I always make my reservations under the name Pete Wells (I once used Craig Claiborne after reading an article about how he had to make reservations in the names of his guests) because I know that they will make an extra effort to give me the best food. Does that count?
Half joking, half serious questions: if one makes reservations through reservation platforms like Resy and OpenTable, would using a fake name go against the terms and conditions?
There’s a guy named Gregory Popovich (not the coach) who constantly gets out of this world service because they assume he is the coach.
seems like negligence to not google your customers if you have the ability to. especially in hospitality.
Funny story. Years ago when on vacation I had reservations at Spago. I have the same last name as the producer from Regis. When I showed up they were very disappointed
Who cares? They sue you for violating the terms and conditions. What is their damages for your violation? ZERO.
Seems like stupidity to me if you rely on the results. The good crooks who are going to beat you for something significant will just use pseudonyms and the A-holes who get shut out because of prior published criticisms will just rag on you for shutting them out or post that you are obviously trying to hide bad food, bad service or bad whatever. Bew careful what you wish for.
I think “the customer is always right” old adage has gotten twisted from its original meaning. There’s an assumption of decorum and proper behavior that accompanies the mantra.
When a customer politely comments that their meal was not up to their standards, they are absolutely right no matter how perfect you think the food was and you should comp the meal, replace it, whatever. That’s good business.
When a customer yells profanities at your staff, whatever the reason might be, they are absolutely wrong and should be thrown out.
So if you can weed out those second types of people before they come visit, sounds great. At the retail store we owned, we always kept a list of bad check writers and would share that with other local stores in the industry. Good business practice.
According to local news reports, in the past he’s used aggressive tactics, such as allegedly spraying one diner with a fire extinguisher when the guest wouldn’t put out his cigar.
Throwing out customers who yell profanity is not the issue. The problem is that as a practical matter, checking people on Google to weed out those with bad social media posts does not work, and seems likely to backfire.
As to people who bounce checks, it is a very interesting legal issue that I have been dealing with for over 40 years, when there used to be a group of bank officers who met once a month to share data. I advised them that it was illegal (antitrust violation) to share data on interest rates, loan terms and all sorts of stuff. They told me that the only data they shared was related to check kiting and people abusing their accounts. That was technically illegal but the US DOJ told me that if all they shared was the names of crooks and thieves, the US Attorney would give them a pass. I think that the process has since been legalized to a narrow extent.
I sometimes use the name Bueller when I go to a restaurant and have to put my name on a list. Only once did it have the best intended impact of having the name Bueller called out several times.
Will we soon need a social media presence with x number of followers in order to gain a reservation at the top spots?
I’ve heard to access certain wine lists at certain French restaurants has required (Insta) proof of regular consumption
This.
I know people look at social media at restaurants. Recently at Bazaar meats in Chicago for the first time and they knew who I hung around with in the industry. I think it helped make for a better experience. It certainly didn’t hurt.
George
It’s not uncommon that if it’s just the guys going out that someone makes the reservation under “Froman”.
I’m going to try that one next !!
I’m going to try that one next !!