Have you seen Restaurants in your area do this & do you think this is right? Details inside.->?!
Goodnight everyone.
Answers:
Restaurants are under no obligation to provide facilities for everyone. It costs money for them in terms of supplies and maintenance. Plus the bathrooms are usually at the back of the place and it is not fair to the paying customers that they should be made to see a stream of outsiders invading their space.
That being said, what is a customer? Someone spending money now. If you eat there often, can you use their facilities without buying that day?
Well, after having looked at some answers here, there are many more schools of thought on the subject than I imagined. But charging a dollar? That's kind of extreme. I am among other answerers here who works in the industry. Restaurants make this rule because they want to provide a clean environment for their guests. If they allowed anyone in to use the restaurants bathrooms, you will have to put up with drug addicts needing a private place in which to do their drugs or street people who want to take a "bath" in the sink. Now if you are paying top dollar for a meal would you trust their cleanliness if this was allowed. Probably not.
Now if you were just walking by and really needed to go, but weren't planning on eating there, it's all in your approach. Explain to the host or hostess your situation and 9 times out of 10, they will allow you to use their facilities. They are only trying to police their business for the guests they serve. They should be allowed this leeway.
Now ....charging you a dollar? Just plain tacky. Everyone has to go. And like I said, it's all in your approach. "Should they be allowed to do this?" isn't the question, but "Why do they do this?" is. There's certainly no law against it. It's still tacky. I just say if you are a part of a community, be respectful and you will get respect in return, if you don't, you probably don't want to be a guest of the restaurant anyway.
By the way, love the avatar.
I work in the restaurant industry and I had to go to the bathroom urgently and I walked into a very small family run local Mexican restaurant and went, and when I was finished and was walking out the Manager said that the bathroom was for customers only....WELL that rule applied 50 years ago, but with the disabilities act and the equal opportunities act and other laws similar to this, I feel you have the RIGHT to use any bathroom whenever you need to regardless to any purchases you may or not make......TELL him to take his $1.00 and put it where the sun doesn't shine...... They did this in Chicago at the train station about 30+ years ago and someone sued and won and they no longer do this. YOU have the right to use the bathroom anytime you need to.!!!!!!!
pro chef..... been there, done that
By "customer", do they mean someone who orders something in addition to using the restroom? Because I think that if someone is on a long trip, and needs to use the restroom, they should be able to come into the restaurant and use the bathroom. Also, both workers and customers should have equal availability of restrooms.
Overall, I don't agree with it.
There were two places i've seen in my life. Once is called Border books shop. The sign says The restroom is only for customers. And another one in Mcdonald's in DC. They locked the restrooms's doors and the sign says the room is for customers only cus we have to pay for electronic bills blahh blahhh after my bf and i saw it. we figured out now that we had to buy something in Mcdonald's to get their red coins just to put in the thing (i dont know what its called) that locked in front of the door to open the door. So, people who didnt buy anything there have to pay to use the restroom lols... that was lame.
The only places I have seen this is in restaurants where a public restroom was nearby. My mother-in-law owned a restaurant in old Sacramento. She had a sign posted that says, her restrooms were for paying customers only. If you wanted to use it then you had to purchase something. If you didn't want to purchase, there was a sign showing the 4 PUBLIC restrooms available. Why should business owners have to pay for everyone else's bathroom supplies? That's like going to a neighbor's house and using their bathroom instead of your own. Paying a dollar seems reasonable, I pay a dollar to use air at a gas station, but if I buy something they give me tokens. BUT if I did pay a dollar, that bathroom better be clean!
I have a friend who used to work at a Starbucks in a downtown area. The restrooms were open to anyone, and lots of homeless people used the bathrooms for cleaning themselves, cleaning their clothes etc. The restrooms were often too gross for the paying customers to use and the staff had to spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning the restrooms. So I understand where the restaurant owner and staff are coming from. A restaurant is not a homeless shelter.
That particular restaurant may have an ongoing problem with people coming in off the street to use the bathroom and leaving it a mess. That might be why they are making people pay a dollar to use the bathroom. Do I agree with it? If there is a problem with non-paying customers messing up the place and making it bad for patrons, then yes, I think it's ok to impose a fee.
In England, near where I live anyway, restaurants don't have any signs saying that you can't use the restroom if you're not a customer, although the staff don't like it if you're not eating or at least having a drink there. I think they would confront you about it if they saw you just walk in and head to the toilets lol!
Night Scooter =D
when i was in florida a was at a fastfood place and they had a coin thingy on the restroom door. you had to pay a quarter to unlock the door to use the restroom. as a customer i don't like it but i understand. if you let everyone use your restroomthat'ss alot of toilet paper and water. it all adds up.
well ive only seen this done in gas stations.. and if it is that way then ill buy a pack of gum and run to the bathroom.
^^^ if anyone cares this exact thing happens in juno ^^^^
the more it gets used the more dirty it gets right? so if they limit the amout of people in there by letting only their paying costomurs in then they have to clean it less.
I agree with it. I've never been to a restaurant that says that but as someone who works in a restaurant, I think they have every right to do that. Do you want just any bum coming into your restaurant to pee or....use crack, shoot heroine, probably not!
I had to pay for toilet paper at the airport in Cuba!
NO..the places will hang a sign..NO Public Restrooms..
..charge1-dollar..never have seen that.
Free Enterprise..all you need to do is POST--your Policy..
.."it really can be take it or leave it"..
But I haven't seen that attitude either..
..most times I would guess having your patrons Only--would serve a better practice..
While charging 1-dollar can make you a target.
That is very common. A restroom inside a restaurant is NOT a public restroom in the way one in a mall is. The restaurant has to pay for the cleaning products and the time of an employee to keep the restroom clean.
Yes i have see restaurants in my area that do have a signs saying that the restrooms are customers only and if the restaurants want to change a dollar to use the bathroom its there right to
i agree 100 %
nobody should have to clean after you for free.
besides , you can buy a glass of tap water pay 25 cents for it and still use the restroom , hence your a customer.
i think that $1.00 idea is a bunch of crap and not fair. goodnight yourself Scooter. except really toilet paper costs money.
Hey at least a dollar is less than you would have paid if you bought something from them. If you don't like it, find another bathroom.
That's totally ridiculous !!!
yes I think this is an ok practice. As some people can really foul up a restroom.
Its a dollar does it matter.
Most people don't like it, but it is their right. It sounds stupid to me, but oh well.
seriously? thats not normal at all, both workers and costomers have the right to use the restrooms
Yes
yes
i hate when that happens, cuz sometimes you really need to go... I don't see what the big deal is.