How do I report a male customer urinating in the middle of the store? The public restroom is closed due to the pandemic. The guy just urinates right there in the middle of the store. No, he was not a homeless guy. I was going to take a photo but 1) I didn't have a telephoto lens and 2) I am not into pornography!

Yes, this really happened. No, I am not putting it in the report. I did take a photo of the signage showing that the restroom is closed due to COVID. Yes, the employee got the mop and bucket out and cleaned it up right away. PEOPLE ARE NUTS RIGHT NOW!

Gross. Do put it in the report so that the employee gets an attaboy for handling it well.

Did he do it in his pants or actually pull down his pants?

Sad.

I SO would have put that in the report! Hats off to the employee. I can only imagine what he sees.

@sparklesthekitty wrote:

Did he do it in his pants or actually pull down his pants?

Probably just whipped it out!

I would definitely put it in the report. It might help Corporate to know how not having a restroom is affecting the store.

Some people have been nuts or non caring about others even before this. Today at the post office I waited in line over 25 minutes in back of the same person the whole time. Then a male who was at the counter doing his packages up stepped in front of me in the line. He said he had been there all the time. 10 minutes later (yes I waited 35 minutes to be served. Definitely this shop was not worth the pay) he was busy scribbling on something when it was his turn and did not proceed forward when called. The clerk finally asked if he was finished writing or if she should take the next in line (that was me). He stopped writing and went forward. He gave her one package and then made a phone call. There was a huge sign saying cell phones had to be turned off at the counter. She was waiting for him to pay while he was on the phone and then asked him if he would like to finish his call and she would take me. So he finally finished his call and handed her a second package. Then he decided not to send the second package. No wonder I waited so long to be served but at least no one peed on the floor. That was disgusting. It was amazing how cool and collected the clerk was alone behind the counter with a huge line to take care of.

Curious, was this at a cell phone carrier, convenience store, etc? I'm struggling to imagine this. And I live in a tech/college town with rampant homelessness.

@guysmom wrote:

I would definitely put it in the report. It might help Corporate to know how not having a restroom is affecting the store.

I don't think it's about a closed restroom.

This sounds more like mental illness, unfortunately. Most people can hold their pee in such situations.

@sandyf wrote:

Some people have been nuts or non caring about others even before this.

That sounds more like rudeness in your story, sandyf. OP's sounds like a genuinely crazy person.

Also, if OP's story is a California one, I have heard that 800,000 mentally ill patients were released from institutions, due to a lack of funding in recent years by the state. CA is having some big state financial issues.

Joe Rogan recently left the state and cited how there's been a huge decline. He talked about seeing homeless (often mentally ill) people everywhere. They are peeing and defecating everywhere.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2020 09:26AM by shoptastic.

@lcubed3 wrote:

Curious, was this at a cell phone carrier, convenience store, etc? I'm struggling to imagine this. And I live in a tech/college town with rampant homelessness.

It was NOT a homeless guy. Dressed casual but clean, Owned a decent car,

I was told to NOT mention it in the report. They were only concerned about the restroom being closed due to COVID-19 (so the business would NOT get a deduction) and only wanted me to include the signage saying so. Many businesses have closed their public restrooms along with removing fountain machines, ice machines and hot food services (aka hot dogs on the roller grill.) This is the new normal.

Pee guy might have been desperate, goofy, and/or protesting. ?

Seriously. I can see this from a few different perspectives.

For me (and probably ceasesmith), there are literally hours and miles between designated pit stops. Sometimes, it is impossible to drive as fast as the posted speed limits permit for best conditions. Mind you, I would not pee in the middle of a store, and I have a few absurd but good fixes for what to do between known and acceptable restrooms... these are personal, private, and proprietary...

I have no Idea what numbers were released from Institutions in Calif but this did not happen recently. It was 4-5 decades ago. Our homeless problem has escalated in the past decade or two. Many of the homeless people are truly Californians but a large number of people come to California every year due to our mild weather and services offered such as free health care, education etc.for all low income people even if you recently arrived. Some of these people are able to support themselves for a while, others are homeless almost immediately. Even the truly Californians are a mix of long term residents and shorter term residents. Where would you rather be homeless? In a state where it is 20 degrees in winter with no services or here where it is 50-60 degrees on a cold day? A lot of the homelessness is due to the high cost of housing. We have not built enough housing to house the population growth. As a consequence of the high costs many middle class people are settling into neighborhoods that many mystery shoppers here say they will not go. That has changed those areas where lower income people could find something affordable as the rents have gone up.

quote=shoptastic]

@sandyf wrote:

Some people have been nuts or non caring about others even before this.

That sounds more like rudeness in your story, sandyf. OP's sounds like a genuinely crazy person.

Also, if OP's story is a California one, I have heard that 800,000 mentally ill patients were released from institutions, due to a lack of funding in recent years by the state. CA is having some big state financial issues.

Joe Rogan recently left the state and cited how there's been a huge decline. He talked about seeing homeless (often mentally ill) people everywhere. They are peeing and defecating everywhere.[/quote]

@sandyf wrote:

I have no Idea what numbers were released from Institutions in Calif but this did not happen recently. It was 4-5 decades ago.

Weird. You are 100% correct. Down to the exact time-frame too!

For some reason, I blurred together two things I was thinking about (a documentary I saw + Joe Rogan segment on him leaving California) and said it happened recently. Yeah, this has played out over the past 50 years!

We've abandoned the mentally ill, due to state budget cuts for mental institutions. Many have ended up sadly on the streets as homeless folks. I, myself, would prefer CA over other areas too if I were homeless. Not just less cold, but less humid.

I probably couldn't afford to live in CA anymore if I had to move back there now. At least, it wouldn't be with the same "quality of housing/life." I miss CA. Was a student at UCLA and UC Irvine and worked in SoCal for a few years.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2020 10:56PM by shoptastic.

Pee guy may have been drunk.

If you look at the homeless populations (https://psydprograms.org/the-places-with-the-most-and-least-homelessness-in-america/), the top five are DC, NY, Hawaii, CA, OR. All places with huge drug problems and a high cost of living. I say take the billions that are being poured into programs and set up housing in one of those places that is LESS desirable. Why should a homeless drug addict be able to live on beachfront public property that a working person has no chance to afford?

I have a home and a defunct printer. I needed to print mandatory paper work for a gig. So, I get in the car and the wind blows snow on my seat. [Oh! Cold butt! Wheeeee!] I get to to public printer place, complete with cold wet butt and sit on the plastic chair. I do my business and think briefly, "At least it was white snow."

Now, because of this thread, I wonder if anyone cleaned a wet chair and thought of me as one of the crazy, homeless, bathroomless people in the world...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2020 04:18PM by Shop-et-al.

@iShop123 wrote:

If you look at the homeless populations (https://psydprograms.org/the-places-with-the-most-and-least-homelessness-in-america/), the top five are DC, NY, Hawaii, CA, OR. All places with huge drug problems and a high cost of living. I say take the billions that are being poured into programs and set up housing in one of those places that is LESS desirable. Why should a homeless drug addict be able to live on beachfront public property that a working person has no chance to afford?

My thoughts exactly!

I agree about the expensive and beautiful areas. I do not see why we need to house the homeless at the beach. Venice California which most people have heard about is a magnet for homeless people. They can stretch out on the beach under an umbrella or on the grassy spots and have lots of room to sleep or nap during the day. Also a good place for pan handling during the day. The breeze is cool , the air clean and there are nearby places for free food etc.
For some reason Venice thinks any homeless person who now resides in Venice, Ca is a resident and they need to be housed in Venice once the shelter or home beds are available. I have no idea why the thought is that someone who arrived last month or even last night from somewhere far away deserves to be forever housed in a beautiful and expensive area like Venice Cal when thousands of homeowners and renters who lived there all their lives are forced to move far away when they lose their home through an unfortunate loss of a job or some other tragedy. These people are Venetians. Why are they not protected too from having to leave their home area just because they have never slept on the street? Personally I think some number of beds or bedrooms should be available in all areas for homeless. Those beds can go first to folks who have actually lived in homes in the area for much of their lives, not to those who came last week.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@iShop123 wrote:

If you look at the homeless populations (https://psydprograms.org/the-places-with-the-most-and-least-homelessness-in-america/), the top five are DC, NY, Hawaii, CA, OR. All places with huge drug problems and a high cost of living. I say take the billions that are being poured into programs and set up housing in one of those places that is LESS desirable. Why should a homeless drug addict be able to live on beachfront public property that a working person has no chance to afford?

My thoughts exactly!

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Now, because of this thread, I wonder if anyone cleaned a wet chair and thought of me as one of the crazy, homeless, bathroomless people in the world...

This guy was standing and partially unzipped his pants. He peed on the floor inside the store but also down his legs. The video camera near the register might have caught it. He was in casual, business attire in the middle of the day, in a large metropolitan area with a ton of FF restaurants nearby along with a Walmart. And being a guy, it would have been better for him to just pick a bush outside or go behind the dumpster. I have seen many a penis by the dumpsters.

About 4 or 5 decades ago there were court cases about the civil rights of people with mental illnesses. Before the court cases, one could be committed and locked away with very little evidence, even for normal behavior that a powerful family member did not like. Filing for divorce, having sex without marriage, refusing to have sex with a spouse, being gay or other lgbtq, are some of the reasons given for committing someone.

Treatments were often barbaric--think old-fashioned shock therapy, lobotomies, etc. In those days they were often tied up and kept under lock and key in mental institutions that were dirty and filthy, sitting in their own waste, and there were other many abuses. After the court challenges most of the mental institutions were shut down without making provisions, and many of the patients had no where to go. They were supposed to have out-patient treatment. Instead they wound up on the streets and beaches of cities all over the country.

Another consequence of those laws is that families have a really hard time getting help for a mentally ill member. At best they can get a 48-72 hour "hold" to evaluate whether they are a danger to self or others. After that, if they are not a danger (what the law considers a danger) they are released from the hold--so back to the streets.

So... umm... why do you hang out near dumpsters?

@LuvsTraveling wrote:

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Now, because of this thread, I wonder if anyone cleaned a wet chair and thought of me as one of the crazy, homeless, bathroomless people in the world...

This guy was standing and partially unzipped his pants. He peed on the floor inside the store but also down his legs. The video camera near the register might have caught it. He was in casual, business attire in the middle of the day, in a large metropolitan area with a ton of FF restaurants nearby along with a Walmart. And being a guy, it would have been better for him to just pick a bush outside or go behind the dumpster. I have seen many a penis by the dumpsters.

I was thinking about something when I was in a large store today...

If I saw someone drop their pants and pee in the middle of the store, I would start with "Ew!" and move as far away from that scene as possible. But I would not immediately think of it as a diversion. That happened on the drive home. While someone is peeing in public and drawing attention to themselves and the spot, what is an accomplice doing elsewhere? Most people would probably gawp or scram. But who would look around for a more serious crime?

Meanwhile, I changed my siggy to one that supports personal boundaries. All the talk of mentally ill and who should commit them which really means who has the balls to dare to control them screams that there are systemic issues with boundaries and far-reaching effects of invasions, intrusions, and a general lack of respect.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2020 12:47AM by Shop-et-al.

Years ago when I was a district manager of retail stores, an employee told a customer we didn't have a public restroom. We were next door to a grocery store with a public restroom and there were no guidelines requiring us to provide a restroom. Customer got mad and pulled her pants defecated in the middle of the floor.

I've also had an angry customer who don't like what they're being told urinate in the store.

These were not cases of mental illness... this is a case of making a statement/Public temper tantrum.

The police were called in both cases, and the offenders were trespassed and charged with indecency.

I hate to say that having worked in retail, nothing surprises me anymore.

I might regret saying this but to me there is some touch of something mentally going on when someone defecates or pees in a store. The average person with no detectable mental issues would not pull their pants down and poop or pee in the middle of the store because they were told there was no restroom. They might get mad and angry and express it but most people would not express their anger in that way.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Pee guy may have been drunk.

More likely he was FUBAR.

@iShop123 wrote:

If you look at the homeless populations (https://psydprograms.org/the-places-with-the-most-and-least-homelessness-in-america/), the top five are DC, NY, Hawaii, CA, OR. All places with huge drug problems and a high cost of living. I say take the billions that are being poured into programs and set up housing in one of those places that is LESS desirable. Why should a homeless drug addict be able to live on beachfront public property that a working person has no chance to afford?

A counter-argument is that they're not living a luxurious life by any means. Living in a tent - even along a beach - is not particularly nice I'd bet. A lack of one's own private restroom and being constantly insecure about one's safety and other random stuff from living that way isn't living it up.

I do understand the sentiment, though. I lived and worked in Irvine and my rent was $800/month (over a decade ago, so rates are much higher now probably) for a spare opposite-level condo bedroom with a newlywed couple. Newport Beach was next to me. I worked briefly there as well. I can see no way homeless Californians would be allowed to camp out at Newport Beach. There are too many wealthy residents and businesses and THAT would be an amazing view of the ocean. I used to drive to my job there and see one of the most gorgeous views you'd ever want with the ocean/beach on the horizon off the main road.

Yes, non-homeless cannot live at the beach if costs are too high, but they can visit the beach.

Not saying I agree or disagree...just that living in a tent on the beach still has its challenges and negatives.

@foodluvr wrote:

Customer got mad and pulled her pants defecated in the middle of the floor.

GOOD LORD!

@ wrote:

I've also had an angry customer who don't like what they're being told urinate in the store.

These were not cases of mental illness... this is a case of making a statement/Public temper tantrum.

Maybe it was both? Both anger AND mentally ill? I doubt any ole angry person would just poop in the middle of the store like that!