Of course, technology can help, but many restaurants have been reluctant to embrace computers with the exception of their point-of-sale systems, which they use to control cash receipts, employee attendance and sometimes inventory.

A new generation of personalization tools, applying concepts used effectively by leading Web sites, is emerging for the restaurant business. Software makers promise tangible results such as new customers, higher sales per patron and enhanced service.

One company, Houston-based ReservationSource Inc., has software that not only accepts reservations online, but also ties the information to a customer database that the restaurant can maintain.

Birthdays and anniversary dates can be stored in the system, so the restaurant can send out e-mail reminders to the customer in advance of the big date, perhaps suggesting a romantic dinner for two.

If a diner has a favorite bottle of wine, the restaurant can ensure that the proper vintage is in stock when the reservation is made.

"We can ask if they want Tony to be their waiter again," said David Tripoli, managing partner of the new Truluck's Steak and Stone Crab in Austin, which has installed the ReservationSource system.

Eventually, Truluck's intends to use the system in all of its restaurants.

"It's been working out great," Mr. Tripoli said. "It's truly focused on the customer-service benefits, and that's what's really nice."

Customer data can also be analyzed to help a maitre d' determine who the most profitable customers really are.

"They've been a little surprised by the data," said Stephanie Gusmeri, vice president of operations at ReservationSource.

The most profitable customers may not be the high rollers who ring up $1,000 tabs. They can be low-key patrons who visit more often.

The computer also can identify customers who have a habit of canceling their reservations at the last minute, or just not showing up at all, a big problem for many restaurants.

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, who uses the ReservationSource system, said it's not unreasonable to ask such customers to guarantee their reservation with a credit card, like a hotel room.

Mr. Biernat, a self-described technophobe, said computers are critical to competing effectively in the restaurant business these days.

The ReservationSource software, which is rolling out to 160 restaurants over the next six to eight weeks, ties a diagram of the floor plan to a calendar program and a customer database.

It can be run from a single personal computer at the restaurant's entrance. Eventually, some managers want to be able to have access to the program from wireless hand-held organizers.

Some of the same techniques used by airlines to squeeze more revenue from each airplane seat can be adapted to a restaurant. Floor plans, for example, can be customized on the fly, maximizing the use of tables.

Sophisticated customer-management systems aren't just for the highest-end restaurants.

Even a restaurant that doesn't take reservations may have wait lists during peak times. With the ReservationSource system, a customer can get on the list before leaving home to reduce the wait.

Like many brick-and-mortar businesses, restaurants have been slow to build much of a presence on the Internet. Many restaurants that did put up Web sites a few years ago have never bothered to change them.

"Even if restaurants aren't conducting business on the Internet, their customers are all over the Internet," said Scott Lutwak, chief operating officer of Restaurant.com. The company is based in New York, though Mr. Lutwak works from Houston.

Restaurant.com offers establishments a Web presence with a template-based system that can be updated constantly so changes to the menu and wine list can be posted. Restaurants can also offer coupons or information about daily specials online.

"We have a much more interactive approach," Mr. Lutwak said.

Another challenge is that lots of restaurants don't have a computer in-house. So Restaurant.com said last week that it is teaming with Compaq Computer Corp. in a special program to sell PCs to restaurants.

It does take some work to keep the site current, of course. Though lots of restaurateurs don't necessarily want to become Webmasters, some do rely on their teenage kids to help out, he said.

But some restaurants want to go all out with the bells and whistles of the Web. They are offering prospective customers a 360-degree view of the dining room from the Web site, to help them determine whether the atmosphere is just right for that special event.