That’s an option (heh, heh)
People smoke in Valet.
Not us employees, obviously, but people leave the airport terminal, get to our area across the street, and light up because it’s not marked NO SMOKING. Even though the airport has multiple Designated Smoking Areas where they can go, they pretend where we work (also where construction equipment and TV stations’ vehicles park) is one of those. At least some people do ask “Where’s a smoking area?,” but so many others simply light up. (Once in summer 2019 a person next to our booth briefly smoked a joint.) We often have to make people go away. It gets annoying.*
Wednesday - I feel fine sharing this because who I describe in this anecdote aren’t our customers - two people walked right past us, to the area behind our booth. For pedestrians, it’s a dead end, unless (like some) they’re willing to walk down the ramp, which is a very bad and dangerous idea, but I digress. I followed them and asked “Are you looking for a particular area?” Person 1 said “Just a place to smoke.” I said “This isn’t a designated smoking area.” Person 1 said “You closed the smoking area.”** Person 2 said “I’m not walking 20 miles for a place to smoke.” And as I started to explain where they could go to smoke I started to worry:
What if they refused to leave?
I guessed I could call my supervisor to come over, maybe even bring the traffic enforcement officers if any were available, but I couldn’t force them to leave. I’m relieved that the two people did then leave, for wherever they wound up smoking, but I then started to think:
What I could have done? Was be annoying.
Start saying lung cancer stats. Mention the people I’ve known who’ve died of lung cancer. Maybe just say “uuuuuuuuummmmmmm.” Maybe start quoting Ralph Wiggum of The Simpsons. Maybe yell. Maybe laugh the laugh I can laugh that I call “The Mean Laugh,” because it is mean.
I could weaponize being annoying. I could. I’ll try not to.
* At the risk of being snotty, I want to tell the people smoking: imagine your workplace. Now imagine a person walking into that place, going through the middle of it, then lighting up in a corner of it. Just because that workplace is open to the air doesn’t make what they’re doing less obnoxious.
** Partly true (THOUGH IT WASN’T ME PERSONALLY), the Port closed the smoking areas next to the south end of the terminal’s Departures level and the north end of the Arrivals level due to construction. There are still two smoking areas next to the terminal and one next to the Rental Car Center next to the parking garages.
Not us employees, obviously, but people leave the airport terminal, get to our area across the street, and light up because it’s not marked NO SMOKING. Even though the airport has multiple Designated Smoking Areas where they can go, they pretend where we work (also where construction equipment and TV stations’ vehicles park) is one of those. At least some people do ask “Where’s a smoking area?,” but so many others simply light up. (Once in summer 2019 a person next to our booth briefly smoked a joint.) We often have to make people go away. It gets annoying.*
Wednesday - I feel fine sharing this because who I describe in this anecdote aren’t our customers - two people walked right past us, to the area behind our booth. For pedestrians, it’s a dead end, unless (like some) they’re willing to walk down the ramp, which is a very bad and dangerous idea, but I digress. I followed them and asked “Are you looking for a particular area?” Person 1 said “Just a place to smoke.” I said “This isn’t a designated smoking area.” Person 1 said “You closed the smoking area.”** Person 2 said “I’m not walking 20 miles for a place to smoke.” And as I started to explain where they could go to smoke I started to worry:
What if they refused to leave?
I guessed I could call my supervisor to come over, maybe even bring the traffic enforcement officers if any were available, but I couldn’t force them to leave. I’m relieved that the two people did then leave, for wherever they wound up smoking, but I then started to think:
What I could have done? Was be annoying.
Start saying lung cancer stats. Mention the people I’ve known who’ve died of lung cancer. Maybe just say “uuuuuuuuummmmmmm.” Maybe start quoting Ralph Wiggum of The Simpsons. Maybe yell. Maybe laugh the laugh I can laugh that I call “The Mean Laugh,” because it is mean.
I could weaponize being annoying. I could. I’ll try not to.
* At the risk of being snotty, I want to tell the people smoking: imagine your workplace. Now imagine a person walking into that place, going through the middle of it, then lighting up in a corner of it. Just because that workplace is open to the air doesn’t make what they’re doing less obnoxious.
** Partly true (THOUGH IT WASN’T ME PERSONALLY), the Port closed the smoking areas next to the south end of the terminal’s Departures level and the north end of the Arrivals level due to construction. There are still two smoking areas next to the terminal and one next to the Rental Car Center next to the parking garages.