To be shocked by what DD told me about her workplace?

[whatinthenameofcrapisthis]

DD(17) has a part time job at Greggs around her college hours. She told me today that they (the staff) regularly find used needles in the toilets from people injecting drugs, and that it's well known that particular people spend a long time in the toilets doing that. The same people also often shoplift sandwiches and drinks. I asked DD what the policy is for dealing with this, ie do they contact the police, and she said "we don't ring the police, we just report the drug use via a specified number", ie a drug hotline for Greggs itself (?), and that some staff have protective equipment to pick up needles. I was so baffled by this.

Surely used needles being left in toilets is a matter for the police? Greggs staff are not paid enough to have to deal with this surely? I told my daughter she should not be doing this.
Granted it's not the best area where the store is that she works at, lots of poverty and crime etc, but still... This has really shocked me!

AIBU to expect my teen daughter who is paid minimum wage in Greggs not to have to handle used needles?!

It's not accurate, seasoned users don't bat an eyelid and get on with it regardless

Welcome to working life in retail ,you'd be shocked at the shit that happens on a daily basis
We've had people shitting on the floor, wetting themselves walking around,drug addicts,alcoholics ,and shop lifters on a daily basis it's grim and not for everyone but on the flip side some customers are delightful
You kind of just get used to tbh
Expect the worst of people and hope for the best

Yeah I was going to say when I was 16 I pulled a bloody knife out of a pile of clothing when I worked in Primark.

It's a Greggs with a seating area and a toilet so yes, more like a cafe set up.

I think the manager does impose bans on the shoplifters and drug users but she's rarely around when they come back and it needs to be enforced. For example DD said she was told about the last toilet drug user "if she comes back tell her she's banned". DD said she didn't feel comfortable doing it so didn't.

My 18 yo DD works in Starbucks and has told me similar things happen there. They have codes on the doors but doesn’t seem to stop it happening - I guess you only need to buy a coffee to get the code.

If anything is found a manager has to deal with cleaning it up but none of them are much older or experienced than her either!

It just goes with working in hospitality/retail unfortunately. I worked in M&S as a student and there were some shockers - people leaving all sorts in the changing rooms including needles and once human excrement 😱

I used to work in Greggs in the centre of Glasgow. The customer toilet was removed for this exact reason...!

It’s rubbish OP. And really sad.

But it’s not surprising - same in McDonald’s etc or anywhere cheap and accessible with public loos. Police aren’t going to come and arrest addicts.

I agree, they should put a lock and code on the door.

It doesn’t sound as if your DD is being expected to deal with needles personally? And those that do have PPE? That’s good. First jobs are about life experience and she’s learning.

@CatamaranViper it's shocking to begin with but you do get used to it

One of my DDs has specifically been told by her manager not to challenge shoplifters. She doesn’t get paid enough to out herself at that risk.

They don’t have a code on the toilet for the same reason - it just puts the staff in the firing line. Although in the placw she works the manager or assistant manager deal with anything found in there

That’s horrible that your DD had to deal with that, I would be worried about that too if it was either of my two DSs.

I also think the issue is low pay, people who work in retail have to put up with abuse and vile behaviour , day in day out for minimum wage, and that is not right. Employers use the minimum wage as an excuse to pay people low wages. I know there are arguments that if there was no MW, the pay would be even lower. (I’ve experienced this in the 90s, £3 per hour wages working in a well know Pizza takeaway while at college before MW came in), but it is now used as a target to pay people and not a penny more.

I am a registered dental nurse, and also on minimum wage, which I also think is too low for a medical professional who needs to deal with blood products and used needles on a daily basis, along with the risk of medical emergencies etc. I also don’t get sick pay and have to pay hundreds of pounds a year for my own indemnity insurance in case a patient sues me, and the GDC fees to practice, which is a legal requirement. However , I chose to do this work, whereas many people in similar situations didn’t , like your DD in her job.

I could get better wages working for Lidl or Amazon , but I like the dental nurse job so don’t want to do that yet, but might have to as the cost of living goes up.

i think in many ways, the society needs to change to support and protect those of us that work in low paid jobs and it needs to become socially unacceptable for people to come in and take drugs in a toilet which the staff need to clean, and other people have to use. Children are often vulnerable to picking these needles up, and we need to start protecting everyone better.

i don’t know what the answer is, but something needs to change, and soon. I feel like we’re imploding in on ourselves but can’t see how to get out of it.

I hope your daughter is OK OP, and I wish her the best xx

Greggs definitely shouldn't be expecting 17 year olds on the minimum wage to be enforcing bans on shoplifters/drug users. It sounds like they need to employ some type of security if this is a regular occurrence. I think some fast food places print door codes for the toilet on receipts, they could maybe benefit from having something like that in place.

I agree it’s not right that the staff should have to deal with this but I very much doubt that the police would get involved with this unless perhaps they are violent. I’m not actually sure what constitutes a crime that the police attend these days but it’s a great time to be a criminal.

I’m not actually sure what constitutes a crime that the police attend these days but it’s a great time to be a criminal.

For me, this has hit the nail on the head. I was shocked that this isn't considered a police matter, that the staff are told just don't even bother calling the police for either the class A drug use or the theft. 🙁

Obviously Greggs already know about this as they are supplying special PPE for needle collection.

YANBU to feel sad that this is happening, but I’m not surprised sadly. I work in various leisure centres, one of which has issues with exactly this sort of behaviour. The receptionists keep an eye on who is coming in to the centre and heading straight for the loos. They will call the duty manager if they see any of the ‘usual suspects’ but by the time the manager has arrived, they’ve usually gone. In any case, the manager can’t do anything other than politely asking them to leave and to please not leave behind drug paraphernalia in the loos.

I think theft/shoplifting of anything under £200 isn’t prosecuted now (heard that on the radio this morning) so there’s no point in places even calling the police.

Unfortunately intravenous drug use is a lot more common than you might think.

Well the drug use issue would be possession potentially, but calling police after they've already used makes it a bit of a moot point...

Nice cafe near me had issues with occasion paraphernalia left in toilets.
No, it's not for police. What could they do 🤷

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a Greggs that has a toilet!

Exactly - no one is allowed to do or say anything to them, because they will probably end up being accused of assault and arrested if they touch them, or attacked by the druggie and be at risk if HIV / Hep C etc.

Of course the drug addicts can come and go as they please though , that’s fine!

this is a crazy world we live in

I'd be looking to get another job elsewhere, this sounds a horrible thing to have to deal with.

I've heard from community support officers that they do want to be involved in addressing problems like this with businesses (in this case it was a local station), along with working with drug and alcohol centres to get help to drug users and use the right language to do so. Til then, training and a discreet sharps bin may be wise.

There we go then. Your DD won't be doing it.

Name a job that doesn't have to deal with anti social behaviour these days

It's fairly common for toilets in city centre shops, cafes and places like Pret a Manger or KFC round here to have keypad entry and you need to ask the staff for the code so the druggies can't get in.

I don't think staff should be expected to deal with sharps or other drug paraphernalia without training and the correct PPE.