I was out Back-To-School shopping with my 6 year-old boy/girl twins and 8 year-old daughter. We went to Famous Footwear on south Iowa Street in Lawrence, Kansas. They have some good deals going on for back-to-school, also they sell Vans and Converse, which are my kiddos' favorite shoes currently, aaaaand we were already in that area to go to Target.
We've been shopping at this particular store for many years, and as a family have spent at least a few thousand bucks here. We spent 30 minutes trying shoes on, decided which ones we were buying and were about to pay when my 8 year-old daughter said she needed to use the bathroom. I asked if she could wait until we headed to Target and she said No, very firmly. (She's a very reasonable kiddo and has never been panicky about using a bathroom, so when I saw that "look" on her face, I knew things were serious.) We headed up to the front of the store to ask an employee if we could use the bathroom. We were told NO and that the bathroom was for employee use only. I explained that my daughter was in desperate need of the toilet and that we were buying several pairs of shoes (so she understood we were paying customers). She persisted (rudely) that my child, emergency or not, was absolutely NOT able to use the bathroom, and that we were free to go next door to Ross or Kohl's. I told her (quite sternly ) what I thought about that insanity, we dumped the shoes we were about to buy and promptly left. We raced next door to Ross and they kindly allowed us (non-paying customers) to use their bathroom with no hesitation.
I called Famous Footwear and spoke to the store manager, Scott, who proceeded to (rudely) back his employee and say that yes, they do NOT allow customers (regardless of a child having an emergency) to use their bathroom and that it's company policy. I pointed out that they sell children's shoes and make millions of dollars (as a corporate company) doing so, and the store manager continued to be a giant jerk and refused to admit that this is a terrible "policy".
Please share this story and tell everyone you know that Famous Footwear is an awful company. Also! We've always been big supporters of small, local businesses....we love Shark's Surf Shop in downtown Lawrence for buying Vans and Converse, and I know for a fact, this cool Mom-and-Pop Shop would have allowed my daughter to use their bathroom had this same situation happened there. read more