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cuchanu
May 13, 2009 12:35 AM
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Man, can you imagine carrying a card saying you have \"an inflammatory bowel disease\"?

This is good, now people will stop taking a shit in the alley downtown.

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9 replies
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MagicJewball
May 13, 2009 6:52 PM
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@cuchanu: I have Ulcerative Colitis and carry the card from the CCFA. I've also never had to use it, mostly because when I really need it I just stay home, but I'm very happy to have it just in case. And I LOVE this law.

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freepistol
May 13, 2009 12:54 PM
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@cuchanu:
i want an ibs card.
id so much rather hand out business cards that explained why im in the restroom 4+ times everytime i eat and/or when im stressed, than explain to people what exactly im doing in there.


it sucks to have to know where every bathroom in town is located, it sucks even worse to have a non walking child with you when you have to visit said restrooms. where do you put them while you do .. your business....

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
May 13, 2009 5:10 AM
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@cuchanu:
If you belong to the Crohn's & Colitis Founndation of America, they provide you with a card that has in large letters: \"I Can't Wait\".
I always carry mine, but luckily, I've never had to use it. There are more than enough fast food restaurants & home centers around!

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Charlotte Rae's Web
May 13, 2009 2:59 AM
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@cuchanu: I suffered something similar to IBS after gallbladder removal and I tell you, I'd have happily carried a card to be assured of using the bathroom. You get in the situation where you know every bathroom in the area and shop/eat/visit accordingly. It was so horrible.

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Pink Puppet
May 13, 2009 5:45 AM
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@Charlotte Rae's Web: At the risk of TMI...

WHOEVER SAID THE GALLBLADDER WASN'T A NECESSARY ORGAN LIED TO ME.

But yeah, this. Even if it risked utter humiliation at the hands of my friends when they realized I had said card, SO MUCH THIS.

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Joeb5
May 13, 2009 1:36 AM
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@cuchanu:
Jerry Seinfeld has a card say as he may get uromysitisis and die if he can pee where ever he has to.

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tricky1
May 13, 2009 12:51 AM
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@cuchanu: I've thought of making a card explaining Crohn's Disease, mainly so I don't have to explain it to every person when I tell them I have it. I do have it down to a scripted telemarketers spiel, but still it would be helpful.

That said I've not had an emergency like these before, but if*when* they have to take part of my intestines down the road I may well need one of these cards

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Jessica Haas
May 13, 2009 3:04 AM
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@tricky1: Can I hear that spiel? I'm woefully ignorant and between this post and that picture that Chris posted, I have NO idea what that diease really is, even though I hear about it all the time.

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MagicJewball
May 13, 2009 8:49 PM
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@Jessica Haas: I have UC (IBD is Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis), I would say the lining of my colon is coated with ulcers and I'm a crampy, [insert TMI here] mess. But Crohns is a bit different.

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farcedude
May 13, 2009 8:42 PM
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@Jessica Haas: The spiel that I give (as a Crohn's sufferer, with my understanding of it) is that my Immune system one day decided that my GI tract (mouth, esophagus, and small and large intestines) either looked really tasty or like a really big threat, and has since decided to attack them, causing ulcers throughout its length, with all the requisite complications (including needing to use the bathroom NOW).
That a good explanation for you? I'd be glad to tell you more, but it can quickly get into TMI territory.

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Chris Walters
May 13, 2009 1:03 AM
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@tricky1: I found a photo on Flickr a couple of years ago of a FOOT with a skin lesion due to complications from Crohn's disease. I always think about that image now when I read about the disease. I think if people who are otherwise unsympathetic could see that, they'd be able to better imagine how effed up the intestines can get.

Here's the photo. It is GROSS. Do not click if you have a weak stomach.

[www.flickr.com]

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danramarch
May 13, 2009 3:22 AM
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@Chris Walters: I really found the second comment on that photo to be quite funny:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called \"does this look infected to you?\", and we'd love to have this added to the group!

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BigFoot_Pete
May 13, 2009 12:40 AM
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I can't tell you how glad I am that it takes a piece of legislation to do what common sense would normally provide for. Go democracy!

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kmw2
May 13, 2009 11:31 AM
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@BigFoot_Pete: Well, obviously common sense hasn't provided.

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zibby
May 13, 2009 2:05 PM
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@rugman11: Exactly. As the lead-in suggests, there are going to be a lot of \"Out of Order\" signs and security concerns popping up. And understandably so.


Here's an idea - if Washington State wants the public to have 24/7 access to the can, why not just build sufficient public restrooms to ensure such access instead of forcing citizens to allow complete strangers access to private property? I know, I know, it's easier to just shift the cost to someone else and forget about it...problem solved...sort of...

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Clumber
May 13, 2009 4:48 PM
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@zibby:
Tried that. [seattletimes.nwsource.com] Big ole' stinkin' fail. Yes, the fail was likely in the implementation by elected idiots, nonetheless the Seattle taxpayers probably earned (bought) the right to claim \"been there, done that, t-shirt stunk.\"

I drive by those ugly silver things on my way home from work every day. They sit at a speedway near the security fence. $5 million... must not be for the propane tank appearance. Maybe the inside is nicer...?

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zibby
May 13, 2009 6:21 PM
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@Clumber: Nice. The toilets were getting destroyed, so they gave up. It would be fine if they had just stopped there, but no - it became, \"Our toilets were getting destroyed, so we'll just try to make other people let strangers destroy theirs! Don't cost us nothin'!\" I have no doubt that business owners will prove deft at circumventing this, but it still stinks (heh).


Anyhow, in NYC our public toilet situation is certainly nothing to brag about; alas, I don't think Seattle's experience is going to help much in that regard.

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paulrules
May 13, 2009 12:40 AM
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If I took a dump in front of them, they'd play the \"Defacing property\" card and get me to pay fines. :(

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balilanai
May 13, 2009 12:49 AM
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If only people who used the bathroom flushed and cleaned \"the area\" before getting out of the toilet, such legislation won't occur.

Why should the store employees clean other people's shit esp if they don't leave it clean.... pee on the toilet seat, not flushing.. anybody who's used a public restroom knows what I am talking about

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the_wiggle
May 22, 2009 1:12 AM
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@balilanai: or worked anywhere fool enough to allow access to the toilet.

i'm all for courtesy - but damn! the filthy pigs out number the courteous people.

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
May 13, 2009 5:11 AM
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@balilanai:
There are also a whole lot of employees that don't sit on a toilet, they hover & they make a huge mess!

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Julius Seizure
May 13, 2009 10:31 AM
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@Greasy Thumb Guzik: And there are a whole lot of other things happening. A friend of my other half works at a Micheals and she's had to clean feces and menstrual blood of the freaking wall of the ladies room.

I'm willing to bet, though, the majority people with IBS fall into the \"These people are doing me a favour so I'll tidy up\" camp.

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AlxFherMana
May 13, 2009 5:10 AM
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@balilanai: Completely agree. I worked at a small shoe store a few years back and even though the bathroom was behind a door that said \"Employees Only\" people would sneak in there and dirty up the bathroom. Like you said, if people had a bit of consideration and didn't pee or poop all over the place then stores would be more likely to allow restroom usage without the need for legislation.

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Shadowfire
May 13, 2009 12:58 AM
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@balilanai: Or anybody who's cleaned one. I hate having public restrooms... the amount of times I've had to clean shit off our walls is depressing.

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Firethorn
May 13, 2009 1:39 PM
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@Shadowfire:


When I worked at a McDonalds way back one time we had a professional cleaning crew come in because every single employee refused to clean the bathroom, even the manager wouldn't touch it.


Still, maybe it's where I've grown up and lived, but I've never had a business tell me no if I asked to use the restroom.

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Firethorn
May 13, 2009 1:40 PM
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@Firethorn: Oh yeah, the bathroom - we'd clean it normally, this time it was like a shit tornado went through it. smeared on the walls, everywhere.

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Kabukistar
May 13, 2009 12:55 AM
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Ok...

\"Washington DC\" or just \"DC\" is the capital of the USA.
\"Washington\" is the name of a state in the pacific northwest.
\"Washington State\" is the name of a college in said state.

Please start getting it right, Consumerist.

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ElizabethD
May 13, 2009 3:47 PM
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@Kabukistar:

Today's quiz: Where is Washington University located? :-)

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Argy
May 13, 2009 3:07 PM
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@Kabukistar: \"Washington state\" is a perfectly acceptable way to refer to the state when there is a chance people might confuse it with D.C. It would be weird if people actually IN Washington were calling it that, but this site isn't...

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yagisencho
May 13, 2009 5:43 AM
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@Kabukistar:


Good thing they didn't name Washington as Columbia, as they originally planned. Because that would be a confusing collision with District of Columbia. *cough*

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so_gracefully
May 13, 2009 5:23 AM
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@Kabukistar: UPDATE: In addition to this terrible tragedy, there are also terrible things going on in Darfur.

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HiPwr
May 13, 2009 2:25 AM
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@Kabukistar: Would you be whining as much if they had said the \"state of Washington?\"

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katieoh
May 13, 2009 1:02 AM
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@Kabukistar: no, \"washington state university\" would be the name of that college. \"washington state\" is used to distinguish between the state and dc.

if they'd just said \"washington,\" there'd be even more people bitching.

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Kabukistar
May 13, 2009 1:17 AM
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@katieoh: Which is why people need to stop just referring to the capital as \"Washington,\" so there's no ambiguity.

It's just like the whole \"Indian\" thing.

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Jeremy82465
May 13, 2009 2:40 AM
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@Kabukistar:

Yeah, because I know I personally refer to washington the state waaaaaaay more often than the capitol.

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bluepotatoes66
May 13, 2009 4:28 AM
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@Jeremy82465: Well if you lived here, or around here, yeah you would.

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edwardso
May 13, 2009 3:50 PM
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@bluepotatoes66: When I live someplace I don't usually feel the need to clarify because my physical presence confirms it. State law where I live means Virginia law.

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LanLOLa
May 13, 2009 1:28 AM
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Having lived in Washington (the state) most of my life, I know how annoying it can be. Something will come on the news about something that happened in Washington, but what they really mean is Wachington DC.

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HunterZ
May 13, 2009 2:45 PM
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@LanLOLa: I lived in Vancouver, Washington when I was a teenager and it was doubly confusing because people always assume \"Vancouver, BC\" when you say Vancouver.

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RB_Bhoy
May 13, 2009 12:56 AM
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is this just washington? any other states have this (specifically NJ)?

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SanDiegoDude
May 13, 2009 1:22 PM
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@RB_Bhoy: State of California requires any restaurant that serves food to provide a public bathroom. I get an absolute kick out of reminding businesses of that when down at the beach and run across those snooty restaurants that have the sign up \"Restroom for customers only!\" - I walk in, ask to use the restroom and when they say it's for customers only I tell \"remind\" them it's illegal to do that. I have yet to have a restaurant stop me past that point.

=)

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
May 13, 2009 5:17 AM
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@RB_Bhoy:
Illinois also has a similar law: Public Act 094-0450
www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0450

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jayphat
May 13, 2009 12:57 AM
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I personally know of stores where they do not allow public access to the bathrooms for 2 reason: one, shoplifting is easy as hell in there as you are not permitted to install cameras in a bathroom. Second, the public ends up TRASHING the restrooms. I cannot recall the number of times I have painted the restroom at work because of \"art\" on the walls. A colleague of mine does have me beat though, as her store no longer allows public access to her stores restrooms after a customer complained about lack of access to one, only to find out 2 gay gentlemen had been in there for 25 minutes \"taking care of business\".

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calquist
May 13, 2009 2:00 PM
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@jayphat: When I worked at a bookstore, we didn't let customers use our bathroom because our backroom was so small that we had to store books in there. Yep, gross.

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Jessica Haas
May 13, 2009 3:00 AM
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@jayphat: I shouldn't have laughed at that, but I totally did.

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Kevin Sorensen
May 13, 2009 12:57 AM
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I'm getting my fake \"inflammatory bowel disease\" card now! Who's joining me?

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zibby
May 13, 2009 6:40 PM
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@Kevin Sorensen: Uh, pass. I don't want to think about what the examination would entail.


Heck, maybe I just look like a great guy, but anytime I can't just walk into a place and use the bathroom I ask politely and I don't get denied. And this is in a city where people are supposed to be rude just for the hell of it.

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rugman11
May 13, 2009 1:03 AM
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Step One: Place merchandise in bathroom.
Step Two: Claim that allowing people in the bathroom with unmonitored merchandise is a security risk.

Problem solved. It's what we did at the last retail place where I worked.

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mac-phisto
May 13, 2009 4:32 AM
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@rugman11: step 3: anonymous call to osha results in fines for your employer for having an unsafe workplace.

at least that's what happened where i worked...

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rugman11
May 13, 2009 6:00 AM
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@mac-phisto: I guess it depends on what you have back there. Project boxes and electronics parts hanging on the wall aren't exactly a workplace hazard.

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babyruthless
May 13, 2009 3:08 AM
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@rugman11: Ours was full of all of the cleaning supplies. Who could be trusted with all of that Windex?

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Eldritch
May 13, 2009 1:10 AM
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No way that would fly in my workplace. The manager's office with all the paperwork, as well as vast amounts of stock, are kept in the back with the employee bathroom. I'm sorry, go to the food court. We have enough people steal from the front of the store, I don't need to have to potty moniter someone in the stockroom of the store too.

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ElizabethD
May 13, 2009 3:48 PM
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@Eldritch:

Perhaps this is a red flag that your workplace needs better security and storage measures, not that IBS sufferers should take a hike when nature calls.

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nakedscience
May 13, 2009 2:37 PM
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@Eldritch: So if someone has a disease that causes them to LOSE CONTRL OF THEIR BOWELS, you're going to be a jerkface and tell them to walk across the mall? So they take a shit on the floor of the mall?


Man there are some assholes out there.

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madanthony
May 13, 2009 1:36 AM
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I just hope the next step isn't requiring homeowners to let anyone who knocks at their door use their bathroom.

Although, given the condition of my bathroom (hey, I'm a single guy who lives alone) I'm not sure anyone would be that desperate.

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the_wiggle
May 22, 2009 1:14 AM
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@madanthony: oh hells no! forget that!

lawsuits, assaults, etc. no thanks.

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HogwartsAlum
May 13, 2009 4:04 PM
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@madanthony:

\"I just hope the next step isn't requiring homeowners to let anyone who knocks at their door use their bathroom.\"

They can arrest me. I'm not letting people in my house. I don't even want them on my lawn.

Signed,
Crabby McCrabcakes

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bibliophibian
May 13, 2009 5:17 AM
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@madanthony: Shortly after I had my son - like, a little less than a month - I had to go back to work; couldn't afford to stay out longer than that. My boss was in the process of moving, and he paid me overtime to go to his New House on Saturday to supervise the first shift of movers, while he was still at the Old House with the second shift. The first shift were bringing all the garage, outside, junk-boxes - all the stuff he'd had packed and ready to go before hand, which was all going into the garage. He assured me he'd set the house alarm so that we could get into the garage without setting off the alarm.

About ten minutes after we got there, I had to pee so bad all of a sudden that I literally couldn't stand up straight. (My bladder got a bit jostled during the pregnancy and I was still not 100% recovered and in, ah, full control.) My boss wasn't answering his cell phone, there were no bushes or trees - in desperation I managed to get across the street and knocked on a stranger's house and begged to use their bathroom. I was so relived when she said \"Sure\" that I almost cried. Then I went into the bathroom, and REALLY almost cried. By the looks of things, at least three people had taken LARGE dumps over probably two or three days; none of them had flushed, and one of them had mostly missed the big hole in the middle of the toilet, so there was a large... lump... hanging on to the back there. There was also no toilet paper.

My hand to God, I dropped trou, perched on the edge of the bathtub, and peed into the bathtub; grabbed a folded (and therefore presumably clean) washcloth to use in place of TP. Rinsed down the bathtub, flushed the toilet, and left. I didn't wash my hands because I figure touching the faucets would have been a much worse health risk.

What was shocking was that the rest of the house was lovely, clean and well-appointed. That was truly the bathroom from hell - but yes, I was that desperate.

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bibliophibian
May 13, 2009 5:19 AM
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@bibliophibian: And of course I left out the important phrase, \"we could get into the garage without setting off the alarm, but if we opened ANY of the other doors it would trigger the alarm.\" I couldn't get in touch with him to get the key (or permission to just set off the damn alarm already).

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calquist
May 13, 2009 2:03 PM
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@bibliophibian: Yikes!!! Traumatic, but probably a better experience than your boss showing up later and you standing around in wet pants :)

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your new nemesis
May 13, 2009 1:40 AM
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I remember when we had a single employee bathroom in the back of our pizza hut, people would come and want to use it. Traveling through a kitchen during busy hours is a dangerous prospect with all the hot, and sharp stuff and people running around. While the idea is commendable, this could open up liability issues on the part of the store.

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Argy
May 13, 2009 3:10 PM
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@skizsrodt: Aren't restaurants required to have public restrooms??

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GearheadGeek
May 13, 2009 3:27 AM
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@skizsrodt: With the possible exception of takeout-only places, it SHOULD be illegal to have a restaurant without restroom facilities available to customers.

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PlanetExpressdelivery
May 13, 2009 5:38 AM
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@GearheadGeek: So should the local or state government pay to:

1) Have the bathroom installed as it is being used by the general public

2) Pay for supplies to keep the bathroom running (water, toilet paper, labor for upkeeping)

3) Rent seeing as how a bathroom would reduce the square footage available for the owner to use

4) All of the above

It's a courtesy for restaurants to provide restrooms (up to a certain occupancy) not a right.

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dave_coder
May 13, 2009 2:13 AM
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My parents own a small business. They used to allow customer to use their small washroom until they got sick of cleaning the mess left behind and repainting the graffiti left behind.

They no longer let customer use the washroom.

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pika2000
May 13, 2009 2:14 AM
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Typical stupidity of Washington state government. Instead of worrying about education (firing teachers, larger classrooms) & health care (reducing payment to providers, not covering obviously useful generic medications), they are more interested in screwing small businesses. WA already failed with their expensive automated public restrooms, wasting money, now they are forcing this law to businesses? Expect frivolous lawsuits aimed at small businesses. Maybe the citizens should also propose a law that force government officials to clean public restrooms. It's only fair for them to serve the public, right?

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bluepotatoes66
May 13, 2009 4:33 AM
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@pika2000: Let me see if I remember correctly here.

The automatic public restrooms were the idea of the mayor of Seattle. It was a city project, not a state project. Seattle does not equal WA. It's a fallacy often made.

As for the first part of your rant, I agree entirely. Having been a student of the WA education system from age 4 to today, it has only gotten worse. Some of my teachers in elementary school took on extra students in their classroom just so they could get paid a little bit more. I haven't experienced the health care system too much, so I can't speak to that.

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Clumber
May 13, 2009 5:02 PM
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@bluepotatoes66:

With ya' Spuds, though I thought it was under general acceptance to refer to him as McMayor or as Mayor Quimby ?

A couple scrolls up I also mentioned the auto-crappers, though attributed them to Seattle. While Seattle ≠ Washington, I think it would be a common response even from our brown side-of-the-state neighbors to immediately remember that fiasco when considering gov't provided honeypots.

- LifeLong resident and lifelong annoyed at what passes for gubbermint here...

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Steve Pan
May 13, 2009 2:16 AM
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shut up moron

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segfault
May 13, 2009 2:38 AM
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I have the same godawful dove grey backsplash tile and hunter green-ish countertops in my kitchen, courtesy of the previous homeowner... Eeeew...

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corinthos
May 13, 2009 2:45 AM
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I'd check the bathroom each time one used it and maybe even take a photo and wait for them to come out and check it again. If they shit all over or pissed on the floor then they could clean it up.
Also what if they left no toilet paper in them? lol leave it behind the counter for employees. Sure you can use our restroom but sorry we are out of toilet paper.

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Forkboy2
May 13, 2009 3:18 AM
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The issue is not security. The issue is the Americans with Disabilities Act for any building more than about 10 years old. Once you let customer's use a restroom you have to either spend several $1,000 upgrading it to current ADA standards or face getting a $20,000 lawsuit from the band of roaming ADA lawyers that blanket entire towns with letters threatening lawsuits.

This law is a very bad idea unless it comes with some protections against getting sued over ADA. It will be interesting to watch this play out.

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Anonymous
May 13, 2009 4:04 AM
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I have IBS, and it really sucks. Imagine having a nice day, where you ate nice healthy food and drank nice healthy beverages, and all of the sudden your digestive system makes you have to evacuate NOW. It's horrifyingly embarrassing. I've had to run into stores begging and pleading to use the bathroom as soon as possible, and have had to ask friends, family, and cabbies to pull over to the nearest establishment so I could do so. I've had diarrhea in a subway station and on a city sidewalk in front of passersby after MTA transit employees ignored my pleas to unlock the bathroom.

The worst part is, there's nothing that doctors can do about it. My digestive system is broken. That's about it. You'd never guess I suffered this way either, since I'm a damn cute and fit 21 year old girl. Luckily, that's what's helped me sway workers into letting me into their johns.

I think that this is a fantastic idea, because now I don't have to fear living outside of NYC anymore. I have two options! Sigh. Now how do I apply for that card?

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MSUHitman
May 13, 2009 4:35 AM
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At my place of work we never have more than 2 workers in the store at a time (this is in MO) so we would get under that provision if it were enacted here, but our restroom is where we work cleaning vacuum cleaners and air purifiers (seperate sink from hand sink of course) so there's all kinds of chemicals back there so we would consider it a security risk to themselves.

We are next door to a Gamestop and we have their customers all the time wanting to use our restroom because Gamestop corporate policy won't let any non-worker behind the counter (pretty easy to steal video games vs. vacuums.)

We refuse everyone except senior citizens who are our customers.

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Anonymous
May 13, 2009 6:25 AM
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I used to suffer from some kind of spastic colon/irratible bowel thing. Cigarette smoking took it down a peg or two, but I still have to use the can with urgency now and then.

That said I still think this is a rotten idea. At my place of business (not disclosed for soon-to-be-obvious reasons) our joke \"security\" cage is right inside the stockroom door on the way to the can. You can just reach in and take valuable merchandise out (in fact many of us who have keys do not bother using them to get certain things out!)! We direct customers requesting a john to the larger store next door or the restraunt down the plaza. It is simply unsafe, unhygenic, and stupid to put such legislation into force. If a customer can be reasonably accomodated, so be it, but forcing a business to accomodate a customer will destroy business.

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Stephanie Haller
May 13, 2009 7:47 AM
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We typically only have 2 people working at any given time - it's usually 1 though.

Then again - the light's out in our bathroom (faulty wiring) so that's a pretty big deterrent right now.

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sirwired
May 13, 2009 8:10 AM
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I think this is a good idea carried out in a poor way. What they should have done is changed the building codes so that any establishment open to the public is required to have a publicly accessible restroom.

Making this retroactive to existing business establishments is going to result in a lot of problems, as the employee bathrooms are commonly in safe and/or insecure areas. It is a huge safety hazard for a customer to go through a stockroom or other rear area to access a bathroom. And since publicly accessible facilities must be ADA compliant... well, I don't know how a lot of these could possibly be made compliant.

Updates to the building code (which do not apply to existing construction) would have been a far more sensible place to put this law.

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dave_coder
May 13, 2009 2:33 PM
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@sirwired: Right because small businesses have the money to renovate their building all willy nilly.

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West Coast Secessionist
May 13, 2009 7:41 PM
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@dave_coder: You dork, why are you being sarcastic at @sirwired? He's saying it should NOT be retroactive. Therefore NO renovations would be required.

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FLConsumer
May 13, 2009 9:22 AM
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It's a sad commentary upon American society when we must legislate what should be natural human decency.

Not everyone's body works as desired all the time. We've all had to urgently use a bathroom before. When you've got to go, you've got to go.

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dave_coder
May 13, 2009 2:33 PM
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@FLConsumer: Alright if I walk by your house and HAVE TO GO I'll knock and you'll let me in. Correct?

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nakedscience
May 13, 2009 2:41 PM
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@dave_coder: Um, if someone came knocking on my door and it clearly looked like they were desperate, I probably would, because I'm not an asshole that likes to watch people lose their bowels in public.


But a prive home is still not the same thing as a business open to the public, where you don't have to knock to get in.

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ospreyguy
May 13, 2009 11:29 AM
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As a business owner I and a father of a potty training little girl I have 2 sides to this. I own a tutoring facility that is professional and very clean (sterile some parents put it) and I will have homeless, mentally challenged people coming in all the time wanting to use the bathroom. They will literally take a bath in the sink. It is the most disgusting thing to walk in there after this happens. But I'm a sucker for sob stories...


I have pretty much become immune to it now and only allow paying customers use. They are recurring client (enrolled in a program) so if they really mess it up they have to come back and do the walk of shame. It all works out in the end...


As a father though, man we have ran into some off the wall places and only said \"BATHROOM!?!\" So it's hard for me to ever deny that.

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SadSam
May 13, 2009 11:53 AM
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Why not require and/or fund the building/maintaining of more public restrooms instead of trying to make small businesses responsible for accomodating the bathroom habits of Americans with IBD?

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Etoiles
May 13, 2009 1:40 PM
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The employee bathrooms at the GameStop where I once worked, and at the first CVS I worked at (I worked at two, over the years) really were health hazards. They were awful. I only used them when I really, really had to; generally, I'd use the public restroom at Starbucks on my break if I could swing it. We had broken, tottering shelves full of heavy things, merchandise, records, a broken door, a very specific way you had to flush... and that was after you would your way past all our shelves and stacks of inventory as well as the manager's desk and the safe.

I'm all for being considerate to those who need help but it seems to me that saying, \"Ma'am, the Starbucks immediately across the street has a public restroom\" would BE more considerate than trying to get them into the bathrooms we had.

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bdgbill
May 13, 2009 2:42 PM
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I work for a major nationwide retailer. I can tell you that whenever store restrooms are not open to the public there is likely a very good reason for it.


Keeping an employee restroom used by 3-10 people clean is a fairly simple matter. Keeping a restroom that is open to the public clean can be a nightmare.


Most people who take a job at JoAnne Fabrics are probably not expecting to be told that cleaning human feces out of a sink is part of their job description.


Horrendously disgusting things involving every possible bodily fluid, drugs, vandalisim and shoplifiting happen in public restrooms on a daily basis. I don't see how its fair for politicians to just order every business to provide this expensive and difficult service free of charge to the general public.


If there are some people who can't get through a shopping trip without soiling themselves, they should be wearing diapers.

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revmatty
May 13, 2009 3:26 PM
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For many retailers it's not that it's company policy, but rather a requirement of the insurance company or the property owner. I managed retail stores in northern and southern CA back in the early 90's and for us at least it was an insurance company restriction. They didn't want someone wandering back through the (clearly unsafe) stock room to get to the bathroom and getting hurt and suing.

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Corporate_guy
May 13, 2009 3:31 PM
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The Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory was a small business with a bathroom in the back. There was no way to let a customer use it. I've worked in a small restaurant like that before. The bathroom was all the way in the back and to get to it you had to walk through the work area. Some places are just not designed to have a public restroom. And it's not the businesses fault, they just rent whatever building they can get.

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TheJinManCan
May 13, 2009 3:34 PM
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Eh, this is pretty crappy, with absolutely no pun intended.

I'm sorry, but if I'm working in a small store, with HUNDREDS and THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS located in my backroom, I'm not going to let anyone use our non-public restroom. That is definitely not taking into consideration the ramifications this may cause; the safety of the employees, the chance of stolen product, and as other have said in the comments, the fact that we have to clean up after random people's \"work\" in the bathroom, let alone our own.

Sorry, my job doesn't say that I have to clean up after the public's mess. While I don't live in Washington, I hope this gets shot down. It's stupid as hell. Find a gas station if you really have to go and do your thing.

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zerosum0101
May 13, 2009 3:47 PM
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Having worked in three different retail stores I can say with utmost certainty this is a bad idea. Like it says in the post, most stores will just use the \"security threat\" excuse and I don't blame them. Working in retail sucks. It sucks a lot. One of the only benefits of the job is knowing the bathroom you're going to use when you need it isn't disgusting. When you work with a small group of people you know they tend to take better care of the bathroom because if someone makes a disgusting mess it's easy to call them out on it (I know this sounds gross but its true). The last two stores I worked at had what I thought was a good policy. Kids are always allowed to use the bathroom, adults aren't unless it's an emergency. I know what you might be thinking \"how can you tell it's an emergency?\" Well, believe it or not most people aren't good at faking when its an emergency.

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Squeezer99
May 14, 2009 2:35 AM
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what about if you have to pee a lot? i guess this law only counts if you have to take a poop

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notanignoramus
May 21, 2009 10:41 PM
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A MedicAlert card should suffice.

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