Should our bowling centers go smoke-free?
04/29/06
Should our bowling centers go smoke-free? This is a literally hot topic, and in anticipation of the possibility of such legislation, the New Jersey Bowling Proprietors sent one wet bowling shoe to each of their state legislators, about 70 single shoes.
The point they were making was that if this shoe got wet because a smoker had to go outside during his or her bowling session and the pavement was wet, they could cause problems on the approaches when returning to bowl. The ramifications would be injury to themselves or other bowlers, and ultimately the bowling center would be liable.
According to Dave Williams, President of the New Jersey Proprietors, and Director of Marketing for Nationwide Bowling Corporation, this was the most visual and dramatic way of getting attention. "We had some nice articles written in newspapers citing this as a good way to prove our point." It was difficult for this ex-smoker to picture masses of league bowlers jeopardizing their bowling shoes, but Dave has seen it happen. He was in California when the ban took place there.
"We built rooms indoors for smoking, and the state allowed that at first, but within a year they cancelled that out. We had gone to the expense of building these rooms, and they were no longer valid. In the fall of 1991 we lost between 7 and 8% of our league business because they couldn't smoke (indoors).
Eventually California, New York and Florida recouped their business. They more than made up for the loss, but it's a different kind of customer. We lost the 'traditional' league bowler and gained families and casual bowlers, which are not as predictable (as a customer base) as your steady league bowler."
And so, instead of protesting to the New Jersey state legislators that banning smoking altogether would hurt business, the proprietors sent a wet shoe to demonstrate one part of the concern. They were careful not to send a pair of shoes, as it would appear to be more of a gift than a statement. But Dave also expanded on what the proprietors are really seeking.
"In 1991 when we faced a smoking ban in California, we had fair warning. We could ease ourselves into it by creating (at first) smoke-free Saturdays, which most of the centers here have anyway because of junior leagues. That seemed to work out well. The smokers understood. The parents of children would go outside.
Then we went to smoke-free weekends, and that also worked out pretty well. We found a change in the type of customers coming in. We were now attracting families, so all of that was good.
Then we tried a smoke-free evening, and that was met with some resistance, because traditional league bowlers tend to have a higher prevalence of smokers. People who have no tolerance for the smoke have already left the leagues. So it was difficult to create a smoke-free (weekday) evening.
"I think the bottom line is that it will happen (smoke-free bowling centers). It's just that we need some time to transition into it. Also, we need a fair playing field. Initially the lawmakers wanted to make an exception of casinos and private clubs (i.e., Elks, Moose). Some of those clubs have bowling. So it wasn't fair.
However, the proposed legislature has been changed to include casinos, private clubs, restaurants, and bowling centers. And now it's on hold. The concern there is that the casinos are very powerful and have a lot of money."
Do our centers stand to lose that much money if the smoking ban goes into effect, or will people who left because of aversion to smoke return, and bring friends and family? "Based on what happened in other states," Williams said, "the revenue base will be there, but it's a different base of customers.
It's the casual bowler we will have to promote more to want to come in and bowl. It's the weekend customer, families with children, but as I said, they are not as predictable as a traditional league bowler who will come in for 35 weeks (in a fall/winter league)."
Would a smoking ban impact cleaning the centers? "Every five or six years the carpets would be replaced anyway. We (Nationwide) have 13 centers, and each has smoke-eaters." But once that stale smell is gone and the fog lifts, so to speak, there would be a difference in the air, which for some will be very welcome.
Williams feels that generating and retaining a customer base "would be more labor-intensive." He also said that the irony is that the proprietors he knows are not smokers themselves.
And so, if the ban is meant to be, the proprietors want enough time to transition into it. They also want it to be the rule for all indoor facilities, across the board.
That's not too much to ask.
Editor's note: Joan Taylor Schliewenz (pictured) from E. Stroudsburg, PA was named the 2005 Herta Kissel Memorial Brunswick Writer (professional category) by the National Women Bowling Writers. The Writer of the Year award culminated a sweep of the Professional Class story contests for Joan. Her stories won in the Feature Story, News Story, and Column categories. 'Should our bowling centers go smoke-free?' is one of the award-winning stories. Picture by Kathy Watson.
Column
By Joan Taylor (originally released July 17, 2005)
Should our bowling centers go smoke-free? This is a literally hot topic, and in anticipation of the possibility of such legislation, the New Jersey Bowling Proprietors sent one wet bowling shoe to each of their state legislators, about 70 single shoes.
The point they were making was that if this shoe got wet because a smoker had to go outside during his or her bowling session and the pavement was wet, they could cause problems on the approaches when returning to bowl. The ramifications would be injury to themselves or other bowlers, and ultimately the bowling center would be liable.
According to Dave Williams, President of the New Jersey Proprietors, and Director of Marketing for Nationwide Bowling Corporation, this was the most visual and dramatic way of getting attention. "We had some nice articles written in newspapers citing this as a good way to prove our point." It was difficult for this ex-smoker to picture masses of league bowlers jeopardizing their bowling shoes, but Dave has seen it happen. He was in California when the ban took place there.
"We built rooms indoors for smoking, and the state allowed that at first, but within a year they cancelled that out. We had gone to the expense of building these rooms, and they were no longer valid. In the fall of 1991 we lost between 7 and 8% of our league business because they couldn't smoke (indoors).
Eventually California, New York and Florida recouped their business. They more than made up for the loss, but it's a different kind of customer. We lost the 'traditional' league bowler and gained families and casual bowlers, which are not as predictable (as a customer base) as your steady league bowler."
And so, instead of protesting to the New Jersey state legislators that banning smoking altogether would hurt business, the proprietors sent a wet shoe to demonstrate one part of the concern. They were careful not to send a pair of shoes, as it would appear to be more of a gift than a statement. But Dave also expanded on what the proprietors are really seeking.
"In 1991 when we faced a smoking ban in California, we had fair warning. We could ease ourselves into it by creating (at first) smoke-free Saturdays, which most of the centers here have anyway because of junior leagues. That seemed to work out well. The smokers understood. The parents of children would go outside.
Then we went to smoke-free weekends, and that also worked out pretty well. We found a change in the type of customers coming in. We were now attracting families, so all of that was good.
Then we tried a smoke-free evening, and that was met with some resistance, because traditional league bowlers tend to have a higher prevalence of smokers. People who have no tolerance for the smoke have already left the leagues. So it was difficult to create a smoke-free (weekday) evening.
"I think the bottom line is that it will happen (smoke-free bowling centers). It's just that we need some time to transition into it. Also, we need a fair playing field. Initially the lawmakers wanted to make an exception of casinos and private clubs (i.e., Elks, Moose). Some of those clubs have bowling. So it wasn't fair.
However, the proposed legislature has been changed to include casinos, private clubs, restaurants, and bowling centers. And now it's on hold. The concern there is that the casinos are very powerful and have a lot of money."
Do our centers stand to lose that much money if the smoking ban goes into effect, or will people who left because of aversion to smoke return, and bring friends and family? "Based on what happened in other states," Williams said, "the revenue base will be there, but it's a different base of customers.
It's the casual bowler we will have to promote more to want to come in and bowl. It's the weekend customer, families with children, but as I said, they are not as predictable as a traditional league bowler who will come in for 35 weeks (in a fall/winter league)."
Would a smoking ban impact cleaning the centers? "Every five or six years the carpets would be replaced anyway. We (Nationwide) have 13 centers, and each has smoke-eaters." But once that stale smell is gone and the fog lifts, so to speak, there would be a difference in the air, which for some will be very welcome.
Williams feels that generating and retaining a customer base "would be more labor-intensive." He also said that the irony is that the proprietors he knows are not smokers themselves.
And so, if the ban is meant to be, the proprietors want enough time to transition into it. They also want it to be the rule for all indoor facilities, across the board.
That's not too much to ask.
Editor's note: Joan Taylor Schliewenz (pictured) from E. Stroudsburg, PA was named the 2005 Herta Kissel Memorial Brunswick Writer (professional category) by the National Women Bowling Writers. The Writer of the Year award culminated a sweep of the Professional Class story contests for Joan. Her stories won in the Feature Story, News Story, and Column categories. 'Should our bowling centers go smoke-free?' is one of the award-winning stories. Picture by Kathy Watson.