.
“We can distinguish between who is a high school student and who is a college student,” they said.
However, some pointed out that the discount, which brings meals to $30, still puts the meal out of reach for most high school students.
“$30? “I remember going to school and paying $5 for a chicken sandwich because I thought I was king,” one man said.
“What high school students have thirty dollars each to spend on this should be quite a niche market,” another asked.
Butchers Buffet charges adults – “those over the age of ten” – $36.99 for lunch Monday through Thursday and $43.00 Friday through Sunday.
The all-you-can-eat slots at the restaurant are limited to 90 minutes and customers must pay $15 per head if they fail to finish all their food.
Some people questioned the legality or “ethical line” behind requiring reviews for a discount – something the restaurant consistently does with its promotions.
But an ACCC spokesperson told FEMAIL that as long as they allow all honest assessments – whether good or bad – it’s OK.
‘Incentives offered to customers to leave reviews should be applied regardless of whether the reviewer leaves a positive or negative review. (and) clearly disclosed so that consumers know the review was incentivized,” they said.
Reviews are mixed, but it’s unclear how many were left as part of a promotion.
‘Went to the butcher’s buffet today with a buddy. Everything started well, but the big problem occurred when the allotted time was up. “We still had some food on the plate that we could eat, but the manager told us to leave,” one man complained.
He added that the restaurant then made him pay for the food he did not eat.
Another said they had to pay $15 per person for any food waste.
‘The meat and salad variety are very very bad!… so the value for money and the service was not good at all and sorry, it will never be a waste of money,’ they said.
Others were impressed with the eatery.
The restaurant said they made the rule to help students, who often leave IDs at home
‘It was a long line but worth it! Wide selection of premium meats, fresh vegetables and desserts,” wrote one.
‘Absolutely excellent, love the atmosphere and care from all the staff,’ said another.
The spokesperson explained that they ask for Google reviews but don’t actually enforce the rule.
‘We don’t walk around the students and force them to open their phones to write. Instead, we remind them at the time of purchase that the reviews are welcome within the promotion,” the spokesperson said.
‘We don’t force or push them and they are welcome to write their own review if they wish. We do not force a positive review. We want them to be honest and based on their experience. Ultimately, this is just a strategy to help us with our marketing. Times are tough right now and every little bit of support keeps our doors open.”