Resaturants Banning E-Cigs
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:42 pm
I was in Olive Garden last weekend and a friend of mine was using an e-cigarette. Even though these are "vapor inhaler nicotine" systems, they are made to look like a cigarette (sort of) and the vapor that you exhale resembles smoke (but it's a vapor, an e-cig has a battery and an atomizer). The vapor goes into the air very briefly but dissipates almost immediately and certainly doesn't stay in the air like smoke does.
Anyway, to make a long story short, a sheeple (OK, strike the term sheeple and substitute "confused guest") reported someone "smoking" and the manager came over and told my friend that smoking was prohibited. She said it wasn't a cigarette banned under the "no smoking" law and the manager said it didn't matter, that anything resembling a cigarette was banned because it was too much trouble to deal with the issue (other people thinking it was a tobacco cigagette).
Needless to say, our food arrived about that time and I stood up and said "cancel our order" and we went next door and ate at a different restaurant. My friend was shocked that I took her side and stood up for her (she knows I HATE cigarette smoke) but I told her that I'd had enough of sheeple (oops, strike sheeple again and replace with "people") running my life based on their ignorant "perception" or "confusion".
(Edit: by the way, the manager and Mildred and I had a pleasant chat for about 5 minutes at the table. She said she wouldn't have come in if she knew that e-cigs were prohibited. He said he was sorry the policy wasn't posted but said he'd take that into consideration so that customers wouldn't have to be "confronted". He told he it wasn't the e-cig (i.e. smell or anything like that) but the perception that it might be a lit cigarette. She was upset and wanted to leave (she's 83 and this just upset her) and he said he'd take care of the cokes and since the salad and soup were already pre-made and not yet served that we could leave without any charges. So when the waiter brought the salad bowl we stood up and I said we were canceling our order and we left. It was all very civil and polite. We even left a tip for the waiter. Thanks to e-cigs, she's nearly off of nicotine, she's on the very lowest level and will be going to no nicotine in about a week. Now she just needs to try to work on the physical side of the addiction, holding something, etc. Still won't help her in OG or other restaurants that prohibit e-cigs because the fact that there's no nicotine in the inhaler doesn't matter, it's that people think it might be cigarette smoke. But I'm proud of her quitting at age 83 after smoking a zillion years. And I felt bad that she was so upset. As much as some would like to think there was a scene or anyone had a fit, that's not what happened. This post was a rant as indicated below because prohibiting something based on perception of it being something it's not just riled me up for awhile).
I emailed my concerns to the OLIVE GARDEN corporate office and received this response:
"As a business owner, we have made the decision to treat all cigarettes, electronic or otherwise, the same. This consistent approach helps us avoid confusion among our guests and employees in distinguishing electronic cigarettes from traditional cigarettes where smoking is legally prohibited."
They closed by saying "You are a valued guest, and we look forward to serving you again soon."
I won't bother repeating my response to them other than to say that they would NEVER serve me, my friends or my family again. I also gave them some easy tips to "distinguish" between the two, one of them being the smell of TOBACCO SMOKE radiating from the table that has a smoker sitting at it.
I'm a non-smoker but this is just ridiculous in my opinion. Their management and guests are "confused" between an e-cig and a lit tobacco cigarette? You've got to be kidding.
I refuse to spend my money at establishments that cater to SHEEPLE (OMG, again, strike SHEEPLE and substitute "confused guests"....) rather than to educate them (didn't mean to say "educate", really just meant that the manager could tell the customer that the other customer isn't smoking....so actually it's a correction to the person's "perception"). Olive Garden is putting the "confused guests" rights above my friends right. They have the right to do so and my friend has the right to go somewhere else. She is trying to do the right thing by stopping smoking cigarettes, using a vapor nicotine inhaler occassionally, and this is the slap in the face she gets.........because management can't do their job and let a "complaining" customer know that she's not smoking!!!!
Well, just my rant for today. This really bothers me on many levels. I'd like to go to Olive Garden and complain about the sceaming child next to me that is causing havoc, complain about the over powering perfume the lady next to me has on, etc. But of course I won't since I'm never stepping foot in there again.
By the way, Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurant Group who also owns Red Lobster so I would imagine that all those restaurants have the same policy.
Anyway, to make a long story short, a sheeple (OK, strike the term sheeple and substitute "confused guest") reported someone "smoking" and the manager came over and told my friend that smoking was prohibited. She said it wasn't a cigarette banned under the "no smoking" law and the manager said it didn't matter, that anything resembling a cigarette was banned because it was too much trouble to deal with the issue (other people thinking it was a tobacco cigagette).
Needless to say, our food arrived about that time and I stood up and said "cancel our order" and we went next door and ate at a different restaurant. My friend was shocked that I took her side and stood up for her (she knows I HATE cigarette smoke) but I told her that I'd had enough of sheeple (oops, strike sheeple again and replace with "people") running my life based on their ignorant "perception" or "confusion".
(Edit: by the way, the manager and Mildred and I had a pleasant chat for about 5 minutes at the table. She said she wouldn't have come in if she knew that e-cigs were prohibited. He said he was sorry the policy wasn't posted but said he'd take that into consideration so that customers wouldn't have to be "confronted". He told he it wasn't the e-cig (i.e. smell or anything like that) but the perception that it might be a lit cigarette. She was upset and wanted to leave (she's 83 and this just upset her) and he said he'd take care of the cokes and since the salad and soup were already pre-made and not yet served that we could leave without any charges. So when the waiter brought the salad bowl we stood up and I said we were canceling our order and we left. It was all very civil and polite. We even left a tip for the waiter. Thanks to e-cigs, she's nearly off of nicotine, she's on the very lowest level and will be going to no nicotine in about a week. Now she just needs to try to work on the physical side of the addiction, holding something, etc. Still won't help her in OG or other restaurants that prohibit e-cigs because the fact that there's no nicotine in the inhaler doesn't matter, it's that people think it might be cigarette smoke. But I'm proud of her quitting at age 83 after smoking a zillion years. And I felt bad that she was so upset. As much as some would like to think there was a scene or anyone had a fit, that's not what happened. This post was a rant as indicated below because prohibiting something based on perception of it being something it's not just riled me up for awhile).
I emailed my concerns to the OLIVE GARDEN corporate office and received this response:
"As a business owner, we have made the decision to treat all cigarettes, electronic or otherwise, the same. This consistent approach helps us avoid confusion among our guests and employees in distinguishing electronic cigarettes from traditional cigarettes where smoking is legally prohibited."
They closed by saying "You are a valued guest, and we look forward to serving you again soon."
I won't bother repeating my response to them other than to say that they would NEVER serve me, my friends or my family again. I also gave them some easy tips to "distinguish" between the two, one of them being the smell of TOBACCO SMOKE radiating from the table that has a smoker sitting at it.
I'm a non-smoker but this is just ridiculous in my opinion. Their management and guests are "confused" between an e-cig and a lit tobacco cigarette? You've got to be kidding.
I refuse to spend my money at establishments that cater to SHEEPLE (OMG, again, strike SHEEPLE and substitute "confused guests"....) rather than to educate them (didn't mean to say "educate", really just meant that the manager could tell the customer that the other customer isn't smoking....so actually it's a correction to the person's "perception"). Olive Garden is putting the "confused guests" rights above my friends right. They have the right to do so and my friend has the right to go somewhere else. She is trying to do the right thing by stopping smoking cigarettes, using a vapor nicotine inhaler occassionally, and this is the slap in the face she gets.........because management can't do their job and let a "complaining" customer know that she's not smoking!!!!
Well, just my rant for today. This really bothers me on many levels. I'd like to go to Olive Garden and complain about the sceaming child next to me that is causing havoc, complain about the over powering perfume the lady next to me has on, etc. But of course I won't since I'm never stepping foot in there again.
By the way, Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurant Group who also owns Red Lobster so I would imagine that all those restaurants have the same policy.
