On a Mother's Day coffee run, Ruth Burgos noticed that there was no changing room at a Starbucks in Denver, Co., so she changed her baby's diaper in the seating area, according to Fox News.
"As a mother, you have to do what you have to do. Wherever you have to do it," she told 9News in Denver. "I just kind of wiped him off, cleaned him off as quickly as I could.
Burgos said an employee threw her a rag, and her husband, Alex Burgos, said the employee spoke to his wife in a "demeaning" tone.
"He said make sure to wipe the seat when you're done," he said. "They started talking amongst themselves and laughing about it."
Alex said "his blood started boiling, hotter than the venti coffee with extra sugar he decided to pour on the floor.
"And I said make sure you clean that," Alex said.
Alex and the employees exchanged strong words and hand gestures, and eventually the store called Denver police to report a disturbance. An officer responded at around 10 p.m., but no one was arrested.
Starbucks spokesperson Jaime Riley was asked by 9 News if Starbucks is considering installing changing tables in their restrooms.
He said that he would look into it, and the company was "concerned," and has "aplogized to the Burgos family," and wants all customers treated with dignity and respect.
Jami Dennis, president of Glendale-based ABC Nannies, told 9 News that a lot of family-friendly businesses don't have changing tables.
"It's really frustrating as a parent or as a child care provider," she said.
Dennis advised parents to only change their baby's diapers in public as a last resort.
"To avoid situations where you make other people uncomfortable, I would try to do it in private," she said.
The issue of available changing tables at restaurants has been a long one for parents, and there have even been several attempts to petition Starbucks to make them standard at all coffee shops, as well as tips online on which locations have them and which don't.
When 9News posted the story on its Facebook page, some people argued that changing tables are cheap and easy to install, while others disagreed with what Burgos did, saying she could have gone into the car or even changed her son on the floor of the bathroom.
Do you think it was okay for Burgos to change her son's diaper on the seat, or should she have done so elsewhere? Tell us below in the comments!
