Everyman Cinemas and toilets for 'everyone', a woman's review. AIBU?

[bigbadbadger]

Apologies if this seems frivolous, I know that women have bigger fish to fry in terms of oppression but this pissed me off so I thought I would share.

I thought it would be nice to have a treat and go to the fancy Everyman cinema in Leeds to watch the bum numbing 3 hour Avengers End Game. The film was great, the seats were great, the food and drinks lovely, all fantastic. The toilets were absolutely revolting and utterly unacceptable.

Designed as a unisex block with a closed door labeled 'everyone' you walk into a long corridor with enclosed cubicle/sink units on each side, every toilet seat and floor was covered in urine. I had to clean the toilet before my daughter could use it and it absolutely stank. I needed to go during the film and walked in as a woman forcefully pushed out past me looking distressed. In the second cubicle was a man urinating with the door wide open, shouting to his friend. I turned to leave and heard him loudly fart and shout 'there goes another one', I am not sure if he was referring to his fart or another woman being forced to leave the toilet. I found a female member of staff who said she could not do anything but would 'pass it on to management'.

The thought of DD12 going into the toilets to be confronted with that is quite upsetting to me, and parents who had not visited the toilets themselves might be unaware of the situation as the toilets are hidden round the corner.

I used the disabled facilities which I feel upset about doing. I am not a selfish inconsiderate person. When I exited there were 2 women waiting, looking embarrassed.

I wrote and complained when I got home. The reply basically said "That's the way they were designed and that's how they'll stay. If we refurb we'll take your views into account".

So the Everyman cinema expects it's female customers to be unpaid cleaners for them, and offers no increase in frequency of cleaning, have staff check cleanliness, have staff trained to deal with poor behaviour etc. It's just tough shit women, if men want to piss on the floor they can, and we expect you to clean it up.

AIBU to think that the Everyman should not expect it's female customers to work as unpaid cleaners when they visit?

That sounds awful, however I don't think there is anything to suggest that the Everyman is expecting women customers to act as unpaid cleaners, that's a bit of a leap. It would weaken your argument if you put that in a letter, the key problem is that women are expected to put up with revolting conditions in the loos and not complain about it.

Well of course they’re acting as cleaners because they have to clean the seat before sitting on it. They don’t have the option of standing up to wee.

Sounds rank, OP. I’m not hugely averse to mixed sex toilets for adults (not in schools) if they’re spacious, brightly lit in enclosed cubicles with sinks in them and with staff on hand. But they never are.

I think that women must make up at least half of their clientele so they should consider your comfort. The loos sound disgusting. Something someone said on another unisex loo thread (I think it was one in offices) was to complain every time they are not fit for use. Every single time. In this case it would inconvenience you for missing part of the film but the management need to understand how it impacts on their customers and how you would then consider going elsewhere, therefore they lose money. Money is all they care about.

I love the Everyman in Leeds and thought of it as a good example of how gender neutral toilets should work - all toilets are enclosed rooms with sinks and dryers in each one so I have always felt it to be very safe and private.

However, I went to see Endgame at a Vue cinema twice last week (once to get it, again to take my child) and the toilets were unbelievably horrendous. They were women’s toilets but I had to walk the full length to find one not liberally sprayed with urine all over. There was a blood-soaked sanitary towel left on top of the bin in one of them. So I don’t know if it’s something about a three hour film that leads people to lose their minds with desperation for a wee or what!

I am really concerned about losing women’s spaces and your experience sounds awful, but the toilets at the Everyman have always seemed like a great idea to me because they are so fully enclosed and not flimsy cubicles or shared handwashing space.

Sounds like they are breaking basic health and hygiene laws. Report them to the council, copy a letter to the management, go higher - take photos if you can stand to go back and find out name of company chair and send them the evidence. Name and shame that branch manager.

That sounds revolting and would stop me from going to that cinema again.

The clue is in the cinema name OP.

I'd stick that on their Twitter/FB OP (but not on either if you are identifiable & not up facing down MRA abuse).

Yuk.

That sounds grim. I may have been tempted to Tweet pictures and a gripe. I agree with a pp about complaining - I do so, but it doesn't negate the need to have to wipe up before peeing, which is absolutely not ok.

Think it's time they introduced a toilet attendant.

yes, tweet the pictures, I'm told that always gets results

Write to the local paper?

Nothing will change unless it becomes less work to enact change than it is to cope with all the bad press/public complaints!

It's just tough shit women, if men want to piss on the floor they can, and we expect you to clean it up.

Absolutely right OP.

We (women) either have to clean it up or we can’t use it. Also men pissing about (literally) in a small enclosed space is intimidating to women because they have their penises out. They know it. We know it. We shouldn’t have to deal with that. Unsupervised gender neutral is horrible.

Perhaps they should have labelled the toilets Everyman too..

I have had two experiences of men using unisex cubicles with the door open. It is unsafe and discriminatory towards women.

I was at a family day at a university (Heriot watt) the other week, the toilets were unisex and were rank.
Years back I had a student job in a bar, the cleaners didn't work Sundays so I cleaned them, the mens were disgusting apart from the sinks which were spotless!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3427085-Men-in-gender-neutral-toilets

This thread has more examples.

I won't be going again, the staff had obviously had a lot of complaints and were used to fending them off. They also had a policy of not addressing poor behaviour. The man who was talking loudly and had the door open may have been drunk/oblivious and I would expect staff to want to resolve the situation but no. The tickets are £13.50 each, the Vue is £5. They charge a premium price, but expect women to clean the toilets before use. It pisses me off.

Thanks for the link @Chattylion - that thread is an eyeopener. I had no idea pissing with the door open was such common behaviour but DH said men all do it at work where they have no urinals. He actually said
"They do that at work, filthy fuckers." But that's a men's toilet.

Vote with your wallet. Don't go again.

I haven't been to Everyman (there isn't one where I live). After reading your post, I shan't be going anything soon.

@Goposie - where did that happen? I am amazed this is common behaviour, but I knew pissing everywhere was because I used to work in hospitality.

Does anyone know if all the EveryMAN cinemas have this set up?

My DH also tells me that it is completely normal for men not to close or lock doors when using cubicles in public loos. I told him this was utterly grim imo, but he assures me that for a bloke, it's just the way thing are done.

Everyman in Harrogate doesn't have this set up, there are traditional sex separated loos (although rather tweely labelled everyboy and everygirl). It's not been open that long, more recently than the Leeds one afaik.

Leeds is woke city though. I hate going there now and generally head south to Sheffield instead (live halfway between the 2 cities) or wait until I'm back in Newcastle.