Business Wouldn't Let My Daughter Use the Bathoom. Your Thoughts.

Regardless of her statement, businesses do not have to provide public restrooms. We have had a problem here at my office when people come to fill out applications. Had one Friday and he was in the bathroom a long time. After he left, looks like he tried to freebase something in aluminum foil and took all the toilet paper from both restrooms and had it all over the place. So now, NO ONE will use the employee bathroom including a 6 year old child. Its the few who ruin it for the many.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons for businesses not to allow public access to their restrooms.

There are businesses including one that sells handicapped equipment. Because the restroom is located near dangerous things or in areas with expensive equipment, we can not use it.

This is the scoop.

If you let one person use the restroom, then you have to let EVERYBODY use the restroom. Aside from the obvious problems with this, is the chance that you will get used under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Here's how it goes. One person, let's say your daughter, is allowed to use the restroom. Then, a disabled person in a wheelchair asks to use the restroom, but the business has to say no because the restroom is not handicap accessible. They can be sued for that. If you let one member of the public use the restroom, then the restroom has to be available and accommodate ALL persons,. even the handicapped. If the bathroom is not wheelchair accessible, you have broken the law.

There is an attorney here in CA that has gone around literally setting businesses up by going in and using a restroom and then sending a wheelchair bound person in. If that person is not allowed or not able to use the restroom because it is not wheelchair accessible, then he files a lawsuit against the business. He has become extremely wealthy doing this because usually the business just settles with him rather than spend the money to fight the lawsuit. I believe he has now been labeled a "vexatious litigant" which means that he now has to get court approval BEFORE he can file a lawsuit!

You know, I have heard this statement before too from a small business. Same thing, I was shopping with my child and asked if she could use the restroom. I was told no, the public was not allowed to use their restroom, only employees, because of insurance purposes. She pointed in the direction of the stairway to the basement and told me because they were in an older building with things stocked every which way, it was not safe to have people going downstairs, etc. It made sense to me. Obviously it was not close to being handicapped accessible. I could see an elderly person not navigating that path very easily.

I believe only food establishments HAVE to provide a public restroom.

I worked at a small business once, and we did not allow customers to use the restroom. The only space for a safe was in the restroom and there were various other things in there. In a way, it was a liability issue. (There were also a lot of cleaning supplies. What if a child were to get into them? I know, not likely...but just more liability.) I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's a private business, they don't have to provide a restroom. Only an employee restroom. Also, I'm sure they have their reasons. They should have had a sign, though. (The insurance thing was probably the excuse she came up with on the fly)

yes it is realistic. if it is a small store and you are taking your child into the back who is watching the front? also if the child gets hurt in some way in the back who would you consider to be at fault? the owner who has stock stacked to the ceiling knowing it will only be himself or employee's using the area or your child for pulling a box out of the bottom of a stack because it looked like fun? who's fault is it if something gets broken or used while your child is in the back? if something is lost or missing and you were in the back with the child the owner has no way of knowing what your doing. in a perfect world you would be doing nothing more than watching your little one pee. however its not a perfect world and things get lost, broken, stolen, kids get hurt, and then someone gets sued. mom and pop places are not equipt for that.

I'm an insurance agent in AZ. The REASON you have insurance is to protect your biz against customer claims, whether its for theft, slip and fall or vandalism (all these things could happen in the bathroom). So the "bathroom" is covered under the commercial policy. That being said, it is up to the business owner to either have a public bathroom or not. But it goes for everyone. AND they should have a sign posted clearly that says "NO PUBLIC BATHROOM" if they are not allowing use of their bathroom.

I think she just didn't want the restroom being used by the public, or it might be a company policy (she could lose her job if she breaks it).
She probably just made up a reason so she didn't just flat out say 'No' with out backing it up with something.
The way some people treat public bathrooms, I understand where she is coming from.
There are plenty of businesses that do not have public restrooms, only employee restrooms, and they do not have to let anyone else use them - 7-11 comes to mind.
I wouldn't be mad at the store about it.
Eventually your daughter will give a bit more notice about when she needs to go.
In the mean time, stick closer to public restroom places.

I have twice been shopping in a local shoe store when my son (currently 3) had to potty. Both times, they informed me that the restroom was not public (nothing about insurance has ever been mentioned, nor were additional excuses provided) and I would need to take my son to the restaurant down the block. The first time it happened, I was completely shocked.

I think we're spoiled by Walmarts and other big-box stores into thinking any restroom is accessible to the public. They aren't required to provide you a restroom, just their staff. I personally would have taken pity on your daughter, but their policy is probably that the restroom is there for the staff, and she might have gotten in trouble for breaking the rules. Or possibly she's experienced this before with a child who peed on the floor, or with shoplifting, or whatever. I would shrug, let it pass, and remember that in the future, before going into that store, you need to stop at a McDonald's or something just to make sure she won't have to go.

Good luck.

No they do not have to allow you to use their restrooms.

Believe it or not some people are disgusting in public restrooms and in a small business, guess who has to clean it up? Yucky..

Or people are having upset tummies and in a small store.. not a good mix.. Body odors and customers purchasing beautiful merchandise. I am gagging now at the memory. This was the last time we allowed others to use it.

Yes, we used to keep stock right next to our employee restroom which was right next to our stock room offices, where we kept our purses and very valuable merchandise.

We really were just not equipped for others to use the restroom.

We were next to large businesses, a grocery store and a book store, that did have public restrooms.

Sorry, teach your daughter to announce her needs earlier.

When you own your own business.. keep all of this in mind.. Gosh knows I have.

nope my family OWNS a mom and pop store and they were normally pretty relax on if a kid had to use the restroom UNTIL this one little kid and his sister went in and painted poop ALL OVER the bathroom from that point on it was employees and CLOSE friends on my family

I agree that it was probably due to shoplifting concerns, or maybe it was dirty and she would have been embarrassed to have you see it that way. Either way, they are not obligated to let you use the employee bathroom.

I'm glad your daughter made it without an accident!

I remember when I was pregnant with my first son I went into a 7-11 and was buying something to drink. It was towards the end of my pregnancy and I had to go to the bathroom ALL the time. So, of course I walk in and have to go. I ask where the bathroom is (even though I see it behind him) and he says no public restrooms. Well, I wasn't going to last much more than 10 seconds so I marched into the bathroom, locked the door and peed. He banged on the door telling me I can't be in there while I went. I was up, washed my hands, and out of there in 1 minute. I waddled out while he yelled at me and I have never been to a 7-11 since.
L.

Why does it matter whether it is insurance issues or they just don't have the staff to keep it clean? Would you let a random stranger use your bathroom?

I get there is a difference in that you are a customer but I think like homes some will some won't. Like say my daughter is selling girl scout cookies and has to go and asks, would I be upset if someone said no? Of course not, maybe the house is dirty, maybe the bathroom is dirty. Plenty of reason like that could apply.

I'm guessing she just didn't want you and your daughter in her bathroom. Glad you found one in time!

If they don't have a public restroom, the response is 50-50, in my experience. Most are OK with it if you have a small child or are pregnant but some are not. If they don't have a public restroom, there's likely a reason (maybe it's in the back past office and storage space) and I try to avoid those places when I'm out and about with DD after, say, a big cup of water (public parks are worse....). I'm actually not upset by it. I know that Party Company won't have one, but Michael's right next door does. It never hurts to ask, but be willing to leave quickly if they say no.

Kind of gross, but my mom kept an old coffee can in the car with a lid for emergencies. Worse come to worse, we could pee in there and throw it out later.

I bet she would have changed her tune if your daughter peed right there on her storeroom floor. Glad it didn't happen, but still! I bet their bathroom isn't in working order and she just didn't want to say so. Otherwise, she should have let her use the restroom, esp since you are buying something. Customer service has just gone to pot lately (no pun intended- ok... pun intended.) :)

I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt that it's a legit reason. If you had been purchasing something in MY store (if I had one), I would have absolutely let your young child use the restroom if she was hopping around in front of me! I mean, if you're going to steal something, you wouldn't have just completed a layaway, right?

It's real. I worked in stores where the bathroom was in our storage room and it was VERY dangerous for customers to go back there. They were not set up for public use and if someone got injured back there because we allowed it, it would be a huge lawsuit. There's just too much liability. The bathrooms themselves are often used partially for storage. They're just not set up for the public.

There's also the fact that the woman couldn't go back and monitor you and your daughter to make sure that everything remained on the up and up. Sure, there was a legitimate need but lots of people take advantage of legitimate situations.

Stores are NOT obligated to let the public use their rest rooms. They're private rest rooms. Would you go up to a private residence and demand that you use a stranger's rest room in their home while you're taking a walk in their neighborhood and then ask this same question because they said no?

Someone peepeed on our toilet seat at work...yellow spray all over the seat. No one wants to clean it up - can you imagine. That is probably one of the reasons.

I am very suspicious of her statement. Mabey the laws are different in your state, but here in Minnesota, you are required to have a restroom facility available to customers.

When kids need to go, they need to go. She should have let your daughter use the restroom.

Yes, there are legal insurance reasons businesses will not allow you to use the bathroom. There are also many personal reasons that businesses will not allow it and may use this as an excuse.

My husband has been in the commercial insurance industry for 25 years and has never heard of anything like that. I think that if a store has no bathroom available to customers, they should have a sign posted saying so. Now, I'm okay with a business not letting people walk in off the street just to use their bathroom if they are not buying anything in the store, but you were making a purchase.

Yes, unfortunately, the insurance thing is very real.

And, even worse, if your bathroom is not ADA compliant, you can be sued.
I live in a small community where some business owners were literally put out of business because there is a local attorney who was sending people in to make a list of all the ADA infractions and then suing the businesses. Many of these businesses were "mom and pop" shops who couldn't afford the fines or the restoration to make their restrooms handicap accessible.
So....the only way for businesses to protect themselves is to openly post signs that say, NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS.
Now, restaurants, by virtue of serving food, have to have public restrooms. Other businesses are not required to do so.

It does make it hard when you've got little kids. I always hate it when we have people come in to apply for jobs (we can have 20+ per week) and we have to tell them we don't have public restrooms. We have several prominently displayed signs, but they still ask. Our location also lends itself to people just coming in off the street and asking for a restroom.
We're a professional business office in an older building. The place would have to be literally levelled and rebuilt to provide compliant public restrooms.

I know it's a cruddy situation and I'm sorry you had to go through that with your little one, but some businesses are very afraid of not adhering to the no public restrooms policy.

Don't take it personally.

Best wishes.

*********Sorry! Just saw Cheryl B's response. I think we may be talking about the same attorney. He has made his way up and down the state of California. He has an office here and he hit this place like a tidal wave.

Her insurance thing was not valid. Business policy includes liability and covers injuries in any part of the store. Many stores say no because of shoplifting concerns.

The only business that has to have a public restroom available to customers is a restaurant. They have to have a place for patrons to wash their hands.

Otherwise a business does not have to offer a public restroom.

You might put a call in to the local health inspectors office though, just to check out the refusal and see if they have to have one for customers.

I called our local guy about the laundry mat turning off the AC at 8pm at night to force people to leave so they can go home early. I nearly passed out and had just put several loads of clothes in the dryers. I ended up having to sit outside to cool off. She was totally pissed off. I told her that it was too hot to work since the fans and air was off though. The health department told me there are not health regulations about AC for businesses, they can't be too cold but there is not a cap on the temp as far as it being too hot...go figure that one out because I still haven't. Heat stroke is more common than hypothermia at the laundry mat...

The SAME THING happened to us once, during an art fair in a very small town. We had to run two blocks to a public restroom, my daughter didn't make it and wet her pants. I was caught unprepared and had nothing for her to change into. The only stores in town were women's boutiques and art galleries, and I had to buy her a pashmina to wrap around herself like a skirt. Awful. The woman didn't even give us an excuse like an insurance issue and she wasn't alone. What is wrong with people?? I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you! :-)

I always hate that they don't have restrooms also. Even with the good reason like insurance, it being in the back or whatever, I think it is bad public relations to tell a person with a child who is dancing around no on using the restroom. In the past what I have done when this happens is hand them my would have been purchases and said "I am sorry, we need to go" and leave. Now we do most of our shopping at places like Walmart where there is restrooms when we have kids with us. Given the choice of buying something in a mom and pops store, good for local business but having wet pants on a child, or shopping at the giant retailers which is more cost effective and also restrooms, I will chose the giant retailers.

Yes actually. I worked for a little company that had about a dozen stores in the Midwest. Most of them were in Omaha. Anyways, I managed one of the shops and there was a bathroom in back. It was STACKED to the top with boxes, all the chemicals, product, items that needed sent out for repair, cleaning supplies. It wasn't safe for children. Because the bathroom was in the back and you had to go through the back room to boot. Insurance said no. It was one of the first things they told me that if I ever let anyone use the restroom that was on par with not handing money over if I was robbed, or not putting the sign up that advised the floor could be slippery when I'd mopped or it was raining. They could be sued if someone was injured in there so I'd be fired. Only I could ever use the restroom and the other employees.

I would have people every day ask to use it. Of course I would sympathize with the parents and small children but I couldn't let them. I could have lost my job! Not to mention with the stuff back there the child could have gotten injured or even severely harmed.... and if I let a parent go back there with them to supervise they could have shoplifted easily. I'd explain to them the bathrooms were hazardous and I was sorry... I truly was! Then they'd ask if I could go with the child and that would solve the problem... well then I would be opening me up to them saying I harmed or did god knows what with their child. Hell then I couldn't watch the register or the front of the store, we were always alone, so they could have robbed me. People can be crazy.

So basically yes it could be an insurance issue and it could be a safety issue. Heck maybe she NEVER cleans the restroom. Maybe it's not a restroom and it's a store room now. Who knows? But in my experience little places could very well not have a restroom fit for the public or even ok for the public to use.

I would of asked for a refund on all my merchandise and gone somewhere else permanently. to not let a CHILD in is ridiculous. If it were a grown person I could see their fear of being robbed, but not a child. This is stupid. They dont deserve your business.