For more than 15 years, Dave Young and his family patronized Tanaka of Tokyo, a teppanyaki-style restaurant that had become a household favorite for celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.

But when Young, 59, of Makiki recently tried to make reservations at the company’s Ala Moana Center location, he was shocked to be told that the restaurant had placed him on a "no serve" list and didn’t want his business. Young was added to the list because he had written negative remarks on a customer comment card he was given with his bill in 2008 and again in September, according to Young and the restaurant.

The manager told Young that the comments — even though penned three years apart — indicated that Tanaka "could not seem to satisfy (your) requirements," Young wrote in recounting the events to the Star-Advertiser.

Young is one of about 33,000 names the company has in a detail-packed customer database, mostly used to tailor service to its VIP patrons. The system includes a range of information from favorite wines, food allergies and vegetable dislikes to birthdays, seating preferences and tipping history. Some entries even have photos so the staff can identify customers by sight.

But the database also highlights one unusual category: customers no longer welcome at the company’s three Oahu restaurants. Seventeen names, including Young’s, are on the list.

As more restaurants take advantage of advancements in sales software, the use of extensive customer databases to improve service and gain a competitive edge is expected to become more commonplace at Hawaii’s higher-end establishments, industry executives say.

Whether that will translate into an increased use of "no serve" lists is tougher to assess, they say. In a competitive marketplace in which customer loyalty is critical to success, blacklisting a repeat customer seems counterintuitive.

"Restaurants rely on repeat business," said Annika Stensson, spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C. "So turning away guests would only be done if the situation is extreme and unsolvable."

From the perspective of Richard Tanaka, owner of Tanaka of Tokyo Restaurants Ltd., the situation with Young was unsolvable.

When Young made reservations for September, his name was flagged via the database because of unsatisfactory service he received in 2008 at the Ala Moana site. Tanaka acknowledged that Young’s complaint three years ago was legitimate.

The server Young’s party had that day was inexperienced, didn’t perform to the restaurant’s standards and was counseled subsequently by management, according to the restaurant’s records, which Tanaka showed to the Star-Advertiser.

After that meal, Tanaka added Young’s name to the VIP list to ensure that if he returned to the restaurant, he would get top-notch service, according to Tanaka. That’s why Young and his guest, during their September visit, were placed at the best table with the restaurant’s best chef and top server, Tanaka said.

In teppanyaki-style cooking, a chef grills food at each table, entertaining customers with his or her food-flipping, knife-handling and other culinary skills. On the September date, six other customers — none part of Young’s party — shared the same table.

Despite the extra measures taken by the restaurant, Young submitted negative comments, while all the others rated the service as excellent, Tanaka said.

"It seems like whatever we do, we can’t satisfy him," added Chester Kaneshiro, Tanaka of Tokyo president.

Tanaka also said the server told him that Young’s demeanor that evening indicated that he wasn’t pleased no matter what she did.

"This was not somebody I wanted to expose my staff to," Tanaka said.

Young questioned why the restaurant would single out a customer who submits negative comments on cards it hands out precisely to get feedback.

"It doesn’t make any sense," he said.

The remarks he wrote in September simply indicated that the staff seemed overworked and the server had too many tables to tend to, and the comments weren’t offensive or insulting, Young said. What’s more, he added, he has submitted positive comments on numerous other occasions.

If he had been belligerent, abusive or exhibited other inappropriate behavior, Young said, he could understand the restaurant’s decision. But he said his behavior wasn’t an issue — a contention Tanaka verified.

Tanaka said the other people on the company’s "no serve" list were added because of inappropriate behavior, such as harassing the staff or using profanity.

Like other retailers, restaurants legally can refuse to serve a customer as long as they don’t discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, ancestry or disability. Some bars keep what they call an "86" list of customers who are banned because of past behavior, such as getting into fights or not paying their tabs.

But industry officials and restaurant executives contacted by the Star-Advertiser said they were unaware of higher-end restaurants keeping "no serve" lists, and speculated that such a practice would be unusual.

Some also said the lengths to which Tanaka of Tokyo goes to maintain such a detailed database is unusual but laudable, especially in a sluggish market in which good service is critical.

"I’m impressed," said Roger Morey, executive director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. "It just boggles my mind."

Tanaka, who has 35 years in the restaurant business, said he began keeping a handwritten VIP list more than 25 years ago and switched to a computerized database in the late ’80s. He has been adding names ever since, often after reviewing the previous day’s comment cards each morning when he gets to the office.

The company regularly makes changes based on that customer feedback, Tanaka said.

Besides selecting names from the comment cards, Tanaka automatically adds to the VIP list any customer who makes a reservation online. Those patrons tend to be Internet-savvy and are more likely to post reviews on sites such as Yelp, he said. Most of the Tanaka’s reviews on Yelp as of last week were positive.

Tanaka said his three restaurants collectively average about 800 to 1,000 customers daily and, except for the first year and a half in business, his company has been substantially profitable each year. Asked whether the database was a factor, Tanaka replied, "It’s huge."

A lot of restaurants have better food or decor, but the database helps his staff provide a level of personalized service that makes customers feel like part of a family, he said. If a VIP customer makes a reservation, the staff, having reviewed the database ahead of time, will know to greet the customer by name and will ask, for instance, whether they would like a favorite wine or still don’t like garlic in the fried rice.

Tanaka noted that his company has won a Hale ‘Aina award for Hawaii’s best Japanese restaurant each of the past four years.

Tanaka’s practice of seeking feedback through comment cards is becoming less common in the industry, partly because of the rise of online services.

Biff Graper, a restaurant Realtor and consultant, said the smart establishments still use cards.

"To be successful, you have to know the customer experience," Graper said. "That’s how you make corrections."

But Young, a state public information officer, cautioned people about providing written feedback. If you do, he advised, "don’t give your name."