McDonalds.., cross your legs unless u have time for a meal

Nelski

Could become a bigger issue if Manchester councils plans are anything like the others

Toilets closing

Good riddance I say - public loos are generally rank :eek:

I can't say I blame businesses for only allowing paying (at the time) customers to use the loos. If you are that desperate then surely the price of a cuppa or whatever is worth it for the relief Probably a big store like debenhams or BHS would be a better option as I doubt they will follow you around to see if you buy anything

As for knowing you may be back later for a meal .....how is a big chain like Macdonald's supposed to remember you?

katerinasol

dmg24 wrote: »

How are they to know who is a frequent paying customer? :rotfl:

I see your point, but if it's a fairly small McDonalds in a fairly suburban area, it won't be as busy as the one in London Victoria, and I think that if the OP takes his/her child there every week, presumably at the same time, they would eventually become a familiar face. When I worked in a nightclub I remembered the regulars who came in every Friday, and when I began coming into my local Wetherspoons every Monday for a coffee before work they eventually began asking if I wanted 'the usual'. So it's not that unlikely.

pinkshoes

BHS started doing this too, and refusing to let people use the toilet unless they showed a receipt. Personally, I prefer to pee before eating or shopping...

I think it's fair enough wanting only customers to use the toilets, but personally I think the definition of "customer" is anyone who shops there on a regular basis, not necessarily on that day, and any decent shop ought to take the gamble that the person is indeed a customer.

If you stop someone using the toilet because they haven't bought something on that particular day, then if they are a regular customer, they risk losing custom.

ps - mcdonalds for a 4 year old?!

hippygran

I ran a bar, and this problem cropped up often.

In my view I ensured my toilet facilities were up to scratch and clean for the benefit of my paying customers.

It was fairly easy to police though, as people had to walk right past the reception/bar area to get to the toilets.

Sometimes they asked, and usually permission would be granted (in the case of a small child it would have been granted for sure).

However the vast majority would just swan past me and head for the toilets, whereby I would firmly eject them!

They are not public facilities at all, the were for the use of customers.

On more than one occasion I had to turf out all sorts - druggies being the worse, as they get very aggressive when they want their next 'fix'.

Mcdonalds is probably a prime target for this kind of use, and teenagers who are just 'hanging around' - these groups in my experience leave the toilets in an absolute mess if they get access!

But at the end of the day, it was quite bad enough for me and my staff to have to clean an monitor their standard for ourselves and customers, never mind random strangers!

Same as if a stranger knocked on my house to use my loo, I wouldn't let them in, would I? A business is also private property, you know!

I would have let the 4 year old use them though, providing the parent had done me the courtesey of asking me first!

caz2703

hippygran wrote: »

I would have let the 4 year old use them though, providing the parent had done me the courtesey of asking me first!

Personally I wouldn't walk up to some spotty oink in McDs and ask if I could use the loos. Depending on where I am I would ask if I thought it were appropriate. For example, I was on holiday recently where a lot of the pubs had signs regarding use of the facilities. I approached one such establishment and asked politely. Without hesitation they said yes but I will admit that I used the pregnancy* excuse just in case they got funny.

I also got caught short in Bluewater (a week after the incident above) and not being from the area didn't have time to find the public loos so unfortunately for Burger King, I had to nip into theirs without buying something in advance. If the loos hadn't been so disgusting I would happily have bought a drink on the way out but the state of the place was so vile I didn't want to think what the hygeine was like behind the counter.

*Oh and I was actually pregnant at the time albeit only by a few weeks.

StrongWork

caz2703 wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't walk up to some spotty oink in McDs and ask if I could use the loos.

:eyerollsmiley:

Storck

roddydogs wrote: »

How do they police this? If you go straight in to the loo, how do they know your not going to buy?

Probably as you leave they tell you not to come back using the toilets.

It used to do my head in when I worked in a pub and people would come in and use the toilets. The stuff costs money including the water for the toilets.

POPPYOSCAR

You would have been ok in our Waitrose.

When they applied for planning there was a public outcry because the public ones would have to be knocked down.Everyone was reassured that the toilets in Waitrose would make up for the loss - so everyone is able to use them.

hollydays

If I was desperate for the loo,or with a child who was, I am afraid,I WOULD go in,the member of staff might go flying,but I would go..

faithcecilia

I noticed recently that some Costas have a pin code on the toilet, the number being printed on your reciept. The pin stayed the same in the one Costa I used a number of times. I actually think that was a good idea - a regular customer who happened to not be buying on that occasion should be able to remember the code but someone just wanting the loo with no intention of buying would need to ask or go elsewhere.

Personally, if I need to use the loo (or the boy I look after does) I always ask and have never been refused. I think its rude to just walk in and not ask first.