A resident in El Paso, Texas, was taken aback when he discovered a local McDonald’s had blocked off its restrooms at lunch and remained closed well into 2 pm. Going by Hgwelz on Reddit, the individual posted a picture of the bathrooms on r/mildlyinfuriating, with the women’s and men’s rooms barricaded by a trash table and wipes stand. However, Hgwelz was seemingly one of few frustrated by this controversial bathroom ban, as the comment section expressed support for McDonald’s decision.
Hgwelz mentioned that this McDonald’s was located near Franklin High School. “But everyone knows the Whataburger is the place for drugs,” he said jokingly, implying why he found the whole McDonald’s bathroom blockade unnecessary. OP also added that this fast-food stop was in a “higher income area” of the city, and the parking lot had camera surveillance to ward off troublemakers as well.
Countless Users Agree that Keeping High Schoolers Out of McDonald’s Bathrooms During Lunch Is the Right Call
Still, the El Paso McDonald’s closed restrooms are definitely not overkill, according to Redditors in the comments. “Stuff like this is absolutely justified,” wrote a user, who explained how they knew a local Dunkin’ Donuts that had been “ravaged by middle and high schoolers” on a regular weekday basis. “I always felt terrible for the workers,” the commenter sighed.
“I used to be a custodian at a high school and can tell you that there is a very good reason for this,“ agreed a second. “I work at a library by a middle school we don’t close our bathroom but somebody has to watch it from 2-4. Those kids are monsters,” remarked a third. “Never underestimate students of ANY AGE to destroy or vandalize a restroom,” warned a fourth.
Based on the collective opinion of the comments, what the El Paso McDonald’s management decided to do with the bathrooms during lunchtime wasn’t a move against customers; it was to protect the employees’ sanity. As one person put it, “People need to consider what drove businesses to enact these policies before bashing the business.”
