refusing a toddler access to toilet in a shop...

[nanomey]

i know thi is a common problem but....

In the co-op today we were heading to the que with a big basket full & dd exclaims ''mummy i need a wee'' i told her we were just going to pay & then we'd go & find somewhere too pee (theres no public loos near i was not attually sure where we'd go & home was 20min walk away - an ally or drain might have been the only choice!!) anyway, she starts crying that shes desperate so i grabbed the nearest assistant who says she definatly cannot use their loo ''for insurance reasons'' (eh ...?? incase she falls down the loo!??) dd starts bawling at this point crying that ''my wees coming out'' and before i could even contimplate dropping the basket, grabbing the baby/buggy & dd in the middle of wetting her self the deed was done - she'd made big puddle in the middle of the que - i told the lady that if anybody slipped on that pee puddle im sure the insurance payout would be quite alot!!

everybody in the que was really annoyed that dd had not been allowed to goo pee in the loo, i know they have rules & regs they have to follow & not the staffs fault - but does anyone know why on earth they cant let the public pee in their loos in exceptional circumstances!?

mini rant over lol

 

[Cattia]

They probably don't have it risk assessed for public use so if someone had an accident in there they would not be insured if the person then decided to sue them. It is crazy but that's how it is these days. I work in education and you have to have risk assesments for every tiny thing. It drives me insane but the day you don't do one will be the day something goes wrong and you find your neck on the line.

 

[sparkledust]

Poor lo, i would have been so mad i think that children and pregnant people should be allowed to use them . just talking to my heavily pregnant sister about this the other day and she said that its because of security and if anything goes missing or you hurt yourself insurance wont payout ,maybe theyv'e had midget theives posing as children needing the loo maybe if they allow one they'll have to allow evryone? but if they see a child or adult who clearly is in distress needing the toilet they should let them. its crazy x

 

[Mrs Muffin]

Like the shop woman said they don't have insurance to cover members of the public going into staff quarters. Also I guess you'd need a member of staff to show you the way/make sure you weren't up to anything naughty.

 

[mommy2lilmen]

I could never figure it out. I always got irate at people if I had a toddler or small child and they needed to go to the bathroom. I remember my last pregnancy I had to pee so badly, my DH went to the register personale and said she will use your bathroom or I will get your manager. To say the least I was allowed.
Your poor thing, she must of been embarrassed for wetting herself but it was not her fault. It was the ladies fault. Poor thing. How old is she?
Similar thing happend to a lady on Monday past, we were going to pick up our children from a camp, funded by a local donut shop and one of the moms wanted to use the phone cus she had to leave for work and our kids did not arrive till way late. the owner refused. I was shocked. I said to owner, you guys are funding the camp and we need to call the camp to check on our kids and your not allowing it, so unfair. I lent her my mobile phone but still. I couldnt beleive it , a phone?? some people, some rules SUCK

 

[nanomey]

she is 3, and yes she was upset & embarressed - she said on the way home that ''everybody saw my wee mummy'' bless her.
thank you for your replies. the annoying thing is the dont have a back room or you dont have to go through the stock room etc - theres a ''staff toilet'' door - with literally a toilet in on the shop floor (saw it once when door was open) - the only thing you could possibly try to claim against them would be if you fell down the loo!!!
i thought about sending an email to co-op to say that i wasent happy - but then if its policy because of insurance i guess its not worth even complaining!!

 

[v2007]

Poor LO, my ex used to work as security in Tesco and if ppl asked for the loo, he used to sshow them to the staff loo's.

Never mentioned Insurance.

V xx

 

[special_kala]

I used to work in tesco and had to say no to people because of insurance and health and safety, it used to really piss me off because the parents more often then not would shout at me like i was doing something wrong when i wasnt.

If we let a parent and child out the back and a cage fell on them then the odds are they are going to sue. Even if the toilets were on the shop floor a customer is not insured to use them so should you slip the company is at risk of getting sued and the staff member who let you could lose their job.

Sorry but i complelty agree with the shop on this one

 

[mrsthomas623]

Oh your poor DD DO you guys not have public restrooms in stores?

 

[hel_5]

Now im disgusted at that - how horrible i would HATE that to happen to my DD - but we are lucky as most of the stores here have toilets (they are for both staff and customers - where i do my weekly shop they have kiddies toilet seat, step and a proper changing table) - i personally would write a letter - i understand where the shop is coming from as in health and safety etc but to stand there and let a little girl wet herself is unacceptable imo - that is also a health and safety/hygiene issue

 

[Cassie.]

I'd think writing a letter might be pointless. This happened to Dani at Sainsbury's when a cleaner was cleaning the toilets. There were people in the disabled toilet and there's no toilet in the baby change. I tried to take her in when the cleaner was in there, he was only cleaning one of the toilets and there's three, she could have used another. But we got told to wait until the cleaner had finished. By then it was too late and she was crying with embarrassment.

 

[labydird]

I think its up to the assistant to use her common sense. I have never been refused to use the toilet for the kids in a store, I remmeber in a busy Tesco, the pharmacist even let me use the back room to BF my baby as there was no feeding area

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

People ask to use the toilet at my work, I let them if they are customer but not if they are a random off the street, there is a hotel and a pub directly opposite, so it's not like they have no choice.

 

[eddjanuary10]

When I was younger and worked as a sales assistant, the management were very strict about not letting the public use the toilets and we were told to say 'sorry its for health and safety reasons'. I used to feel terrible for all the Mums that would be almost begging if they could let their toddlers use the toilets. I used to direct them all into the petrol station next door, thank goodness it was there!

 

[emalou90]

I have worked in Retail for years.
Most shops do not have insurance covering customers to use facilities behind 'staff only' doors etc.
The store colleague was right to refuse you and your LO to use the staff toilet.
I have twice let children use a staff toilet and it was purely on my shoulders (if the child/mother/father slipped, hit their head, complained about cleanliness it would all lay down to me) god forbid if an area manager saw me doing such a thing, i'd have been given a disciplinary.

Unfortunately some people do not want to take the responsibility of possibly being sued or sacked because in this day and age some people are out to get anything they can in small court claims 'accident not your fault?!' tv adverts ect.

Sorry but you cannot do anything about the fact your child was refused toilet facilities other than send a letter to their head office, which would be greeted with an apology but they can fall back on 'our policy says..'

Must have been awful for your LO and you xx

 

[cherryglitter]

I used to work in tesco and had to say no to people because of insurance and health and safety, it used to really piss me off because the parents more often then not would shout at me like i was doing something wrong when i wasnt.

If we let a parent and child out the back and a cage fell on them then the odds are they are going to sue. Even if the toilets were on the shop floor a customer is not insured to use them so should you slip the company is at risk of getting sued and the staff member who let you could lose their job.

Sorry but i complelty agree with the shop on this one

Me too!!
I used to work in Staples. We used to have people asking to use the loo all the time which you had to go through our staff room, through a warehouse and then into the staff toilets where all our coats, lockers were etc.

Now we ONCE made an exception and let a little boy use the toilet with his Mum.

One of us went back to the loo after to use it and there was pee and poo all over the seat and on the floor. Was horrible!!

So I kind've understand why places so no. We were told to say no too.

 

[emalou90]

I used to work in tesco and had to say no to people because of insurance and health and safety, it used to really piss me off because the parents more often then not would shout at me like i was doing something wrong when i wasnt.

If we let a parent and child out the back and a cage fell on them then the odds are they are going to sue. Even if the toilets were on the shop floor a customer is not insured to use them so should you slip the company is at risk of getting sued and the staff member who let you could lose their job.

Sorry but i complelty agree with the shop on this one

Me too!!
I used to work in Staples. We used to have people asking to use the loo all the time which you had to go through our staff room, through a warehouse and then into the staff toilets where all our coats, lockers were etc.

Now we ONCE made an exception and let a little boy use the toilet with his Mum.

One of us went back to the loo after to use it and there was pee and poo all over the seat and on the floor. Was horrible!!

So I kind've understand why places so no. We were told to say no too.

This is also another reason why.
We once let a pregnant lady use the toilet and well lets just say, i wouldn't leave my own bathroom in a state like that.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I used to work in tesco and had to say no to people because of insurance and health and safety, it used to really piss me off because the parents more often then not would shout at me like i was doing something wrong when i wasnt.

If we let a parent and child out the back and a cage fell on them then the odds are they are going to sue. Even if the toilets were on the shop floor a customer is not insured to use them so should you slip the company is at risk of getting sued and the staff member who let you could lose their job.

Sorry but i complelty agree with the shop on this one

Me too!!
I used to work in Staples. We used to have people asking to use the loo all the time which you had to go through our staff room, through a warehouse and then into the staff toilets where all our coats, lockers were etc.

Now we ONCE made an exception and let a little boy use the toilet with his Mum.

One of us went back to the loo after to use it and there was pee and poo all over the seat and on the floor. Was horrible!!

So I kind've understand why places so no. We were told to say no too.

This is also another reason why.
We once let a pregnant lady use the toilet and well lets just say, i wouldn't leave my own bathroom in a state like that.

I let a delivery driver use our toilet once at work, and shall we just say he didn't clean up after himself.

 

[special_kala]

I dont see how writing a letter is going to do anything. It isnt the shops fault that the OP's toddler needed the toilet in their shop

 

[emalou90]

I dont see how writing a letter is going to do anything. It isnt the shops fault that the OP's toddler needed the toilet in their shop

I think the OP was getting at the fact that maybe the Shop assistant could have possibly pushed their manager to let her use the bathroom...
As a previous employee of many retail outlets i used to do this on a regular occasion because when a child needs to go, they need to go.