Rudeness and Tobacco Smoke at the local Dollar General....

I shopped at the West Milford, WV Dollar General store today. When I got out of my car the employees (2 men) were standing outside, right at the front doors, smoking cigarettes. I said something to them about the smoking ban within 20 feet of a public entrance in Harrison County, WV where the store is located. They said they were aware. When I said that them smoking at the doors made me less likely to shop there, I was told that there were other stores I could shop at if their smoking bothered me. It is illegal, they were disrespectful, and I am likely not shopping there in the future. I mean, I live in the town where the store is located and it is our only "real" store aside from a small gas station and an ice cream shop. I like having a Dollar General in West Milford, but I do not feel that we should be subject to the airborne carcinogens of the employees every time we run in for milk or other sundries. We are niche clientele for that store. West Milford IS their business, and I have shopped there often. I am in disbelief that I would be told by the cashier (who was also outside taking a "buddy smoke" whilst on the clock) that I could drive to Jane Lew or Clarksburg if I wanted to shop at Dollar General since I didn't like their smoking at the doorway. That is a terrible business practice. There were customers in the store and the employees were all out front smoking, literally 5 feet from the doors, sitting in folding chairs that were out there on the sidewalk sale. There were racks of clothes outside too...all of that stuff is tainted with cigarette smoke now. I also posted commentary about this on my Twitter and Facebook statuses and have received comments from other residents of my town who have had similar experiences. Please do something to make our store friendlier to customers who abhor smoking. We should not be subjected to the rudeness or the cancer causing smoke when we try to pop in for groceries. Additionally, and possibly worse, we should not be chastised for pointing out offensive behaviors of employees who are blatantly breaking public health laws and employee codes of conduct. He should have apologized to me for offending a regular customer rather than telling me I could not shop there again.

Cuppa's Coffee & More

Cuppa's Coffee & More