HOUSTON – A Houston woman said she was humiliated when an employee at a bargain store refused to allow her to go to the bathroom and she was forced to go in her pants.
It happened at the Dollar Tree in the 13800 block of Cypress North Houston.
The woman, named Angel, is disabled and suffers from irritable bowel syndrome. She says she was in the store on Tuesday with her son, when she suddenly had to go to the bathroom.
“So I sent my son up front to ask for the key and tell the manager that I have an emergency,” Angel said.
A Dollar Tree spokesperson told Channel 2 the employee wouldn’t let her inside the bathroom because it was out of order.
Despite Angel begging the employee to let her inside, she said the employee refused, so she had no choice but to go to the bathroom in her pants.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Angel says the employee then started making fun of her.
“She said ‘Eww, you’re disgusting, gross,’” Angel said.
After the incident, Angel said she was playing with the door to the bathroom and was somehow able to open it. She went inside to change into a set of clean clothes a friend brought to the store, then she shot video of the toilet, which appeared to be fully functional.
She told Channel 2 she can’t understand why the employee wouldn’t let her go to the bathroom, if the toilet was working.
A Dollar Tree spokesperson sent the following statement:
"Normally, our customers are welcome to use public rest rooms in our stores. At the time of the incident, the commode in our ladies room was indeed out-of-service, and a work order had already been placed. We were unable to allow the customer into the ladies room for her own safety."
When Channel 2 asked the spokesperson about the video showing a functional toilet, the spokesperson responded: “We cannot explain the discrepancies between the customer's descriptions and our review of the unfortunate situation.”
The Dollar Tree spokesperson also would not comment on the employee’s alleged treatment toward Angel.