ANSWERS: 42
  • For the fear that people will abuse its use. Elaborate: Just having to go inside the store and ask for the keys to the restrooms help the store clerks somewhat regulate its use. You will not believe how much they actually save in utilities and supplies by keeping the doors locked.
  • With the high price of toilet paper these days an unlocked bathroom just might put one of those huge gas station chains out of business!!
  • It helps prevent theft, loitering and sex
  • It helps prevent some (but not all): Vandalism Water bills Maintenance Theft Health hazards All in all, it's a good system, but the store clerks do abuse it sometimes...
  • *Points for making me laugh...* Here in Mexico, they lock them, 'cause you have to be a customer to use them... If you don't buy gas, you don't get the key.-
  • Ive known several people that when after obtaining drugs have went into these restrooms to do them. If someone suspicious is in the toilet too long they can call the po po.
  • lol good question..clean them? ha ha :-D Maybe they lock them to prevent unsavory characters from lying in wait for unsuspecting goers? Who knows.
  • actualy a gas station was sued by a woman who's son over dosed in there outside bathroom, she said it was a safe harber.
  • Locking the bathrooms promotes customer spending in the gas station. Instead of feuling up and dumping off, now your required to go inside the establishment and MAYBE perchase an impulse item while retriving the key to the crapper. Some places even won't let you use the bathroom unless you buy somthing!
  • I figured it was to prevent peeing, puking, or sexual liaisons in them without first buying gas for $20/gallon and a pint of blood.
  • Oh no, now I've got it. It's because they find it amusing to watch individuals do the pee-pee dance from the car up to the counter to request the key, only to be told that someone already has it out there and while waiting you discover from the number of flushes it's either an entire family in the one bathroom, or with that many courtesy flushes you won't be able to use it without plugging your nose anyway.
  • Oh, I think that was me. I was accidently locked in the BR of a GS and after many hours of writing sex jokes and actually calling the phone numbers written on the stalls, I figured out no one was coming. So one thing lead to another and I began cleaning. Basically to satisfy just one of my many compulsions. After I was released, the GS owner was in awe of the sparkling BR and decided to lock it daily. Sorry that one was my fault.
  • It is in order to avoid it being used by junkies shooting up and such. By making them ask for a key they bring unwanted attention to themselves and the clerk can monitor if anyone is in there for an excessive amount of time.
  • i think it is helpful because it is important that they regulate theft, and or/vandilism and the store owners must have some real good reason to do what they are doing.
  • There are several reasons that service station bathroom doors are locked: 1. drug addicts use the restrooms for their "fix" 2. homeless people make restrooms their home 3. shoplifters use restrooms for stealing 4. armed robbers hide in the restroom, waiting to rob the cashier This is why service station restrooms are locked and you ask for the key I do not like it either, but the problems do exist and this is why.
  • Not from fear of them having to be cleaned but fear of having to clean them after mostly TEENS have been in them!
  • i heard from a manager its so people wont go in and vanalize it whenever they feel like it
  • They're afraid that people will steal the toilets and the sinks, so they are locked!
  • i know that in my area they lock the restrooms because some druggies will go in them and get high and trash it. some people dont have respect for public property either so it can be one way of not having the bathroom detroyed or disgusting.
  • Unfortunately it is because people go in and trash the restrooms and leave it for the attendant to clean up and it is also a way to make you go into the gas station "mini-mart" where you might find something you want to buy.
  • For safety and security, they are locked. It serves the interests of the owners and the customers. You do benefit from nicer, well stocked bathrooms as a result. You don't really want to walk in on a sleeping wino, drug deal or someone in sexual congress, do you?
  • Anyone can go in there and do whatever they want whenever they want if there wasn't a lock on it. They're usually located on the side of the building, out of view to the store employees. It could be totally destroyed in there. I know it seems like a pain in the bladder when you have to go real bad, and have to take the time to go get a key to get in, but it would be more of a pain if you went in and the toilet was ripped out.
  • We had a dishwasher at Denny's once break into one to masturbate to xxx porn while on my clock so I guess they should be locked
  • from a former gas station employee, we locked ours because people made a mess out of it , if a custemer wanted to clean it for us , we be the first ones to hand over the mop and bucket.
  • Have you ever seen the movie Kalifornia? There's this scene between Brad Pitt's character and this other guy. After watching that scene, I don't use gas station bathrooms anymore!
  • homeless people WILL sleep in those bathrooms. thats why they are locked. because i remember being homeless once in the winter, and havng nowhere to crash and i totally would've slept in there if could.
  • ...to make sure that it's only used by customers
  • the worst thing that i ever ran across,concerning this,was that as i was driving across the country i stopped at one place to pick up something and a man and woman and their kids were refused the keys of the washrooms because they hadn t bought anything.i just tossed back onto the counter the gum or whatever it was that i had intended to buy and walked out.
  • That was funny!
  • I went to a place where you had to put 50 cents to use the restroom before the stall and 25 to get a paper towel It was the strangest thing ever, I never been to a place that had that before and I never went back.I think they dont want for people too use the restrooms because they dont want the key locked inside from within.They dont want robers going in there and putting mask on or something.They dont want people doing who knows what in there.Those are somethings I can think of...............
  • Gas stations are in a "pay for service" business model, with a bathroom as an "add-in" service. It's not for public use "per se" but only for those who paid for something. They are under "lock & key" with the key being held by the cashier.
  • You'd be amazed at what people will do in there or to them! People are idiots these days! LOL
  • people steal the toilet paper. that is why i lock my bathroom doors. They pee in the sink also. If you lock your door and then give the key out individually you can check each person out.
  • no its because when your car is being serviced so is your girl friend and you can't get in to help him
  • To make it safer and avoid the possibilities of being sued for not providing a safe place for customers in case someone is robbed or raped while using them.
  • they would take the stuff that is in there
  • I used to wonder this until I worked at a fast food joint when I was younger that had bathrooms on the outside of the building. They lock them so hobos and crackheads don't take shelter in there and use it as a personal bathroom/shower/laundry/bed/kitchen area
  • Perhaps they are afraid a homeless person will set up residence in one.
  • I'm sorry that's just funny. lol They probably dont want you to smoke a ciggy and then KABOOM!
  • I work at a convenient store/gas station and since we started locking the bathroom doors, they've stayed cleaner. People were screwing around in there, putting stuff in the toilet that's not supposed to be there, making messes, and other stuff. Since they have to come up to the register and ask for the key, I think they are less likely to do anything bad in there because we might be able to find out that it was them that did it.
  • I'm sure it's because a homeless person might want to sleep there. I certainly wouldn't want to share a restroom with a bum.
  • Cheapest motel for a sexual rendezvous. And if the cops come, you could say that one of you felt sick and the other was helping. Oh, crap, giving away secrets again.

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