Restaurant asking for date of birth on online booking form

[tomskip]

Why do you think they would do that?

Is is to keep the grey and wrinklies out?

[jaywalker]

I am increasingly finding this with all sorts of registrations. Perhaps they think it is a good check that you mean your booking. But dob is a key to many portals - including the most sensitive sites (e.g. banking) as part of their security. So it is certainly not being given out to restaurants. But you should tell them that you object.

Or, since they won't be checking, you could test your hypothesis with a rather early date. I suggest the early 1920s.

[tomskip]

I'd rather book by ye olde fashyionned phone, such is the depth of my wrinkles.

[TheArtfulDogger]

Maybe it's a simple case of marketing and being able to email you a birthday offer (I.e. Free glass of wine on your birthday...)

Of course I could be simplistic in my thinking

[Earl Aelfheah]

What dogger said. It's usually so they can email you on your birthday with a special offer / freebie.

[DulwichFox]

With your Name. Address. D.O.B. There is enough info to steal your I.D.

I never give out my D.O.B. unless it is a Legal requirement. Passport... Banking... Medical..

DulwichFox

[BrandNewGuy]

Ditto - and I have an online fake birthday for eventualities such as this.

[dirac]

Yea I always give a false one. There's no need for it whatsoever, and just a way to collect more data from you so they can say useless things like "people of X age range like Y on Sundays" or something similar.

[ruffers]

When it asks for title there is nothing to stop you putting in "Sir" or "Lord". Just for fun.

[tomskip]

Ah ha, I didn't think about the special offer on my birthday thing. This is where I might have been quite cute - I thought they may be trying to wangle their bookings so that younger customers get priority (it's one of those establishments and a very busy time of year) so I used correct day and month, just shaved 10 years off the year! So I might get my birthday offer after all. Will update in 10 months ...

[LondonMix]

Its to sell your data. Not to anyone criminal, but to data aggregating firms that look for retailing trends within different demographics and then sell it on to marketing firms.

tomskip Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Why do you think they would do that?

>

> Is is to keep the grey and wrinklies out?

[LondonMix]

Yes, exactly this.

dirac Wrote:

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> Yea I always give a false one. There's no need for

> it whatsoever, and just a way to collect more data

> from you so they can say useless things like

> "people of X age range like Y on Sundays" or

> something similar.

[Earl Aelfheah]

ruffers Wrote:

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> When it asks for title there is nothing to stop

> you putting in "Sir" or "Lord". Just for fun.

My sister used to have a Sainsbury's loyalty card under the moniker 'Ghost faced Killah'.