A Seattle restaurant has chucked out a customer who refused to take off his Google Glass.
Nick Starr was at the Lost Lake Cafe in the city and was wearing the glasses, which allow users to take pictures and record audio or video, when he was asked to remove them.
After refusing to take them off, he was eventually asked to leave.
He complained about the incident on his Facebook page and suggested the restaurants' owner considers the employment of its night manager.
Dispute: Nick Starr left a Seattle restaurant after he was ordered to remove his Google Glass
'She tells me that
the owner's other restaurant doesn't allow Google Glass and that I would
have to either put it away or leave,' he wrote.
'I asked to see where it was policy for Glass to be disallowed at Lost
Lake. She said she couldn't provide any and when asked to speak with
management she stated she was the night manager.'
Starr
says he's eaten at Lost Lake with his $1,500 headset before and asked
to see where the restaurant's anti-Glass policy was posted. He and his
specs eventually left.
The episode has raised the debate about how invasive the gadget is.
After refusing to remove the glasses, Starr and his boyfriend left the venue.
He vented on his Facebook post, demanding an apology from the restaurant and calling for the woman's termination.
He
added that he thought it was bizarre that the restaurant asked
customers to shares images on social networking sites of their
experiences there, but banned the Glass.
Scene: The manager at the Lost Lake Cafe asked him to remove the glasses in accordance with their policy
Anger: Restaurant owner David Meinert, pictured, said he thought the glasses were invasive
The Lost Lake Cafe has refused to apologize, saying that they have other customers' interests in mind. They shot back at Starr with their own Facebook post, outlining its policy.
'We recently had to ask a rude customer to leave because of their insistence on wearing and operating Google Glasses inside the restaurant,' the statement said.
'We kindly ask our customers to refrain from wearing and operating Google Glasses inside Lost Lake. We also ask that you not videotape anyone using any other sort of technology.
'If you do wear your Google Glasses inside, or film or photograph people without their permission, you will be asked to stop, or leave. And if we ask you to leave, for God's sake, don't start yelling about your 'rights'. Just shut up and get out before you make things worse.'
Night out: Starr was out with his boyfriend, Brian (left), when they were approached by the manager
Fan: Starr said he wears the glasses everywhere and argued you can also take pictures with cell phones
Owner David Meinert, who banned Google Glass at another one of his restaurants earlier this year, said he felt uneasy about the device.
'I think they're invasive and they make people uncomfortable,' he told KOMO News. 'More than that they make me uncomfortable, and it's my place.'
But Starr countered that he believes Google Glass is no more intrusive than cell phones with cameras that are also capable of taking images.
'I think privacy is vapor now,' Starr said. 'There are cameras everywhere. There are recording devices everywhere.'
'I would love an explanation, apology, clarification, and if the staff member was in the wrong and lost the owner money last night and also future income as well, that this income be deducted from her pay or her termination.'
Take it off or get out: Seattle may be home for
tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, but Google Glass isn't welcome in one
local diner
'What kind of pathetic loser asks for someone to be fired because they asked him to put his toy away? What kind of overly indulged manchild throws a hissy about something so inconsequential? Grow up loser!' writes one poster.
'People like you give tech people and people in your generation a bad name. You don't have the RIGHT to use technology any way you want, anywhere you want. Maybe we need to stop worrying so much about our RIGHTS and more about doing what is right.
That woman is a real, flesh-and-blood person struggling to earn a living at an exhausting profession, who will not be able to pay her bills if she is fired. Balance that against....what? Your thwarted desire? That is low,' wrote another angry user.
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