To be Angry with b&q

[Pregbabe]

Hi I am 31 weeks pregnant and yesterday was in b&q doing some shopping. I was bursting for a wee so asked the female staff member if there were any toilets, she said staff ones only and I couldn't use them. I had run across to Morrisons on the other side of the retail park.

Their insurance allows it.
They have less dangerous equipment.

I was desperate at my dds school the other week, they didn't seem to have a problem me using the toilet. What is the difference?

Different insurance policy?

Safer location?

What's the difference between a school and a retail park?

Do you really want us to answer this?

Any way, the point is there was a public toilet, it just wasn't in B&Q itself. You didn't wet yourself and were able to get to it in time.

Not sure what else you want people to say?

It might have been necessary to go through a fork lift truck area to get to the toilets.

Nightmare from a H&S point of view to have members of the public who may not have an awareness on how to behave near them trailing through.

When I worked in a shop the staff toilet was down some narrow stairs, past some bits being stored in the corridor and through the staff room where everything was stored. It was also next to the office where money was counted etc. It wasn’t a public area and we weren’t allowed to take anyone down there rightly so

I was desperate at my dds school the other week, they didn't seem to have a problem me using the toilet. What is the difference?

one is a school ,and one is a shop. There are many differences and you should probably know what they are.

Pretty much every school I have ever visited will let you use the toilets because they have visitor toilets for this purpose. In the case of schools the visitor toilets are the public toilets they have available.

If they didn't have public toilets (for the very specific subset of "school visitors") would you be happy for the teachers to let anyone who needed the loo (even if they didn't work there) walk through the school to get there?

Hold up, you've been caught short before you went (when you used the school loo) and yet you still didn't have the sense to check where the loo was before you started shopping?

Wow.

This reminds me of when DS was a toddler and got caught short in B&Q. I just stopped him seeing in a toilet in a display bathroom in time!

So what would have happened if on your way to the staff loo, a forklift knocked a pile of boxes or a pallet on you (most large shops the staff toilets are in/near/through the warehouse)?
You know fine well you would complain and/or sue them.

I’m not sure if you’re being intentionally dense about asking what the difference is between a staff toilet is a DIY shop with a warehouse and a school?
Schools are designed to house people therefore need plenty of toilets for staff and students. Their insurance will be very very different.

Weeing, obviously, Bloody autocorrect. And when is Mumsnet going to introduce an edit button?

I was desperate at my dds school the other week, they didn't seem to have a problem me using the toilet. What is the difference?

No forklifts, HGVs or flammable liquids on the way to the loos?

Gherkin - if the baby suddenly shifts the need to wee is instant.

I have actually been pregnant twice. I got myself into the habit of going for "just in case" toilet stops when I didn't know how long it would be before I'd be near another. It was almost as if I was aware of the benefits of regular bladder emptying when massively pregnant.

I was in a supermarket recently with ds (age 5, really should know better). It's a small, local supermarket, with no public facilities.

Just as I was paying, he said he needed the loo, now

I told him we'd be home in 2 minutes, all fine, etc etc (would have taken longer to walk to a loo in town than drive home). And then the customer service lady took pity on him (we regularly have a chat, so she 'knows' me) and took us through to the staff toilets. I was surprised she did, as I hadn't even bothered to ask, expecting H&S, insurance issues, etc.

We obviously had to be accompanied at all times, but ds was very grateful. But it isn't something I'd expect any staff member to do, and I certainly wouldn't ask - didn't when pregnant (x3, yes I do know how urgent the need to wee can be sometimes), even when I desperately needed a bathroom (hyperemesis x3, so regularly vomiting too - my pregnancies were such fun!). You can't ask or expect someone to put their job on the line, go against policy, and break all kinds of safeguarding issues, however pregnant you are.

Be cross that there aren't more public toilets.

Be frustrated that late pregnancy is the pits

But don't be angry at someone just trying to stick to company policy.

Our b&q has toilets really handy as I’m always need a wee.

I was desperate at my dds school the other week, they didn't seem to have a problem me using the toilet. What is the difference?

Schools don't have forklifts...

melj

‘And my local B&Q doesn't have public toilets. Perhaps the OP encountered an employee who is well aware of the lack of public facilities in their store and advised the customer of this fact as they also knew that they couldn't allow the customer into the staff toilets. Don't ring them and don't complain because they have done absolutely nothing wrong’

If the staff member was correct in saying there are no toilets for public use, then if the OP phones them up to complain i’ m sure the customer service rep will reiterate what has already been said. No harm done. There was no mention in my post about the op being entitled to use the staff toilets ? So aside from trying to make yourself feel a bit superior, unclear why you have been at pains to mention it.

I agree with those who say the staff member in B&Q was not at all unreasonable.

If you know you suddenly urgently need to go to the loo, why haven't you bought incontinent pads or whatever they are called, to ensure you don't have an accident?

Have pre-emptive wees whenever you see a loo, that’s what I always did.

B&Q have loo's though at least everyone I've been in do and homebase come to think of it.

the ones I've been to don't and that's 3 and I go in them often enough to know they definitely don't.

I had this row with a woman in the charity shop where I volunteer this morning. I doubt she was pregnant though as she was about 70. She asked to use the loo. I refused, saying it was for staff only. She said I was rude and awkward. I said no, we had to have a policy of not having any members of the public in staff areas as for one there are piles of donations all over the place and she'd sue us if she fell, secondly I knew for a fact the manager was counting the week's takings in the office and allowing randomers - even little old ladies and pregnant women - into the back shop is a massive security risk. Little old lady clearly thought IWBU though and had a massive rant at me on the shop floor about the youth of today (I'm 45) and how it's a "disgrace".

Whatever. Staff toilets are just that - for staff.

.

I do the pre emptive wees too.

The image of a cross legged pregnant lady dodging machinery and scaling pallets to get to our toilets has given me a bit of a giggle though.

I wonder what the position would be if you asked the same question - begging -and said you felt you had an attack of diarrhoea about to come on.

Even allowing for all the insurance, belongings etc - wouldn't it be humane (and more health and safety conscience) to escort a customer to the staff toilet and wait while they were in the toilet (assuming the personal belongings are not stored in the toilet)- rather than let them under go the humiliation of shitting on the floor - and the need for someone to clear it up as well as customer risks.

Diarrhoea can come on very suddenly and in a severe case there is no real waiting. This is different I think from needing to pee - even if you are pregnant - because you can control your liquid intake, and make arrangements to go regularly because you know its happening.

Tbh if I read in a newspaper that a store refused to let a person who said they felt an attack of diarrhoea coming on use the toilet and they defacated in their clothes in the store due to a loss of control I would be so disgusted with the lack of basic humanity and respect that I wouldnt' shop there again.

There would be no excuse for this in my view - insurance/ boxes lying about/staff rules/passing by personal belongings etc - none are good reasons in that kind of situation.