I don't think people treat public bathrooms any different that what they have at home. Some people have their bathrooms at home that filthy. Believe me, I am single now and you would not believe how many men have filthy bathrooms even though they appear nicely dressed and groomed with professional jobs. I had a female co-worker who I hung around with outside of work as a friend, and the first time I was in her home and saw the place and the horrid bathroom and kitchen I reconsidered our relationship as friends. it was bad, really bad.

Some P. restrooms ar awful, I have to say the restroom at the Walmart I go to, are nice and clean. It seems like all most every time I go in there, there is someone cleaning. I mentioned How much I appreciated the cleanliness, she mentioned that someone cleaned every hour during the daytime hours and twice over night. (It's a 24 Hr store). There are even real flowers on the shelf over the sinks. Dottie

I think that sometimes they don't flush because they are used to the self flushing units in so many public restrooms. I use the seat tissues or spread tp on the seat as I'm sure most of you do and try to avoid letting clothes drop to the floor or my bags

I think the management of the establishment is reflected in the cleanliness of the bathrooms. They should be checked and cleaned if necessary every hour in a busy store or restaurant. Poor management otherwise.

Sheila - I completely agree. I've been in restaurants and thought how nice they were and that I might really like this place, then walked into the restroom and be completely turned off. If it's gross I don't want to eat there. Our Walmart is a mess all over, including the bathroom. I question myself every time I step into that store. I always leave frustrated.

I work in a large office building and am totally shocked how horrible the bathroom gets. Some of the woman in my office are horrible.
Plus it shocks me how many don't wash their hands!!!

I get annoyed with women who urinate all over the toilet seat. There are covers usually. If not, take your foot and lift the seat and then spray all over the place.

As far as how long a person is in a stall, gee, I didn't realize there was a time limit. I suffer from IBS and cannot help how long I'm in there.

As far as people not washing their hands, ewwwwwwwwwwwwww

I often wonder what their homes are like - EEEEEWWWWWWW!

I stayed in a hotel (not motel) in California a couple years ago. Imagine my disgust when I got up during the night to use the basthroom and there were roaches crawling on the floor-YUCK!

I think the business should put up signs on the inside of the doors, This is the way MY bathroom looks at home. I agree, There are buttons on those self flushing units, I try to push before I leave.

At Sam's yesterday, I saw a new to me thing. The restroom was spotless, btw.

At the Corian sink/counter/ledge, the water was automatic and so was the hand-dryer air blower, which was also part of the sink! You could wash and dry your hands without even budging a step. I didn't like it, though, because it was blowing the water further up my arm, there was no room to get my hands down lower because the sink was in the way. I thought it was clever, though.

There were towels in a dispenser away from the sinks, but I bet they'll phase those out. I noticed on a recent trip that most public restrooms were using hot air.

We used to own a service station along the interstate in FL. People are pigs, plain and simple. And thieves, too, they would steal the TP and towels. And the women were the worst, they would do despicable things in the "ladies" room.

any job i've ever held, the ladies room was a mess. made you really think twice about indulging in any goodies they made and brought to work. NO THANKS! especially those that take the time to primp in the mirror, but never use the soap and water to clean up after themselves.

years ago i was invited to a fairly new friend's house. at one point, i had to use the bathroom. i went upstairs, immediately turned around and grabbed my keys. she asked where i was going and i replied home to use my own bathroom. she was not in the least insulted.

I have to agree about the nasty restrooms! I was in a grocery store one day and on my way to the register had to use the bathroom. I was horrified when I went in and quickly turned and walked back out. I told the head cashier about it, she tole me they just didn't have the time to take care of it....so I pushed my nearly overflowing cart to her and said then you will have time to put these back, and I walked out the door.

I am one of those who never washes their hands in a public restroom. I have to be careful about the soaps that I use so I carry my own waterless handcleaner that I know I can use without reactions.

Effective Complaining:

Complaining about anything to stockers, checkers, cashiers accomplishes very little. It's not their job, bringing bad news to a manager is hard on the employee, blah, blah, blah.

Ask to speak to the Store Manager. The Assistant Store Manager may be the one to appear; that's O.K.

In a calm manner voice your complaint to her/him. Don't yell or cuss. The more reasonable you are the more a complaint will be taken seriously. Be specific with your complaint and use sentences such as:

* Dirty bathrooms reflect on your store, (your company, the corporation) and you as a manager.

* What I just saw makes me want to abandon my cart and shop elsewhere.

* I cannot continue to shop here today; I refuse to use the restroom.

* Point to your cart to inform her/him the contents will need to be put back on the shelf.

* I'm a regular customer. On my next trip I will check the restroom first. If dirty, I will leave and shop elsewhere.

good idea thunderboltle!
Here is the worst- at least to me:
1. Nurses who use the bathroom ad don't wash their hands. Doc's also. I did a study at work-hospital- where I would observe how many people washed hands after using the bathroom. And don't think that was an easy assignment- I had to sneak into the locker-room or right by the bathroom door- I would listen to hear if the water was turned on after...or at all. I did it all over the hospital- the medical surgical floor, the ER, the nurses lounge. Other staff thought I was being 'lazy' and not staying on my assigned floor- little did they know what I was doing- only my supervisor knew. I was disgusted- about 21-22% of people washed their hands after pee/poop. That was about 12 years ago. Last year, a report came out on tv- somehow they found out how many people washed hands after the bathroom- imagine my surprise when the percentage was 21%!!

2. The other horrid thing is when a cashier is doing your check-out. Then sneezes into their hands....and continues on handling all your purchases and FRUIT/VEGETABLES!! YUCK!!

3. Lastly is when I went to another nurses home. Now you would think that with the knowledge that a nurse has about disease, microbes, and other cruddy stuff that he/she would have a clean house. Nope- I went to another nurses home- I asked to use the bathroom-EWE! Open, dirty, used sanitary napkins in the trash that was sitting next to the toilet, really, really dirty sink, tub, toilet- just awful all over. I think that was about the dirtiest bathroom I was ever in- except maybe a gas station or two.
Not all nurses are as clean as I thought they would/should be!
I don't consider myself a 'prude' - but there are some people I won't eat things that they have prepared. I KNOW they don't wash their hands, clean the countertops, have a clean kitchen in general, before starting cooking/baking.
I'd probably pass out if I knew what happens in a restaurant!
I noticed at a local grocery store- I get apple boxes that they save..in the back, is a girl who works in the deli. She also makes containers with cut fruit, cut veggies, combination plates. She does not have gloves on- I have wondered if that is against the state health regulations??

When I worked in restaurants I too saw firsthand how much worse the womens' restrooms were than the mens. I worked overnight at a restaurant and it wasn't overly busy. We'd clean the restrooms (as best we could) a couple times. The one time, I walked out and asked if we had a shovel and the cook asked what for, and I replied for cleaning the women's room! It really was disgusting.

The waterless handcleaners are a misnomer. They're a sanitizer, not truly a cleaner. They're made to sanitize clean(er) hands. They don't wash dirt off and aren't intended to. They're not a substitute for washing your hands.

I think the main reasons people don't flush are they don't flush at home (and that is disgusting too) and secondly, I know I don't like to touch the fixtures in public restrooms.

Re: Effective Complaining
Yes, you should talk to someone who has some say and speaking to a manager or assistant is far better than yelling at a cashier, stock clerk, or the like. However, that's not always the best either. You could send an email or a call to someone about it. But face facts, a Walmart manager has a lot more on his/her mind than if a person thinks the bathroom is dirty. They don't have tons of extra time and each time a customer demands to talk to them stops them from doing things they need to do. These people are overworked, underpaid and don't quite have the omnipotence that many people think they have. And when someone lays out the "customer is always right" malarchy, it brightens the day albeit in a frustrating way. The service desk can be a good option too, but it does depend on the store and who tends the desk.

I am amused by some of the comments. Threatening to not shop at a store does NOTHING for your credibility. Especially in a Walmart or in a place that specializes in low-life clientele. The gas stations I managed had people who pulled these stunts and I just chuckled to myself. I'll NEVER come back here again!!!! Well, I hope not, but I know better. Cheap people are cheap and won't spend more to go somewhere else. That's a fact of life.

Lecturing that it "reflects" on them, well, again not very effective. Trying to treat a store manager like a 5 year old won't get you very far. When I see these comments and when I'd get some of this treatment when I was in retail, I could sure when people never worked in retail. And usually could guess their employment!

Those kinds of comments are best left for letters/emails/phone calls to a corporate office. Want a far more effective manner of complaining? Put yourself in their shoes for a minute or two. UNDERSTAND what they go through. Then when you confront them say something like "I know you have a lot to do and are really busy, just thought I'd let you know the bathroom is in really bad shape. Someone really made a mess in there and it needs some attention." I can virtually guarantee you that you'll get a far better result with something like that than saying I'm throwing a temper tantrum and you have a cartful of stuff to put away now because I'm a spoiled brat! Think about it, how would you respond to the two options?

As said, people are pigs.

I note that this subject has brought forth some deeply held opinions of customers by at least one poster who used to be in retail.

Working in restaurants, especially the night shift when one gets to clean toilets on slow nights is an insight into 'retail' not many of us have. Adding to that the managing of gas stations and chuckling at some complaining customers, I suppose, could even make one a cynic which the dictionary tells me means (1) a person who shows or expresses a bitterly or sneeringly cynical attitude and (2) A person whose outlook is scornfully and often habitually negative.

How interesting to read opinions of customers by one who has spent a lot of time in retail, such as:

* Especially in a Walmart or in a place that specializes in low-life clientele.
* cheap people are cheap and people are pigs

I'm not at all sure that all Walmart managers or their assistants are so scornful of their customers. I'd rather believe they are proud of their store and its service. I prefer to think any retail manager would prefer having a customer take the time to lodge a specific complaint in a reasonable manner and which is something they can fix by job assignments. It's certainly preferable to having a customer tell others about bad conditions without being given a chance to make a change. But, then, I am also a customer who will ask to speak to the manager when I receive excellent service, making sure I give them the name of the employee.

As for the implied knowledge of people who don't flush at home ... the less said the better.

You think that's bad, I'm a flight attendant and our lavs are filthy. People pee on the toilet seat and floor. I've had people throw up in the sink. Sometimes their business doesn't flush all the way down and they just leave it. Passengers think we should clean the mess and then serve their food.
Donna

I wish people would close the lid before they flush. I insist on it in my home.
Flushing can cause waste water to splash onto the floor and on the walls. ewww!
I've been in public washrooms where the person in the next stall flushes and I see the splashes hit the floor. What do they think the lid is for...decoration.
What gets me even more is that some public washroom toilets don't even have a lid!

I get kidney dialysis three days a week. I am disgusted when I see nurses/technicians touch their face, eat, blow their noses, then go and touch a patient. Some will put on plastic gloves, but I never see anyone wash their hands or use hand sanitizer, though both are readily available. Haven't they heard there's an epidemic of MRSA infections contracted thru hospitals?

I learned that the first toilet is usually cleaner than the rest. I worked in a senior center cleaning bathrooms (that didn't last) and every time all of the stalls would be dirty except the first one. I think people think that everyone else is going in there first so they go on by. Not me!

Kathy, I read that about the first stall too, and that is the one I always go to!
I am not a germaphobic, but I rarely would use the restrooms at work, unless I had no choice. I usually would wait till I went home at lunch. All bathrooms other than home are just odd to me, not sure why. I think it is more of a privacy factor than anything. (plus my crossword puzzle book isn't in there) lol

Trin

jannie- if nurses (and others) do not wash their hands before touching you- ask them to wash their hands, please! No healthcare person should be touching someone without washing their hands- and if they come up with a statement like, 'I just washed them after the last patient', remind them that they have probably touched other contaminated surfaces- I can't stand lazy nurse- they should know better- we were taught in nursing school to wash before EACH patient. You are right- MRSA is one of the infections that can be cut back by handwashing.
And make sure they use an alcohol wipe on their stethescope.
Don't let them use a 'rolling' blood pressure cuff if you are in the hospital- have them use the one that is in the room
When I worked in Labor/Delivery, I explicitly told the mom and dad to make absolutely everyone washd their hands when they came in the room- moms got comfortable telling people.