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!

that's an advantage with MacDonalds especially if they are a busy one
nb op busy pubs or supermarkets etc
sigh walks are focused on bathroom breaks these days

@MrsSchadenfreude

No wonder people piss in the street in U.K. There are no public toilets anywhere in London, places like Costa and Pret give you a code on your receipt, so you have to buy something. There are some public loos near us, which closed in the 1990s and they helpfully direct you to some more that are four miles away (and which have now closed as well). Why not charge, say, 50p, and let people use the loo? At least everywhere won’t smell of piss then.

Why not leave private entities alone and lobby councils to provide higher number of public toilets? Maybe lobby mps to do a bill about toilets per people. Kind of like some countries have pharmacies per number of residents in certain vicinity.

Rude and entitled! Just buy the cheapest thing.

'Walk in, straight past the coffee area and head straight to the loo.'

Many have keypads now to stop this tbh.

It's a shame op if you were desperate but this is nothing new. You need to be a customer in most restaurants and cafes nowadays. They just dont have the facilities to cater for great swathes of the public needing the loo. Try public toilets or places like m&s next time.

its not a public loo. Instead of crying just buy something. Christ.

I expect he thought you wanted to shoot up and chuck the bog roll around.

I'm with you - after the local council closed public toilets, there was an agreement with some local businesses that the public could use theirs.

But if you paid to use the loo - like in France, you can go into a cafe, pay Madame Pipi or leave money on a saucer and pee without having to buy anything, then this would resolve the issue. Some of our local pubs belong to a scheme called Wee Care, and they let anyone use the loo. It’s a basic human need and councils aren’t going to build nice public loos in suburbia.

I can never understand the people who think this is ok. Have you never been desperate for the loo?

If the catering industry wanted to cater to the toileting requirements of the public, they would do. Think they used to do, many still do. Others for various reasons have the doors locked. I would imagine at the moment they are having to be a bit more strict with access to the toilets.

I know what it is like to rely on the toilet. A part of my leaving the house stuff includes my medically eligible radar key and a pound or two

When I need to use customer only that are locked, I go up to the bar or whatever, order something cheap and ask for the loo. Most pick up on what is happening and given the code without purchase.

Costa are usually really good as just pointing me in the right direction without purchase.

And these has been useful many times for me
www.toiletmap.org.uk/
www.lockdownloo.com/

I work for a different company but we're not letting customers use the loo unless they do track and trace.

Also it's annoying as hell to have to clean a load of mess up from someone who hasn't even bought anything. Not saying you'd make a load of mess @Treatedlikeamaid but it's depressingly common.

Just to say they are mostly franchises so over the years your money had went to individual shops not a costa as a giant operator .and sorry legally they only have to allow access to customers.

@mumwon

that's an advantage with MacDonalds especially if they are a busy one nb op busy pubs or supermarkets etc sigh walks are focused on bathroom breaks these days

McDonald's staff should be asking anyone who uses the loo to do track and trace at the moment. Also generally we do know what you're up to when you dash in just to use the loo 🙄🙄🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

When there’s a massive queue and you need now though it’s difficult.

Sexnotgender. In that case I would use the loo and then buy something. If I got challenged about using the loo before I had bought anything I would explain the situation. I have had to do that in the past and no one has had an issue with it.

@knittingaddict

When there’s a massive queue and you need now though it’s difficult.

Sexnotgender. In that case I would use the loo and then buy something. If I got challenged about using the loo before I had bought anything I would explain the situation. I have had to do that in the past and no one has had an issue with it.

You sometimes need a code to use the toilet though hence having to ask.

I wouldn't have asked tbh. Just go.

@MrsSchadenfreude

No wonder people piss in the street in U.K. There are no public toilets anywhere in London, places like Costa and Pret give you a code on your receipt, so you have to buy something. There are some public loos near us, which closed in the 1990s and they helpfully direct you to some more that are four miles away (and which have now closed as well). Why not charge, say, 50p, and let people use the loo? At least everywhere won’t smell of piss then.

People piss in the streets because they're disgusting. It's not Costas fault and they shouldn't have to open their facilities to the public because councils are too underfunded to provide their own.

Use McDonalds loos next time.

Get your revenge with a she-wee, go back, and piss over his muffins.

Then I would explain and ask for the code Sexnotgender. Honestly it's not difficult. I've never had a member of staff be funny about this as long as you are polite and explain what you are doing.

I bought a round of drinks at Costa and asked if I could use the loo (they'd locked it). They said I couldn't as they'd cleaned it. I couldn't be bothered to push the point but it seemed pretty unhelpful to customers.

I do as a pp does and just walk in and use it. As they said what are they going to do?

I hate toilet gatekeepers in these places. Public toilets are all shut or dont exist, its illegal to piss in the streets and these businesses are open to the public refuse to allow anyone the use of a loo. Sometimes when you gotta go you gotta go and if its the nearest then its the nearest.

As for snotty people calling you a tightarse, costa is expensive af and some of us cant afford their shit.

One option is to pay a drink forward if you don't want to get a drink for yourself, perhaps?

I suspect the fact he has to go in and disinfect it coloured his opinion somewhat.

Also how is he meant to know you've spent £1000s in there?

However I think it was mean spirited, there's a choice shop in town that has a good sized baby change that I don't always buy coffee from. Locked so you have to ask but I'm always very friendly when I go in, I've never left a mess etc. and it's a fairly small staff team so they recognise me (my kids)

no problem doing track & trace but as others have said public loos are shut covid & if there is a supermarket that the place to go.
Saying that I have bought a cup of tea or whatever so I can use the loo
In desperation once I went into cafe & offered to pay a £1 to use loo (they let me thank goodness)