A reader writes: “Last night we were out with friends and went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at Bella Terra/Huntington Beach. We were eating outside as my 5 year old daughter got an uncontrollable urge to use the bathroom and began crying and screaming ‘diarrhea, diarrhea.’ I ran into the store with her in my arms, begging to use the bathroom and they refused multiple times.”
I explained she had diarrhea and couldn’t hold it and told them she was about to go on the floor. They refused again and never offered me any alternatives. I begged them to have a heart and that she was 5 but by that time she had lost it all over herself and me. I ran with her in my arms to the movie theater that let me use their bathroom. I cleaned her up, threw out some of her clothes and went back to the Chocolate Factory – asking for names and number of management. I again pleaded with them to use their heart in situations like this.
I called the manager today and she finally called me back. She supports the employees and tells me that it is an insurance decision. She told me to sue if it makes me feel happy. She laughed at me when I told her I would be using my extensive contacts to begin a viral campaign to boycott her store and the entire chain and told me that she was “sure that would make my daughter very proud.” My daughter was humiliated, forced to defecate on herself due to the lack of compassion exhibited by the store – which the owner continued to support on the phone with me. I don’t want anything, I just want them to have a bit of compassion in the future.
Longtime Consumerist readers know this isn’t the first time we’ve written about a company refusing a customer with a bathroom emergency and ending up with disastrous results. Last summer, a similar story involving Jo-Ann fabrics prompted enough complaints to the CEO that he issued an apology and “immediately changed [company] policy to allow any customer to use [store] restrooms upon request.” Our reader pointed us to a situation a few years ago when Old Navy denied bathroom access to a customer with Crohn’s disease that ended up with the customer’s state legislator introducing a bill requiring businesses to open up their bathrooms for emergencies. We don’t think a law is necessary, just basic human decency: if someone has an emergency, let her use your bathroom.
UPDATE: After reading some of the comments, I searched around some more to find out whether a place that serves food has to provide a bathroom to customers. As it turns out, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory may have violated existing California Code provisions. An organization called the American Restroom Association has a Uniform Plumbing Code that requires a “toilet facility for customers, patrons, and visitors of all mercantile and business establishments.” The Uniform Plumbing Code has been adopted by California, so it seems that there IS a requirement for businesses to provide restroom facilities for customers.
(Photo: Getty)
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I was so sorry to hear about this situation; I feel the worst for your daughter. I just went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory this weekend in Camarillo, CA and received some of the worst customer service I ever have experienced. Not only did the young employees give sour faces and rude answers to my questions, but then proceeded to outright flirt with each other instead of tending to the other customers waiting. The manager (who I’m guessing was the manager) was no better; she gave horrible looks and a horrible attitude to her employees, as well as the customers. People in upper level positions need to understand the importance of attitude – the customer is ALWAYS right and your employees will emulate whatever they see from their supervisors. Yes, they only work in a tiny little chocolate shop as opposed to some big corporation, but big or small, customer service (or even just a kind heart) goes a LONG way. I feel sad for them.
I work for a National Fleet Lease company and last week we had a Client’s employee run into a store (with a bad case of IBS) to use the facilities. He had to beg for about 2 minutes before they would allow him access to the employee washroom. In the mean time he forgot that the car he left in the fire lane was running with the door open. When he came out of the store he found the car stolen with the presentation he was about to give on a $3 million contract proposal. Needless to say all 438 employees who have lease cars got a lecture with the specifics of the incident. Corporate humiliation none funnier.
This is interesting about the Uniform Plumbing Code. Is it an actual law or only a “suggested rule”? Recently my sister and I took a trip to Santa Cruz, California. We discovered that almost no businesses in the downtown area provide restrooms for their customers–including many restaurants, bakeries, candy shops, and cafes. We asked a few business owners about the law requiring bathrooms for patrons–in my home state the laws are pretty specific regarding restroom requirements in food service establishments, and were told that no such law exists in California, that it’s an urban legend, and that businesses removed or hid their bathrooms to prevent street people from using them.
So we are supposed to feel sorry for you because you ran into a problem when you decided to take a sick kid out. I have no sympathy for you, it appears you would rather be a net bully then realize that lawsuit happy individuals such as yourself are who caused this insurance problem in the first place. You have reaped what you have sewn.
I’m sorry, if someone came running into my store store, telling me they were going to have diarrhea, I would say no too. I’ve had people come in my own personal boutique, asking to use the restroom, which is back near my personal office. The last time I did it, an adult woman mind you, decided to throw up in the sink and not rinse it down. There is no way, ever I’m letting someone use the rest room again. There’s plenty of restaurants out there with public restrooms you can use. I think it would be even more embarrassing to sue the company. I think bathroom issues should remain in the bathroom. It’s too bad your daughter had this accident but I think it’s pretty gross to write about it.
As a parent, I can relate and sympathize with your horrible experience. I have had a VERY similar experience but fortunately was lucky enough to find a bathroom before it was too late.
However, I happen to know that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is a franchised company with many different owners. You are doing many innocent franchisees a disservice by posting a general comment like this one.
To your credit, it showed up as the number 4 result on my “Google” search. So, you campaign is working. Unfortunately, in my opinion you general attack on all RMCFs is mis-guided.
First as a business owner the state’s REQUIRE EVERY business to install a handycap bathroom, for the customer’s to use. but yet when we go to some business ther is posted ‘NO public Restroom’s”.
but on the ther hand wne you do let people us it , first it is sometime’s DAMAGED, which the businees owner has to pay to have repaired, as well as the upkeep. so it is a give and take on both side’s, more business would probally ope there restroom’s if more people would do less damage.
I don’t know what the legal issues are, nor am I prepared to speak to the ethical or moral issues, as I do not run a shop such as their’s, and have no experience with the issues that could arise in this situation. But I will say that from the Manager’s attitude, to the numerous comments in this discussion thread that exhibit a total lack of empathy, I have to admit I am ashamed that I share the same species with these people. You can disagree on the issue, and do so with grace and sensitivity. But to the many that responded with crass, negative, non-constructive and totally empathy-free responses, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Then again, maybe I should thank you, because I suddenly realize that I am much better human being than I realized. Grow up people.
I am glad to see the update; I was about to comment that in California, and many other states, there are laws requiring access to bathroom facilities where food is served.
My letter to the corporate office:
I am disgusted by your corporate policies regarding the use of bathrooms in your establishments. I recently learned about this policy when reading about the actions of your staff at your Bella Terra/Huntington Beach store recently wherein a young child was denied access to the staff bathroom, and subsequently experienced a bout of diarrhea in public. From what I have read about this incident ( at [consumerist.com]), it sounds like you have violated California state law regarding providing patrons of food establishments access to rest rooms. I hope the Orange County Department of Health has been notified about this policy, and promptly investigate the matter. I certainly look forward to hearing more about how your company addresses this issue.
1. You should have run to the public restroom. You really thought a private business should let you scrape shit off your kid in their restroom?
2. I don’t want your sick kid taking a shit where food I might consume is produced.
3. You should have gone to the public restroom the FIRST time the store told you that they couldn’t allow you to use their restroom.
4. Your kid’s bowels are YOUR problem, not the store’s problem.
5. Your attempt to boycott them is mean spirited and stupid. What’s your goal? Change the law so that all private restrooms are available to parents who are having an “emergency”? Yeah, that would work.
6. Quit having kids.