2007 Smoking Policy

...back to the smoking argument...

I started off my season working the gatehouses at the train while Maverick was still being worked on. I enforced the smoking policy the best that I could. However, when you have people:
-Ignoring you completely
-Not caring
-Throwing the cigarette in your face

...you tend to give up enforcing the policy. I just got to the point where I was so sick of people throwing cigarettes at me I stopped caring about the policy.

Trust me, on an average day at Maverick's entrance, you had to deal with enough things already:
-Enforcing the 52" height requirement improperly posted as 48" in the brochure.
-Enforcing the lap bar and seat belt rule with guests of exceptional size.
-Enforcing the no-alcohol policy with guests who just purchased their beer across the midway in the saloon
-Enforcing and explaining the how our attraction accommodates riders with a disability
-Explaining a few million times that "Maverick is currently down due to mechanical reasons. We don't know how long it's going to take. No, I can't tell you what's wrong with it..."

The LAST thing on your mind is stopping some jerk from smoking his cigarette.

Several people have mentioned the idea of putting "Smoke Free" stickers on the side of trashcans. Think about it, that would be the most prominent and non-obtrusive way to do it.

Probably pretty cheap, too.

-Josh

If there actually gonna try and enforce the racism against smokers they should try to make some more smoke stations for us. Theres only about 6 in the park and they are hard to find. I tried to go by the rules this year but when i have to walk a half mile to smoke a ciggarette it gets kind of annoying. And if smoking gets totally banned from the park everyone better be ready to see some nasty dip spit puddles and used chaw all over the ground... Whats with the campaign to ban fat people and smokers?? There makin it hard for me to get a supersized fry

Racism against smokers? Are they only letting white people smoke?

I don't have a problem with smokers I have a problem with second hand smoke. My mom was a heavy smokers and I have never smoked a day in my life. However, I am only 27 years old and have a smoker's lung from all the second hand smoke. I get bronchitis so easy it is not even funny.

In regards to enforcing the smoking policy. I saw it being enforced during my stay in late june. In fact my aunt was smoking and a cop came up to her (hesitantly) and told her about the policy and directed her to the smoking area.

Campaign to ban fat people and smokers? When it comes to guests of exceptional size, its all about safety (and avoiding lawsuits from accidents). Really, that post was just ridiculous to the point of being sad. That first sentence though was the kicker for me. Ben, I thought we were only letting...oh wait, anyway I say it I'll be getting complaints that I'm racist and a fascist pig from the Civil War era.

Seriously though, what my friend Froshy said above is entirely true. I didn't get cigarettes thrown at me, but there were several occasions where I got a nice plume of smoke in my face after trying to enforce the policy, as well as almost getting swung at for booting a guy and his wife/girlfriend out of line because they were smoking. The signage needs to be large and noticeable as well as in large quantities, because we can only take so much rudeness and retaliation for it on top of everything else we have to worry about.

If I happen to be in Park Ops again next summer, people will find out what I think of rude guests, because I held back from having security deal with them on many instances where they deserved an escort out of the park. That won't be happening next season. Line jumpers and smokers are horrible when it comes to being rude to us. Surprisingly enough, the people that want to drink beer in line are the most understandable about that policy, even when they are slightly intoxicated. *** Edited 9/25/2007 1:55:01 PM UTC by BlueStreak64***

Um, Errrrric, racism implies that race is involved. Telling people to smoke in only designated areas is not racism. It is a private company deciding the policies that will be enforced on its privately owned property.

I have a solution,get rid of tobacco products all together.

There's some cotton in them there fields to get picked, now get out there you damn smokers. ;)

Edited for inclusion of winky so the statement wasn't misconstrued.

*** Edited 9/25/2007 3:49:41 PM UTC by Loopy***

^^ - because that worked so well when we got rid of alcohol products all together.

Unsuccessful.

People were smoking in lines.

I told multiple ride operators, and I only once got results. I told a cop who stood by the queue inside the building that a large group all decided to light up and smoke in line and he did nothing (as he didn't see it, but everyone in line saw it).

I was only ever able to get results in Skyhawk when 2 girls lit up, and I had to rudely push my way to the front of the line to tell the ride operator.

I think they need to add verbal audio warnings to the loud speakers in and around the park / park rides.

Speakers playing songs should in between songs; remind people to put garbage in waste bins, do not litter in the pond, no smoking in the park, or lines except in designated areas.

The park just doesn't have enough people in all the right areas.

When we were there on Sept 15, sitting in front of Maverick on the little benches around a tree, hoping it was going to open, we saw a couple walking by smoking. The employee who was maning the entrance to Maverick was speaking over the intercom informing everyone that Maverick was down and they were working hard to get it open later on in the day, blah, blah, blah..anyway, he saw the couple walking by and said" Excuse me sir, there is no smoking in the park except in designated areas, (which one was just a few feet away), he advised there was a $150 fine for violating this law and if he didn't put it out he would be ejected from the park." The dude just kept on walking like he didn't even hear him. We were all laughing, because this guy was huge!!Anyway, to make a long story short (too late), neither one of the couple put their cigarettes out and no one enforced it. It just annoyed me that they would make a point to have this new policy in the park but not the ability to enforce it. To make matters worse, there were two CP security guys in front of the arcarde and they could have been contacted to help the employee out. Maybe they were afraid of the big dude too! Just my two cents!

Like several of us have stated as employees, when we constantly receive cigarettes thrown at us, a nice cloud of smoke blown in our faces, a string of obscenities, or even physical threats for trying to enforce the policy without the backing of management, we tend to lose any want to enforce it. And don't try to tell me that your reaction would not be the same. On a positive note in this discussion, a guest who was smoking on the midway made the huge mistake of blowing smoke right in Hildebrandt's face after being asked to put out his cigarette. Needless to say that he didn't remain in the park for long after that.

I wasn't ripping on employees, just stating it is hard for you guys to enforce the new policy without any kind of back up. And without any physical backup, I wouldn't have approached the guy either. I mean he was huge!

^Which, unfortunately, is why people like that get away with crap all the time. People think they're untouchable and hot sh**. I've stood up to plenty of people before who thought that way, and if only the park actually enforced the rule, and threw people out without a refund, I bet they'd think twice before lighting up in the wrong area. Cost of being an ass vs. the price you paid to get in the park..common sense.

It's hard to imagine they will enforce the new rule when the line smokers have gotten away with their act for years. It's also not uncommon to see several underage teens smoking at the park. Personally I still don't have an issue with smoking in the park as long as it is not in the lines for the rides.

In many cases if someone didn't see it who works for the park it will not be enforced.
The lack of security in lines. Except, Maverick....
I notice police regularly scout the line in the wooden area, and ride op's might be on the stairs.

I think lines should have cameras monitoring them,and all employees should carry a radio so that when you have disorderly person you can have security handle them.

Heres my quick idea...

Change admission, people get wristbands like castaway bay. Have police use a marker or something creative to mark a persons wristband for violations.

1 red dash across the wristband if you have been warned by police. You get 2 dashes on your bracelet and your out of the park.
Infractions like sitting on railings, cutting in lines, being disorderly while drunk, excessive language, smoking, etc.

Police could record each encounter real quick if the bracelets had ID's on them that could be scanned for instance too.

No offense, but you don't want your guests feeling like their tagged cattle while visiting your park.

Personally, I think people should just get ejected if they're found smoking. But, this is only if there is proper signage upon entry and located around the park. Even Six Flags hands almost every visitor into the park the "rules" of the park. Cedar Point is processing each and every guest going into the park, so it's not hard to "notify" them all that the park is non-smoking.

If ejection upon first offense is "too harsh", there are other ways. Someone on CoasterBuzz (I think it was CB) had a great idea. If you are caught smoking, you are escorted to guest services. They take your photo and name and put it in some log or whatever. You're formally warned and sent on your way. If you get caught again, you get ejected. You know the person was warned already because they're in the log.

Personally, I think it's more efficient for the park to just properly notify everyone and then boot them. Then you don't have to have employees escorting people to guest services and bogging them down with keeping a "smoker's log" of people. Just invest in proper signage and then boot away.

The problem is that management doesn't see the need for the signage and thinks that it wouldn't look good. Those were both reasons that I heard this summer while working there. Quite frankly, those are two of the worst excuses I heard this summer from management. They need the large signage because guests just don't pay attention to the fine print, and you can easily make signs that look good. That excuse is a very sad cop-out. *** Edited 9/26/2007 10:28:15 PM UTC by BlueStreak64***

I'm telling you, stickers on every trashcan. That's just as good as putting up a giant banner on every midway. People will see it every 10 feet, and eventually, if not "subliminally", it might sink in.

Josh