need to ask this one

[gaz1970]

having just returned to the UK after three wonderful weeks in the USA. Thanks for those who help make it special.
It was our 4th trip to the house of the mouse. As a smoker i know the smoking areas off by heart now, but i always stick to them, never have i smoked out side these areas. This year i noticed a large increase of those who flaunt this rule (a lot of then brits :mad: ) i noticed many staff didnt bat an eyelid at them, are you instructed not to say anything and let someone else deal with it or were they just not noticed. It was not only in the disney parks we saw it happen

I was not a nice person when i saw it happen, i used to walk past them, chough VERY loud then ask the wife (loud again) "i didnt know that the smoking bann had been lifted around this park"

could someone give me an answer please

[vixen101485]

I dont have an answer to your question since I am not a CM but I love your response to those who dont adhere to smoking areas. LMAO ...I have done the same thing COUGH COUGH, tho I dont say it to someone who looks like they could be carrying weapons LOL

[darph nader]

They keep putting more and more restrictions on smokers that some just don't shiv a git anymore.(And yes I'm a smoker)
Years ago they passed an ordinance so you couldn't smoke in reaturants.That's ok by me,NOW you can't even smoke in bars. :( unless they have an outside patio.
But like I said,'some' people just don't care.

[Floridian]

I am not a smoker although I have been in the park with smokers before. If you are not aware of the rule (not thats a real excuse) its somewhat confusing. People don't always believe you that they are not allowed to smoke outside.

In my training when they covered the no smoking policy briefly I had at the time been told if the person smoking is walking around to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are walking to a smoking area and to only approach smokers who were standing still. Seemed kind of a weird way to enforce a rule but I suppose if they are training the same way in other areas it would explain why so many people do not follow the rule.

[Zazu]

having just returned to the UK after three wonderful weeks in the USA. Thanks for those who help make it special.

You're welcome.

This year i noticed a large increase of those who flaunt this rule.... i noticed many staff didnt bat an eyelid at them, are you instructed not to say anything and let someone else deal with it or were they just not noticed.

We usually don't actually get "instructions" on whether or how to enforce such rules. Most first-level managers just want not to have problems brought to them.

At the MK, I confronted smokers every time I could without compromising my attraction's safety rules. "Sorry, but I have to tell you this is a non-smoking park...." was my approach, and it generally worked well. When it didn't, I called security and let them deal with it. I watched more than one such smoker escorted out of the park. :twisted:

At the hotel, the email that told us about the new no smoking policy and promised us data on designated smoking areas (which still hasn't come thru) specifically told us *not* to enforce the rule unless a guest complained. Go figure!

Bottom line for most CMs is that they are *extremely* unlikely to get into trouble by *not* enforcing such rules, and *very* worried that a smoker's complaint about them (accurate or not) will land them in trouble. When the MK first banned smoking, I resolved to enforce it vigorously until I got push-back from supervision, and then stop. So far, no complaints (and one guest compliment).

Well, I did get one complaint. A guest wanted me to tell smokers to snuff it when they were *in* a designated smoking area. I refused, explaining why. When she then offered to go speak to the smokers herself, I warned her that harassing other guests could get her tossed. She bitched that (plus a lot of stuff she made up). Lucky me, had a good GSM on duty and was simply warned "not to poke the stupid ones". :p:

[PrinceOfSka]

My fiance is pretty diligent about going after those who break the smoke rule, she is allergic to cigarette smoke though (actually so am I).

I guess since I am going to be a CM in the next week here that I should probably stop my usual guest approach:

me as we walk by another guest smoking (very loud): "Wow, I can't believe these idiots that can't read a map and find smoking areas"

or when I am feeling nasty:

"Wow, think of all those babies that are getting cancer from that guy's cigarette. I suppose that is why they have designated smoking areas." I sometimes continue this rant if I am standing still near the person. saying stuff like "If i was that baby's parents I would sue this jerk for taking minutes away from precious little timmy."

But then again, I can be quite an arse. I found that when you confront other guests as a guest they don't listen to you at all, but if you berate them indirectly they seem more likely to put it out... funny!

of course... once I put on the name tag I will be nice...ish. I promise...
:twisted:

[Randy B]

I guess it's time to air my take on the smoking issue. First a disclaimer. I am a smoker but I am one of the majority who actually try to follow the rules.

We all know how often we talk about people on vacation. leaving their brains behind. When someone becomes tired, or overwhelmed by their surroundings some of us tend to slip into a daze with our actions running on autopilot. In such a situation, it is possible to find yourself doing something that you know you shouldn't be doing (such as lighting up). In this situation a simple pleasant reminder to draw our attention back to the present will do the job.

Others may just be oblivious to the rule and so have not realized that they are breaking the rules. Again a smiling informational mention that "this is not a smoking area, and the nearest one is right over there" can do wonders.

As a guest I try to make the responses above in hopes of informing or waking up my fellow smokers. The vast majority of us are truely willing to attempt to follow the rules and get along with the non-smokers. Unfortunately there are those individuals, on both sides of the issue, who are militant about their view and are unwilling to change their behaviors. I have seen some smokers who are adamant about smoking anywhere and everywhere, and will frequently light up just because they were told not to. I have also seen people who are against smoking who will go out of their way to be "offended". One time I was in a clearly posted smoking area and a woman walked up, shoved herself onto the bench, between two smokers, and began giving dirty looks to the smokers, and finally began talking (to nobody) about how we shouldn't be smoking. When it was pointed out to her that this was a smoking area, she still insisted that everyone MUST stop smoking around her. These people are the ones who give both sides a black eye. and can actually hurt their view. When a smoker is confronted by a militant non-smoker it can cause a "I'm going to be yelled at anyway, so why should I go to all the effort of trying to get along" attitude. And the militant smoker will likely inspire more and more restrictive rules with more and more severe punishments to be enacted, Both at the parks and in normal life.

So my philosophy is to try to follow the rules, assume that those who are not have just had the equivalent of a "senior moment" appropriate for their age, and try to go with a smile and a pleasant reminder, while helpfully pointing out the nearest permitted location. The majority of the time this approach works great. If the person then wishes to be confrontational I then just back off and find a CM to ask for security to be called. They are the ones with the training and authority to deal with a beligerant person, no matter what their beligerant behavior involves (smoking, non-smoking, pushing and shoving, whatever).

Remember "a spoonful of sugar (a smile) helps the medice go down". :D:

Randy

[Randy B]

A P.S. to my previous post:

I have noticed that if I quietly wait at a bus stop for a WDW bus, it tends to take the full 20 min (or more) for the next one to arrive. But if I step off to the side (away from and downwind from any other people waiting for this or any other bus) and light a cig, the bus I am waiting for arrives about the time I get my lighter back in my pocket.

Do you guys on the busses have a smoke detector on your bus that causes the bus to automatically arrive when cigarette smoke is detected?

Randy

[Big Wallaby]

Do you guys on the busses have a smoke detector on your bus that causes the bus to automatically arrive when cigarette smoke is detected?

I can neither confirm, nor deny, the presence of smoke detectors in the load zones, nor can I confirm, nor deny, that we change our drivinig habits based on the readings at these smoke detectors... If they even exist.

[Hawkeye]

"Excuse me Sir/Maam, smoking is only allowed in designated areas in the Magic Kingdom (Pick your park, I work at MK). The nearest one is located ..." And I direct them to it. Never will I tell a person they cannot smoke in the park, which would be false, since it is allowed in the designated areas. As far as managers? Never have I worried about what a guest is going to say about me if I am enforcing park policy. For the *safety* and comfort of our guests, smoking is only allowed in designated areas. Safety being a word used in that spiel. So that's #1 on the list so I go from there.