# Toilet code? Is that what I think it is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315 "2020-02-01T00:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/41 "2020-02-02T03:48:48Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > If I had to guess, I’d have to say it depends on a combination of how likely it is that a non-customer would come in to use the restroom ( can’t imagine it happens very often at a mechanic’s shop) and how difficult it is to restrict access ( very difficult at Target, not so much at the Dunkin Donuts with three tables) Wait, are you saying that a shop where it’s difficult to restrict access would be _more_ likely to have a keypad on the bathroom to do so, or _less_ likely? Take Target, in particular. Big stores, difficult to control access other than by having a toilet code, likely place for random people to stop in just to pee. At every Target where I’ve stopped (I’m in Northern California), there is no effort at all to restrict toilets. The restrooms are up front, and there is no lock of any kind. Furthermore, Target stores are everywhere, often along freeways and other major highways. When I’m on the road, I regularly stop at Target stores just to use the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/42 "2020-02-02T03:52:35Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Most businesses here don’t want people just coming in to use the john and then leaving again. In fact most businesses wont let even customers use the john, unless they are restaurants/cafes. Big supermarkets will usually have one anyone can use, small ones not likely. It’s pretty rare around here for a business to not have public restrooms. Rare enough that a lot of people erroneously think that businesses are required by law to provide public restrooms. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/43 "2020-02-02T03:58:18Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I’ve seen it in a couple of places while traveling. It is usually an excellent sign that you’ve found yourself in a bad neighborhood. The place has problems with people coming in to shoot up and then pass out in their restroom. I knew a girl who worked the night shift at the Jack in the Box in a neighborhood that was iffy after dark. She said once she had to clean up the bathroom after a couple had sex in it. I didn’t ask for details of how she knew they had sex. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/44 "2020-02-02T04:40:12Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > I am a bit flabbergasted by this, at least for the posts referencing American stores/restaurants. (I understand different culture, when in Rome, etc. for Europe) I thought “customers only” bathrooms went the way of the dodo decades ago. I don’t know of a single fast food place, convenience/grocery/department/discount store, even repair shop that has restricted access to their restrooms. Most have prominent signs pointing the way and you don’t need a key or code or anything. > > Is it just some neighborhoods or cities where this is common, and I have been lucky where I choose to “go”? I’m an American and this thread is the first time I have ever heard of this. I know about needing a key for a gas station restroom from movies but I have yet to encounter that anywhere myself, either (however, I don’t know that I’ve ever needed to use a gas station’s facilities) . Old Orchard Beach, Maine did have restrooms you had to pay a quarter to use when I was a kid, though. This country is very large and has lots of regional customs, so… ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/45 "2020-02-02T10:08:48Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Almost all Starbucks in Switzerland have toilets with codes. In Switzerland, as in many other European countries, most of the public toliets require payment. So fast food restaurants sometimes have a big problem with non-customers using their facilities. > > This is not the same as a formal restaurant where the bathroom is usually at the far side of the restaurant. Non-customers will stand out if they try to use the restaurant’s facilities. > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I don’t understand. Isn’t that why they require payment? So that a non-customer must pay to use the WC? And why is there a code if you have to pay? The customer restrooms are not public. They are restricted to customer use only. And therefore the customers, who already paid for their food, also get a code to use the toilet. In Luzern there are public restrooms which are free. They normally have a line, are filthy and do not have toilet paper or soap or paper towels. Or you can pay 2 CHF (1 CHF for the urinal) to have a sparking clean toliet, soft toliet paper and hot water, soap and paper towels to wash your hands. Otherwise you go to Starbucks or McDonalds, buy something, and get the code to use th toilet. And there’s websites such as [Freepee.org](https://www.freepee.org/Europe/Switzerland/Lucerne/) to help find a place to go. Grocery stores do not have restrooms for customers. Shopping malls and Ikea do, but even some of those places require payment. Some train stations offer free toilets, others charge 0.50, 1.00 or 2.00 CHF. The adult school I attend put a code on their bathrooms. All the students were given the code, freely. Why did the school do it? So many tourists came in to use the bathrooms, the stuidents had to wait in line. The tourists are not attending the school. They were just shopping at the store below, and they went up 2 floors to find the toliet which is intended for the students and teachers. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/46 "2020-02-02T11:53:17Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I’ve seen it in a couple of places while traveling. It is usually an excellent sign that you’ve found yourself in a bad neighborhood. The place has problems with people coming in to shoot up and then pass out in their restroom. “Traveling ” usually involves going a little farther than to a Turkey Hill in the next county. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/47 "2020-02-02T11:58:33Z")
Requirements vary by State in the U.S. Here’s an article about Hawaii requirements: [https://www.staradvertiser.com/2010/10/16/hawaii-news/kokua-line/restaurants-not-required-to-have-public-bathrooms/](https://www.staradvertiser.com/2010/10/16/hawaii-news/kokua-line/restaurants-not-required-to-have-public-bathrooms/) "Restaurants not required to have public bathrooms By June Watanabe Oct. 16, 2010 Question: I have encountered several places that serve food but do not allow people to use their toilets. They all say they have no public restroom. But if they serve food, aren’t they required to have restrooms for their customers? Answer: No. Many people assume all restaurants are required to provide public restrooms, but the state Department of Health requires public facilities only if the restaurants serve liquor. In that case, the restaurant is required to provide toilet facilities based on the number of customers it can accommodate. However, the Health Department does require food establishments, including restaurants, to provide restroom facilities for employees to ensure safe sanitary practices. It might surprise you to know that state law also does not require shopping malls to provide public restrooms, although restaurants within a mall would be subject to the requirements listed above. As the Health Department explained to Kokua Line previously, its administrative rules on sanitation govern food establishments, such as restaurants and markets, and places of public gathering, such as theaters, schools, dorms, auditoriums, churches, amusement places, etc. Requirements for “minimum sanitary facilities” can be found in the department’s Sanitation Administrative Rules (see [gen.doh.hawaii.gov/sites/har/AdmRules1/11-11.pdf](http://gen.doh.hawaii.gov/sites/har/AdmRules1/11-11.pdf))." ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/48 "2020-02-02T12:12:46Z")
The link in the article above is broken. Here’s the correct link: [https://health.hawaii.gov/dcab/files/2017/05/11-216-Approved-Final-Rule-2017.pdf](https://health.hawaii.gov/dcab/files/2017/05/11-216-Approved-Final-Rule-2017.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/49 "2020-02-02T12:40:23Z")
We had so many problems with drunk college students vandalizing our bathrooms at the Taco Bell I worked at that our manager looked into bathroom laws in Wisconsin, found out that - at the time, anyhow - it was legal to make bathrooms for customer use only. We put buzzer locks on them and our issues plummeted. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/50 "2020-02-02T13:26:57Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Actually there’s an even more important purpose that only a handful of people know. Every customer receipt has a different password which is matched to a lab analysis of the “offerings” left by the customer in the loo. This analysis is then sold to marketers which then send “curated” coupons, offers, and ads to you based on trace chemicals found in your waste that indicate what foods, beverages, medicines, beverages, and household products are used by you and your household. > > Cheeky marketing wankers! Don’t laugh. It could happen! And with face recognition, you don’t even need a toilet code. > [@Duckster](#): > > I would think a toilet code would be made up of only number ones and number twos. So, a [ternary system?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ternary_numeral_system) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/51 "2020-02-02T13:53:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Wait, are you saying that a shop where it’s difficult to restrict access would be _more_ likely to have a keypad on the bathroom to do so, or _less_ likely? ``` The harder it is to restrict access, the more likely it is that they don't even try. ``` ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/52 "2020-02-02T14:48:50Z")
There’s a bar/restaurant called Greenhouse in Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten located near the cruiseship docks. They’ve always had problems with non-customers walking in and using their facilities (imagine thousands of cruiseship people walking by), so they posted a big sign outside the door, “ **TOILETS: FOLLOW THE PATH** ” with an arrow. If you walk in the direction of the arrow, there is indeed a path. It eventually takes you to the water’s edge and is kinda an in-joke. We will stop there for afternoon drinks, sit by the entrance, and watch people reading the sign and walking off in the direction the arrow sends them. A few times the people seem have seemed nice and are dancing around, so I’ve stopped them and taken them to the real bathrooms. A few people have bought me drinks as a thank you. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/53 "2020-02-02T19:42:09Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > “Traveling ” usually involves going a little farther than to a Turkey Hill in the next county. I’m not sure what you mean. I am talking about in the United States. If this thread was open five years ago, I would have agreed with the prior poster. Any mall, fast food joint, convenience store, or bigger store like Wal-Mart or Target was always known to have open and non-pay public restrooms. If you needed to go, you stopped at one of these places and you could use the toilet. And it is still mostly true. However, in the past year or so, when traveling, I have pulled off the expressway and stopped at a McDonalds to use the restroom and get some food. As I don’t want to make any more stops than necessary, I go to the restroom before ordering. The first time one was locked, I walked (danced) to the counter and told them that the door was locked, thinking it was temporarily closed for cleaning. The manager said no problem and unlocked it and told me about drug use in the restroom. I think if you don’t look like you are about to shoot up in the restroom, then every place I have been would unlock it for you. It still is pretty rare but it happens. And when it happens, when you glance around the neighborhood, you realize that you got off at an undesirable exit. It sort of like when you check into a hotel in the United States and they have a list of rules posted by the front desk (NO SMOKING! NO LOUD NOISE AFTER 10PM! NO OPEN ALCOHOL IN THE LOBBY! NO PETS! NO UNREGISTERED OVERNIGHT GUESTS! INTOXICATED PERSONS IN COMMON AREAS WILL BE REMOVED! NO CASH KEPT IN REGISTER! FUCK YOU WE HATE OUR GUESTS!) that is a good sign that you need to go to a different hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/54 "2020-02-02T22:39:58Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The problem with that reasoning is, while certainly many cafes and restaurants and pubs stipulate that the toilets are for customers only, why would I get a receipt before I actually pay for my coffee or beer or meal? Yeah, it’s sort of short sighted - if a solo customer needs to use the toilet when they walk in, they would have to either buy food and drinks and consume it whilst bursting for a piss, or leave their food/drinks unattended while they use the code (or take their food/drinks in with them which seems a horrible idea). I think a lot of places that do this end up in practice handing out the code verbally to customers who just walked in. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/55 "2020-02-02T23:59:02Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yeah, it’s sort of short sighted - if a solo customer needs to use the toilet when they walk in, they would have to either buy food and drinks and consume it whilst bursting for a piss, or leave their food/drinks unattended while they use the code (or take their food/drinks in with them which seems a horrible idea). > I think a lot of places that do this end up in practice handing out the code verbally to customers who just walked in. I’ve never seen the code on a receipt- but I have often gotten the code/key before ordering. In thinking back to my days of working in fast-food restaurants, I remember a couple of things. First, non-customers rarely asked for the key. Of course , it was common for people to ask for the key before ordering- but it wasn’t common for someone to ask for the key , return the key and then not order. Second, before the restrooms were locked, they needed to be cleaned much more frequently which I always assumed was because a lot of non-customers had been using them before. I guess just having to ask for the key discouraged a lot of non-customers. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/56 "2020-02-03T03:40:07Z")
I’m confused about getting your receipt with your or after you get your food. Most fast food places I’ve been, you pay for your food first, get the receipt, then wait for your food. The exception are places like Subway or Panda Express where you make your choice first, then pay. But if I had to use the restroom, I’d ask first, then feel like a jerk for walking out after. At sit down restaurants, I wait until I’m seated or order my food, then tell the server I’ll be right back after I use the restroom. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/57 "2020-02-03T04:00:29Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I’m confused about getting your receipt with your or after you get your food. Most fast food places I’ve been, you pay for your food first, get the receipt, then wait for your food. Usually at a McDonald’s/Wendy’s type of place, the time between getting your receipt and getting your food isn’t long enough to go to the restroom and they aren’t really set up to hold your food at the counter until you come back. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/58 "2020-02-03T11:00:46Z")
Someone looking over my shoulder earlier today at the thread title asked ‘Dan Brown’s latest’? I was laughing too much to reply it was shorter but a more welcome read. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/59 "2020-02-03T11:25:54Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Actually there’s an even more important purpose that only a handful of people know. Every customer receipt has a different password which is matched to a lab analysis of the “offerings” left by the customer in the loo. This analysis is then sold to marketers which then send “curated” coupons, offers, and ads to you based on trace chemicals found in your waste that indicate what foods, beverages, medicines, beverages, and household products are used by you and your household. > > Cheeky marketing wankers! Plus, data on your excretions is shared in a centralized database such that other houses of waste disposal can perform an analysis on your leavings and match them to other deposits across the country, tracking both your shopping and shitting habits. It’s called ‘faecal recognition’ ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315/60 "2020-02-03T11:58:26Z")
I would think the very first time some child pisses themselves/customer vomits, while trying to punch in/obtain the code, they would be rethinking the whole idea. But then, I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing around here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-code-is-that-what-i-think-it-is/847315.md?page=4)