Here's a question for all you coffee shop owners/workers/customers.
Recently in the UK media there have been reports about the decline in
availability of public toilets and one suggestion in the report is that
shops, pubs and restaurants etc should sign up (voluntarily) and be paid to open their toilets to the public.
So would you take the cash and open up as a public toilet ?
ME: No I wouldn't ..... and that's just not be being awkward.
We regularly have people who come in and ask if they can use the loo, even though there is a public one less than 50yds away (it's dirty and unpleasant).
In 99% of the cases the answer is YES.
But there are times I say NO !
I've had a few times when people have just left one of the 2 local pubs
and 'staggered' in wanting to go and a couple of occasions where the person was clearly 'high'.
I don't want my staff cleaning the toilet every 15 mins because somebody who's had a few too many has messed it up. Also I don't want my staff to be exposed to an increased likelyhood of finding used needles in the bin.
We keep out toilet clean and tidy and the cleaner it stays the better that is for my customers and therefore my business.
As far as I'm concerned .... the vast majority are welcome, but if I need to display a sign saying our toilet is available for public use .... then it would be difficult to turn away those that would abuse it.