
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990                   TAG: 9006040194
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NO-SMOKING SECTIONS SHOULDN'T BE PROBLEM

A COUPLE of my favorite restaurants continue to ignore requests that they establish no-smoking sections, in spite of physical layouts that are very favorable. They say, "but you don't understand how complicated it is." They seem to feel that managing seating in busy times is difficult enough without the extra burden.

As a patron of many restaurants that do provide no-smoking areas, it seems to me that it's quite simple. Am I missing something?

1. The restaurant marks off a section with no smoking signs, and perhaps a sign in the lobby announcing that non-smoking seating is available.

2. When patrons arrive, each is asked whether he or she wishes to sit in "smoking" or "non-smoking."

3. There are three possible responses: "Smoking," "Non-smoking," "It doesn't matter." Most of the time, if there's a seat for the patron under the "integrated" scheme, there will be a seat for the patron under a "divided" scheme, with appropriate ratios of seating and the continued operation of the laws of statistics.

4. If the desired section is full, then the patron is faced with the choice of waiting until the section is available, sitting in the non-preferred section, or leaving. Only the latter choice is worse (from the restaurant's point of view) than the current situation. But here's an aspect of the situation the proprietors may not appreciate: Who knows how many non-smoking people do not now even darken their doors because they already know what they'll find? Betcha it averages out!

I wish fellow non-smoking Roanokers would please make their wishes known to those restaurants that don't provide non-smoking seating! Ask for it. AL ANWAY ROANOKE

by CNB