Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao in hot water for keeping files on customers eating habits and physical appearance
- A woman posts about a restaurant that is keeping secret files on her and is stunned to learn many others had a similar experience
- The chain recorded detailed descriptions of customer preferences and physical appearance like ‘shoulder-length short hair’ and their weight
A Shanghai woman has claimed online that a hotpot chain has been secretly keeping private customer information in its database including spending habits and notes on physical appearance. The woman who used the profile name Naliyouzhimiao, claimed on social networking and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu that Haidilao Hotpot had been tracking her visits to the restaurant.
She was surprised when her post became a popular search on Weibo after many others shared similar experiences with the chain.
According to the pictures posted online, the hotpot restaurant’s database has a labelling system divided into four major categories: visit frequency, top five favourite meals, top five customised demands, such as “likes to eat hand-peeled oranges” and “plain water”, and physical characteristics, which include descriptions like “shoulder-length short hair”, “healthy skin tone” and “slim.”
There is also a customer who is tagged as “like to complain,” according to Affluence Video, a Shanghai-based media company.
According to the woman’s post, the restaurant manager apologised for recording her information and offered her a gift as compensation.
“You and I are ‘naked’ in the face of big data,” a person commented online.
