If left alone, licensees will rebound
There was a time in Montana when a good old fist fight was an honored way of settling a legitimate dispute.
Gladly those days are behind us and we now generally take a more civilized approach to dispute resolution such as applying the law and jurisprudence.
But even when we used to resort to fisticuffs, some rules of conduct were acknowledged, applied and enforced. One of those was, "You don't take the boots to a guy when you've got him down." That sort of behavior was considered, first, unnecessary as the point had been settled, but also unfair and cowardly.
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After a decade-long fight, the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act went into effect Oct. 1. The hospitality industry saw four years ago that a knock-down fight would be futile. Scientific polling proved a ballot initiative to ban smoking could not be defeated, and one was certainly coming. It took yeoman's work to get four years to make adjustments.
Anyone who is looking at the facts objectively knows there was no choice, but they will also tell you the Act has hurt the licensed hospitality industry on the whole.
Some individual business are doing fine, others are flat, still others have suffered only marginally, but still considerable others have been walloped, all depending upon a whole range of factors that have been amply covered in this issue of the Montana Tavern Times as well as our November and December editions. The extent of the impacts has also been amply verified. It is there for anyone who bothers to inquire.
So please, let's not hear that no downturn can be substantiated, that good data can't be had until February, that business owners feeling the impact are lying about it or exaggerating it, that it is solely due to other factors like weather or the economy. That's delusional thinking.
However, some of those outside the industry who do acknowledge the damage is real will also admit they don't care. It is too bad they don't care about these businesses owned by their Montana friends and neighbors or their livelihoods, or don't even care about the 25,000 people who make their livings in them. Some of those folks simply object to the products available in licensed businesses including beverage alcohol and gambling entertainment.
Licensees have never expected public sympathy and don't expect it now. They have been knocked down before and, given a fair chance, have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and returned to hard work, innovation and recovery. They will do it again ... given a fair chance.
The hospitality business is an important one to Montana both economically and socially.
There are over 2,000 of them and they employ 25,000 of our residents. They spend close to $1 billion a year on goods and services. They pay about $80 million in taxes. Yet they were only realizing margins of somewhere over 12 percent.
They anchor most of the small town main streets and are often the only place to get gasoline, essential groceries, a sandwich, a cold one or game of pool or poker. They may be the only place big enough to hold a meeting, a dance or a reception. They may be the only spot to see the game and hang out with your buddies.
We need them and they ought to be allowed to thrive.
Well, the anti-smoking folks have landed a punch. Now some would like to take the boots to them.
Business is off by as much as 60 percent in some individual locations. The gaming business as a whole is down 20-25 percent in the first 10 weeks under the ban. The smoking customers have been forced to the outdoors, just as the health zealots wished. Now some want them away from any building exteriors, too.
Enough already! Let's at least let the dust settle. Let's see how many are the bruises and how deep are the cuts and how long they will last. Let's see if these businesses will all survive or if some will fail. Let's see if these workers – or at least how many – will keep their hours and their jobs (some have already been lost).
Rather than kicking them when they're hurt, let's get out of their way when they're trying to regroup. Better yet, let's find ways to help them recover and become the economic and employment engine they have been. Let them continue to serve our social and entertainment needs.
As observers of this industry for a decade and a half, we know most have the work ethic, the native smarts, the business acumen and imagination to get back on their feet and growing again, as long they are given a fair chance.
This is no time to start a dog pile.