Yesterday, we wrote about a mother whose five-year-old child had diarrhea and was refused bathroom access by a local Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. She emailed us today to say she received a call from the Chief Operating Officer of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

The mother writes:

Wanted to update you that I received a call from Bryan Merryman, Chief Operating Officer. He was apologetic, compassionate and understanding and I appreciate his call. What he did make clear and what is no doubt a challenge for him, is that this is a franchise and as such is responsible for their own policies. He made it clear that the way this franchise handled this situation is at odds with corporate. Still no word back from the owner/manager of the franchise since she hung up on me, which is disappointing because her actions are hurting other franchises who have nothing to do with this. As an apologetic gesture, Mr. Merriman offered to send some product that I refused as again, my only desire in this is that this franchise and manager adopt a more compassionate policy in the future. We’ll definitely be giving the movie theater, who graciously let us use the restroom, our business in the future but I can’t say the same about this Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise. The owner/manager may think that her decision was the most sensible business-based decision, but in the end, business is about people.

In a story in the Orange County Register, the franchise owner claims she apologized to the mother, but the mother says that never happened, and she still hasn’t heard from the franchise owner since she was hung up on.

(Photo: Getty)

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