I have almost always bought something at a fast food etc type place and I think it’s fine to have that policy.
Of course I’ve used the restroom at a department store without necessarily buying something.
My H and I will often use the restrooms at NYC hotels pretty easily and I attribute that to us being white and dressed respectably. I am fully aware that we can do that easily and many cannot.
I almost always buy something, unless it’s a department store or hotel - for those I feel no obligation. Usually I’ll get something small like some fries or a bottle of water. Every once in a while if there’s a big line of customers waiting to order, then I’ll skip the purchase rather than wait in line.
The pedantic side of me feels obligated to point out that they’re not really “public” bathrooms. They’re privately-owned bathrooms in businesses open to the public.
Wow—wasn’t aware that starbucks even had bathrooms. I don’t think the ones I have been to do. We have used bathrooms in Dept stores without purchasing. If I go to a restaurant I do purchase if I’m going to use the bathroom. There is a nice clean bathroom in the mall near the theaters I also use. It’s public and kept nice and clean. I don’t feel obligated to make a purchase at the mall.
I would be and am terribly upset about the incident described in #23. Wow!
Regulations vary from state to state but establishments that serve food are required to have restrooms in my state (with exceptions for seasonal places like ice cream stands). Must be different in Hawaii, @HImom.
Well, I’ve eaten at several places that weren’t ice cream stands that had NO bathrooms. I guess laws definitely differ. The Starbucks in Honolulu I am thinking of are in upscale areas and none have bathrooms and I can’t think where they’d even add one in their current floor plans.
Creekland, I’ll join you in dissent. If we make a bathroom stop and it’s at a commercial establishment, we buy something. This usually means Wawa or Sheetz, depending on the direction in which we’re traveling. It may just be coffee or iced tea, but I do feel that if I want to motivate the store to continue offering facilities when my bladder is screaming, I should support them economically. However, I don’t feel the need to buy something at a public rest area (i.e., NJ Turnpike). We don’t do Starbucks or fast food restaurants.
" It is especially a concern where there is a homeless population or a drug problem"
What MOfWC said. Pretty much every eatery on Capitol Hill in Seattle has their public restrooms on a keypad.
I never go to Starbucks or other coffee shops. (I can make my own coffee/tea for a fraction of the cost at home). When traveling, I use highway rest stops, or gas stations and fast food places where I have made a purchase. I don’t think of store or restaurant bathrooms as truly “public” (like a highway rest stop)–the business provides them for their customers. So it seems reasonable that if you are not a customer, the business can make a rule that you can’t use their facilities. If an employee asked me to leave an establishment , I would leave right away. (I can understand why an employee might call for help if non-customers who were asked to leave several times refused to do so.)
I have asked to use the restroom a few times at various stores or businesses (when it was “urgent”) and have been told that the restrooms were “for employees only.” Then I had to go elsewhere-- very quickly! Every business can make its own rules.
Who among us is not a customer of the bathrooms we frequent? Just because I didn’t buy a Whopper this time does not mean that I am not a BK customer. Any fast food or coffee establishment that restricts its bathrooms to those making current purchases will never get another dime of my business.
I ate at a Shake Shack downtown. You got the code to the bathroom on your receipt. It is necessary due to the homeless. If the bathroom is filthy, has needles or drugs on the floor, customers will desert the place.
Compared to bathrooms in restaurants in Eurooe. American businesses are much more accommodating.
When I’m bike touring, I always buy something if I stop at a gas station or convenience store to use the bathroom. I don’t want bike tourists to get a bad name as freeloaders. Moreover, these small independent businesses probably don’t have a big profit margin, and I don’t see why I should use something they provide for customers if I am not a customer.
I’ve stopped using the Macy’s restrooms at my local mall because they’re filthy. I walk down to the food court restrooms instead (even though the food court is the last place I want to walk through because I’m dieting).
I would expect Macy’s to do as well as the average suburban McDonalds in terms of restroom cleanliness, but apparently they can’t.
The Starbucks I frequent in the city does require a code and I a White middle aged woman has been asked to confirm my purchase before getting the code. In my suburban Starbucks you can just walk in.
I just go to Dunkin Donuts to use the bathroom. I usually purchase something after. I don’t want to bring food into the bathroom. But I would never sit and work without purchasing something. Our kids meet their scoutmaster at a local coffee shop for advancement and we always, always purchase something. You’re taking up space. I think using the bathroom in a pinch is O"k but taking a table needs a purchase.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
The OP was not being “coy.” S/he asked a legitimate question. The respondents were not being “coy;” they were abiding by the forum rules and not attempting to hijack/derail a thread. The thread title is “Do you use public bathrooms without making a purchase?” not “What do you think about the Philadelphia Police Department’s response to the Starbucks episode?” (which would probably only last a nanosecond before getting shut down).
Several posts (including the balance of the quote above) deleted.
Thanks for all the feedback. It’s very interesting to hear different perspectives.
I watched the Starbucks CEO on GMA this morning. He apologized many times and said that the stores were would receive additional training on how to avoid what happened. The interesting point happened after the interview. Robin and George went out of their way to say that they interview many CEO’s after these kind of incident. And that they never hear a CEO be so upfront about what happened and to promise to change things, they were impressed by Starbucks response to the incident. As they went to commercial, you could hear George say, that was really good.
I’m paraphrasing of course but a discussion of the sort that Robin and George had was very unusual. They do not offer their opinion often at all.
Using the bathroom without purchasing anything would be the exception not the rule for me. I’ve done it, but I don’t make a habit of scouting out free bathroom facilities!
I would find it hard to believe any Starbucks or other coffee shop wouldn’t have a restroom. Unless it’s just a drive through. You’re there to drink liquids! And often work or visit with someone - of course you’ll need a bathroom!
Just wanting to point out that most places are franchised and owned by different people. Frequenting my local BK for food while using the rest room at home and then using the restroom while traveling at a completely different BK does not balance out the costs. Corporate doesn’t pay the costs. They only get their portion of the profits. The owner pays the basic bills. It’s really no different than going into a mom and pop place just to use the restroom.
As a pp pointed out, these aren’t really public restrooms. They’re private restrooms open to the public due to laws in our country. Many other countries have costs associated with using restrooms (as did ours in my youth). I would totally support going back to that system for private businesses and keeping just the truly public ones (paid for by taxes) free.
Just changing the subject a tad, if we’re using WiFi at a private business, we also support them with a purchase.
We travel quite a bit, so these are things we do often. I appreciate being able to have opportunities to “go” or “surf the net” (though now we take our own data plan with us if in the US/Canada). I’m thankful to the business owners and do my little part to keep them in business.
I am 66 years old and borderline diabetic. When I gotta go, I gotta go, but you have to use discretion. I used the bathroom at Starbucks in Georgetown just a few weeks ago. I have purchased more coffee or a sticky bun would have been foolish ( and a hazard to my health).