@CracktheCrown:

If someone came to my house wanting to wander around inside and look at my stuff, I'd toss them out. Stores are a bit different from houses.

once, right before I walked into a Diary Queen I ripped one. it was huge. i walked through double doors and it still followed me in and spread throughout the entire place. i little boy in the back began whining to his mother and asked, "what is that smell mommy". I was shaking uncontrollably from laughter when I heard him say that. i ordered a mudslide sunday. good times. my ex-wife was horrified, but secretly enjoyed it.

If you are more worried about your own personal possessions that another human being's health and safety, you've already lost the most precious thing of all: your humanity and your ideals. I would rather be fired at every job I ever had for helping those in need out than make a billion dollars crushing others under my own selfish thumb.

"I've already stated I don't have to agree with the policy, but I do have to enforce it. "

Where does it end, dragon? Up to what point are you willing to hold on to your job at the expense of the suffering of others? Before there were laws outlawing such things, if there was a corporate policy that said no blacks, Jews, or gypsies allowed would you blindly follow it? Would you kill for your company? Just how much is a job at such an inhumane company worth to you?

You don't have to enforce anything you think goes against basic human decency. Follow your own heart, not the whip crack of cruel, faceless corporations. Without trust and kindness, human beings just devolve to unthinking fear and hate.

By the way, being able to think for yourself and following your own principles is what makes an upper level manager. Followers are only useful on the lowest levels of corporate hell.

What if that person craps right there in your store, in front of everyone just because you wouldn't let them use the bathroom? I can just imagine other customers suing you, the store, for not preventing the horrific display they had to witness!

Not that I doubt bosses wouldn't fire employees for allowing someone to use the employee bathroom.

I remember being in high school, on the first day of school - I had a stomachache so I asked the teacher if I could go to the bathroom. Nope, you're about to take a five-minute timed typing test so you have to wait.

It was probably the longest 5 minutes of my life. (To her defense, I didn't say that I had a stomachache - just asked to go to the bathroom. At the end of the year, another stomachache before a timed typing test and I said "I don't feel well, can I go to the bathroom?" and she let me. So who knows. And no, I didn't get the stomachaches from the typing tests!).

I just told someone who needed the john that because it was behind the stock room that someone will have to escort you. No problem.

1. Business bathrooms are NOT public washrooms. PUBLIC washrooms are maintained by the municipality and are paid for by taxpayer money. Business facilities are private, and are not funded in anyway by taxpayer money.

2. People do all sorts of disgusting and rude things when they think they're anonymous. A business would know their regular customers and the regulars know the employees. The customers usually have a bit of a stake in the relationship, and vice versa, so usually, nothing untoward happens. At my workplace, we usually don't have a problem with a regular customer using the facilities if they have to.

Walk-ins off the street that nobody knows? Those we typically deny. The old saying "No good deed goes unpunished" is why. The times when we've let walk-ins use the bathroom, or when someone just shoves past to use it, they've:

- stolen the toilet paper
- stolen the toilet seat
- stolen the fixtures
- stolen the light switches (with the power still on)
- stolen the mirror
- defecated on the floor
- defecated on the seat
- smeared feces on the walls. Sometimes with messages.
- urine puddles have been cleaned up off every surface you can imagine, including the ceiling.
- had sex in the bathroom
- used drugs or smoked in the bathroom
- Drugs and at least one gun have been found in the toilet tank.

We have to clean up or otherwise deal with these situations whenever a walk-in uses the company facilities. After a few of these incidents on your watch, or a bit of biohazard duty after an incident, you really start to understand why the policy exists.

@Ilovegnomes: thank you. that is a very levelheaded and reasonable suggestion.

@dragonfire81: wow. people are reducing this to a matter of compassion vs. arbitrary rules.

i worked in a small video store with only an employee bathroom, which customers were not allowed to use. the store was located in a high-crime location, where muggings, robberies, and violent acts were fairly common.

the washroom was only accessible through the back room, where staff counted cash. i should also note that all of our personal belongings were held there as well - in the open, with no lockers provided. there was a a secondary emergency exit off of the back room as well.

our store policy stated we should not allow customers to use the washroom. breaking the rule could have resulted in a dismissal, but more importantly the rule protected store money, staff belongings, and possibly staff safety in those cases when a staff member could be in the back room alone.

if a customer had asked to use the washroom, i would have said no.

@ThyGuyX: How would you feel if someone did that in your home; on your driveway or in your office?

Why not just find a place where you don't have to ask permission to use the bathroom? A place where you can just walk in.

I've already stated I don't have to agree with the policy, but I do have to enforce it.

I'm sorry, but this looks to me like yet ANOTHER case of "the store wouldn't accomodate me and give me special treatment, so shame on them."

The OP knew they had this problem. They knew they had other options (ie: adult diapers). However, they CHOSE not to use the other options and thus RELY on business to make snap changes in policy for them. The OP is the fail here, not the business.

The company has policies. This person wanted a low-grade employee to make a snap decision to go against policy because THEY had chosen not to take the proper precautions with their disease. They had made this decision because in the past they had managed to get all previous stores to change THEIR policies on the fly (for 30 years apparently) but then when one of them actually says, "Sorry, but we're not breaking the rules for you" the OP is incensed because "everyone else did!"

I find the OP to be the problem here, and a shining example of what's wrong with the state of the U.S. today. Absolutely NO culpability or even personal responsibility. The OP knows they have Chrone's disease. The OP knows there are alternatives. The OP CHOSE not to use any of these alternatives, but instead leave it up to forcing stores to make an exception for them. The OP places the blame on everyone except who it belongs with.

COULD the store have let the OP use the employee restroom? Perhaps. But would this allow the customer access to areas that customers should not be? Likely. SHOULD the store have HAD to allow the OP access? Absolutely not. Should the OP have taken care of their own situation like a responsible adult? Absolutely.

@lannister80: Me too...hasn't happened yet but it's come close when I got to a gas station and there was a line for the bathroom. Ugh...

@RecordStoreToughGuy_HatesYouAndAllYouStandFor:Did they let you use the bathroom then.

I'd probably go to a corner of the store behind a shelf. You're going to be humiliated anyway, so you might as well make it temporary and leave a gift behind.

I worked at Bombay (the home goods/furniture store that went bankrupt).. Our restrooms were the same- employees only. We did NOT let customers use the restroom. We repeated ourselves a hundred times a day "Theres a restroom in Borders next door". But one day, an employee let a customer lady use the restroom. Guess what? She claims she slipped and fell, and got a lawyer and threatened legal action. Good thing she decided to do this a few weeks before our store closed.

First of all, being a small and private business, we put the store's cleaning supplies, First Aid supplies and bathroom items IN the bathroom. This included medications the employees had purchased for personal use (and use of other employees/family members) for headaches, menstrual cramps, pepto bismol, tums, etc.

We had never considered that someone outside our employees, family or good friends would use our bathroom. We told her NO. Instead she bullied her way past our your young female employees and ran into the restroom AND LOCKED THE DOOR.

We had no idea what she would do in there once she was there. She could do something to injure herself in some way and cause a lawsuit! The girls knocked on the door and demanded she leave.

When the lady came out. She nastily thanked our employees and quickly left the store saying she'd never shop there and tell her friends not to shop there. This could hurt our business because the greater amount of our sales were to/for older women.

When the store supervisor came back from a business lunch, the girls told her the story and told her to go look into the bathroom. The girls were so grossed out that they had turned on the fan closed the door. The supervisor found a toilet covered in feces nearly from the top down. The toiled lid, seat, inside the bowl and down the sides of the bowl were a sanitation disaster. I don't think I need to tell you more descriptives or how it was cleaned up.

From then on, the store management posted a large sign that the toilet was out of order over the employees only sign.

I think I need to share with you all an interesting statistic.

I'm in a minority that doesn't discriminate against anyone. This minority can HAPPEN to anyone. This minority is treated far worse than other visible minorites. This minority can be invisible. Do you know what minority this is?

Its called DISABILITY. And it effects EVERYONE.

So to Dragonfire81, I hope that someday you join this minority and learn what its like to be treated with little to no respect.

But in this case, she has put the burden on someone who has to help her or else look like a jerk. That is not a kind choice to put on someone. And how does that person/business know that if she's got a medical problem, she's not going to go into that bathroom, and render it unusable, requiring cleaning for the next day?

I think the rational position is that yes, the business would be nice if it had helped her, but you cannot say that they were jerks for not helping when something totally unexpected landed in their lap, an with only a few seconds to decide yes or no.

Offended? Let me sing about how I don't care.

It's a valid medical condition, with a completely reasonable and relatively easy to make accommodation. Why not?

To be honest, I never understood why employee toilets were allowed to be so... shitty. I mean, we're humans too.

I feel for the lady here though. I have had a similar situation all though not as bad, but when you need to go you need to go. I tried a couple of fast food places apparently right at closing time since there were employees there but the doors were all locked. I was able to make it home at least, just barely. In any case as an employee I would have let her use the restroom no problem.

On the way to work one morning, I felt sick and dizzy and passed out while driving. I woke up in the front yard of some lady along the road, had lightly shat my pants, and had an urge to go like nobody's business. I ran up to the lady's house and begged to use her toilet and she refused me. I had to go around back and squat it out next to her house. It was either that or have it running down my legs.

Sad to say, true story. Not my proudest moment.

The world doesn't conform to your neat little ideas of how everything should pan out. Open your mind a little bit, try and be kind.

I'm trully amazed at the lack of compassion shown by some of the above comments. It's quite sad when some people point the finger at the victim who was asking for some help and understanding. One of many things wrong with the world we live in.
Rules are generally guidelines that with some common sense can be bent in an emergency without harming others. Shame on Plaid Pantry.

While I almost always side with the consumer, this one is a much tougher call. I am sympathetic to the OP (and I know several people who suffer from IBS/Crohns/etc and how urgent the need can get), but there are reasons for a policy that forbids non-employees from using an employee bathroom. The biggest one is liability.

If the customer falls, trips, has boxes fall on them, etc. then the store is liable and the insurance will not cover them since the accident took place in an area that is not accessible to the public. This has nothing to do with a "bathroom exclusion" as one of the earlier comments made by an insurance person indicated. It has to do with which premises are covered and which are not (for example, have you ever been to a garage/mechanic and they tell you that customers are not allowed in the work area for insurance reasons). So if the customer is injured in an uncovered area, do you really think that the insurance company wouldn't raise that as a bar to paying the claim? Are you serious?

So lets just recap, the store owner should risk everything he has, his entire net worth, his family's future, etc. just so he can rise to your definition of what a "decent" human being is? That certainly seems fair. And we all know that no one ever brings "frivolous" lawsuits and they certainly never win huge awards from them. (Oh, and before we "kill all the lawyers" responsible for all this litigation, we might want to remember that it's the geniuses on the jury that actually decide who wins the case and how much money gets awarded.)

As far as risk to the store/employees, I am sure that no one would ever lie about having a medical condition to get what they wanted. Well, except for my friend's younger brother who used to lie about having IBS when he was trying to avoid an exam he wasn't prepared for. And a former co-worker who used to claim to have a back injury so he could pre-board when he flew. Oh yeah, and Ted Bundy, who would sometimes pretend to be injured to help lure his victims into vulnerable situations. But other than the three of them I'm sure no one has EVER lied about a medical condition.

By the way, for what it's worth, a quick search reveals that most of the states that have (or are contemplating passing) laws that require access to employee bathrooms for people with medical conditions indicate that access is required IF 1) the location of the bathroom poses no HEALTH, SAFETY or SECURITY risk, 2) there is EVIDENCE of a medical condition, and 3) at least THREE employees are present. Since we obviously don't have these facts, we don't even know if the store would have been legally required to provide access even if it was in a "Right-To-Go" state.

I can just about guarantee you that if the situation described in the post happened in my store and I DID allow the lady to use the bathroom AND fully explained my actions and reasoning to my manager and corporate, I'd still get a write up for a serious policy violation if not an outright pink slip. That's how corporations are sometimes, they don't use common sense at all.

Also if I'm the only one in the store (which does happen sometimes) there's no way for me to escort someone to the bathroom while still monitoring the front of the store.

But the EU will I'm sure soon address the state of public rest rooms. I know China did for the Olympics.

I was really startled by how many commenters fell back on some variation on "Well, there's no law in that state requiring them to provide a public bathroom so I'm on the store's side."

I've worked in a place without a public restroom before. After seeing people trash it I wouldn't let you people use it either.

It only takes a few people to rune something. In the case of bathrooms the damage has been done.

Also I think it is stupid to require access to restrooms. The store should have a right to say no. If anything this might make store owners not put employee restrooms in.

NOBODY would EVER fake anything that embarrassing. Trust.

At the end of the day - if your boss WILL fire you for this infraction, then if you think it's ok to be fired for this, fine, get fired. But don't call others bad human beings for not doing so. I'd do almost anything I could for the woman, but I'm not going to give up a job.

Blame Eldritch's & others' bosses if you have issues, but the employees who are simply trying to make a living and fear losing their jobs? Not a fair fight.

Wouldn't it be smarter to use another ruse to gain access? No employee will le tyou use the bathrm he uses if he knows you're going to make it smell bad...

Jesus. How horrifying for the little girl. And you too. Kudos to you for still letting people use it afterward, especially in emergencies.

@jvette: And if you have ever had to clean up after what some people do to the bathrooms, you would understand.

I almost had to go the hospital Sunday after someone clogged the urinal in the men's room and poured that Foaming Liquid Plumber in it. When I used some acid to try to clear the clog, it foamed out like a volcano-science expierment and unleashed chemical fumes that made my throat and lungs burn for several hours.

After you have had to clean crap off the ceiling tiles or had someone literally fill the bowl to the rim, you can understand why many stores no longer have public restrooms.

Also, not everyone is aware of every disorder out there, I had never heard of Crohn's till I read this article.

That's a bit of a different issue, since the employee/manager can see exactly what's going on. It's easy to lie about having to use the restroom since it's an "emergency," but it's hard to hide a huge gaping wound or a puddle of blood.

If the person had proof they had a disease and were in dire need of restroom facilities (or just made a convincing case) I'd try to accommodate them. However, I'd have no legitimate excuse for management/corporate if the person came back with a lawsuit because they hurt themselves or there was a fresh shit-pile on the bathroom floor.

I can honestly see both sides of the story here. Yes, it's inconsiderate to refuse your restroom to someone in an emergency. However, not everyone is a gentle old woman or a person who literally has a disease and needs to use the restroom ASAP.

Like others have said, there are people who will steal from the employee bathroom (hell, a lot of people like pilfering the supply of TP from public restrooms, even though that crap is thinner than tissue paper), look for a reason to sue/sue because something went wrong, or leave the restroom in a horrible state and walk away without a care. If the employee restroom is near merchandise/contains merchandise, the store has many reasons to not allow the public to use it. If it's a deathtrap, that's also a reason to keep the public (who are not covered under the company insurance policy) out of the facilities.

Also, I personally don't like the idea of letting someone into my house to use the restroom if I don't know them. There have been lots of house break-ins/rapes/beatings/etc. here in my city which started with someone opening their front door to a stranger. Perhaps if I had a weapon in my hand at the moment I wouldn't hesitate, but considering that would probably never happen, I'd have to refuse them.

Oh, and why would someone be knocking on your door and asking to use the restroom? If they're in the neighborhood/complex/whatever, wouldn't that infer that they live there/know someone there? Why not just go to their own home or their friend's house to use the restroom?

@G.O.B.: Come on!:
still not funny

I worked for Plaid Pantry as a store manager many years ago. Our policy was "employees only" in the restroom, but I'd make exceptions on a case by case basis. Pregnant ladies, small children, etc, and never had any issues until...

A woman and a young girl about 4 years old came in to the store in the middle of the day. They purchased a few things and then the woman said her daughter needed to use the restroom, so I let them in. I realized they'd been in there for a while, so I leaned against the door, and heard the little girl crying. I knocked on the door and asked if everything was ok. The little girl unlocked the door and there was her mom, sitting on the toilet, leaning against the wall, passed out with a needle sticking out of her arm. It was horrific.

These things CAN happen, but I still never have refused anyone to use the restroom who was having an obvious emergency!

i can understand both sides of the argument on this and i sympathize with the person who had the accident. stores should have public bathrooms and employee bathrooms. like mine doess my question to her is why dont u wear diapers. i wear diapers out of convenience, because i either have to walk or take public transport everywhere and i cant always get to a place with a bathroom and there are a lot of places around that are customers or employees only, so diapers just make it a lot easier. the good thing is that a wet diaper isnt as noticable as a stinky one. people may think that wearing diapers is disgusting but in the rare occasions where something happens i would rather have it happen in my diaper then in my pants no matter what the situation is. it also eliminates the problem of having to worry or trying to finda a bathroom in time.

Happy pooping :^))

@Eldritch: Using an anectodal theft as a means to justify refusing to let folks use the bathroom is pretty myopic. You see, someone could very well walk in off the street and rob you at gunpoint. You're not going to stop letting people come into the store altogether are you? Nope. You'll continue to play the odds by opening the store every day, and God willing, nothing bad will happen to you.

Not everyone who comes in to drop a load is going to bother snagging shit from the back room, just like how not every customer who comes into your store is going to have you empty out the registers at gunpoint. So maybe it might not be too big a deal to do the humane thing every once in awhile and let someone with a disease use your precious employee toilet.

Reading is fun!

A "public restroom" tip: When I have to do "serious business" on the road, I'll stop at a mid level motel/hotel located at any interstate off ramp or hotel cluster.

Hampton Inns, Holiday Inn Selects, or any hotel with a small lobby or conference rooms always has bathrooms on the main floor.

There's rarely anybody using them. (guests use their own rooms) They're far cleaner than gas stations or fast food joints - and you usually have complete privacy.

@harvey_birdman: There's a DIFFERENCE between someone's home and a place of business, you moron! One little tidbit of advice: Don't expect anyone to feel compassion for you if you're ever in need.

@PLATTWORX: No shit, really? Most of them don't even care when you write a "latter" to their corporate offices. Unless of course you threaten to take your story public, in which case they suddenly take a very close interest in you.

That's not the point though. Sometimes principle is just as important.

What kind of mean rotten human being runs a retail store without a public bathroom anyway? If there is a nasty mess 1% of the time, the business owner should be a man and clean it up not make employees do it.

Oh but that's right, business owners feel entitled to treat employees and consumers alike as slaves and rats, and make any problem THEY should own someone else's problem. Don't come out and personally explain the policy to the woman, let the cashier take the heat and do the dirty work while you roll around in your filthy cash and have stock profit orgasms in the back room.

Corporations and business owners largely as a whole have long ago stopped being responsible contributing members of society, and instead made an art out of vulturizing every facet and every level of our daily lives, making profit any nasty way they can and making us beg for the privilege.

I don't have a diagnosis of Crohn's/IBS/ulcerative colitis, but I have a sensitive stomach and when I run, well, sometimes the train arrives a little early. As a result, I find out where the accessible, relatively sanitary bathrooms are and plan my runs around them.

The stupid store name just makes this story all the more ridiculous.

It's case of the lowest common denominator ruining it for everyone.

If eveyone would treat the public restroom like it was the bathroom at your Mom's house, we wouldn't have these kind of problems.

@macgyver314:

So you're calling for some kind of spontaneous take-a-shit rave at Chris Waters' place?

It's kind of hard when there is a ladies room within view of the front desk. But if you're applying for a job, why is someone waiting in the car for you anyway? Come back when you aren't schlepping your gf/bf/mother-in-law/etc. around. What if someone wanted to interview you right there? You should be prepared.

Sorry, off-topic a little.

We traveled through 3 states this past weekend by car and being out in the middle of nowhere, public bathroom options were slim. Twice, my husband stopped at.... Family Dollar of all places to pee and both times they let him use the employee bathroom in the breakroom. No hassle, no nothing.

He recently needed to go while we were shopping at Modell's and they also let him go thru the stockroom, thru the employee breakroom and use theirs.

I guess it depends on who you're dealing with. Sorry for this lady - my mom had bladder surgery and as a result, MUST go when the urge strikes... thankfully no accidents.

Right at the entrance / exit to the store might be an interesting choice as well.

I'm all for emergency shits and understand it whole heartedly from personal experience (every time is an emergency for me), but in a time when people still do not know how to properly use something after interacting with it their entire lives or should have used it before they left the house (for those who can) then it essentially ruins it for everyone else.

The rules that some placeS have in effect for public use of their bathrooms aren't in place to inconvenience everyone, but rather to prevent those few filthy scumbags who leave shit everywhere and do not know how to clean up after themselves.

I can totally understand why these rules are in place (not just my example, but also with liabilty issues and public health) and they should be spouted off whenever someone asks twice. Otherwise, if there is an emergency or they beg to use it, then let them.

Furthermore I don't imagine it would be difficult to make a sign that warns users and exempts liability for the bathroom in a store. If you can post one that states you might get cancer and exempts a store from liability, then having one posted for bathroom use shouldn't be hard.

I should add that in the time the OP searched out an open store, went in, asked for the bathroom, offered to call the store manager and say the employee should not be fired she could have used the "equipment" in her car and avoided all of this.

She had time to plead and offer to make phone calls instead of accept the first no, however.

I think the actions of the store owner are despicable - but I vote for "be prepared" as well.

I'm a type 1 diabetic and constantly watch my blood sugar - at times it can be low and I NEED to eat something. This is more drastic than high blood sugar, when insulin is called for.

I can easily duck into a 7-Eleven and get a powerbar when my blood sugar is low, but I always have some powerbars in my car or bag just in case I go for a drive in the country, or on a plane with no food - or hijack a sailboat or whatever might cause me to be without food for an extended period of time.

If I was in her shoes I'd probably keep some wet wipes and TP in the car. - I think I'd almost rather handle it myself with a big and wet naps than deal with explaining it to a stranger.

Oh and I would have thrown it at their window when done too.

I share @Elritch's sentiment. I feel absolutely awful for this woman, and that's a miserable situation she was in. The employee was an asshole to laugh at her. That said, I've worked retail in the past, once in a sketchy area where I was sometimes the sole employee on duty and other times in jobs where bosses were less than sympathetic (i.e. underlings WOULD be fired if they broke rules and got caught). As miserable as someone shitting their pants is, it's less miserable than being robbed or being unable to make rent after getting fired.

This situation just sucks for everyone involved.

@sponica:

Ding! Ding! Ding!

I'm all for being nice to people, and if it were up to me, I wouldn't have an issue. however, when the customer has to pass through an area where they could potentially be injured (equipment, wet floores, etc) then I'm not willing to incur the liability that goes with making that judgement call on "being a human being".

we are not talking about random homeless people...we are talking about a single individual with a medical condition that has asked nicely and explained her case...

i would have definitely shit in the store, or in your scenario on your porch.

@Eldritch:

It's called "hyperbole." Look it up.

@harvey_birdman:

Are you serious? He said "stand near the bathroom" not "in the bathroom."
Troll much?

@harvey_birdman:
No, they really, really don't. Turns out even the insurance stuff is bs.

Stores let strangers in for less...allowing her to take care of her "business would be doing the right thing.

I will say that if it were me in her situation I would just not have left the store..."Clean up on aisle 12!"

@thegirls:

And Rite Aid does not care.

You did not accomplish anything by boycotting that one Rite Aid store. The other 1000 customers a week has caused your absence to go unnoticed.

Perhaps, if you are still upset, you should write a professional latter to their corporate offices (in Pennsylvania, I believe).

The rudeness is not called for. However, the store is within their rights to not allow the public to use their bathrooms and the OP should have been prepared for this.

I am sure, sadly, that plenty of people claim to have an emergency just to use the private bathroom. Those lies add to problems like this when a real emergency happens.

@Fishy007: I see it the other way. The sense of entitlement and righteous indignation at a perceived slight is a larger source of problems for our country than a "loss of humanity".

@jkinatl2: Oh yeah, following a person to the bathroom would go over real well. "Dear Consumerist, today while having a bathroom emergency the clerk followed me to the bathroom leering at me the entire time. When I finished and opened the door he was standing RIGHT THERE LOOKING AT ME! As I left the store I saw him look into the bathroom to see what I did! What kind of perverts are they hiring these days? Perhaps I'll sue."

@humphrmi: Well 100 reasons outweigh that 1 reason then, don't they?

Ok, I'm torn on this.. I can understand the concept of not allowing just anyone to use non-public restrooms. I can see there being practical, theft-related, safety and hygiene issues with letting someone use a restroom not intended for the public. I'm also a bit hesitant to always lay blame on the establishment like this. The store's policy could very well be they will fire anyone allowing someone in the back room (where the non-public restroom is usually).

On the other hand, a bad attitude is inexcusable and it can be hard to balance judgement in this kind of case. You can't just let someone wander around in your stockroom if you're a retailer. You also can't leave your register unoccupied. If this person was the only employee there, I don't see any real choice for him. My gut reaction here is that the laughter was not intended as malicious, but probably a reaction to what the customer said. I've heard people say all kinds of things in a retail establishment to get what they want, the 'i've got a disease that makes me poop my pants' does sound pretty ridiculous, especially if you're a teenager. Overall, this story strikes me as far too one-sided to render a just judgement on the store's behavior.

OK, so now for a dose of the other side. THis place looks like a convienence store. What the heck kind of convienence store doesn't have a public restroom?

Knowing people who have Crohn's disease, this is not something to laugh about. It's quite serious but I think the OP has some responsibility to use her emergency kit rather than to expect a store employee who's probably making minimum wage to bend a policy. Not too many MIT graduates are working at Plaid Pantries.

@Haplo9000: @theirishscion: So how many homeless people do you let come in and use your toilet on a daily basis? If you have a spare bed why aren't you letting them sleep in your home? Those homeless people undoubtedly have medical issues just as much as this lady did. So why don't you be a f*cking human to them?

Your story just made my day :)

Not everybody adheres to the same moral fiber.

There's no commons sense that was violated. The person had to adhere to store policy if you don't' like that stores policy then don't shop there. This is called free market and freedom of CHOICE!

If you want to be baby sat move to some country in Europe, they have great health care I heard.

You know, a point you utterly missed.

I am curious about the law that forces the business to let people us the restroom. Is there something in the law that states they can not be suid if something does happen?

@Orv: Actually they are more likely to win. Since it is likely there is no camera in the restroom.

In the main store you can catch a fake fall on camera.

Plus, the store may not have liability insurance cor customers in that area.

@tbax929: Thats all well and good. Would you also take responsibility if that person stol item from the back room also then? If you were the one who had to pay for those stolen items, not just a store loss.

@Orv: You know who pays if Liability does not cover what they are suing for?

Look, People do sue for anything and everything. Its just not worth the risk. Big lawsuits are common, not rare, unless by big you mean multi million dorrar ones. But big ones that are in the 10s of thousands are common.

I've been out with her on many occasions where she's needed to use a public restroom. I can't think of any time where she's been refused here in California, thankfully, but I would be absolutely appalled if something like this story were to happen to her in her new home state.

On top of the disease, she has had to have a foot of her small intestines removed, causing her to need to use the restroom sometimes an hour after eating. She does have a medical bracelet, but I can see people looking at that and still having no clue what it means, so I'm not sure of the effectiveness of it.

@Go Like Hell Machine: Um...there's an endless possibility of other more serious usernames. So to answer your question...she had infinite options.

Um, not to be an asshole or anything, but how is a business supposed to know if people really have Crohn's disease and needs to use the bathroom, or if they are using it as an elaborate excuse to rob the place, or that the people are just saying they have it but don't just because they know they can then use the washroom without having to go about the business of finding a public one themselves?

@dragonfire81: I respect your right to be an asshole in your own store, but if I heard about such an incident where your being an asshole caused someone such harm, I would never step foot in your store again, and neither would any member of my family. Policies like this hurt business.

@Chris Walters: What do you expect from a person whose screenname is demanding change 9 years ago?

We recently visited a small independently owned jewelry store and they very hesitantly allowed my 4 year old to go into the back room to use the bathroom. In their case I believe their insurance required them to maintain certain security measures and letting non-employees into the back of the store violated those terms. It's possible the Plaid Pantry has a similar issue. Not only do they risk liability exposure but risk associated with a robbery or loss could also be increased.

@itiswhatitis:
Such a card exists. I don't carry one, although I have the disease, but I have friends who do. So far, no one I know has ever had to use it because they've not been denied access to a bathroom.

I was about to say the same thing. People who are disrespectful when imposing on someone's hospitality ruin it for everyone else. There's a website for everything, and a while back I stumbled across one that aggregated horror stories from courtesy restrooms, from the employees who have to clean-up the aftermath. It suffices to say that some of the accounts caused me to throw up in my mouth a little, but it was like watching a train wreck, I just couldn't stop reading. Fortunately, I've forgotten where the website was, but it's no doubt still out there and within reach of a Google search for the morbidly curious. Just be warned, you can't un-read anything. :)

I wonder if part of the store's refusal was based on the woman's attitude. Her post reads like a lawsuit diatribe, as if it's all the store's fault she crapped her pants and was then subjected to humiliation. Sorry, but the store OWED her nothing whatsoever. If she walked in with the attitude that she was going to use their restroom and was the slightest bit demanding, that would certainly go a long way towards eliciting the response the employee in the store allegedly gave.

Attitude is everything. Ask someone in a store nicely for something, they'll often look the other way and break rules. Make a demand, that policy is going to be enforced to the letter, sorry. A polite request shows respect for the employee and vicariously, the employee's workplace. It demonstrates that the requester understands his or her place and is asking for something that is above and beyond, and will likely leave the facilities in better condition than he or she found them because he or she is aware that it's an imposition. On the other hand, a demand made with an air of entitlement shows a level of dismissive contempt for the employee, and by degree, the facilities that the employee is responsible for maintaining.

If someone approached me and asked nicely to use facilities that company policy forbade me from allowing the public to use, and explained that it was an emergency, I'd probably help out. I'd help out repeatedly in such situations, unless people started leaving messes behind. However, if someone ran in, declared a Code Brown Emergency, and demanded to use the restroom, I'd probably take a certain evil pleasure in denying them. The more they demanded, the stauncher my resolve in refusal would be.

Now the funny thing is, even if the former type of person is denied, they realize that nothing was owed to them so they might be disappointed, but they generally won't complain...and if they do get humored, they'll spread good word of mouth. The latter seem prone to throwing public tantrums over entitlement denied and suing, and you won't hear a single good word if their demands are granted.

I'll leave it for other readers to decide for themselves which category this complainant fits into.

@msbask:
I've been in commercial insurance for a little over 10 years, and I've never seen such an exclusion either. So with our 25 years combined, I think we can finally put an end to that rumor.

I expect that most of us have had a close call over the years, disease or not. Maybe some people are like clockwork, but I can distinctly recall more than one occasion where I questioned if I'd make it to the bathroom on time. It's extremely unpleasant. I can't imagine being told that someone could help me, but refused due to fear of a corporate policy or law suit.

When I was just out of school, I stocked shelves for a while. One of the jobs was cleaning public restrooms. I've cleaned up unspeakable messes for very little compensation. I'd risk that in a heartbeat rather than let someone have an accident standing in front of me. This was someone in desperate need when options were more limited than normal. What if that was you, your mom, or your kid?

Two things - 1st - I feel for folks with Crohn's. What a horrible way to have to live.

2nd - If someone's going out of their way to ask to use a restroom, let them! Everyone poops. Barack Obama? Yep. George W Bush? Yep. Hugo Chavez? Yep. You? Yep. Me? Yep. It's a commonality that transcends all ages, nations, races, socio-economic status, etc. I understand the liability risk and the risk of having to clean up someone else's mess, but whatever happened to being nice? If all the poopers of the world united, we could have world peace!

Many years ago, the only restroom at a local grocery store was located in the warehouse section of the store, behins an "Employees Only" door. The restroom was not open to the general public because it was located in a dangerous area, afterall. most people are not accustomed to walking around fork lifts and battery powered palete movers, and items stored on shelves 30 feet high. I can see a liability aspect where a customer was allowed to use the employee restroom and while walking there had ther foot run over by a fork lift.

Several years later, they moved the employee only door to an area that was adjacent to the restroom, and installed a second set of doors that led to the warehouse area.

@Fishy007:
Me too, especially the first few posts which made fun of her. Unbelievable.

*sigh* Just be a damn person already.

@SonicMan:
I wouldn't let someone into my bathroom because I live alone and am rather small. However, I would let someone use an employees-only bathroom if they were about to have an accident. I don't give a crap what management says. If they'd fire me for that, then I don't want to work for them anyway.

@Sndtrkman:
Those don't sound like very good friends. If a friend picked on me about having Crohn's, our "frienship" would be over.

@treimel:

Woah--this is responding to the post way below--how did that ahppen?

I'm getting really sick of seeing these bathroom stories on Consumerist. They are always the OP's fault. If you have to use a bathroom, you find the nearest PUBLIC bathroom. Expecting a business without a public bathroom to allow you to use their employee bathroom because it's an emergency makes no more sense than knocking on a random house door and expecting the residents to let you use their bathroom.
If a business does not have a public bathroom, then there is no one employed at that business who's job it is to clean up a filthy toilet covered in some strangers poop. I wonder what Chris Walters or Ben Popken would do if some fat guy showed up at their house or wherever they publish blog articles from and asked to use the bathroom. Would they let a long time consumerist reader poop himself in the street? If they did let him in, do you think their feelings on these stories would change when he left the toilet, floor, and walls covered in fecal matter (a situation anyone who works in a retail environment that has a public bathroom or allows customers to use the employee bathroom has dealt with many before).
On a different note, some retailers have additoinal reasons for not allowing customers to use the employee bathroom beyond not wanting to clean up someone elses defacation. I worked at a Radioshack where the bathroom was an offshoot of the tiny stockroom. If someone was using the bathroom, they were also alone with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise (well, at Radioshack prices anyway) with complete privacy.

I totally support more free standing public bathrooms because it totally sucks when you can't find a McD's and you've really gotta go (I actually have p-mates in my purse because of my pregnancy) but I don't feel like requiring non-employees to be able to use a bathroom in a business that is not a restaurant is fair to businesses.

I'm getting really sick of seeing these bathroom stories on Consumerist. They are always the OP's fault. If you have to use a bathroom, you find the nearest PUBLIC bathroom. Expecting a business without a public bathroom to allow you to use their employee bathroom because it's an emergency makes no more sense than knocking on a random house door and expecting the residents to let you use their bathroom.
If a business does not have a public bathroom, then there is no one employed at that business who's job it is to clean up a filthy toilet covered in some strangers poop. I wonder what Chris Walters or Ben Popken would do if some fat guy showed up at their house or wherever they publish blog articles from and asked to use the bathroom. Would they let a long time consumerist reader poop himself in the street? If they did let him in, do you think their feelings on these stories would change when he left the toilet, floor, and walls covered in fecal matter (a situation anyone who works in a retail environment that has a public bathroom or allows customers to use the employee bathroom has dealt with many before).
On a different note, some retailers have additoinal reasons for not allowing customers to use the employee bathroom beyond not wanting to clean up someone elses defacation. I worked at a Radioshack where the bathroom was an offshoot of the tiny stockroom. If someone was using the bathroom, they were also alone with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise (well, at Radioshack prices anyway) with complete privacy.

@jeffjohnvol:

But that's just the point, isn't it? They used some common sense. 8 year-old kid of a (potential) customer? Yes. Bus-load of folks thinking it was public? No.

@BathroomDuck:
Me too. I have Crohn's Disease and have luckily never had a problem, but there's no humor in someone having an accident because of a dickhead store employee.

IMHO this is more perception than fact. Big lawsuits over stuff like slipping in a bathroom are rare, that's why it's news when it happens. Most often this kind of stuff gets thrown out of court. Besides, that's what liability insurance is for — if you get sued your insurance company has to fight it if they don't want to pay up.

Refusing to be a decent human being because of fear of being sued is like not letting your children trick-or-treat because you're afraid someone will give them candy with pins in it. It's letting a mostly mythical threat rule your life.

In Tennessee, on I-40 at the Pigeon Forge exit, #407 there is a model home for Heritage Log Homes. They sell log home packages. My wife and I bought one of their packages so we were there several times. We always noticed the signs that said NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS, and the bathrooms in the model had the toilet lid bolted down.

Apparently, as we found out, tourist busses would come through thinking it was a welcome center. 30 people would come in, trash the bathrooms and leave.

If you were a serious potential customer they would let you use the employee one, like they did for my 8 year old, but tourists were out of luck, and I don't blame them. I'm sure they would allow it for an emergency such as the OP's though, considering how nice the people that worked there were. They just didn't want to be a public toilet for hundreds per day.

I have ulcerative colitis - a variant of the same disease - and I really feel for that woman. Fortunately I have never had "an accident" in my pants but I have come DAMN close. There's a level of desperation you can only know in that situation.

@jkinatl2: We don't do promoting 'round these parts...all comments get equal bidding on Consumerist. :) But I agree with your endorsement!

It sucks that this happened to the woman but she did have lawful rights to use an employee bathroom. So this Plaid Pantry is definitely a place to avoid from now on.

In this state, it's not illegal for a company to not have a public bathroom, so no issues there.

The thing is LP and our District management has been very clear with regards to not letting people in the stock room (where the bathroom is off of). A coworker of mine got fired for letting another coworker (who was not on the clock at the time) go back there for awhile.

I don't know all the reasoning, but the company is very strict about who goes in the back room.

[www.cantwait.org.uk]

@robocop_is_bleeding: Oh god. Oh god. Laughing so hard I might cry. I feel terrible for him but wow....that's hilarious.

@YOXIM: Lawyers. Thats what happened.

When I was young we used to invite a couple of homeless people to dinner in our home on thanksgiving. We stopped that after seeing lawsuits brought against Markets that were giving food to homeless people, since someone sued when they got a bit ill. As well as other BS lawsuits. We just could not risk it anymore.

I would not let someone use our bathroom. No Way.

Of course, that didn't always prevent used tampons, poo, and dirty diapers from showing up in our dressing rooms. Some people are just disgusting individuals who shouldn't be allowed in public.

@lotussix: The article covers this quite nicely - the OP knew all the good facilities, but they were CLOSED, as it was Labor Day. And what happens when you take a route that you normally wouldn't, if you happen to visit someone you don't see often? Are you responsible for scouting out the route ahead of time, googling every place along the way and calling them to make sure you can use their bathroom if the need arises?

Seriously. This is an extraordinary situation. Try for a little compassion.

A friend of mine was a manager at CATO. Now, this place would always understaff her...most of the time they would have only 2 people on the clock. 1 manager and 1 employee. They had to try and control shrinkage in a relatively big store, while also getting stock onto the floor (a lot of times they'd have to work until 3 am to get it done).

Anyhow, their bathroom was in the back, where all the merchandise was. I don't see how they could have let anyone use it, without risking big time shoplifting. And since the stuff in the back hadn't been put out on the floor yet, there would be no way to check inventory on it. And with only 2 people in the store, there was absolutely no way anyone could take the time to accompany customers back there. So I can see your point.

@downwithmonstercable: Are you kidding? What world do you live in? Certainly not the reality of America as we know it today. This ain't Wally World. And "harvey_birdman" is correct in that if you let one person do it, the rest will follow. And you know damn well that there are folks out there just waiting to "sue" someone when they get an opportunity. This is how some people make their incomes. To think that everyone is "nice, kind, decent, and honest" is a fool's way of living. A work acquaintance of mine said this to me before I started law school: "Everyone lies, especially your client." He's right.

And if you don't have two employees so one can cover the register, then you are a shoplifter's paradise already.

Cheesus H. Cracker.

@AshCatScram: Unless you know every gas station on your route, it's not smart to stop at one expecting to use the facilities.

if one is affected by this medical condition, knowing what safe "poop areas" on their route should be a priority.

@robocop_is_bleeding:

Comment of the day--at least.

A few days ago it was a man with no arms. Now we're making jokes about someone with Crohn's disease.

This board disappoints me sometimes.

If you think otherwise, then you should not be in business. Well, maybe government.

And really, it was parents with small children about to have an accident and occasionally pregnant women who wanted to use our bathroom, and that was about it. Though we usually warned the pregnant women that if they could make it, they'd probably prefer to go next door to the Walgreens that had a customer bathroom because ours was down a way scary flight of stairs that was extremely narrow. But we left it up to them.

@treimel: Yeah, there's probably a hundred reasons that someone can give why an employee bathroom shouldn't be used by the public.

And only one reason why it should - "be a frickin' human."

@Fishy007: I agree with "dragonfire81". Unless a public bathroom is available, the management is under no duty or obligation to allow its customers to use it. And in today's litigious world, one small miss-step by this woman and the next she is doing is suing the store because she "slipped on her poop and broke her leg". Although it was rude for the manager to laugh at her, it is not against the law either.

But, we were on a crowded NYC street. The establishments on our left and right, as well as the Starbucks *immediately* across the street, all had publicly accessible restrooms. So I could at least say, "No, BUT..." rather than just shooing someone off.

@robocop_is_bleeding: LOLAW !(Laughing Out Loud At Work)

I would walk her to it, and wait outside the door, just like we used to when I worked at a drug store with an "employees only" bathroom. We bent the rules for customers in need, because our employer let us use our judgement in these situations.

You know, judgement, the thing no customer service employee is capable of using anymore. *rollseyes*

@robocop_is_bleeding: That was great I'll be having a chuckle all day of that poor guys misfortune.

@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: I agree with that assessment!

@robocop_is_bleeding: +1 you win the internets today!

@CFinWV: I still wouldn't have cleaned it up I didn't need the job but some people do. They don't get paid enough to deal with peoples crap sure they could do it in the store but a mop could take care of that more easily that all over the bathroom.

@Applekid:

OSHA and ADA compliance really don't shield you from premises liability claims, though. Don't get me wrong, I think they should have let the pewrson use the bathroom, but the insurance issue is really its own thing.

@Fishy007: Your...shit list?

Most people are not, in fact, homicidal maniacs. Most people are perfectly nice. Unfortunately, most people are also terrified of something bad happening to them, and avoid any and all risk. Like going out on a limb and letting some poor lady with Crohn's use the restroom.

And yes, I would let a stranger use my bathroom at home, provided they didn't look dangerous. I'm capable of making that call.

@robocop_is_bleeding: Why did I keep reading this story?

@dragonfire81: While I agree that realistically business should have some bathroom access for customers, I'm going to come to dragonfire's defense here. What if someone came to your house and demanded to use your bathroom? You'd tell them to eff off. Business are privately owned to the same extent that homes are. As a business owner you have the right to dictate where people are and are not allowed to go in your store.

Hardly. Having been in the insurance business for 15+ years, I've never seen a single retail store policy that has any kind of "injury to customers in the bathroom" exclusion or any limitation of where customers should be.

If a small child was choking in the store would you really stand there and do nothing because your not allowed to leave your register? Or person in a burning car? If someone clearly needs help do the right thing.

Obvious the bathroom has to meet OSHA and ADA requirements anyway, so if they're not maintaining them to code then they're at fault anyway.

There are quite a few reasons to refuse use of a bathroom not intended for public use: liability reasons, loss prevention reasons, even health code reasons. There are just as many, if not more, in support of saying fuck those reasons and just let them use it.

The "rule of no one" -- nothing is ever anyone's responsibility anymore, there's some vague rule to prevent any kind of human behavior, so employees are dumbed down and business operates more and more clumsily, all because of some vague concern on some actuarial table prepared far away, probably by someone who never worked retail.

The people who support this, apparently under the theory that it is good for business, are completely incomprehensible to me.

@outlulz: My aunt has Crohn's Disease and it runs in our family so I know all about these situations. It does happen from time to time where something like this would happen. It happened to her once when I was with her, she was completely humiliated. Look up Crohn's disease if you side with the store on this issue and you will see she really had no other options, she had to go RIGHT THEN and they should have been human about and let her.

My aunt has Crohn's Disease and it runs in our family so I know all about these situations. It does happen from time to time where something like this would happen. It happened to her once when I was with her, she was completely humiliated. Look up Crohn's disease if you side with the store on this issue and you will see she really had no other options, she had to go RIGHT THEN and they should have been human about and let her.

Lack of human decency gets you nowhere. When you need to be regulated into having common sense and when you need to be told how to treat other human beings with compassion, you know your society is in a terrible state.

Bumper Dumper

www.bumperdumper.com

Well, maybe that's assuming too much. It's possible they'd laugh and say, "sorry, first aid is for employees only." But I doubt it.

I would've let the person use the bathroom, rules are rules but sometimes being compassionate is more important. No need to punish every one else because of a few jerks.

I suspect you don't actually believe this. However, if you do, you're ridiculous.

Another IBS sufferer here. I have been in this situation and it is terrifying. Many times store clerks simply do not understand the immediacy of it. There is no other option.

I plan my shopping and errands around places that have public restrooms. No public restrooms? You don't get my business. It's sad that we live in a world that is so unfeeling toward people with Crohn's Disease, IBS and countless seniors with bladder control problems. I sincerely thank the poster for sharing her humiliating experience in hopes it will change some minds.

I'm sorry, it's too much of a liability. I wish all people were awesome people I could trust and I wish I could help when they have a serious medical condition, but we're not LYING when we say we could get fired for letting a customer into an employee only area. It's employee only for a reason.

@robocop_is_bleeding: You have quite a talent for story telling. That's all I can say.

Our backroom at the record store, while not a minefield, was not the best place for a customer to be, so I can see how it would be easier for a customer to be injured than an employee (who is also covered by the store's policy). Of course, that didn't stop us from saying fuck it and letting someone in dire need use the bathroom, which happened on a couple of occasions.

@ryan89:

It probably is the case that their insurance would balk at covering a claim in the circumstances you describe--which, in practical terms, is why one wouldn't let the general public use the toilet, the risk of letting a particular person w/ this condition use it? A pretty remote risk, I'd say.

@dragonfire81: I wouldn't either. When I was in high school I worked at Dollar General. Some lady came in with an emergency and used the employee bathroom and didn't make it onto the toilet. Just the seat and everything else and some how about a foot over the toilet. Of course she didn't say anything and just left. The manager had to clean it up because everyone threatened to quit if they were made to.
Unless there is a law, SOL.
This was in IN in 2000.

1. Insurance. The restroom was in the back where the person could not be supervised. If they tripped and fell or even claimed to have sustained and injury, that puts the store at risk.

2. Some rotten apples out there would pretend to have a bathroom emergency and ask to use the employee facilities at local businesses. Then while they were in the back of the store they would case the place for a future burglary or steal things while unsupervised.

So I feel for the people on both sides of the situations but the store employee should have been more professional and not laughed.

@harvey_birdman: You're full of all kinds of sunshine and light, aren't you?

If it's really about "personal responsibility," then why have a number of states passed laws REQUIRING businesses to open their bathrooms to individuals with afflictions such as Crohn's?

Also - have you ever had an involuntary bowel movement? I haven't, but I surely would never wish it on someone else.

Though it didn't happen to me, when I got to the counter, I let the clerk know how wrong I felt that was and decided never to patronize that Rite Aid again.

Bathrooms rules for employees can sometimes be broken. This was definitely one of those circumstances.

@harvey_birdman: it is so sad, that you are so scared of the people around you.
do i stop for hitchhikers? no, buddy obviously has nothing but time on his hands
do i stop at an accident on the side of the road? Yes, because it's an emergency!
by the way, i HAVE let someone use the bathroom in my house right off the street. do you know what happened? they used the bathroom! they even flushed!

@harvey_birdman: If she were standing in front of me, begging to use the bathroom, and insisting that she was going to have an accident - yes, without question. It takes some guts to admit that you're about to have a bowel movement that's out of your control. Someone doesn't do that unless they're serious about it.

Also - she may have or can get a medical bracelet indicating that she has Crohn's. They don't usually issue those unless the medical affliction would leave the individual unable to communicate it to medical personnel in an emergency (think a diabetic in shock).

@dragonfire81:

....which is why you're part of the problem.

@dragonfire81: I don't buy that "we'd be fired" argument. Not even for a second. That's completely ridiculous.

[www.plaidpantry.com]

I flushed, but the amorphous wad of toilet paper did not go anywhere. The water level in the bowl rose slightly, which is a sure sign of a clog. That's fine, I thought, I'll just go to the next stall and notify maintenance about the clog when I was done.

So I did, and it was fine.

While I was occupied, I heard a student enter the restroom and head to the stall I had just both evacuated and failed to evacuate in. He performed the same test I did, flushing, and must have experienced the same result - the water level rose, but the clog remained. Since I was in the only other stall, his options were to either wait or lay some chocolate icing on the clog-cake. I guess his need was urgent because he chose the latter, trying another manual flush in vain.

I bet you see where this is going.

The motion-sensing autoflush is a strange beast. Sometimes, it does not trigger at all. Sometimes, it triggers when you lean forward, say to grab a wad of toilet paper or when you stand up.

And so it did. Both.

From the next stall over, I hear the sound of a flush and the drip-drip-splatter of a toiletbowl slightly overflowing. I hear the student's surprise as he no doubt stood up to try to shuffle away from the leaky bowl.

I hear his cry on anguish as his rising triggers another flush, causing the toilet contents to flood. As I rise and move away from the expanding pool of toilet water drifting from under the stall, I hear the student wail, "Oh God! It's in my pants!" Not on his pants. In his pants.

He had managed to flush his own turd right back into the safe, if damp, cradle of his underwear.

I flee. Partially to keep from laughing, partially to tell maintenance that they have a clean up in the men's room.

For the rest of the day, I kept my eye out, but no student with soggy, crap-cradling pants came by.

@YOXIM: I don't know you, I don't know what you're planning on doing in my bathroom, so there's no way in hell I'm letting a stranger into my home or business to use the bathroom. Taking care of your personal needs is your responsibility, not mine.

Grr. This issue really ticks me off. The severe lack of human decency is apalling.

@cgraham: When you make an exception for this one illness then everybody will come into the store claiming to have Crohn's disease. I can't blame the store for refusing her, they don't know her and have no reason to believe her. Would you let a strange woman into your home to use your bathroom just because she claimed to have a disease?

Since when does the government have to say that someone needs to be 'legally obligated' to be a decent human being?

Oh right, I forgot that this took place in the US. Nevermind.

1. That the store was not "legally obliged" to, doesn't mean they "could not have" done so. A lack of a legal obligation to do something, does not equate with a mandate never to do it.

2. It's one thing to refuse her. It's quite another to laugh in her face. While the former is understandable, if still inhumane, the latter is inexcusable under any conditions.

Stores need to get some common decency. I can understand a bathroom only for employees. I can't understand not letting someone use the facilities due to a medical emergency. And yes, this is a medical emergency situation.

@dragonfire81: try this, be a f*cking human.

Of course, the customers KNEW those toilets were there because my store fronted onto a DRIVE-THRU for this coffee store! They had to walk through it (Yes, I know this is a hazard, I discussed it with the landlord and his insurance covered anybody getting run over in the drive-thru).

If someone were desperate, I'd let them use it, although they'd be told the hot water was busted (which it was), that there was no soap, that the toilet would normally stuff up (which it did, we kept a plunger beside) and that it flushed itself every 10 minutes or so.

Why this policy? Not only did I not intend to fix or clean a bathroom I didn't care about, and not only did I not want to risk someone getting hurt (it was in the back storeroom with lots of heavy things hanging on shelves), I would have people ask a few times EVERY DAY--none of them desperate enough to use it legitimately (especially when told of the situation in the bathroom). That despite a "NO PUBLIC WASHROOMS --> USE THE ONES IN (coffee store name)" sign. *sigh*

...And some of them were such jerks they wouldn't even plunge! WTF?!

But yes, for this emergency, sure. If you're desperate enough to use a toilet in this shape, you must actually be desperate.

@dragonfire81: What state do you live in? That policy may be illegal.

AND I'm willing to bet that most managers/store owners would overlook letting the customer use it that one time. We're talking about a medical emergency, here.

I'd like to let my brother-in-law with Chron's know where to avoid.

You sir/madam, should be flogged and beaten. Common decency trumps rules and regulations, but it seems that you're on the side of the indecent and inhumane.

So, kudos to you for not letting the disease run your life. Don't be overly embarrassed as shit happens from time to time...quite literally.

And Plaid Pantry...whatever the hell that store is...has made my list. My bad list.

Not every store is required to have a public bathroom. It's unfortunate this customer got stuck in one during an emergency but I am not angered by the company's decision to not let her use the facilities.

What the hell is Plaid Pantry, anyway? I'm imagining a store that only sells plaid items, but that's just crazy.