As an owner or manager of a convenience store, it’s your responsibility to take all possible steps to prevent a robbery from happening. Unfortunately, even the best prevention strategies can’t completely protect your store. You can, however, make sure your staff is prepared for the worst.
6 Cs of Robbery Protocol for C-Store Employees
All employees should go through robbery prevention training, and you should follow that up with informal mentoring, role-playing, and frequent exercises. Reviewing the Six Cs of Robbery Protocol with your employees on a regular basis makes for a quick and easy refresher training:
1. If someone approaches you with the intention of robbing the store, stay calm. This is certainly easier said than done, but it’s critical to your safety. If you panic, the robber’s adrenaline will rise even higher and could lead to tragedy.
2. Communicate. Listen to what the robber is asking you to do and respond to them, letting them know you’re following their instructions.
3. Cooperate. No one expects you to be a hero in a robbery. Your safety and the safety of customers and coworkers in the store is the number one priority. Give the robbers what they want.
4. Close and call. As soon as the robbers leave the building, lock the door and call 9-1-1. Once emergency personnel arrive, call your manager.
5. Control. Once you’re safe and the threat of robbery is over, take control of your emotions and the surroundings. Don’t conduct any business, and don’t touch anything. If other customers are in the store, ask for their patience while you wait for the police to arrive. Do not give out any information, except to police and company management.
6. Confide. Being the victim of robbery is a traumatic experience that can be difficult to process. Talk about your feelings. If you need help, talk to your manager or HR department.
Online Training for Robbery Deterrence
As part of our comprehensive Convenience Store Training suite, our Robbery Prevention and Safety training presents clear information about robbery deterrence with a focus on employee safety – delivered through our trainingGrid® learning management system. This flexible system comes with a variety of robust features customizable to fit your needs in addition to built-in reporting and certification tools to help maintain compliance.
Request a guided demonstration of trainingGrid® today!
