Lowes smoking ban

Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 17 Location: earth

Just let anyone say ONE word to me about my smoking off the clock!! I go back Wed and I will pull into the parking lot with one burning and will ride by the front doors just puffing like crazy. I will then go park, fire me up a fresh one and smoke it all the way to the front door. I will then take me one last BIG puff and blow it out once I and in the door.
When I get ready for a quick puff I have several places already picked out to go I will go and enjoy my smoke, just like those over weight cashires go and suck down their candy bars.
They keep all of this BULL #### up and they will not have to worry about the employees because they will not have any left to piss off.

Joined: 01 Sep 2003 Posts: 4 Location: I live at Lowe's

I have to go in tomorrow, Labor Day, the first day of the smoking ban and our District Manager, RVP, and 7 other people from our regional office will be walking our store to decide if it is time for a remerch. I may have to take my lunch 2 hours into my 10+ shift. The thing I don't get is that if they are trying to reduce the cost of our insurance, then why do we still fill the candy machines with honey buns that can clog an artery instantly, and have fresh hot expresso in the coffee machine that can make a good strong heart explode, and shouldn't we give complimentary sun block to the garden center workers to reduce skin cancer claims? You hit one, you have to hit them all, it's only fair.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 214

Will the real smoking policy please step forward?

Policy at my store Friday- smoking ban for employees only, any employee not on clock can go outside and smoke, ban doesn't include customers or vendors. Policy before end of day Sept.1st, smoking ban to include employees, customers and visitors to the store, no tobacco products anywhere on the property by anyone, but they refuse to post signs in the parking lot for customers. What is the real policy, was this posted on the board in the breakroom of your stores. Please reply, we need to know what the real policy is and if the stores are adding to the policy. It seems to me they have a big decision to make, either lose bussiness by telling the customers they can't even smoke on the lot and in their cars, or face a big lawsuit from employees by allowing customers to get away with something that an employee can be fired for. Please post what the policy is for your stores so we can see whats going on.

Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 15

Yesterday at our morning meeting, it was stated that we could only smoke off the clock, and "in" our vehicles, no other exceptions. Nothing was mentioned about customers yesterday. I'll let you know what the policy is today after our morning huddle with a different MOD.

Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 30 Location: #606 Dothan, AL

You will NOT be fired if caught smoking "on the spot" Possibly wrote up but not fired. Its been a challenge for me as well this week but I am holding my own. What is boils down to is that Lowes is just jumping ahead of the government and going ahead and applying the non smoking law.

And yes I still smoke but now, not on the clock

Jonesy

Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 17 Location: earth

I have had one report of LP stopping an employee off the clock walking from his car smoking. LP came and met him in the parking lot and told him NO Smoking.
Another employee was on lunch off the clock and in his car when a zone mananger came up to his car and told him he could not smoke. I have not had anyone say a word to me about me smoking. I smoke from my car to about 75 feet of the door, I tell a manager when its time for my break and I go to my car and have my smoke and back in the store in less than 8 min. At lunch I go eat and come back and smoke in my car.
I also was told that our store manager stated that employees could not even smoke if it was their off day and they were coming to Lowes to shop. I feel like Lowes is going to have egg on their face if that dont call the smoking police off. One of these managers are going to get them in another class action.

Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 30 Location: #606 Dothan, AL

Seasonalguy, that is not in the policy. look it up in the training room, they are not enforcing the right law

Jonesy

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 50

Do we all have the same ban, is it the same for every region, district, state? State laws differ. It seems that different stores, different districts are applying this ban differently, and that could cause problems for Lowes. Our SM is taking the heavy Gestapo approach. Dept Mgrs are trying to get SM and Ops to cool it, back off. Maybe they want to chase good employees away, and replace them with unproven nonsmokers.
What about upper managers that smoke? Are they smoking in their cars? Have any customers complained to GO? THATs what will moderate the heavy approach.

Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 15

Until the policy , or the myriad of policies are challenged, lets face it, we are stuck with it. Just going to have to wait for some over-zealous manager to trample on an employee.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 214

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 50

Just when I thought it couldn't get wierder, along comes this smoking ban fiasco. Have you ever seen such a poorly setup policy in your life?
We had another customer toss a fit out in OSLG after being told he could not smoke inside the compound. There are no signs. This guy screams at the Specialist, who called the Ops, who came out and got yelled at (customer is nuts, no doubt about it-real crazed. Just sane enough to be able to email GO and say how horrible we treated him). So, the OPs tells the OSLG staff, "let him smoke if he has to" and walks away. So the customer did - pitched like 6 cig. butts into the last of the super discounted nursery stock. I don't think he even bought anything, just shopping with the wife. I bet she's proud of her man.
The moral of the story: Act crazy, be unreasonable, throw a fit, and get your way with Lowes management. Maybe this is what all the smoking employees need to do - just go beserk-o and have a note from their doctor.
Seriously - we need to trade posted notices to compare. It seems there are multiple policies, and that the policy is only enforced on the employees, (Discriminatory, Harassment) and even that is uneven: some can smoke on premises, some can't (Discriminatory, Harassment). It looks more and more like this ban is simply a stick to poke employees, arbitrarily and AT WILL (vs. in accordance with regulations or decent human manners). Maybe CabinetMan is correct: all Lowes is trying to do is squeeze out more productivity, and not really trying to make the stores tobacco-free.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 214

It looks as though the Lowe's smoking policy was open ended like all of the policies. The one on our board states the basic policy in bold type, the next two sections look like they were left blank for the region, district or store to fill in the blanks the way they want. The type changes from bold when it starts, the next two sections change to a different type of print and the last page back to the bold print. I asked why the customers didn't have to follow the policy when policy says they have to, and all of a sudden the health concern changed to money concern, so they have no concern for the customers health, only what they spend in the store. As I've stated before, it never was a health concern for the smoking employees either, it's a coverage concern, they don't want us to go outside to take a break. I have every respect for non-smokers, I don't think I bothered anyone. If I got a call when on break it didn't even take a minute to get back inside. I'm just waiting for them to write me up for smoking on my own time outside the store, so are the lawyers. If they're really concerned about our health why don't they do something about the #1 cause of worker illness, work related stress. Check the attendance record at your stores, you'll probibly find that the smokers have better attendance rate than non-smokers. Smokers could take a smoke break to relieve stress, non-smokers stay in and eat junk food. We've lost the right to smoke, should we say get rid of the vending machines for the health of the non-smokers?

Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 15

Just exactly what is the smoking policy? I have not seen anything in writing at all, and have heard three different renditions from three different managers. Our ops manager says that anyone caught smoking , anywhere at any time, will be terminated on the spot. The admin manager says that no smoking anywhere on the property, at any time, even off the clock, and in your vehicle, or you will be written up. The sales manager, two days in a row at our morning sales meetings said, "remember, its a class A violation to smoke on the clock, but you can smoke off the clock in your vehicle".
Does anyone know, or has anyone seen an actual policy on this matter, or is it open to interpretation by each individual manager or store? How do they expect us to follow a policy that has so many interpretations? I understand it's economics for them, reduced health insurance costs, but I don't get my insurance through Lowes.
If they want to reduce insurance costs, they should realize that job related stress and job burnout as a result of excessive hours and understaffing costs businesses in excess of $57 billion a year in associated medical costs....whats good for the goose is good for the gander! I'll quit smoking if they start staffing, and assure us some sort of continuity in our pay structure!

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 214

Why is it that a company like Lowe's with all the high payed policy writing people on the payroll can't write a policy in plain english that all stores will see the same way? Why is it that the policy we read on WKLN is not the same one we see in the stores? Let me add another twist to this story, I was told that we are Lowe's employees even when we are off the clock, and that I would be written up if caught smoking in the parking lot even on my day off, but customers can. It seems we all have alot of back pay coming, add it up 24 hrs. a day for how many years you've worked for Lowe's, we CAN retire rich can't we? Thumbs Up

Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Metro Atlanta

Since it seems that every store is amending the smoking policy to their own whim, here is what was communicated last Tuesday in the managers meeting. This *alledgedly* is from Lord Greg Wessling himself.

What the store manager said in the meeting is that when you are at lunch, you can smoke in your car in the parking lot. When you arrive for work, you can smoke walking through the parking lot towards the door and up to the point of walking through the door, but you can't just stand outside of the door smoking. And when you leave for the day, you can smoke when you get to your car, but you can't light up when you walk out of the door of the store. But you cannot walk outside to your car or off property to smoke when you're on break. *IF* that actually came from Wessling or not, that's much more tolerable than the "absolutely no smoking" edict that was put forth two weeks ago. I can go five or six hours without smoking. So for me personally, I can live with the new amended policy. And according to two ASM's that are good friends (who both smoke also), it did come from Wessling. So take it for what it's worth, but it's much more livable to me.

redsled
R3
D892

Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Metro Atlanta

Since it seems that every store is amending the smoking policy to their own whim, here is what was communicated last Tuesday in the managers meeting. This *alledgedly* is from Lord Greg Wessling himself.

What the store manager said in the meeting is that when you are at lunch, you can smoke in your car in the parking lot. When you arrive for work, you can smoke walking through the parking lot towards the door and up to the point of walking through the door, but you can't just stand outside of the door smoking. And when you leave for the day, you can smoke when you get to your car, but you can't light up when you walk out of the door of the store. But you cannot walk outside to your car or off property to smoke when you're on break. *IF* that actually came from Wessling or not, that's much more tolerable than the "absolutely no smoking" edict that was put forth two weeks ago. I can go five or six hours without smoking. So for me personally, I can live with the new amended policy. And according to two ASM's that are good friends (who both smoke also), it did come from Wessling. So take it for what it's worth, but it's much more livable to me.

redsled
R3
D892

Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Metro Atlanta

Since it seems that every store is amending the smoking policy to their own whim, here is what was communicated last Tuesday in the managers meeting. This *alledgedly* is from Lord Greg Wessling himself.

What the store manager said in the meeting is that when you are at lunch, you can smoke in your car in the parking lot. When you arrive for work, you can smoke walking through the parking lot towards the door and up to the point of walking through the door, but you can't just stand outside of the door smoking. And when you leave for the day, you can smoke when you get to your car, but you can't light up when you walk out of the door of the store. But you cannot walk outside to your car or off property to smoke when you're on break. *IF* that actually came from Wessling or not, that's much more tolerable than the "absolutely no smoking" edict that was put forth two weeks ago. I can go five or six hours without smoking. So for me personally, I can live with the new amended policy. And according to two ASM's that are good friends (who both smoke also), it did come from Wessling. So take it for what it's worth, but it's much more livable to me.

redsled
R3
D892

Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Metro Atlanta

Sorry about the triple post. I kept getting error reports and didn't think that it went through. Mea culpa.

redsled
R3
D892

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 50

I did 3 overnites to help seasonal and plumbing finish their resets. We smoked on premises, and lit up immediatly upon leaving the building at 4 am. I drove right to the nearest Catholic church to confess my sins.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 214

redsled.
That does sound like a more reasonable policy but be very careful. Theres a few things you should ask yourself, they tell you this is a revised policy, but is it? Why isn't it on WKLN as a revision? Why didn't they give you a copy of it? If this really is a change in policy the e-mail should be posted on the board with Greg Wessling's name on it. Get a copy and keep it with you at all times. If they want give you a copy then you can bet it's not true. Another thing you may want to think about is that Lowe's said this policy was for the health of the employees any changes would show that it was for other reasons which we all know it was. The change would be a step in the right direction to giving smokers their rights back, but Lowe's would also be admitting that it wasn't for health reasons at all, it was as we all know to stop the smokers from taking breaks. Until you have a copy of it in your pocket for protection, be very careful, some members of management are very two faced, they may tell you something in private and when push comes to shove they'll deny ever saying it. Thumbs Up

Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 50

Agreed CabMan - the smoking ban is totally subjective, almost on a store by store basis. We have heard nothing about any directions from GO, Wessling or anyone. But the pressure has slacked off a lot - a couple customer complained to GO. That's all it takes, isn't it?
Maybe the communication is just bad, or maybe the ban is applied differently. How much money is Lowes saving with this ban, anyway? I have yet to see any NO SMOKING signage. It all verbal, and bulletin board.

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