Rogue Employees, Overnight Shenanigans and Security
Finding and retaining good employees is difficult in just about any business; but in our industry it is especially tough. Harder still is keeping a good employee committed and interested in working for your small business over the long-haul. In a time where technology, a high minimum wage, and a disinterest in work are commonplace, keeping employees on your team can be very stressful.
We recently spoke with a member who has experienced a series of security issues, drive-offs, and customer-relation hiccups over the past few months. While we can’t go into every detail, we can tell you that in nearly every instance, the common thread involved a station employee’s deliberate action (or inaction).
Our member operates a 24-hour, high-volume location. The station is situated right off a major highway and immediately near a series of office complexes. It is a great location, and one that attracts lots of customer traffic and activity. Unfortunately, higher volume and easy access to major roadways sometimes also brings unsavory characters thru during the overnight shift.
A few months ago, our member hit a particular tough patch that stretched for weeks-on-end. He had the police visit his location multiple times – for theft, physical altercations, and even a few drive-offs (in stolen vehicles, no less).
The station owner had a very dependable and loyal overnight attendee that worked for him regularly. However, as good as he was, nothing can properly prepare an employee for a verbal and physical fight, a theft, or customers driving off without payment.
For whatever reason, this employee would seemingly attract aggressive overnight customers who would act belligerently at the drop of a hat.
In one instance, a customer drove in at 2:00am, got out of the vehicle, and began to pump their own gas. The attendant calmly walked up to the patron, stated that New Jersey law prohibited customers from pumping their own gasoline, and that he would finish fueling the vehicle. The customer immediately began to verbally fight with the attendee — which devolved into pushing, shoving, and ultimately, a visit by the local police department. Similar episodes flared up every few weeks.
In another episode, a motorist was clearly under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, and proceeded to fight with the attendee because of how his vehicle was parked under the canopy (the vehicle was actually too far away from the pump to be easily fueled, and should have been moved closer to make fueling possible — and safe). When the attendant asked the patron to move the vehicle closer, the customer began to insult the attendant — which also devolved into pushing, shoving, and a call to the police.
In yet another example, one particularly inebriated patron began to randomly throw garbage out of the vehicle window while it was being fueled. The motorist had taken the opportunity to clear out some trash from inside the car; but kept missing the garbage bin. The attendant asked him to pick up the items strewn on the ground, while he continued to fuel the patron’s vehicle. The customer became angry, started to insult our member’s employee, and things escalated very quickly.
And of course, there are other alarming examples – but you get the point.
The above noted, it should be also stated that despite the unprovoked behavior of these patrons, the employee was instructed to be “easy-going” and “indifferent” toward overnight customers. Why? Because the type of customers patronizing the station between 11:00pm and 5:00am were often overly aggressive, might be drunk or high, and were frequently looking for no-good. Even if the attendant was “in the right” to voice concerns, you cannot rationalize with someone who is irrational. To de-escalate any such situation, the employee was told to stay calm, “kill them with kindness”, assess things calmly, and refrain from saying (or doing) anything to intensify the situation.
Unfortunately for our member, his employee did not listen. Rather than let “bad behavior slide”, he spoke up and attempted to “do the right thing” — with the results almost always leading to an altercation and police involvement.
The above examples are of employees not following directions. However, our member also had his overnight attendant taken advantage of through no fault of his own.
In one such occasion, the employee attended to a frequent customer and walked away from the island kiosk booth to grab a cup of coffee. The customer (who was a frequent customer and friendly with the staff) waited until the employee was out of view, walked into the kiosk, stole $450 from the cash drawer, and drove off. Did the employee lock the booth and/or the cash drawer before he stepped away to get a cup of coffee? No, he didn’t. But it also did not help that the patron was a regular customer that was known to the staff. It was later learned that the patron had an addiction problem and had stolen the money to feed his drug habit.
What’s more, the station owner was also a victim of repeated drive-offs during the overnight shift. Even with an attendant directly pumping fuel, dishonest motorists would wait for an opportunity to drive off without paying for gas. At times these thieves would merely pull away with no damage done to the hoses or dispensers. In other instances, they would peel off with the nozzle still attached to the vehicle, damaging equipment as they flee.
And yet, unlike the escalation examples above, what can an employee do to stop attempted robbery?
Thankfully our member had invested heavily in security cameras (and related equipment) to capture questionable exchanges with customers and outright bad actors. In fact, having these resources on hand led to the recovery of the $450 stolen from the kiosk booth, and gave police ample evidence to investigate drive-offs and alleged altercations with the overnight customers. What’s more, the video provided by our member to police helped determine that at least one of the drive-off vehicles was actually stolen from a local residential home (with the thief attempting to gas-up at the only 24-hour service station nearby before high-tailing it back to Newark). In all instances, the investment in a good security system has proven indispensable to protect his employees, his establishment, and his reputation.
The situational factors above present our member (and all members) a few stark lessons that might save you some headaches down the road.
First, every member should have a deliberate and meaningful discussion with their employees about how to handle “crazy” customers (including customers who show up high/drunk or intending to rob you). Perhaps your business policy may be different if the situation unfolds during the day, rather than overnight. Regardless, employees must have clear direction on your expectations, but also situational awareness to not escalate an already stressful situation to make it worse. Our member actually had those conversations with his overnight attendant; but clear thinking went out the window once tempers rose and the pushing and shoving began.
Second, the importance of a modern, good quality security camera system cannot be underestimated. Unlike the grainy, hazy camera systems of the past, today’s camera technology not only allows for much clearer image capturing, but also for useful enhancements like simultaneous audio recording, license plate capture, and excess data storage. Having tangible proof of what has transpired after the fact is invaluable. It silences any baseless accusations from bad actors, and cuts through frivolous claims to clarify what really happened. Investing in a quality security camera system (and a maintenance schedule to keep it operating properly) is worth every penny if it saves you from any legal entanglements or baseless accusations.
Have you or your employees experienced anything like this? How did you handle the aftermath? Did lessons learned from these experiences force you to reevaluate how you manage your staff? Let us know! Feel free to contact Nick at nick@njgca.org with the details.
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