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This is a real complaint letter from an ordinary citizen
re: a restaurant's violation of the smoking ban, followed by the restaurant
management's response. Yes, YOU can make a difference.
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December 29, 2004
Pier One Bar and Grill Holdings Corporation
Re: Non-smoking room in Pier 1, Tomas Morato
To whom it may concern:
At about 11:43 pm of December 28, 2004, I, along with a friend, dined
at Pier One, Tomas Morato in Quezon City. We specifically asked to be
seated in the non-smoking area of the said restaurant. The person by the
entrance told us to proceed to the air-conditioned room in the third floor.
In that room was a party of five people. While we waited for our order,
one of the people in that group lit a cigarette and hid it from the waiter.
The waiter approached her but instead of telling her to stop smoking;
he even gave her an ashtray. I chose not to complain yet. But at around
12:30 am, another group was seated in the non-smoking room. One of them
was armed with a pack of cigarettes and an ashtray.
I went down to look for the manager. I asked him if his staff knew that
letting people smoke in a non-smoking area is punishable by law and he
said yes. I led him to the non-smoking area and showed him the two groups
openly smoking. He then asked me who told us to sit there and I replied
that we were there even before the second group arrived, and besides,
it was supposed to be a non-smoking area. There were even posted signs
that clearly stated "Non-Smoking Areas", "strictly enforced as per RA9211".
The manager, Arvin Yungco, said that they were allowed to convert the
room into a smoking area if there were a lot of smoking customers. I argued
with him that he cannot change the law and that I will sue if he does
not do anything. He arrogantly said "okay". We continued arguing. Finally,
I revealed that I worked for a nearby TV station. Upon learning that,
he told his waiters to ask the people in the room to stop smoking.
Honestly, I am not a regular customer of your establishment. The only
reason I brought my friend there was because Chili's (where we usually
go, and where RA9211 is strictly observed) was already closed. Nevertheless,
I am very disappointed because your establishment was openly breaking
the law and was even encouraging smokers to do the same. If you can't
obey RA9211, then you should instruct your staff to tell non-smokers that
you don't have a room for them. Don't post signs in your supposedly non-smoking
area if it's not really for non-smokers or if it can be converted anytime
into a smoking area.
It's never been attempted, in this country at least, to sue anyone under
this law. But I can make sure that authorities, NGOs, media institutions
and even our lawmakers take note of this incident. Rest assured that if
I am given the opportunity to pursue this matter legally, I will.
Sincerely,
Eva Marie A. Ercilla
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Following is the response from Pier One Bar and Grill:
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Dear Ms. Ercilla,
Thank you very much for your email and for bringing the issue to our attention.
I have already informed our VP for Operations to issue an Incident Report
(IR) to Mr. Alvin Yungco (operations manager in tomas morato branch) to
explain as to why he allowed and tolerated smokers to smoke in the non-smoking
area of our establishment.
We apologize for the inconvenience the experience has caused you. Rest
assured we will look into the matter to serve our patrons better.
Very truly yours,
Francis A. Juan
President / CEO
Pier One Bar and Grill
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