A New York Times reporter wants to hear from you about bathroom problems

New York Times reporter Anne Barnard sent this to Starbucks Gossip:

This story in the NY Post got a lot of attention [Wednesday], saying that many Starbucks locations in New York are closing their public bathrooms. Starbucks denied the story — although I'm still trying to find out whether at some stores, managers or owners may make their own decisions to make bathrooms employees-only, as long as that complies with code.

I think the reason the story struck such a nerve was the quote: "Starbucks cannot be the public bathroom in the city anymore." Many readers said, that's true -- Starbucks really is the first place you look for if you're out and about in the city and you need a bathroom. You never get flack for using the bathroom without buying anything — and often, you do go ahead and buy something, once you're inside.

So — do you agree that Starbucks has in some sense become the de facto become the go-to public bathroom in NYC? In a way, it fits in with the Starbucks communitarian ethos — letting people sit as long as they want, free wireless, people watching, reinventing the coffeehouse as a kind of "public square."

To the extent that is true, is it a good thing or a bad thing for the bottom line? (no pun intended!) For the customer experience? For the employee experience? And is there any policy, written or unwritten, encouraging stores to be generous with letting the public use the bathroom? One person even speculated that the reason that New York City has not been quicker to install public toilets is that Starbucks had stepped in to, um, relieve the urgency of the problem.

On the other hand, some customers and employees have been known to complain that some people take advantage and that the stores and bathrooms have become messy and hard to navigate. Why don't they lock the bathrooms and provide a key or key code to customers like other chains do?

__________________

Anne Barnard
Reporter
The New York Times

SEND HER AN EMAIL OR POST IN THE COMMENTS SECTION.

Comments

[Waltie]

"I, for one, am completely disgusted knowing that the person who serves my coffee had his arms elbow deep in bathroom cleaning a few minutes before."

You do know we wash our hands after cleaning the bathrooms, right?

[Sammi]

Although I know how disgusting people can be when using public bathrooms and I do feel that it is rude to use the bathroom when you are not a paying customer, I have to be grateful that at least when I'm wandering around the city, I can use Starbuck's bathroom. I have gone into stores as a paying customer (sometimes spending a small fortune)and was still denied the use of their bathroom. NYC really needs to do something about providing the millions of people who live and visit the city with ublic restrooms.

[Emily]

this is to me a problem with NYC, not Starbucks. Starbucks is a private company, they don't owe anything to the public, especially people who aren't buying anything.

[Annette]

The bathrooms at Starbucks should remain public. As for the employees, it falls under what is called, "other duties as assigned." If you don't like that part of your job, then it's obviously not the job for you....go find another job. Otherwise, do your job and stop complaining!

[frapatte]

Annette, as you will notice if you were so kind as to take off your holier-than-thou glasses, many customers also complain about the advent of baristas cleaning bathrooms. It's not unreasonable for them to question why the people serving them food or drink may or may not have been cleaning disgusting materials. I feel iffy on this "other duties assigned" bit now that I have seen it posted several times that we're supposed to call facilities to come clean "heavy" bathroom messes. I have not heard this before, ever. So is it my "other duty" to take a short break from making lattes so I can go clean the literal giant pile of crap all on/around the toilet?

[Some guy]

If NYC can't provide proper public toilets, why wouldn't the city just pay a company to clean Starbucks' toilets (as long as they keep them public)? Wouldn't it be cheaper than installing toilets all over downtown anyways?

[Waltie]

The idea that baristas shouldn't clean a bathroom because they also make drinks is ridiculous. By that rationale, they shouldn't make drinks after also handling money. You know how disgusting money is, right? I bet the money in your wallet is dirtier than my toilet.

As long as a person washes his or her hands before making or handling food and drinks, this is a non issue. If the person doesn't wash his or her hands, it doesn't matter what they were doing before taking over bar since that's just gross no matter what.

[John Farrell]

The locking of the bathrooms is just another reason to avoid Starbucks and support local, community-run coffee shops.

[John Bogart]

Starbuck's should be able to afford a janitor whose job description is to clean toilets. Perhaps, he couuld go from one Starbucks to another since they are sometimes only a block or two apart.
I personally, don't want someone who just cleaned a toilet to make my coffee.

[promotedtocustomer]

I make 6 figures, so I should be able to take a pee wherever I want. What a jerk.

[GuatamalaDeFlor]

Listen, all I'm saying is, when I'm making drinks for 3-4 hours and I have to use the bathroom. I don't want to look by hand-off and see seven people on the line for the bathroom.
I work at a larger more high volume store, and we have two restrooms. We have tried to close off one for employees but now that's a problem?
Listen, there's still another one open.

It's plain and simple. Employees should have their own restroom if the location has two or more restrooms. If not, then it should be (by Starbucks policy) allowed for all baristas to cut the line without having to deal with customer complaints.

My two cents.

(And don't tell me people are nice about letting baristas go first, there are exceptions. OFTEN)

[I hate closing]

I close often, and often clean the cafe. Meaning i sometimes have to clean the washrooms. THE MEN'S ROOMS HAS A PERMANENT PISS SMELL.

Whenever, i have to mop it, i feel like gagging. And... i use the mop that is used to clean the floor, to clean the sides of toilets as well... just so my hands dont have to go near that health hazard.

[end of tenancy cleaning]

If you don't want to pay then don't complain for it.