In the same way that some restaurants have begun to request that their customers turn off cell phones, one restaurant in Seattle has kicked out a customer for wearing Google Glass. The same person that kicked out the patron for wearing Google’s latest piece of technology had also issued a ban on Google Glass in another bar shortly after the device was unveiled.
The restaurant in question, Lost Lake, is owned by David Meinert, who has previously made the news simply by opposing the use of Glass in any of his establishments.
It’s one thing to take out a camera and capture a moment, people see you doing it, they have a chance to step out if they want to. With Glass people don’t have a chance to do that. We want our customers to feel comfortable, not like they’re being watched. – Meinert’s business partner Jason Lajeunesse
Even though tons of people are criticizing Meinert for making such a big deal over Google Glass and their use within his restaurants and bars, he is not the only manager to come out against the new piece of technology. Numerous Las Vegas casinos have already stated that they are looking to ban Google Glass as well.
We recently had to ask a rude customer to leave because of their insistence on wearing and operating Google Glasses inside the restaurant. So for the record, here’s Our Official Policy on Google Glass – Lost Lake
It is likely that we will see more of these bans before Google Glass is officially released to the public in 2014. Right now, the only people that are running into trouble with Glass are part of Google’s Explorer program, but the public will have access to Glass shortly.
The jury is still out as to whether or not Meinert is justified in banning Google Glass or actually kicking someone out for using it. From a legal standpoint, he may be fine, however the implications of using Glass seem to be no more than what you would find with allowing smartphones.