What the heck is a candle snob you might ask? Let me give you an example (as an employee for Honey Candles I do know a few). If you are in a restaurant and one of the patrons asks the server to take away the paraffin tealight, you probably have a candle snob in your midst. They are even more likely to ask the server to exit the stinky little oil lamps they sometimes light at the tables.
The restaurant owners may believe that those paraffin tealights are creating ambiance. In reality they may be creating breathing difficulties for asthmatics in the restaurant as well as convincing the candle snob they came to the wrong eating establishment. A note of importance here - many of the same toxins in cigarettes are present in burning paraffin candles.
The dilemma for many candle snobs is how to be nice with their request to have the paraffin candle or oil lamp removed and to not offend anyone. Are you one of those? I guess I am. I am likely to pick up the lamp or candles and move them to a far table. I remember doing the same with ash trays. I think the best thing to do is stop the server from ever lighting the candle and just say you prefer they didn’t.
I know there are candle snobs who are quite vocal about their feelings about paraffin candles at their tables. It would be good if you remembered that it probably wasn’t the server’s choice to have that candle at your table. It is good to give them constructive feedback that might get back to the decision maker.
If restaurants want to be sure their customers feel special they need to consider natural beeswax candles at their tables. Indeed it may not cost you as much as you think. Beeswax candles burn longer than paraffin and smell so good when they are burning because they are naturally honey scented. I would just love it the next time I walked into a restaurant for a lovely evening meal if someone came up and lit a beeswax tealight! Go on. Do it. Make your customers feel real special!
Photo by Marlie Marchewka
