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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To insist my 5 yr old ds uses toilets in Halfords, when they say 'NO' due to insurance reasons?

193 replies

DrNortherner · 24/04/2007 14:41

In Halfords last night at 5.30pm. Dh was spending £400 on a new bike. Ds needs loo.

Spotty teenage staff say no, not insured blah blah blah.

I say OK, lets go outside. Ds says no I need a poo.

Staff say use pub next door. Ds getting more and more desperate. Poo is coming.

I say 'Let him use your toilet now or dh will not buy bike' (dh looks aghast)

I demand manager.

We get escorted to toilet, but only a one off.

What do you think?

OP posts:
escape · 24/04/2007 14:43

you were absolutely 100% reasonable

luciemule · 24/04/2007 14:43

I don't believe them - Next don't have public toilets but whenever my DD needs the loo whilst in there (which is a lot) the staff always take us to their toilets with no hassle.
I think they're being unreasonable - I'd have told them it was that or he'd poo on the floor!

MuminBrum · 24/04/2007 14:43

Quite right too and good for you. I had the same thing in Accessorise - we had to run across the road to the big Waterstones where there is a public loo. Poor little DS was crossing his legs and everything else. Bloody silly - I got "it's health and safety". What utter crapola. It would have been a bigger H&S risk if DS had peed on their floor and left a puddle for someone to slip on.

fruitful · 24/04/2007 14:46

I hate this so much. I'm thinking of carrying a signed letter in my handbag that says "I promise not to sue you if I fall over in your bathroom" that I can hand over to these jobsworths (as I rush past on my way to their loo).

Its trickier with slightly older children. With a 2-year-old you can just pull their trousers down and say "go on, you can pee on the shop floor, Mummy says its ok just this once" and know they won't feel embarassed!

zookeeper · 24/04/2007 14:48

good on you!

margoandjerry · 24/04/2007 14:49

what a load of bolleaux

When I was 7 months pg, BA refused to help me lift my carry-on bag into the overhead lockers for the same reason. "We're not insured". Instead a NICE PERSON and fellow traveller helped me. Also not insured. Just kind.

Whatever happened to good old fashioned helpfulness?

LittleSarah · 24/04/2007 14:50

It's a right PITA when they act like that!

I remember dd at aged 2 being refused use of the toilet in a charity shop!! We were toilet strained so I was really worried, luckily she managed fine and I whisked her home in time.

I thought it was ludicrous, I mean I would have gone in with her!!

LittleSarah · 24/04/2007 14:51

Exactly muminbrum! I was tempted to hang around said charity shop so dd would just happen to wee on the floor!

booge · 24/04/2007 14:54

Blimey that is madness, like the pubs that won't warm baby food in a microwave for you incase they are sued even if you promise to take responsibility for the heat of the food you put in your child's mouth.

MissGolightly · 24/04/2007 14:55

I dunno... I sympathise with your situation but I think you're being a bit unfair on the member of staff, it's difficult. I mean the "spotty teenager" has been told by his boss that members of the public are not insured to use their loo. If he ignores his boss he will get told off, or sacked. You can see from his POV that a little poo on the floor may be preferable.

As for the manager, he too will have been told by head office that members of staff are not allowed to use their loo. What if your DS had tripped on an electric cable on the way to the loo, or fallen down stairs, or got locked in? They would not be insured for damages, and if you chose to take the complaint to Halfords head office he could be sacked for not following company procedure.

I am not exactly defending their stupid policy, and really they should just have a public loo, but having been a shop assistant myself I think you are being a bit unfair on the poor bod behind the desk who is only doing what he's told and trying to make a living.

LazyLineThreadKiller · 24/04/2007 14:56

I'm sorry but they really are not insured to have members of the public in staff areas.

frazzledfairy · 24/04/2007 14:57

good on you! i once asked in topshop if ds1 could go for a wee and they said no. popping outside wasn't an option cos was in a shopping centre so had to run round to find a loo and he didn't make it in time.

had to buy ds1 new trousers etc, i went back to topshop and asked for the manager, was sooo (and heavily pregnant and prob quite scary!) and he was hugely apologetic, said the staff should have let him go and paid for the trousers we had bought and gave us 10% off our shopping. (we'd spent about £400!)

not something i'd normally do but the pg hormones took over

margoandjerry · 24/04/2007 14:58

I'm sure they are not insured for this but really, we all do things we are not insured for, because we are normal thoughtful human beings.

It would be like my refusing to help an old person who had fallen over in the street because I was not insured against doing my back in whilst helping them get up again.

LazyLineThreadKiller · 24/04/2007 15:01

It's not the same Margo as there is a better chance that should the woman's child fall over whilst in the staff areas that the store will get sued and the store manager will lose their job for not following company policy.

It is not the store staff's fault that there is no toilet in the shop.

SugaryBits · 24/04/2007 15:05

Have to agree with Lazyline. Although as a parent I know how frustrating that policy is, when you have a child desparate for the loo, I have also been a store manager faced with implementing a "No public allowed in the loo" policy. It was difficult and I was faced with many yelling parents threatening that their child would go all over the floor. I sympathised but was only carrying out my instructions. I would have been faced with disciplinary action/dismissal had an accident occured while someone was in the loo.

I had the "I neeeed a poo!" from DS (3) in Halfords. I took him to the corner of the car park, laid out babywipes, held him while he went then put poo wrapped in wipes into a nappy sack. I imagine that your 5 year old would not have been too keen on the idea of this though!

Shops like Halfords, which are often quite isolated from other shops/public loo's, should have customer toilets.

MissGolightly · 24/04/2007 15:07

I agree with Lazyline. If you help an old lady up in the street and do your back in, who's going to sue you? No-one. Equally if you hurt the old lady by mistake no court in the land is going to award damages against you for just trying your best to help.

But if Northerner's DS trips over on the way to the loo and decides to sue then it is very likely Halfords would have to pay damages, and if they did they would be within their rights to sack the employee for failing to follow company procedure.

Original poster
DrNortherner · 24/04/2007 15:08

No way would I have allowed him to poo outside. He's 5 fgs. Plus I don't carry babywipes any more.

Going to teh loo is a basic human need. It riles me that they say no.

I ahve emailed Halfords and asked them to explain their stance on this.

OP posts:
LittleSarah · 24/04/2007 15:08

It is harsh on employees I agree, but so fecking annoying.

Still, what kind of bastard would I have to be to sue a charity?

bozza · 24/04/2007 15:13

Just to add a positive story. Once when DD was just potty trained and aged 2.1 I was in Adams at Meadowhall on a quiet week day. DD piped up "need wee", I looked round in a panicked way, and a nearby assistant came over and offered the use of their loo. She had to accompany us (lots of stock on the way) but stood at a distance until DD had finished. I was very grateful.

Original poster
DrNortherner · 24/04/2007 15:14

I don't buy this 'we are not insured bollocks' They have to have public liability insurance and I have no experience of this only been applicable in certain areas of the building.

Lots of other people other than staff have to use staff only areas such as Firemen, H&S inspectors, delivery men.

I am off to investiagte this claim further....

OP posts:
Spidermama · 24/04/2007 15:16

Well done DrNortherner. Jobsworth fuckwits. How absured NOT tro let a 5 year old use the loo and double maddening when his Dad is taking his time over a decision as he's about to spend a lot of money in that shop.

Well done you.

suzywong · 24/04/2007 15:17

I would have let my ds crap in a corner and say "I told you so"

blimming cheek

FWIW, my best mate's sister and BIL have a high fashion label and they wanted to put out a collection using just their surname which has one letter different to Halfords. Halfords went to court to stop this. Hmmm.... customers going out to shop for for a classically tailored suit and get sidetracked in to buying a set of fluffly dice by pesky name similarities? I think not.

RedFraggle · 24/04/2007 15:17

I used to work in retail (a looong time ago) and we were told not to encourage shoppers to use the loo but if it was urgent then they could. Possibly changed now as this was years ago but for our store it was more about the risk of theft than anything else. We had to accompany people there and loiter outside the loos and then accompany them back down again! Granted our loos were up about 5 flights of steps so it was a good test of just how desperate people were to go!

margoandjerry · 24/04/2007 15:19

I really think the insurance thing is nonsense. Sometimes we - people, organisations, everyone - just take risks without being insured. The risk of letting a little boy use the toilet is, quite frankly, minimal. And what's the betting they would have said the same thing if the Queen had just popped into Halfords and needed a wee! Or prob, Michael Schumacher would be a better example.

Hate this back-covering nonsense.

oliveoil · 24/04/2007 15:20

I would have got a helmet from the shelf and used that

(well I wouldn't really I would have stormed out muttering under my breath)