Erasing a guest's details

When to use it

A guest asks you to delete what you hold about them. Under Australian privacy law they can, and this is the button that does it — the Privacy Act right most likely to actually reach a restaurant.

Only an owner can erase. Managers and hosts do not see the button.

How to do it

1. Open the guest's record.

2. Press Erase personal details.

3. Read what the dialog says it will do, then press Erase permanently. Keep the record backs out.

What stays behind

This is the part worth understanding before you press it, because the scope surprises people in both directions.

Gone: their name, their contact details, every staff note about them, and every tag on them.

Stays: their bookings — the covers, the status history and any payments — with nothing identifying anyone attached. Last March's Saturday still shows the right number of people through the door, and your reports still reconcile.

That is deliberate, and it is what makes the button safe to press. Erasing a guest does not put a hole in your trading history; it removes the person from the record while leaving the fact of the meal.

One thing to know: if the same person books again afterwards, they arrive as a new guest with no history. That is what they asked for.