TenTips on Dealing with a Restaurant Robbery
When Santa Claus comes out for the season, it seems restaurant robberies soar.
Restaurants have always attracted criminals. Not the occasional bartender who dips into the till, or the kitchen employee who places a cryovaced Rib eye in the garbage, only to return later to dumpster dive his next barbecue entr?e.
We're talking thieves. With guns, or umbrellas, who want to take your cash, your customer's cash and any jewelry or other valuable they can find and beat feet to the nearest subway, waiting car or darkened corner.
Last Saturday night the Chuck E. Cheese bandits robbed the Newark, Ca. location wielding weapons and shuffling patrons and employees into a dark corner of the restaurant during the dinner rush. A frightening experience for the chain's executives, employees and customers.
As one mother said, "We bring our kids here for pizza and they could end up getting killed."
Unfortunately, that's true everywhere, not just at Chuck's place.
Years ago, the holiday robbery trick every owner, server and bartender was on the lookout for in Manhattan was the umbrella purse snatch. It usually took place on a rainy Thursday night. A couple would walk in the front door, perfectly dripping wet and ask for a table. The female always had the umbrella, but never carried a purse. She would quickly proceed to the bathroom while her partner waited at the host stand. The heist had begun.
Returning from the bathroom the woman usually walked with a frisk in her step and told her accomplice she wasn't feeling well and Viola, they would leave. What few novice owners, servers, or hosts realized was that the woman had scoped out the purses on her way to the bathroom. On her return, she ha turned her umbrella hook handle down and snatched a purse, usually on the back of a chair or on the floor with the rain protector, turned weapon.
She briskly brought the purse over her shoulder, without breaking stride, and walked out the door with a wallet full of credit card, cash, keys and an address. By the time anyone realized the purse was missing, the apartment was being robbed.
That performance still takes place today in many busy urban bars and restaurants. And, with the holidays upon us, people become more desperate and will be searching, scoping and plotting on where to get more cash.
It's time to discuss the problems – that could occur – and how to deal with them – with your staff.
He is ten tips to help you create a robbery policy.
1). Have a meeting to discuss the possibility of being robbed. That includes gunpoint, during hours and after hours, purse snatching and pick pocketing during packed dinner hours.
2). Every topic in the meeting needs to be confidential. You do not want any customer to ever hear, or think, or surmise there is a problem in your restaurant, your neighborhood, or you block.
3). Make sure your staff knows this is only a precautionary measure and that robbery is not on your menu.
4). Stress the point that nobody, under any circumstances should fight, resist, or attack one of the perpetrators. Even in the case of the umbrella heist nobody ever went after or apprehended the suspects.
5). Develop a strict set of procedures if someone sees something suspicious. That could be as simple as two guys casing the restaurant or a few people who are "just looking around".
6). Background check your employees. One of the great things about Facebook, MySpace and Twitter is they tell a lot about a person's character, likes, dislikes, friends and associates. It's not a bad idea to check those social network sites out to see who lurks behind the screen.
7). Don't keep a lot of cash on hand. And make it known you have only a little cash on hand at all times. Nothing is more detrimental to your future deposit than a new server sitting in a neighborhood bar talking about how much money is in the safe.
8). Put alarm signs up on the doors, windows, and near the bar. Even if you do not have an alarm system, and you should have an alarm system – the signs deter some criminals.
9). Develop a plan for the servers, kitchen staff and managers to assist the customers during a robbery. I am not talking about bringing coffee refills- I am talking about being supportive and calming. Make sure that you discuss with your staff that would be uneasy in this situation.
10). Don't hesitate to call the police if you see anything suspicious or if you feel it would be important to have an officer come and speak with your staff. You know those taxes you pay, and the high rent, and all the other fees? Well, part of that goes for police protection. And, that includes police education on how to react and what to do during a robbery where they are holding something more detrimental than an umbrella.
