WENTZVILLE, Mo. (KTVI) — Stefanina’s in Wentzville, Missouri, has been in business for over 25 years—serving customers and becoming a staple in the community for its homemade dishes.
But the mom-and-pop business has recently come across a peculiar problem—something even full-time manager Eva Gannon wouldn’t have expected.
It involves Google AI displaying items on the menu, as well as specials that don’t exist. And it’s confusing employees as well as frustrating customers.
“I’m doing one shift a week in the dining room, (and) a customer came in asking for a special I wasn’t aware of,” Gannon recounted. “I wanted to check with some of the other managers that day to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.”
Gannon told Nexstar’s FOX 2 that the customer showed off his phone, hoping to find the menu item he was looking to order.
“When he told me how he found the information, he typed it in his Google search bar. And that first response that people see is generated by AI, so he couldn’t find it again,” Gannon said. “And that’s the bad part—you Google something, you get a response. But when you Google the same thing again, you get a completely different response.”
This type of interaction would become frequent, Gannon says, as more customers would visit Stefanina’s, asking about nonexistent food specials displayed by Google AI.
“That’s the frustrating thing that we’re dealing with right now because customers are coming back, being like, ‘Why aren’t you honoring the specials that say that is offered by you?’ And we are not producing that information,” Gannon said. “And if we did, it was 10-20, maybe even 30 years ago, when the internet started being a thing.”
The business even took to social media about the ordeal, urging customers to visit their pages instead of using AI.
“We made that post so that our customers are aware that this is an issue,” said Janai Biggs, kitchen manager at Stefanina’s.
According to the business, a common confusion displayed by Google AI surrounds a deal in which customers can buy a small pizza and get another one for $4.
“Never once have we offered that special,” Gannon said. “…We have only ever done it for the last 25 years we’ve been in business on Wednesdays—that will never change.”
Larry Thompson, of Troy, Missouri, came to Stefanina’s for lunch with his mom. Thompson told Nexstar’s FOX 2 that he was surprised that some customers became frustrated with the business for not honoring AI specials.
“It just seems unreasonable that people are coming in here, asking about food they don’t have,” Thompson said. “It’s got to be nerve-wracking for them.”
Stefanina’s has been attempting to contact Google about their AI concerns, but they have received “inadequate responses.” Stefanina’s wants Google to give the business free rein.
“We love the fact that Google is advertising for us. (When) it shows restaurants near me, one of ours will be on that list. We love that,” Gannon said. “But if it says that we’re open till midnight or 1 a.m. and someone’s knocking on our door and we get an angry call, that’s coming back on us.”
Nexstar’s FOX 2 also reached out to Google and did not receive a response in time for publication. Stefanina’s, on the other hand, just wants its customers to refer to their business instead of artificial intelligence.
And for those who ask about any AI-generated specials.
“I try to accommodate anybody that walks in these doors. I want everybody leaving happy,” Gannon said. “But sometimes there’s a rare percentage where the customer is not always right, and in this case scenario, I cannot honor a Google AI special. We never will. We never have; just because this is now a thing, we can’t now make it a thing for us.”