Going To The Bathroom

[bangkokcitylimits]

I used to have two places in CM but can remember this happen.

But toilet only for paying customers (on a sign clearly placed at the entrance, eventually ask him what he want to order or they pay 10 baht) however when it appears someone has medical problems it would be not problem at all.

If toilet walkers are a problem for your location, lock it and let customers ask for the key when they are in need.

Edited November 29, 2010 by bangkokcitylimits

[needforspeed]

I dont own a bar or a restaurant, but if I did I would not allow people off the street to use the restroom.

If I end up in a pressing situation myself I make sure I order something to eat or drink.

I feel uncomfortable if use the toilet without ordering something myself.

But i would not refuse any customer to use the toilet if I had a restaurant, today he isn't your customer but maybe tomorrow, but never going to be your customer and after been refused to use the toilet.

[onnut]

The responses are interresting, thanks for the honest replies. it is good we all think different.

I have not said no to anybody using the toilets but just get annoyed when they just walk past without asking and then walk out without a thank you. this is what I think is rude. one guy last night stood in the restaurant and asked me questions about it and then just turned around and followed his wife out without saying a word after she had used the toilets. no thanks or anything. I just thought that is so rude. even the posters here all agree on one thing and that is you can at least ask if its ok.

after all, it is me that pays the staff to keep them clean, I pay for bog roll, water and soap! Manners cost nothing, so a Thanks would be nice.

[onnut]

The responses are interresting, thanks for the honest replies. it is good we all think different.

I have not said no to anybody using the toilets but just get annoyed when they just walk past without asking and then walk out without a thank you. this is what I think is rude. one guy last night stood in the restaurant and asked me questions about it and then just turned around and followed his wife out without saying a word after she had used the toilets. no thanks or anything. I just thought that is so rude. even the posters here all agree on one thing and that is you can at least ask if its ok.

after all, it is me that pays the staff to keep them clean, I pay for bog roll, water and soap! Manners cost nothing, so a Thanks would be nice.

You have bog roll and soap !!!!

its a City thing TA. also have bum hoses for those who cant remember how to wipe their <deleted>!

[MSingh]

I've done it myself before on occasion, and I think it would be pretty unfriendly and unwelcoming if a proprietor refused to allow me to do it in their place, especially if it's a casual restaurant, pub or whatever. I probably wouldn't go back to the restaurant as a customer.

Do you think that it's right that you should do that then when you don't make any contribution to the Wages of the Staff of the Business that pay for it's Emplyee's to clean up after you ??

& so what if they were " unwelcoming ", you're a nonn paying Customer at the end of the day, i'd be a little mor ethan unwelcoming towards you if you done that to me, trust me..

[dantilley]

I've done it myself before on occasion, and I think it would be pretty unfriendly and unwelcoming if a proprietor refused to allow me to do it in their place, especially if it's a casual restaurant, pub or whatever. I probably wouldn't go back to the restaurant as a customer.

Do you think that it's right that you should do that then when you don't make any contribution to the Wages of the Staff of the Business that pay for it's Emplyee's to clean up after you ??

Yes. I can't remember visiting a restaurant / bar that had staff paid to clean up after every customer uses the bathroom though, where have you known this happen?

& so what if they were " unwelcoming ", you're a nonn paying Customer at the end of the day, i'd be a little mor ethan unwelcoming towards you if you done that to me, trust me..

At that time I would be a non-paying customer, yes, and if the staff were unwelcoming (or a little more) then obviously I wouldn't go back as a paying customer at a later date.

[angiud]

In my restaurants the toilet is for customers only. Non customers are charged 20 discouraging Baht. But the restaurants are in Koh Phangan and, believe me, sometimes what I find inside the toilets after somebody goes there is indescribable...

[Jingthing]

There is surely a conflict here. Some of these "holding back" owners are anal retentive which doesn't sit well with members of the anal expulsive public. Freud would have a field day!

Edited November 29, 2010 by Jingthing

[kpmsprtd]

By the time I go into your restaurant to use your bathroom, it is very much an emergency situation. At that point, there is no time for chit chat, and regrettably sometimes not even for asking. It is somewhat embarrassing for all concerned, and the goal is quick in and quick out, with minimal impact to the restaurant, staff, and self.

Your kindness, however, will be repayed. Many of my most frequented stores and restaurants are those with freely usable restroom facilities. Refuse me use of restroom facilities in an emergency, and not only will I not be a customer, but I'll work pretty hard at making sure that other people I know are also not customers.

This is all predicated on the fact that most people don't come in and use your restroom on a casual whim. Indeed, it is almost always the reverse situation.

On a related note, lots of restaurants and businesses in San Francisco post signs about restrooms being for customers only, and they limit access. Works great, except for customers having to wade through piss and shit in the streets to get to the restaurants and businesses. In an emergency, people will go. It is only a question of where?

[Jingthing]

Good point. If it is really a toileting "emergency" it would actually be ill advised to ask. What if they say no? No is not an option in those situations.

Personally, if it was a place I wasn't familiar with and I "learned" about it from a random toileting event, and they were cool about helping out a fellow human being in this way, I would be a bit favorably influenced to consider them as a future place to spend money. But only if there was something appealing to me about the place anyway. That future could be right away if I was hungry or thirsty, or possibly later.

Perhaps owners should view this kind of generosity as a kind of free advertising? You don't expect ads you pay for to draw in everyone who views your advert, do you? Even one new customer is potentially a long term customer.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Jingthing

[angiud]

Refuse me use of restroom facilities in an emergency, and not only will I not be a customer, but I'll work pretty hard at making sure that other people I know are also not customers.

Up to you

[Ulysses G.]

believe me, sometimes what I find inside the toilets after somebody goes there is indescribable...

A small business can not pay someone just to keep toilets clean all day and some people are not considerate at all.

I can not really blame owners who get uptight about people who wander in just to use the toilet, mess it up and don't spend a penny, but if someone asks nicely or it is an emergency I'm sure that it would not be a problem with most places.

[TheWalkingMan]

Or just do like that new pub in front of Central Beach Pattaya Mall... Just do not provide bathroom facilities and let the customers fend for themselves.

TheWalkingMan

[Jingthing]

Malls, eh? Imagine how much less foot traffic they would have if they cut off the free bathrooms?

[angiud]

believe me, sometimes what I find inside the toilets after somebody goes there is indescribable...

A small business can not pay someone just to keep toilets clean all day and some people are not considerate at all.

I can not really blame owners who get uptight about people who wander in just to use the toilet, mess it up and don't spend a penny, but if someone asks nicely or it is an emergency I'm sure that it would not be a problem with most places.

Fully agree. And you don't know the behavior of the party goers during the Full Moon Party week...

[onnut]

I have had blocked toilets in the past, shitty boxer shorts, knickers and even a t-shirt once. people amaze me. why the <deleted> shove a t-shirt down a bog, Thai toilets have problems flushing a runny turd let alone a t-shirt.

[richard_smith237]

This is when caught out in the UK, you can go for a 'McSh!t'.... Or if you felt guilty about using the facilities without buying anything you could have a 'McSh!t with Fries'...

A similar situation occurred to me the other day, but rather than use the small cafe I used the facilities in a larger hotel down the road, I was unwilling to pee up a wall but it nearly came to that, there is a significant lack of public conveniences over here.

So. IF in an emergency, stroll in, apologize and use. On the way out, offer thanks and perhaps tip one of the staff.

Or as On-nut wrote earlier - Order a beer... Better still, Order a paper, you can read that while on the can / dunnie / loo..

[DP25]

I have had blocked toilets in the past, shitty boxer shorts, knickers and even a t-shirt once. people amaze me. why the <deleted> shove a t-shirt down a bog, Thai toilets have problems flushing a runny turd let alone a t-shirt.

That's gotta be intentional to mess up your bathroom, no one can be stupid enough to think you can flush clothes

[onnut]

I have had blocked toilets in the past, shitty boxer shorts, knickers and even a t-shirt once. people amaze me. why the <deleted> shove a t-shirt down a bog, Thai toilets have problems flushing a runny turd let alone a t-shirt.

That's gotta be intentional to mess up your bathroom, no one can be stupid enough to think you can flush clothes

Dont know mate, when you open your door to the public you have got to expect some dumb <deleted> to walk through.

[pampal]

Walking into an establishment and using the toilet without any purchase is OK.

No purchase necessary.

[Patsycat]

At my local supermarket, here in the land of silk and money, you have to give some sort of identity over to the cashier to get the key. I was a bit taken aback, but she explained to me that the gipsy beggars from Roumania were using the facilities to do their weekly laundry. Including hanging their smalls up to dry...

[ozzieovaseas]

This is when caught out in the UK, you can go for a 'McSh!t'.... Or if you felt guilty about using the facilities without buying anything you could have a 'McSh!t with Fries'...

A similar situation occurred to me the other day, but rather than use the small cafe I used the facilities in a larger hotel down the road, I was unwilling to pee up a wall but it nearly came to that, there is a significant lack of public conveniences over here.

So. IF in an emergency, stroll in, apologize and use. On the way out, offer thanks and perhaps tip one of the staff.

Or as On-nut wrote earlier - Order a beer... Better still, Order a paper, you can read that while on the can / dunnie / loo..

Err, dont this suggestion would be appreciated in on-nuts case. I suspect his restaurant/bar offers various free newspapers to customers..

Next thing will we see the "toilet freeloaders" reach for a free newspaper on the way to the free dunny

and then probably wouldnt have the decency to put the newspaper back in its rightful place

[chewang]

Here on Koh Samui we have the 7 eleven drinker who sits outside the store supping there large chang and thinks nothing of using the very nice bathroom facilities of my local.The bar manager refuses them entry and politly tells them to use 7 elevens bathrooms and they get a little upset.

[ilyelol]

We are adults

We should have control of our bladder and ass. If not you should be wearing a diaper or having less anal sex.

I would NEVER enter a random restaurant/bar to pee or to poop. You can ALWAYS hold it on for at least 10mins. Seek professional help if you can't or go live in a hospice where you can shit your bed and they'll change you.

Mcdonalds or Big western family restaurants(which dont exists in thailand) are fine obviously. They dont have a real owner who is trying to make money, just a multinational already banking with a lot of turn over client wise, so the staff is prepared to wash the toilets often, unlike smaller places.

There's a 7/11 at every corner in thailand, if im about to die from intershitness i will go there and ask politely to use their toilets in the back, everybody can. If you use random toilets IMO you are a giant rude asshol_e, even if you ask the permission. People are trying to make money and you cant walk 2mins more to find a better place to dispose of your excrement? They should want a pathetic lazy ass like you in their establishments? no.

I would charge 100baht at least to anyone walking off the street and using my toilets with no intention of buying anything.

cliffnotes: learn to plan ahead in life, nobody has to take care of your lazy ass may it be for your health, your toilet use, your finances or whatever else that needs planning.

[NancyL]

In the U.S., Hubby and I ran a retail greenhouse/nursery operation in a rural area. Most of our customers were middle-aged women and we wanted them to stay and shop for a long time. We went out of our way to make ther shopping experience inviting, loaning them umbrellas for shade and maintaining what must have been the best-stocked and cleanest portapotty on the planet because our poor septic system wouldn't support a proper bathroom for the retail trade. Some of our customers were reluctant to use a portapotty until they saw how it was pumped out regularly, cleaned several times daily and stocked with hand sanitizer, wet wipe tissue, paper towels, complimentary feminine products and had a mirror.

One day a fellow was hiking down the road in front of our farm. He looked like he could have been a backpacker in Thailand 20 years ago, but had just kept going and now was walking down a remote country road in Michigan. He was heavy loaded, unkept, too thin and walked with his head down. He came into our operation and asked if we had a public restroom. Hubby directed him to the portapotty in the back while I looked daggers at Hubby. This guy clearly wasn't going to buy anything. As the guy left, he mumbled his thanks and Hubby asked him if he'd like a drink of water -- the complimentary ice water we kept by the store to encourage customers to shop in the hot sun. The guy gave me the creeps and the last thing I wanted Hubby to do was encourage him to linger. He drank the water appreciatively, said his thanks and went on his way.

After he left, I confronted Hubby about why he'd encouraged that "stranger ranger" to linger. His answer suprised me. We don't attend church regularly but yet Hubby said "what if that had been Jesus Christ? Would you have refused him a toilet and drinking water?"

[dantilley]

There's a 7/11 at every corner in thailand, if im about to die from intershitness i will go there and ask politely to use their toilets in the back, everybody can. If you use random toilets IMO you are a giant rude asshol_e, even if you ask the permission.

What's so special about 7-11 that it's OK to use their toilets but not a toilet in a restaurant or pub?

[neverdie]

It would be rude to refuse someone the use of your toilet.

Really? Sounds like a load of nonesense to me. Where is that written? Where is your place located (I need to take a dump)?

[Patsycat]

Nice story, Nancy.

And one thing that i got out if is, the feminine products line. I once visited a Ladies in Switzerland. They had the whole shaboom. Towels, soaps, perfumes nice clean marble surfaces and the all important tampax.

I didn't want to leave i was so cocooned in there!!! Food in the restaurant was crap, by the way. But the loos were great.

[neverdie]

I have had blocked toilets in the past, shitty boxer shorts, knickers and even a t-shirt once. people amaze me. why the <deleted> shove a t-shirt down a bog, Thai toilets have problems flushing a runny turd let alone a t-shirt.

Didnt you notice someone leaving the premises without a shirt on?

[neverdie]

We don't attend church regularly but yet Hubby said "what if that had been Jesus Christ? Would you have refused him a toilet and drinking water?"

Ohh I don't think that would matter much. According to the story Nancy, some dudes actually nailed him to a cross once and hung him out in the sun until he died. He was apparently quoted as saying whilst he was hanging out to dry die, "Forgive them father". I'm not too sure giving him the move on or not allowing him to use the shitter would really concern him that much.