No vaping in Red Robin

[tazzmann]

mods, please move if not in correct area...

I was in a Red Robin restaurant the other day and asked the manager if I was allowed to vape inside the restaurant. To my surprise, he just didn't say "no", he said "If anyone is caught smoking or vaping, they will be asked to leave and not return". I was stunned and asked if that was just this particular location's policy, and he said that it was company wide. I called Red Robin corporate and was told the same thing. I asked them if was just for that night or black listed period. They told me it was a permanent black list.

tazz

 

[TxPowderCoater]

Mods, please move if not in correct area...

I was in a Red Robin restaurant the other day and asked the manager if I was allowed to vape inside the restaurant. To my surprise, he just didn't say "no", he said "If anyone is caught smoking or vaping, they will be asked to leave and not return". I was stunned and asked if that was just this particular location's policy, and he said that it was company wide. I called Red Robin corporate and was told the same thing. I asked them if was just for that night or black listed period. They told me it was a permanent black list.

tazz

and did you let them know that until they get educated and make an informed decision, you too will be applying a "black list" of their facilities.

 

[whiskey]

Excellent response

 

[tazzmann]

Yes, to the dismay of my wife and kids, I told them that I would not be supporting their store and that I would be letting my friends know not to grace their establishment as well. With all the patronage out there, I doubt that they will care. But thought I would let others on this great forum know about the issue.

 

[Raven_Blackblade]

Thanks for the heads up. I wont be going there anymore.

 

[v1John]

Thanks for the information. Information these days seems to travel at the speed of light. I will avoid supporting them and encourage friends to avoid them.

 

[VaporPhreak]

To be honest, I am neither shocked nor am I really offended. Its a businesses right to dictate what they are and are not willing to allow within their facilities. To be honest with ourselves here, chewing tobacco poses no risk to people in the users vicinity the same as vaping and people are not allowed to chew tobacco in most places of business either. Does vaping pose a risk to people in the vicinity of the user, likely not. Does Red Robin realize this, who knows. Is it their right to say "No you can do that here" no matter what, yup! Point is, any business owner could tell a person who is using an asthma inhaler during an asthma attack that they cannot use the inhaler in their establishment, and legally they are covered. Its the same reason why businesses can still kick women out for breastfeeding their child, which I think is absolute BS BTW, and the reason why in many states businesses can deny service to gays/lesbians, again this is BS in my book but unfortunately true.

TO digress, I am not dissing you or Red Robin. I am just saying that, as Vaping is not a protected legal right, we cannot get defensive because a business denies us the ability to vape in their establishment.

Happy vaping!

 

[VRubin]

Well it is their decision, but thats still alittle harsh.
We don't have a Red Robin anywhere near here, but their commericals are on 423,543 times a day. That alone makes me not want to go there lol

 

[kylewinther]

wow that is pretty intense to be black listed from a restaurant.

 

[v1John]

wow that is pretty intense to be black listed from a restaurant.

It is intense, and they even called the corporate office!

While it is definitely their right to say that you can never return there if you vape or breastfeed or use an asthma inhaler or whatever,

it is my/our right to choose to never go there ever again as well, and also
it is my/our right to inform others and keep them up to date.

 

[coralie]

I have read in other places that it's illegal to prohibit breastfeeding in public places, but I don't know for sure.

 

[TxPowderCoater]

Mods, please move if not in correct area...

I was in a Red Robin restaurant the other day and asked the manager if I was allowed to vape inside the restaurant. To my surprise, he just didn't say "no", he said "If anyone is caught smoking or vaping, they will be asked to leave and not return". I was stunned and asked if that was just this particular location's policy, and he said that it was company wide. I called Red Robin corporate and was told the same thing. I asked them if was just for that night or black listed period. They told me it was a permanent black list.

tazz

To be honest, I am neither shocked nor am I really offended. Its a businesses right to dictate what they are and are not willing to allow within their facilities. To be honest with ourselves here, chewing tobacco poses no risk to people in the users vicinity the same as vaping and people are not allowed to chew tobacco in most places of business either. Does vaping pose a risk to people in the vicinity of the user, likely not. Does Red Robin realize this, who knows. Is it their right to say "No you can do that here" no matter what, yup! Point is, any business owner could tell a person who is using an asthma inhaler during an asthma attack that they cannot use the inhaler in their establishment, and legally they are covered. Its the same reason why businesses can still kick women out for breastfeeding their child, which I think is absolute BS BTW, and the reason why in many states businesses can deny service to gays/lesbians, again this is BS in my book but unfortunately true.

TO digress, I am not dissing you or Red Robin. I am just saying that, as Vaping is not a protected legal right, we cannot get defensive because a business denies us the ability to vape in their establishment.

Happy vaping!

I also boycott facilites that have the signage on the door that says I can't "carry" inside even though I'm licensed.
I make it a point to let the managers know I was walking in their door to spend money until I saw the sign against my second amendement right

 

[VaporPhreak]

It is intense, and they even called the corporate office!

While it is definitely their right to say that you can never return there if you vape or breastfeed or use an asthma inhaler or whatever,

it is my/our right to choose to never go there ever again as well, and also
it is my/our right to inform others and keep them up to date.

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE!!!!

 

[VaporPhreak]

I have read in other places that it's illegal to prohibit breastfeeding in public places, but I don't know for sure.

It depends on the state. In some it is, in some its not.

 

[VRubin]

I have read in other places that it's illegal to prohibit breastfeeding in public places, but I don't know for sure.

Yes thats true for Illinois.

 

[pdssoft]

Well. they have the right to refuse service to whomever they please. I will still go there because I have learned the proper techniques to refrain from vaping for an hour.

But curious, how could they possibly enforce such a ban on an individual? Maybe the Manager at store A recognizes me... but what about store B, store C, and so on?

 

[Slea]

T To be honest with ourselves here, chewing tobacco poses no risk to people in the users vicinity the same as vaping and people are not allowed to chew tobacco in most places of business either.

Granted, we aren't known for hocking brown crap all over the floor or at least requiring a spitoon!

 

[searcher]

Truth be told, a business owner doesn't have the right to refuse service in most states. We nicotine users are easy targets with no protection. All the other references the OP had are protected in most states. An owner does not have any rights not given by the state. Owning a business is not a right, it is a privilege granted with the license and can be revoked. I love the case of the breastfeeding mother in Minnesota that the restaurant owner (I'm the boss) told to leave. She refused because she had the right. He called the cops (who had no idea what the law was). End of story, she sues restaurant and city She should win and I would love to see the owner loose his license.

 

[tazzmann]

Well, whether they have the right or not, I will not be visiting them again and will encourage all my family and friends not to go there as well. I wouldn't mind if they educated themselves on vaping and made a decision from there, but when on the phone with "corporate" they didn't even know what it was and wouldn't listen the couple of minutes I needed to explain it. They interrupted me and just said "that is our position and we are not looking at changing it". They said they knew it looked like smoking and that is all they needed.

So, life goes on, without them.

 

[irwink]

I sympathize with the op but at the same time wonder about what I see as the militancy of some who have an expectation that their pv's be accepted in all public places just because they are not cigarettes and are technically not illegal in non-smoking areas.

From a restaurant owner's perspective I can easily sympathize with not wanting public disruptions caused by patrons not knowing about pv's and confusing its use as smoking. It's not the restaurant owner's job to educate the public and you have no reasonable expectation that it should be.

For myself I don't think I'll be boycotting anyone because they prohibit the use of a pv. I'm addicted to nicotine but not that addicted that I can't refrain for a little while.