To be cross at Costa coffee not letting me go to the loo?

[Treatedlikeamaid]

I think of all the money I’ve spent in Costa and just now I nipped into a branch, it was empty. I asked if I could use the loo and the young man serving told me not if I wasn’t going to buy anything. I mean..it was empty! I’ve spent 100s in there over the years. ! I’m a lady of a certain age when we need the loo, we need the loo! I’m irrationally angry and then got all embarrassed and tearful. Not pleasant at all. It wouldn’t have cost Costa anything to show a bit of consideration. Humph!

@popcornlover

Women should be more open about pissing on the street like men. We have to put up with the sight of that, why not the other way round? Can you imagine the reactions...

Are you planning to lead by example yourself, since it's clearly something you believe in strongly?

SitorSquat or Flush app or www.toiletmap.co.uk

community toilet schemes may not be open.

Toilets available in various supermarkets like Sainsburys, Tescos, Waitrose etc.

Test and trace has to be done before you enter surely? I know it does where I work.

Lol😀! But then I’d wet my muddy boots and drug paraphernalia. Mind you, I cleaned the loos in a hotel, astonishing! How do the blokes get what they get where they get it. ?! Some sort of Freudian thing.

@crossstitchingnana

Test and trace has to be done before you enter surely? I know it does where I work.

Only if they’re staying in. Not for takeaway customers.

Yanbu op. I think everywhere should be obliged to let people use the toilet.

I've had ibs issues, to the extent that I had to plan my entire route and know where there were toilets and easy places to park, for every journey I made. My need to go became a bit psychosomatic, made worse when there were no toilets. I used to have to start dosing up on immodium from the night before if going somewhere out of the ordinary.

I remember going in a fish and chip shop with restaurant attached to ask if I could use their loo. They said no, use the public booth down the road.

In normal circumstances that would have been fine but I wouldn't have made it and didn't have the specific change and wasn't capable of all that fucking about. Asking for change, getting to the toilet, messing about putting the money in, avoiding the hepatitis or whatever the fuck else.

All because an empty restaurant wouldn't let me use their loo. The thing is, I'd have bought something after, and I offered this but they still wouldn't let me.

How someone can refuse a desperatly sweating person the loo, I don't know.

The co-op opposite let me use theirs in the end. Where I bought something after too.

Basically, I think it should be illegal not to have accessible toilets.

If business would be expected to provide what council should, they should get reductions on business rates and/or grants for facilities and trained cleaning staff.

avoiding the hepatitis or whatever the fuck else.

You realise that if that restaurant let everyone use the toilets as public toilets, this would be an issue there too...

@SchrodingersImmigrant

If business would be expected to provide what council should, they should get reductions on business rates and/or grants for facilities and trained cleaning staff.

On top of their 1000% profits for facilities that are already tax deductible? Seriously?

@Elizaaa

I think everywhere should be obliged to let people use the toilet

Who do you think should pay for the time/provisions incurred?

Maybe a good system would be special medical id type of card and whoever has them can use any toilet accessible to customers normally without being a customer. Easy system, helpful, no arguments.

On top of their 1000% profits for facilities that are already tax deductible? Seriously?

Yes. Seriously. If you want someone to do your job, you can't expect them to do it for free

@SchrodingersImmigrant

If business would be expected to provide what council should, they should get reductions on business rates and/or grants for facilities and trained cleaning staff.

At the moment they are not paying business rates, so the least they could do is not be precious about access to toilets.

Who do you think should pay for the time/provisions incurred

what a bit of loo roll?

At the moment they are not paying business rates, so the least they could do is not be precious about access to toilets.

They are not paying business rates because they were forced to close for months... And at the moment is possibly the right time to be precious so they can properly control cleaning while on reduced staff and capacity.

@cologne4711

Who do you think should pay for the time/provisions incurred

what a bit of loo roll?

Exactly. As far as I can see, there is no enhanced cleaning. For every non customer using the loo, there will be customers who don’t.

*Who do you think should pay for the time/provisions incurred

what a bit of loo roll*

So, @cologne4711, say they get 15 people per day ask to come in just to use the loo. If just these people used it, you'd be happy to clean it with your bare hands? And pay for the 15 bits of loo roll, the 15 servings of soap, 15 paper towels, 15 squirts of gel, and fix the lock that one of them broke by accident?

Basically, I think it should be illegal not to have accessible toilets.

A private business isn't obliged to let you enter the premises at all if they prefer not to. Why on earth should they be legally obliged to allow in every person off the street who needs a wee? If a cafe were in a busy touristy area they could have queues of non-customers using their toilets for free, meaning that they weren't accessible for those who had paid for the privilege of using their facilities.

Obviously there are people who have genuine reason to use a toilet in an emergency, but it's the job of councils to provide public toilets, not the job of private businesses, many of whom are operating on a slim margin, to provide a public service.

Don’t ask next time .

but it's the job of councils to provide public toilets, not the job of private businesses, many of whom are operating on a slim margin, to provide a public service

Councils are operating on no margin. Central government grants – including retained business rates – were cut 38% in real-terms between 2009/10 and 2018/19, from £34.6bn to £24.8bn in cash terms. Which services - already cut to the bone - would you like to see them cut some more to provide more toilets?

what a bit of loo roll

This attitude makes me want to hurl. It doesn’t matter what it is. It’s not yours. If you use it without asking (and in the cases of quite a few people here, when you know permission would be refused) it’s stealing. And the fact that you think you are stealing something beneath your notice, even though you admit you desperately need it, just shows how little you think of others and their belongings.

Councils are operating on no margin.

Some are, some aren't. But that's not the point. Councils are there to provide public services. Private businesses are there to provide a service to paying customers and make a profit. Fundamental difference.

Councils are there to provide public services

So which services would you like them to cut to provide these loos? Or, put another way, how much more council tax are you prepared to pay?

Fair enough, toilets are for customers. If I need to use one when out I just buy something or go in somewhere where you are less conspicuous eg Wetherspoon

@VinylDetective

Councils are there to provide public services

So which services would you like them to cut to provide these loos? Or, put another way, how much more council tax are you prepared to pay?

Those are questions which will depend on the individual council and their budget. It would also be possible to build toilets which are accessible for a token fee - say 20p a pee - which should cover costs and discourage frivilous use.

The point is that it is not the role of private businesses to subsidise councils or to provide a public service for every passerby who needs a whizz.