Did you hear about the Barista's Decision to Enforce a Policy Goes Viral?

I understand the concept/policy of business only letting PAID CUSTOMERS access to their restrooms....however I think they should give public servants i.e., cops/firefighters/EMS use of their restrooms.
The woman, although Pregnant, should not have made a scene.
My mom, Aunt and I went to NYC and DC last August through September. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a restroom. We soon figured out to go into Starbucks...which there seemed to be one on every other corner.....The line to the restroom in Starbucks were long...no matter what time of day or night....There were signs up everywhere "Restrooms for Paying customers ONLY"........so one of us would get in line to purchase something while the other two would get in line at the restroom. In most of the Starbucks, the employees were so busy they were not paying attention to whether or not the person in line for the restroom had made a purchase or not....but just in case, we always made sure to purchase something. It's CRAZY!
If there wasn't a Starbucks, then we'd duck into a coffee shop or restaurant, but we always felt eyes were watching us so we would always purchase something first before using the restroom.
What ever happened to Public Restrooms?...or just common courtesy of establishments to let someone use their facility?

I never buy coffee at Starbucks. I refuse to pay $5 for a cup of Joe. I just don't understand how hipsters can afford to do it when they spend all their money on skinny jeans, deep vee tee shirts and tattoo sleves. Karma is bitch.

There is the letter of a policy and there is a spirit of a policy. She clearly is not smart enough to know the difference or she knows the difference and chose to try to embarrass the cop.

I wish I would have been in line. I would have said, yes, he is with me and she would have needed to let him in. Then I would have taken the cup of coffee I bought for him and dumped it on the counter and floor with a big "ooppsie" for her to clean up with a wry smile on my face.

You want to play games, I can play games.

First I heard of this but while I do understand the policy is geared towards keeping the homeless from abusing the bathrooms and leaving them a gross mess I would think that if a police officer asked politely, or anyone for that matter, then let them use it its no big deal, or shouldn't be.
In my opinion I think that this barista is just another of todays young, disrespectful, and socially challenged people who think that because on Twiter, Facebook, Skout and many other sites they can talk all loud and ignorant that they can do it to real people.
The barista lacks self respect, at least in my opinion, and therefore has no respect for others.
Oh and I know lots of Starbucks that gives free coffee to police officers.

it's sad the way today's youth in our country is turning out to be so rude and disrespectful to people. Especially our law enforcement officers, military and veterans. I was raised to respect everybody and especially authority figures like law enforcement.

COL Mikel J. Burroughs I understand a business not wanting to have their restrooms used by non paying customers. They have to pay an employee or service to maintain that bathroom, and have the right to reserve its use for customers. That being said, there is more than one way to be a paying customer. If I ran a business, I would want a good relationship with all emergency services. If a police officer needs to use the restroom, paying or not, let them. Why? Simple, a police officer being seen in your place of business whether that be apprehending a criminal, buying a meal, or simply using the head is still a visible presence. Petty criminals look for targets of opportunity. A uniformed police officer in my place of business makes it less of a target.

I have taken exactly one semester of economics. We discussed something called opportunity cost. It revolves around the intangibles. Things like keeping outdated and under sold items on the shelf. I would classify this as one of those intangibles. Starbucks now has the bad publicity (earned or not), and the stigma (at that store at least) of being belligerent to the police. There are many places that will go out of their way to extend courtesies to veterans, active duty military, police, EMS, Fire, and other first responders. They do this because it shows a respect for the service that they provide. I personally would have extended it to include allowing uniformed military/first responders to use the head without making a purchase.

I personally do not care for Starbucks. Their coffee sucks. I would rather use my keurig machine or go to to Dunkin Donuts for coffee than have starbucks. I have also found that many of the workers at Starbucks are snobbish. I find it humorous that someone who is pouring coffee for a living is looking down their nose at me. I do use them occasionally, but only if I have no other choice. I would say boycott Starbucks. Not because of this, but because they have overpriced inferior coffee.

There are other places for us to do business that respect the police.

This may be a very unpopular statement but, I do somewhat see a sense of entitlement with this officer. Generally businesses only extend the use of the restroom to a paying customer, an officer should know that. Now, don't get me wrong, I do support police officers, but that doesn't give them the right to be served differently than any other citizen.

Growing up in the city, often do I see customers (including law enforcement) being denied to use the restroom because they are not a paying customer (me included). What does bother me is that it's not being enforced equally, sometimes the rep will be selective on who and who isn't allowed to use the restrooms.

COL Mikel J. Burroughs Some people just don't get it.

If that is truly the policy, then I cant fault her on technical reasons. She is just following the rules.

However, its a stupid business practice. Any sane business owner doesn't want to anger the police, fire, and any public agency that they rely on. Most businesses cater to the police because it makes good business sense. The more cops around, the less crooks you have around. I would like to hear from the management of that particular Starbucks how they feel about their employees response, before I pass judgement on an entire corporation.