Ask Jon: Is Googling My Guests Creepy or a Sign of Great Service?

Jonathan Deutsch

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Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC is Professor/Vice Chair of Health Sciences, which encompasses Culinary, Food, Nutrition, Exercise and Health Sciences at Drexel University. He is the Founding Program Director of Drexel’s Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs. He is a classically trained chef and co-author or -editor of eight books including Barbecue: A Global History (with Megan Elias), Culinary Improvisation, and The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook, and articles in journals of food studies, public health and hospitality education.

Dear Jon: I Google my guests. How do I toe the line between using this info to provide excellent service and being creepy?

People dine out for many reasons but chief among them is hospitality. In the old days, it took a complex system of manager notes, whispered conversations, and sustained interactions to provide the kind of great hospitality that results in service that anticipates guests’ needs. “I hear you’re celebrating an anniversary with us!” Or, “Last time I remember I made you a black Manhattan that you enjoyed. Would you like something similar?” Now, thanks to search engines and increasingly sophisticated reservation software, we can eliminate some of those steps. Kyle Knall, chef/co-owner of Birch in Milwaukee, Wis. says, “Before I go to sleep every night, I look at the reservations for the next day on OpenTable. I’m curious to know who’s coming in and what they’re celebrating. Restaurants always talk about how important it is to know someone’s birthday, anniversary, or special occasion, but I want to take it to the next level. I want to dig a little deeper and find out something unique about their celebration—where did they honeymoon, what’s their promotion, or anything else that can help us connect with them on a personal level. The idea is to have a meaningful conversation with as many guests as possible. We want to make sure that everyone feels seen and valued, and our reservation list is a great starting point for that.”

Knall’s interactions with guests might be as subtle as adding some more Phish to the playlist in response to learning that a guest is a superfan to sending a “thoughtful bite,” like Iberico ham to a couple who honeymooned in Spain. Knall starts his nightly staff lineup with a review of the reservation list, VIPs and any information about them he has gleaned from OpenTable, Google, or Instagram. As I often advise in this column, when it comes to guest interactions, transparency is the best policy. If a guest asks how you know something about them, rather than being embarrassed, own it! As for coming off as creepy, Knall says, “We have to be really confident and be sure we’re perfect. If a guest is curious how our staff knows something about them, I tell them to say something like, ‘We pay attention to who is coming into our restaurants. We want to make sure you have a great experience.’”

Of course, there can be cases where you may do some research on your guests and wish you could unsee what you’ve found. A restaurant owner I spoke with who asked to remain anonymous said, “I always Google my guests, but sometimes I wish I hadn’t—like when I see arrest records for crazy pasts or a photo of the guest with his wife who is a different person than his date.” Overall, though, the net positive—providing unparalleled hospitality—should outweigh the potential negative of awkward interactions. Like other technologies from AI to POS, searching for information on guests is a tool to help you stay competitive in an increasingly challenging restaurant industry. Keep your north star of delivering great food, beverage, and hospitality as the reason for the creeping.