Customers desert smoke-free restaurant

[Rhino]

Customers desert smoke-free restaurant
Fri Jan 18, 2008 1:45pm EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's first smoke-free restaurant chain faces going out of business after its customers deserted it in droves after the ban was enforced, state media reported on Friday.

The Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of more than 350 million, making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concerns.

The occupancy rate at Meizhou Dongpo, a chain serving the spicy fare of southwest Sichuan province, had dropped to "about 80 percent of that enjoyed by other restaurants across the street" after it banned smoking in October, the China Daily quoted its manager as saying....http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1863254220080118?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[Wolfcounsel]

...a focus of international health concerns. --from Rhino's link



A billion to one says no agency or group exists on this planet that harbors any genuine health concerns for anybody. It's all about money and control, people.

Getting back to these ANAL Chinese "health" laws regarding smoking, well, tough poop on the Chinese smokers if they don't tell the health Nazis where to stuff their laws other than by boycotting.

[DeclinetoState]

Since smoking (allegedly) dulls the sense of taste, maybe the loss of business occurred when people realized what the food really tasted like.

[Air Force Guy]

I'm not sure that a 20% comparative loss of business constitutes any kind of mass abandonment. Neither does the article go into detail what their occupancy rate was before banning smoking. Bullshyte hype'ns I guess.

Meizhou Dongpo had trained its waitresses how to discourage people from lighting up, but met resistance from customers who would lock staff out of private dining rooms to sneak a quick puff, Guo said. Here's a good reason for a ban. Try to cajole customers nicely and look what it gets you.


Along with spitting, and not queuing, Olympic organizers fear Chinese people's tendency to smoke anywhere at any time could taint the country's image in foreign eyes. China banned smoking in taxis in October and launched a drive to ban smoking in hospitals, schools, and government offices last year.
Really classy folk those Chinese.

[Riverboat]

Since smoking (allegedly) dulls the sense of taste, maybe the loss of business occurred when people realized what the food really tasted like.S'matter with Chinese food? Well, maybe they just couldn't get the hang of using chopsticks.

[DeclinetoState]

Is it possible to use chopsticks while smoking?

[ThomasMore]

When I was flight instructing (before moving on to the airlines) the academy where I taught provided basic and intermediate training to young pilots for China Eastern Airlines, one of China's main airlines.

To AFG's point, the Academy provided housing to the Chinese in nearby, off-airport apartments. The Chinese students' hygiene and their housekeeping practices were abysmal. Each time a Chinese student moved out, the apartment had to be gutted. Cooking oil, spilled or spoiled food, stains, litter, etc. made a simple carpet-cleaning and repaint wholly inadequate.

---

I got to know one of the young pilots a little. It gave me quite a bit of insight into Chinese government and culture. The young man had wanted to work with computers (and he was bright that way), and he had no interest in aviation. But in school, the combination of his aptitude tests and the government's needs-of-the-moment resulted in his being sent for aviation training. He was in the U.S. for flight training because that's what he was told to do, not because that's what he wanted to do.

Furthermore, the government training profile returned the students to the PRC for final airline training with less experience than it takes a pilot here to get a small-aircraft instructor's license. With only about 300 hours of total flight training, the Chinese students went back to fly widebody jets with 300 or more passengers. In the U.S., pilots are usually picked up by the regional airlines only after 1,500-2,500 hours of experience -- majors here require that pilots spend some more years paying their dues at the regionals.

P.S.: If you don't care how little experience they have because they are "only in China," think again. China Eastern Airlines flies to Boston, New York, Washington, Miami, Toronto, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and Saipan. The photo below was taken during a CEA departure from Los Angeles.

1982

[DeclinetoState]

Probably another result of both Democrats like Clinton and Carter, and Republicans like the Bushes, insisting that the Chicoms are "our friends," and should be allowed to engage in all manner of commerce with little or no oversight.

[Wolfcounsel]

No communist sonofabitch is a friend of America. That includes the Chicoms. So Bush, Clinton, and the rest of the ass kissers can cram it!:flame:

[ThomasMore]

The academy where I taught was a private business, not a government entity.

I don't know this for a fact, but I don't think there was a lot of federal government involvement other than some vetting for the program.

As for the pilot training, what we provided was far different than military pilots get. Our program wouldn't have breached any security concerns.

My comment was aimed more at the young Chinese' dirtiness, and the minimal training they got before they carried hundreds of passengers.