Starbucks in downtown closing their bathrooms to all (Needles: home, buying)

[V8 Vega]

I just saw on the TV news, to keep the filthy homeless out because of the problems they cause.

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by V8 Vega

I just saw on the TV news, to keep the filthy homeless out because of the problems they cause.

Which Starbucks? All of them?

[highlanderfil]

Many establishments in Manhattan have done it, ostensibly for similar reasons. Shouldn't be too surprising, I guess.

[jm1982]

Yeah I notice this in Hollywood there are a lot of places that just don't have public restrooms .
Other parts of the city too .

Here is an npr article about it this .

How Starbucks Got Tangled Up In LA's Homelessness Crisis : The Salt : NPR

In a statement, the company said the closures are because of unspecified safety concerns. But former Starbucks supervisor Lester Monzon says the chain has had a long-standing struggle with the homeless relying on its bathrooms.

"A lot of the homeless people that do tend to come in, and they will buy a cup of coffee, they use the restroom as their shower time," he says. "They'll take off their shirts, they'll bathe themselves. When they leave, the whole bathroom is just completely destroyed." Some current employees, who aren't allowed to speak on tape, had similar complaints.

[Cream1]

Way too many Garcettivilles in downtown. Starbucks had to act.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by Howiester

Way too many Garcettivilles in downtown. Starbucks had to act.

Not just downtown L.A , other parts of the city too.

L.A. sees another sharp rise in homelessness and outdoor tents - LA Times

It's gotten worse as well. If you look at the comments a lot of people are pissed.

[green_mariner]

This happened at a Dunkin' Donuts in Atlanta. I was coming back from a job interview and I needed to use the restroom. I was told I needed to be a customer or else they wouldn't give me the key to unlock the bathroom. In short, I had to buy something. If I needed to do that, I could just used an electronic pay toilet. Contrast this with every Starbucks outside of Atlanta proper that I've been to. I had no issue using the bathroom.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

This happened at a Dunkin' Donuts in Atlanta. I was coming back from a job interview and I needed to use the restroom. I was told I needed to be a customer or else they wouldn't give me the key to unlock the bathroom. In short, I had to buy something. If I needed to do that, I could just used an electronic pay toilet. Contrast this with every Starbucks outside of Atlanta proper that I've been to. I had no issue using the bathroom.

Well in this case , they are closing bathroom access to all customers (homeless and nonhomeless) at some locations. So even if you buy something you don't have bathroom access.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

This happened at a Dunkin' Donuts in Atlanta. I was coming back from a job interview and I needed to use the restroom. I was told I needed to be a customer or else they wouldn't give me the key to unlock the bathroom. In short, I had to buy something. If I needed to do that, I could just used an electronic pay toilet. Contrast this with every Starbucks outside of Atlanta proper that I've been to. I had no issue using the bathroom.

Well, in fairness, you aren't entitled to use any bathroom but the one in your home and workplace. Businesses have to pay their employees to clean and maintain those bathrooms, so it's only logical that they would want only their customers to use them. It was nice of "every Starbucks outside of Atlanta proper" to let you use theirs, but they were under no obligation to do so. I'm not going to claim I've never used the facilities without buying something at a McDonald's or a Starbucks (or whatever), but it would not have shocked me if someone stopped me and told me to buy something or get out, nor would I get all huffy had that happened.

Taking it one step further, they aren't really obligated to have a customer bathroom, even if you do buy something (unless there's an ordinance I am unaware of). Plenty of places don't.

Also, electronic pay toilet? Where are these magical contraptions of which you speak?

[OptimusPrime69]

A lot of the Starbucks in Miami have these key-pads on the knob of the bathroom doors. So one must get the "access code" from a starbucks employee in order to use the bathroom, otherwise it remains locked...

One time I was in a dire emergency and needed to use the restroom. I was walking and saw Starbucks and at the time it was a god-send. I thought "great, I can go in there"....upon frantically entering and bee-lining straight to the bathroom It was locked and I noticed the key-pad. So in a very hurried walk(I'm dying at this point), I go to the barista and say "whats the code to get in to the bathroom?" He goes "sir you need an access code"....I say "I know, which is why i just asked u what it is." The barista says "you have to be a paying customer" so I'm like "I'll have a grande coffee!" he goes "sir u need to get in line like everyone else"....but by the grace of God, I see the bathroom door swing open out of the corner of my eye and RUN to the bathroom before the door closes behind the person leaving and lock that bad boy.....and PHEW!! Thank baby jesus because I was about to lose it. . . . Needless to say, when I walked out, I looked over at the barista, smiled in his face without ordering or paying for anything...