to think we should have been allowed to use the toilet in Cancer Research Charity shop...

[minxofmancunia]

Am quite up for being told iabu, just wondering what people think...

In v posh town in Cheshire perusing charity shops for cast of designer goods with 3 year old dd.

Bought a (luxury real cashmere!) top cue "mummy I need a poo". Obvioulsy no MacDonalds near by had no idea where local amenities were so asked old dear politley if we could use the shop toilet, no one else in shop. Told "no", told it "didn't work" .

Surely if it "didn't work" the shop wouldn't be allowed to be opened? Thought it was pretty mean of her to refuse us.

had to cart dd running in Costa Coffee across the road and then felt obliged to buy a packet of crisps (£1.20 !!!) I didn't even want!

So iabu?

It was probably vile and filthy!

I have begged and pleaded to use the loo in shops when DD has emergencies in the past and have seen some real shockers!

yes

shops are not insured to have members of the public in areas of the shop that are not the shop floor. if you had an accident (all their stock fell on you head) they would not be covered.
shops also do this for security reasons, unless they send a member of staff to be with you at all times how do they know you're not riffling through their handbags?
i was a shop manager for years and letting unauthorised people into back areas of the store was something that would have led to a disiplinary possibly even to me being sacked. sorry yabu.

thankyou nancy75 that's helpful, i wish she'd have just told me that though instead of making up some nonsense about it "not working"

Oh god yes YABU.

Shops don't have to let you use their loos any more then you have to let strangers use your loo at your home or office.

If they let you use it then they'd have to let everybody else use it, and effectively their business becomes a public lavvy. Yuk.

its easier to say its not working than explain all that (and it might not have been working - i have worked in shops with no staff toilet facility)

YABU. Tis a PITA though.

minxofmancunia to be fair, if they had said, "we can't have you in non-shop areas" you would have probably kicked off, then came on hear moaning about the jobsworths who volunteer in your local charity shop !

Can understand that sinking feeling when a 3 year old announces they need a poo but for all the reasons listed above, I think it's fair enough tbh. The shop lady maybe was embarassed to have to refuse a child so said the first thing that came into her head ?

i once demaned the loo for dd in russel and bromley and really wished ihadn't, we had to traipse through about 2 floors of dusty storage rooms and get through about 3 security doors.

Lady probably has lots of past experience trying to explain insurance etc to members of the public who say 'yeah but nobody will know, I'll only be a minute, can't you see my child's desperate' etc etc.

So she says something you can't argue with.

can see the point about public using it, would be horrible, I think I just panicked as i have a v small time frame between dd saying the instruction and doing the deed!

It's difficult though with toddlers, I'm v wary of public conveniences, scared of them in fact due to the hygiene factor. So I suppose we just have to go for a coffee everytime she needs to go!

public toilets, in my experiance are a million times better than shop staff toilets!

she was 80+ and couldn't work the chip and pin machine, so yes prob just first thing she thought of!

I do find lot of charity shop volunteers to be total grumps though, generally.

It's not my local one theusefulsuspect we're not millionaires!

If you don't like public toilets, you would definitely hate shop loos. They tend to be dusty, full of junk and stock which won't squeeze anywhere else, and often house the same sink that the mugs are washed in. I wouldn't recommend them.

I see, maybe the only allow the affluent elffluent in that shop !