Cigar store/lounge question

[rdomfoto]

Like most of the other brothers (is this where I add, "from other mothers"?), I will bring something from home to smoke in my B&M but here is the rule that I placed on myself: I make sure that I purchase something that day - if I am buying an accessory (like a bottle of butane) then I make sure I spend the equivalent to the price of what I am about to smoke. If I am smoking a cigar that I previously purchased from them, then I don't pay as much attention to how much the cigar I am buying that day is worth. If I am smoking a stick that I got elsewhere, then I (try to) buy a cigar that's around the same price.

One of the B&M owners says I over-think this. But I would rather be known as being too concerned than not concerned enough. I like having a place I can go and smoke. Plus, no matter what time of day I go, I can almost always be guaranteed of striking up a conversation with someone for an hour or two. So I am more than happy to make sure I am not taking advantage of their space.

There's a sports bar near me that has a cigar lounge, so I know I am going to be buying a drink at least. Some days they have a cover if they have something from Pay-Per-View showing. Those days I am less likely to spend a lot there.

 

[jeffturneraz]

i pay $100 yearly for the locker, the ones there have humidifiers set at 65%

That's good, all the B&Ms I go to have hot/humid (70s) walk-ins that I would not want my cigars sitting in.

I can't imagine why I would want to keep my cigars there. Maybe if my son was wild and stole cigars from me or if I had little babies that got into things I would want to put some at my B&M.

I'm sure one day the situation will arise and lockers will make sense to me.

 

[StogieNinja]

I always buy three things when I'm at the local: A drink, fries or other appetizer, and a cigar to take home.

Fortunately, they're not hurting as they're one of three or four in the whole state (only Indian reservations can have smoking lounges, so there's one a few different casinos), but still. It seems like the right thing to do.

 

[mdwest]

I can't imagine why I would want to keep my cigars there. Maybe if my son was wild and stole cigars from me or if I had little babies that got into things I would want to put some at my B&M.

I'm sure one day the situation will arise and lockers will make sense to me.

For me its mostly convenience.... I keep a small desktop in my locker with about 20 nice sticks in it.. I keep a couple of 65 bovedas in there.. since they keep the RH in the lockers at 70% which is a bit high for me.. the bovedas, inside the closed desktop, seem to do the trick and keep the sticks below 70...

I like that I have a selection on hand when I get there, of things I know I like to smoke.. that are already paid for.. that I can choose to smoke.. or share with others.. etc.. Typically the way things work at my lounge is someone will show up with a new bottle of single malt.. and will ask around if anyone wants a drink... someone else will show up with a bottle of bourbon.. and ask around and share with everyone present.. etc.. someone else will open up his desktop and offer anyone in the room that doesn't have a cigar in hand if they would like to smoke something.. etc..etc.. Its nice to be able to participate in that and "share" with everyone else that is "sharing"...

And since most of the sticks in the lockers were bought from the B&M.. and everyone in the lounge that owns a locker is paying $250 a year to be there.. the B&M owner doesn't have a problem with this at all.... half the time, he is participating in it... bringing in a cool new bottle to try out.. or passing out some promo sticks he got ahold of.. or trying someone elses sticks that are getting passed around, etc.. he takes very good care of his lounge members..

 

[jeffturneraz]

I can't imagine why I would want to keep my cigars there. Maybe if my son was wild and stole cigars from me or if I had little babies that got into things I would want to put some at my B&M.

I'm sure one day the situation will arise and lockers will make sense to me.

For me its mostly convenience.... I keep a small desktop in my locker with about 20 nice sticks in it.. I keep a couple of 65 bovedas in there.. since they keep the RH in the lockers at 70% which is a bit high for me.. the bovedas, inside the closed desktop, seem to do the trick and keep the sticks below 70...

I like that I have a selection on hand when I get there, of things I know I like to smoke.. that are already paid for.. that I can choose to smoke.. or share with others.. etc.. Typically the way things work at my lounge is someone will show up with a new bottle of single malt.. and will ask around if anyone wants a drink... someone else will show up with a bottle of bourbon.. and ask around and share with everyone present.. etc.. someone else will open up his desktop and offer anyone in the room that doesn't have a cigar in hand if they would like to smoke something.. etc..etc.. Its nice to be able to participate in that and "share" with everyone else that is "sharing"...

And since most of the sticks in the lockers were bought from the B&M.. and everyone in the lounge that owns a locker is paying $250 a year to be there.. the B&M owner doesn't have a problem with this at all.... half the time, he is participating in it... bringing in a cool new bottle to try out.. or passing out some promo sticks he got ahold of.. or trying someone elses sticks that are getting passed around, etc.. he takes very good care of his lounge members..

Ah okay, I could see that. There is no drinking at mine. I could see wanting to go grab someone a cigar you want to give them.

I guess I don't spend enough time there to get into that aspect. The most I have done is smoke 1 and then I'm out of there. Not that I rush it, but I have never spent like 3 or 4 hours.

From kick-off to half-time is usually the extent of my stay.

 

[big_jaygee]

I can't imagine why I would want to keep my cigars there. Maybe if my son was wild and stole cigars from me or if I had little babies that got into things I would want to put some at my B&M.

I'm sure one day the situation will arise and lockers will make sense to me.

i keep them there since i go often after work and i only keep corona's and smaller in the herf-ador to smoke on the way to work or on the way back home, so i have a larger selection there in the locker. not to mention it is also used for overflow when the wineador gets a little tight. i have three boxes of mixed singles and two full boxes in there and a bottle of bourbon in there.

 

[jeffturneraz]

I can't imagine why I would want to keep my cigars there. Maybe if my son was wild and stole cigars from me or if I had little babies that got into things I would want to put some at my B&M.

I'm sure one day the situation will arise and lockers will make sense to me.

i keep them there since i go often after work and i only keep corona's and smaller in the herf-ador to smoke on the way to work or on the way back home, so i have a larger selection there in the locker. not to mention it is also used for overflow when the wineador gets a little tight. i have three boxes of mixed singles and two full boxes in there and a bottle of bourbon in there.

Gotcha, I think there may be something to the fact that here in Phoenix, I can smoke outside year round, but I could see weather playing a huge role everywhere else in how often a person goes to their local shop to smoke.

Not to take away from just being able to hang with the fellas, but the very few times the weather was bad here, I ran to my B&M to grab a comfy seat.

 

[StogieNinja]

Gotcha, I think there may be something to the fact that here in Phoenix, I can smoke outside year round, but I could see weather playing a huge role everywhere else in how often a person goes to their local shop to smoke.

Not to take away from just being able to hang with the fellas, but the very few times the weather was bad here, I ran to my B&M to grab a comfy seat.

For me, it's that I can sit on the front porch or garage while the kids sleep and smoke a cigar. I can do that while spending time with my wife, or when I'm on Daddy-duty if she has an obligation. But to try and leave for 3-4 hours at any point in the week is darn near impossible. I need to be at work, or at home sharing the workload that comes with having five little kids. So, the B&M is a rare treat for me. Heck, I live 10 minutes from the best lounge in the state, and the last time I was there was November, for my 30th Birthday.

 

[rdomfoto]

I'm looking forward to being able to spend an hour outside on the back patio but that's not going to happen for another couple of months (at least). Hell, normally there are a couple of days in February that will hit the mid to upper 50s (before plummeting again) but nothing anywhere near that nice in the forecast right now.

My next door neighbor smokes as well so, in the Summer, I have someone to hang with when I want that company. Otherwise, after my kids go to bed, I'll grab my iPad, hit the patio and fire up Netflix.

C'mon warm weather!!

 

[averagejoe]

There's a shop that I go to every now and then and in my case, like yours I always purchase something.
Whether I smoke something that I bring vs. something I purchase there all depends on who is working when I'm there.
One guys has an issue with it while the other employee does not. so I adjust accordingly.

 

[fsfrancis]

My B&M has a strict smoke here what you bought here only policy. It was explained to me that "you don't need to bring sand to the beach"....so now I call my local B&M "The Beach". sounds more fun than "the cigar shop" They're great guys, but are in business to make $$, not just for the fun of it. I agree with them, and enjoy hanging out at the beach!

 

[KarlEdwardWagnerFan]

For me it is about respect. The shop I go to changed owners. I want to support them as good lounges can be scarce. Or at least those with a public smoking area. I do occasionally bring my own but always buy at least 1. Very often it actually allows me to buy a higher end cigar for my humidor. I think recently there has been a policy change and it does make sense. Same thing as bringing your own beer to a bar or own food to a restaurant. Support your local shop, especially if it's a good one.

 

[rdomfoto]

You'll also find that those "strict policies" are not so strict when you ask about their policies. A lot of places will be flexible when you show them respect.

Every small B&M will have slightly different policies.

 

[Clint]

My rule of thumb for any lounge (regardless of their guidelines) is buy something even if you bring your own stick(s) to smoke. Thy need to keep the bills paid, so buy something.

 

[Jmphotog]

I think it depends honestly, I never did it because I saw it as being rude. But now I'm a regular; know everyone by name and vise versa. Someone brought in flying pigs for the regulars, and we smoked them... If i was new def wouldn't have happened.

 

[rdomfoto]

I'm struck (again) by how different the members of this community are. In so many other places and among so many different types of people, this conversation would be all about how to "get away" with stuff. A lot of guys here from different walks of life, different political views, etc. but damn, the amount of respect shown to each other and in our daily lives is wonderful and mind-boggling.

 

[checko]

I think it depends honestly, I never did it because I saw it as being rude. But now I'm a regular; know everyone by name and vise versa. Someone brought in flying pigs for the regulars, and we smoked them... If i was new def wouldn't have happened.

Out of curiosity, which shop do you frequent. I'm on the island a lot and my brother could use a nice place to smoke. We're from the north shore.

 

[PKNY1]

Would you go into a restaurant with your own food, grab a table and start eating? Likely not. The owner of that shop/lounge has to pay for the air conditioning or heat you are enjoying, the chair you're sitting in, the TV you're watching, the wi-fi you're using, the magazine you're reading, and so on. Have the decency to buy a cigar from the shop if you're going to use the lounge.

but your patronage also brings in potential customers, doesn't it? No one wants to lounge around an empty joint! (Well, maybe some do)
Having said that, I'd feel obligated to buy a thing or two while I was there.. just the way I am.

 

[Mattehh]

Another thing you should look into is if your state allows it, as in if you have restrictions on the tobacco laws. I live in Minnesota, I work part time at a cigar shop/lounge. In MN we have a "sampling" law. You are only allowed to smoke cigars purchased from that shop because you are "sampling." So it sucks to be in MN with that and the taxes.

 

[Deathskin]

Another thing you should look into is if your state allows it, as in if you have restrictions on the tobacco laws. I live in Minnesota, I work part time at a cigar shop/lounge. In MN we have a "sampling" law. You are only allowed to smoke cigars purchased from that shop because you are "sampling." So it sucks to be in MN with that and the taxes.

mabey thats the same here in iowa cuz you can only smoke what you buy there