Toronto residents, or those visiting Toronto, might want to think twice before taking a seat at Timothy’s coffee shop at 40 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario.
For the longest time, Timothy’s was my regular lunchtime spot. I would order a coffee or tea and then settle down in one of the comfy armchairs to read my book. That routine changed when I visited Timothy’s on February 25th.
As soon as I sat down in one of the armchairs I felt a distinct wetness. When I got up I noticed a huge stain in the chair, with the distinct smell of urine. OMG someone had peed in this chair!
When I approached the lady serving coffee at the time and pointed out the soiled chair, she was not particularly concerned. “A homeless man was sitting there earlier,” she said. “Maybe he had an accident.”
Maybe he had an accident? That was it? She wasn’t going to do anything!
Well if she wasn’t, I was.
Not yelling, but not keeping my voice down either, I informed her that it is unsanitary to have a soiled chair standing around for people to sit in. How many people before me had sat in that chair, and how many would take a seat in it after me?
“What do you want me to do?” the waitress asked. “I can’t turn the homeless away. It’s cold outside”
While I am most sympathetic with the homeless, I draw the line where they think they can relieve themselves anywhere it is convenient.
The building houses a huge food court at basement level, offering coffee, tea and all kinds of breakfast. What’s wrong with the homeless sitting there?
Why do they have to sit in coffee shops? And since when is peeing in chairs permitted?
I flew out of the coffee shop and went straight to Giliani, a ladies clothing boutique.
I couldn’t wait to get out of my soiled pants and into a fresh one.
I was going to buy new pants and Timothy’s was going to pay for it.
To cut a long story short … first Timothy’s management offered me a free cup of coffee.
They upgraded that suggestion with the offer to have my soiled pants dry cleaned.
I didn’t budge though, I had been ‘forced’ to buy a new pants, and I wanted them to reimburse me for that.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And I got it. After contacting Timothy’s head office with an official complaint, they offered to pay for my new pants.
There that took care of that.
While I am satisfied with the outcome of this incident, I am dissatisfied and concerned with how Timothy’s treated my complaint.
The soiled chair remained standing in the coffee shop, and is still there.
If you happen to visit Timothy’s coffee shop at 40 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, and you take a seat in one of their chairs, you might just be sitting in the urine chair. Could there be more than one?
