This may be considered indelicate by some, but here goes.
There are just some times when common courtesy is a must!I am fully aware that my values are old and antiquated, but where I come from the Tomball area just 30 miles NW of Houston, where the people still exercise a greater degree of civility.
From our first memories we are taught to be clean and continent. To deny someone the use of a facility to accomplish the relief of basic bodily functions is ,in my opinion, a cruel and inhuman act.
I had to be in the Big Galleria heavy traffic part of Houston. We needed to pay our phone bill while we were in town, so that required being in the traffic for a long period of time. During that time my bladder reached a point of urgency and was sending painful signals.
When we went in to pay the bill, I requested the use of their facility. I was told that they did not have a public one. My husband explained that it was somewhat of an emergency. They then said that they did have a restroom but they were taking inventory and counting money. Really?! These functions were taking place in the Restroom? When's the last time you found anyone counting money or doing equipment inventory in a restroom. No matter, they were serious about declining my use of the room. They actually seemed to be enjoying my discomfort... as bizarre as that seems.
Discomfort hardly begins to describe my situation as we returned to the car. Due to the part of town we were in, there were not any other good safe candidates for relief stations for a good fifteen minutes again due to traffic.
The good news is that I did make it. Once relief was achieved I began to be more and more angry about the way I had been treated. I am sure that everyone has had situations like that. I am a very modest person, however, I believe this is a situation that should be remedied. Perhaps I thought, I should share what happened with a few of my friends so they could save themselves a similar plight. Actually, I cannot think of a better use for a "social" media. Perhaps we could bring pressure to bear to make it a requirement that if an office is open to the public, they would have to provide public accommodations. These folks were after all more than happy to take our money.
This is a company that we have used for many years. They have offices all over Houston, and were once considered "the only phone company in town." Attitude has never been their long suit. Over the past few years more and more companies have come into the market place here. That now seems like a good thing. Due to the treatment I received , we will be changing phone carriers at our first opportunity.
There is a lesson here. Since we are in a service industry, we all know that it takes time, money and lots of consistent service to get and keep a customer. For lack of simple courtesy, this phone company has now lost two seasoned clients. Perhaps we are more vocal than the average, but somehow I doubt it. Do any of you wish to join us in looking for a phone company willing to provide common courtesy with the needs of the public in mind?
That brings to mind the profit motive of any business, and profit is what we are in business for isn't it? We pay about $300. a month in phone services, and over a year,that is a significant piece of change. And yes I realize that's pretty insignificant to them in the big picture but if enough folks read this and maybe tell others perhaps the big former long distance company will change their tune and no one else will have to suffer because of their lack of concern. We will be sharing our story with lots of folks who may also feel that we were treated offensively . It occurs to me that perhaps the one flush they denied may be a very expensive commodity. Courtesy may no longer be common for those companies that are too big to care, but it is still an essential tenet of a successful business.
That's why we like living out in the Tomball area where this would have never happened. Courtesy and decency are alive and well out here. But sadly we won't be using that company for much longer due to their attitude.
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