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.

I did my younger years in retail too! I think everyone should!

Too right, everyone should work in retail before they go anywhere near Parliament (too many of those there did Eton -> Oxbridge -> Parliament without once dipping a toe in the real world). However I digress.

IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE RETAIL STAFF. I worked in retail in my university days, and I always had to take the rap for not being able to give refunds without the manager there, that I would always be pushing a receipt into their hand whether they wanted it or not (company policy), that cheques would only be accepted with a card, that they couldn't come back tomorrow to pay for their KitKat, that I couldn't give them change for the payphone, and that I wouldn't let them use the loo. Not my fault - company policy innit, I didn't want to lose my job over it. Threats of being sacked on the spot were in abundance.

I know someone who was a driving instructor in inner London: public toilets (with legit parking) are as rare as hens' teeth, the narrow streets are not awash with big retail parks. Most petrol stations closed their toilets because of drug users. My friend had to plan her day around the few that existed, or stroll casually into a pub past the "toilets are for customer use only" signs (with car on yellow lines), otherwise her only way of coping was to ask her pupils if she could use theirs. See a whole load of threads "AIBU to refuse tradesmen access to my loo?"

Why are public toilets so rare? Mostly because certain members of the public vandalise them, or take drugs in them. Save your anger for them.

Just install a toilet?? Er no. Most of the warehouse stores are rented..... you can’t just modify a rented space!

Going back to the OP its always worth asking

But dont be annoyed with the retail staff if they are not allowed to ket you...and dont be surprised if the female member of staff gives you the same response as a male. I doubt she wants a formal disciplinary meeting either

But it's all a bit "computer says no".

No, it's managers/owners/bosses/insurance/corporate that have said no for some reason.

Obviously saying anything here won't make a difference as the retail workers hold the keys.

We really don't - we hold none of the keys, we just get all of the flack from everyone with zero power to do anything about it.

Corporate makes the rules, we enforce them on the shop floor, the customer complains about us and at best managers just have to talk to us about our customer service skills as per the complaints policy.

Corporate makes the rules, we don't enforce them, the customer is happy but our manager isn't and we risk getting disciplined ... and the customer now expects their "exception" to be made every time because "they let me last time/at the other branch" and invariably complains when the rules are then not broken for them in future.

We are damned if we do and damned if we don't so we usually err on the side of "which is more likely to not get me into trouble with my boss".

All (some) are asking for is for some understanding / compassion / basic human kindness.

I will always try to do as much as possible for my customers including bending the rules wherever it is possible - if they are polite, willing to accept that their request may not be doable and understand that I am circumventing the rules as a "one time only" deal and it is because I am trying to help them not because it is a standard they can expect every time.

The second you start being rude, entitled or refuse to accept that your request is just not possible then I will stop making any kind of effort to go above and beyond and you will get nowhere and I won't get into trouble since I am following corporate policy.