In an effort to not bury the lead, let me just start by saying that two changing tables are on order and will be installed in my local Starbucks in approximately two weeks! How, you may ask, did I manage to move such mountains? Let’s begin..
I’m a take charge kind of girl, in case you couldn’t tell. If I don’t like something, I complain loudly and do what I can to change it. Granted, since having a baby, I’m experiencing a bit more lag time, but now that our life is setting into some semblance of order, I’m on a mission to check things off of my to do list that I’ve kept running for the last year. And, at the top? Figure out just why the HELL Starbucks doesn’t provide changing tables in all their restrooms.
Listen, if you are reading this and you don’t have a child in diapers, I don’t really expect you to understand the severity of this situation (and please, let’s not turn this into a childfree/parenting debate). If you do understand, if you can put yourself in an exasperated new parent’s shoes, a parent who has relied on coffee to get them through many a late night project and now just wants to escape to Starbucks for a small window of time while their infant is sleeping, a parent who will need to change said infant before getting back in the 105 degree car, then thank you for your compassion and understanding.
What I am saying is, yes, there may be bigger fish to fry in the blogosphere. Yes, I can blog to end hunger or stop prostitution, but, seriously, this is IMPORTANT stuff to lots of parents. I promise. I’ve asked. I’ve heard. I’ve read the PAGES of comments on the MyStarbucksIdea.com website asking for simple changing tables to be the standard in all Starbucks locations. For the record, this MyStarbucksIdea.com page is L-A-M-E, and I laugh at the Starbucks customer service phone rep who urged me to log my suggestion there. I further laugh at one of the emails returned to me from Starbucks Customer Relations also urging me to do the same. Uhmmm… hello. It’s clearly been done several times. I have better interwebz thingies to waste my time on, like Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter, that’s actually where I finally started to get somewhere with this whole situation. I followed @Starbucks and (with the help of @JetWithAnya) asked them to put me in touch with the people who could hear me out. After an email back from Starbucks Coroporate Communications that *didn’t* tell me to waste my time by entering it on the L-A-M-E webpage, I learned that I needed to contact my local District Manager. So the next time I was at my local store I grabbed her business card and shot her an email when I got home. I explained my frustrations (and made it clear that I would be blogging and Tweeting about all of this, one way or the other). To her credit, she has been extremely responsive and friendly, and after only two phone calls, put in an order for changing tables for my local store.
So.. it may not be Starbucks coming out as a company, being proactive and just sending two to every location without, but, for now, it’s a start. And, I’m assured by Starbucks Corporate Communications and the District Manager I’ve been working with that it should be just as “easy” (relatively speaking, of course) for all of you to request changing tables and have them installed, too. Are you with me? Will you help?! Will you join the revolution?? Great. I knew you would. Now, let’s recap what you need to do.
1. Make sure your local Starbucks is, in fact, without changing facilities (as I have seen 2 or 3 locations out of hundreds that do provide them, but do proceed if they are only in the women’s restroom).
2. Ask for the District Manager’s contact info. There should be a business card set out somewhere obvious. Mine only included an email address, but she was very prompt in responding.
3. Contact them and *nicely* explain your request. Direct them to this post if you must. Assure them that Corporate Communications has stated that customers merely need to request the changing tables via the DM.
4. Follow up if they don’t. And really, that would be a damn shame if you are the one having to do the follow up. If that’s the case, I urge you to come back and post your experience in the comments section. On that same note, PLEASE come back and post any positive experiences, as well. Let’s give these folks the credit they deserve for working with us.
5. Spread the word. Tell your friends and family to contact their DM and do the same. Hopefully if enough of us are emailing, calling and hounding, they will get the picture and just send them out to all locations.
Let’s see how this goes! Keep me posted.
Kendall is approaching 13 months
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14 comments
You’re awesome 🙂
An even bigger pet peeve of mine is the fact that the majority of public men’s rooms do not have changing tables. My husband works days, and I work nights, so he is out and about with our son quite often and runs into this problem a lot!
love this! i’ve actually thought the same thing, but was too distracted to act on it. i’ve also noticed a few SBs have highchairs, but most don’t.
and AMEN with the previous poster on the note about men’s rooms needing changing tables too! how sexist is that?!
@Mary, I’ve wondered the EXACT same thing…why the hell not, moms are not the only ones that change dirty diapers!
Way to go for getting a couple change tables installed, I guess I’ve been pretty lucky and most of the starbucks within my area have all had change tables!
I changed Ethan on the table next to the restroom at Starbuck’s on time, just had DH stand in the way so no one saw his tushy! He was only a couple months old, I was pissed there was no changing table!
hooray for this. i changed my kiddos diaper on the floor of a starbucks bathroom when she was not even a month old, then creeped myself out the rest of the day wondering if i should have just let her sit in her own crap for a half hour longer.
but damn, i needed coffee.
Go you!!! I get so frustrated when I go somewhere and they do not have changing tables. I am not a Starbucks regular but whenever I get to one I will look into the changing tables and proceed as necessary. 🙂 Because the Starbucks Mommies deserve changing tables.
You rock. Good for you for being the squeeky wheel and getting some RESULTS!
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Okay, after a recent unpleasant car/poopslosion changing experience, I am on board. I do have to say that a very nice starbucks employee upgraded my drink to a grande after hearing me out. That was nice.
I just found this after googling “why don’t Starbucks have changing tables in their restrooms?” I had to change my baby on the bathroom floor THE BATHROOM FLOOR! It has also come to my attention that many chipotle restaraunts don’t have them either and people are getting less than friendly responses when inquiring about that!
So infuriating!