Pregnant woman denied entry to Starbucks restroom. (iStock/Reuters)
A Phoenix-area Starbucks is facing criticism for denying a pregnant woman use of its bathroom, even after she said she would buy an item.
Ilana Scheinker , who is eight-months pregnant, was driving with her husband when the urge to go suddenly hit.
She walked into a local Starbucks on Tuesday morning and asked to use the bathroom, which required a code to unlock the door. Scheinker says the barista refused, and told the mother-to-be that she needed to make a purchase first, reports 12 news.
"I said, 'I'm pregnant, I really have to use the bathroom now," Scheinker told 12 News.
The barista continued to withhold the code and that’s when Sheinker says she went to get her husband who had been waiting outside.
"My husband went up and again reiterated that, 'My wife is very pregnant,' " Scheinker told the station.
"Again he said no. Went back and forth. The man was unrelenting. My husband gave him his credit card and said, 'Charge me for anything.' The man refused. A woman standing behind said, 'I'm about to make a purchase, give me the code and I'll give it to her.'"
Things reportedly took an ugly turn when the Starbucks worker, who has not been identified told them leave threatened to call the police if the couple did not vacate the coffee store.
12 news reached out to Starbucks for comment and received this response:
"We failed to meet this customer's expectations of us, and we have apologized and are working to make it right. This experience is unacceptable and not indicative of the welcoming and respectful service we strive to offer our customers in our stores."
Although Scheinker says she was eventually able to use the bathroom at a nearby Subway, she is still upset by incident, thought she did receive a call from the location’s manager who did not witness the confrontation.
"She was shocked," Scheinker told 12 news. "Said that she would communicate that this is completely unacceptable to her employee."
Scheinker is reportedly boycotting Starbucks and urging others to do the same by speaking out to mothers’ group to prevent a similar occurrence.
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