Horrible Story at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Update #52

[hollyvangogh]

Just saw this story on The Consumerist. This kind of thing disgusts me. Is there no human decency in the corporate retail world?

http://consumerist.com/tag/worst-cus...-front-of-them

The link pretty much sums up the events.

I've already written the company:

"One of your locations recently refused a 5 year old girl whose mother asked if she could use the restroom. This little girl had diarrhea and your employees refused to give her access to the bathroom. The poor little girl was forced to humiliate herself by defecating on herself and her mother. When the mother finally got in touch with the manager of this store the manager treated her abhorrently. You should be ashamed of your employees. If this is company policy you should be even more ashamed. No company should have a policy which forces someone, especially a child, in an emergency situation to urinate or defecate on themselves. I am asking you to quickly issue a formal apology to this mother and child. You can be sure those of us who are outraged by this will be letting people know about the incident. "They" may say that even bad publicity is a good thing but I assure you, this will not be good for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory."

You can get contact information here if you'd like to do the same:

http://rmcf.com/CA/HuntingtonBeach50710/

[Mama Dragon]

If I remember correctly, places that have an employees only bathroom aren't allowed, by the health department, to let anyone, for any reason, use that bathroom. My DH's aunt had a fast food place and she would have been shut down if the health department found out we'd let any of the many kids and other people use the bathroom.

That said, they deserve a complaint - why couldn't someone help them?? I would have busted my butt finding a suitable bathroom in another store, something to help out.

[mamalisa]

As awful as it is there are reasons for rules like this. Stockrooms (where employee washrooms usually are) aren't exactly safe places for little kids to be in. Our stockroom had employee coats and belongings as well as our office where the safe and company records were kept, it wasn't a place a customer belonged. Insurance companies will not cover a customer accident in a employee only area. It sucks that this happened, but I'm surely not going to lose my job over letting someone use the bathroom. Is it right? No. Is it worth it to me personally to lose my job, insurance and a good reference? Heck no, I have a family to take care of.

[neetling]

I thought that certain types of businesses HAD to provide a public bathroom. In any case, that's so so horrible for that little girl.

[littleaugustbaby]

So, she had a kid who she claims was screaming "diarrhea, diarrhea!", asked to use the restroom, was denied, and stood there arguing? If my kid were that desperate, I would not argue, I would bolt for the nearest public restroom. She claims she then took her to the restroom, cleaned her up, threw away some of her clothes, and then went back to argue some more? Did she take her half-naked, humiliated kid with her when she went to prove her point?

[tboroson]

Originally Posted by Synthea™

If I remember correctly, places that have an employees only bathroom aren't allowed, by the health department, to let anyone, for any reason, use that bathroom. My DH's aunt had a fast food place and she would have been shut down if the health department found out we'd let any of the many kids and other people use the bathroom.

that: A common health code is that customers are not allowed through food preparation areas under any circumstances.

Originally Posted by neetling

I thought that certain types of businesses HAD to provide a public bathroom. In any case, that's so so horrible for that little girl.

It's commonly understood that you are required to have a bathroom if you have seats and tables for customers to sit and eat. Apparently in Pennsylvania, this is not state code - all you need is a place for customers to wash their hands. But it's part of the county codes in many counties. I've never seen a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with indoor seating, so I wouldn't expect them to have a public bathroom.



I don't mean to sound argumentative. I feel for that poor little girl But, I just don't think that the store had much choice. I suspect that the entire thing happened so quickly that it wouldn't have helped if the employees had helped to locate another bathroom. I've only ever seen RMCFs at malls and outlet centers, where there are public bathrooms nearby - it sounds like this poor kid couldn't even make it that far.

[spero]

Originally Posted by tboroson

I feel for that poor little girl But, I just don't think that the store had much choice.

I used to work in retail and under no circumstances were we allowed to let customers use the bathroom. It sucks, but it's health code and you can get fined and even shut down for violating it - esp in a food place.

[tanya1976]

I'm sorry, but I smell (excuse the pun) a desired lawsuit. Who in the hell sits and argues while their child needs a bathroom? Shady!

[hollyvangogh]

I would think having poop all over your floor would also be a health code issue but at least letting the poor kid use the bathroom would be kinder. A lot of the comments on the story (on the original site) talk about the "not allowed to issue." Apparently some places have even passed laws which override that rule stating that in an emergency you have to let people have access to the restroom.

Besides...I'm a definite lover of rules (ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell me I'm a stickler for following them) but even I think that there are some rules that in some cases NEED to be ignored. I think this was one of those scenarios.

[spero]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

I think that there are some rules that in some cases NEED to be ignored. I think this was one of those scenarios.

I suspect that the employee who might risk their job to ignore the rules might disagree with you.

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by tanya1976

I'm sorry, but I smell (excuse the pun) a desired lawsuit. Who in the hell sits and argues while their child needs a bathroom? Shady!

Gotta agree with this. If her daughter was that desperate to get to a washroom she should have been hustling their butts out the door to find a public washroom as soon as possible.

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

Besides...I'm a definite lover of rules (ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell me I'm a stickler for following them) but even I think that there are some rules that in some cases NEED to be ignored. I think this was one of those scenarios.

So what would you have done if the employee had lost his/her job for breaking health code violations?

[tireesix]

When I worked in a pet store, customers were not allowed to use our toilets, however, in emergencies, we always allowed it. They were accompanied by at least one worker (they got to use the loo in private, we just hung round the lockers outside).

If you gottta go, you gotta go and seeing as though we were a pet store, we had lots of kids in and out and rather than allow them to have an accident (which is pretty humiliating), we 'risked' the insurance.

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by tireesix

When I worked in a pet store, customers were not allowed to use our toilets, however, in emergencies, we always allowed it. They were accompanied by at least one worker (they got to use the loo in private, we just hung round the lockers outside).

If you gottta go, you gotta go and seeing as though we were a pet store, we had lots of kids in and out and rather than allow them to have an accident (which is pretty humiliating), we 'risked' the insurance.

But I would guess that retail stores would not have to follow the same strict rules that establishments that serve food would have to follow.

[Septagram]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

I would think having poop all over your floor would also be a health code issue but at least letting the poor kid use the bathroom would be kinder. A lot of the comments on the story (on the original site) talk about the "not allowed to issue." Apparently some places have even passed laws which override that rule stating that in an emergency you have to let people have access to the restroom.

Besides...I'm a definite lover of rules (ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell me I'm a stickler for following them) but even I think that there are some rules that in some cases NEED to be ignored. I think this was one of those scenarios.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I mean, seriously. How many times do you really think you'd see a child who was about to poop on themselves and turn them away? Rules or no rules, there is such a thing as decency and common sense.

Oh, and I would have argued with the employees. I would have told them what jerks they were. Probably a few other choice words not allowed by the UA.

[mamalisa]

Who gets to decide an emergency though? "Oh, but you have to let us in, it's an emergency."

If they had let her use the bathroom and let's say a box fell on her then you've got people being fired for breaking rules, you have the insurance company refusing to pay costs because someone violated the rules and now the parents of the kid that had to poop suing because the company never should have allowed them in an unsafe enviroment.

Can't win.

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by Septagram

You took the words right out of my mouth. I mean, seriously. How many times do you really think you'd see a child who was about to poop on themselves and turn them away? Rules or no rules, there is such a thing as decency and common sense.

Oh, and I would have argued with the employees. I would have told them what jerks they were. Probably a few other choice words not allowed by the UA.

And in the process of agruing with the employees you would have made your daughter's urgent need for a washroom worse.

I'm sure that the employees felt bad for the little girl but probably were not in a position to risk losing their job over a health code violation.

[aniT]

Yea.. why stand there and argue? Find another bathroom. If you are in a shopping center there has to be another one nearby.

I remember once we were on a 700 mile trip. We stopped at a gas station and my 5 year old had to use the bathroom. Their public restroom was so filthy it was unusable. I asked if my 5 year old could use the employee bathroom and they refused telling me to use the one outside. I told them it was out of service and they said too bad. I had to give my 5 year old one of the babies diapers to pee in as we were in the middle of no where.

Also we used to have a computer shop. The building had one restroom and the owner wanted only "renters" to use it. He keep it locked. I always let children and pregnant woman use that bathroom anyway. You have to use a little common sense sometimes.

[New_Natural_Mom]

I emailed the store. Regardless of rules, insurance, whatnot, the manager's response was WAY out of line in my opinion. I have had to use the bathroom desperately before due to serious digestive issues. It is simply basic human decency to make an exception in emergencies.

[Marsupialmom]

I have walked in and asked if there was a bathroom and have been told no........I ask were is the closest one NOT ARGUE!! As an adult I know that not all places have bathrooms for the public. I don't wait for my options to be offered I ask.

If by codes they were suppose to have a bathroom for public then shame on them. If this is a ploy to a law suit I don't have much sympathy for mom. But reading the location description they are in the food court area. Most food courts in malls have public restrooms. Unfortunately the map doesn't state much about bathrooms (that or they only have 2 for the entire mall and there is none in the movie theater) http://www.bellaterra-hb.com/files/a..._Directory.pdf From what I see of the picture of the store and the mall this store might not have had a public restroom or one any more convenient. Many times in malls several business share bathrooms for employees or it is one small bathroom that isn't really safe to walk into. Plus if she did have diarrhea do we want to risk contamination of all the product? If anything it might be more the malls fault for not having more restrooms and/or restrooms clearly marked.

I would also think poop in the lobby would be better less product to have to throw out. Were as if you are in an area were food is openly prepared, stored, et....it all has to go.