How do I educate my employees for a robbery situation?
It is 10:30 on a fine Wednesday morning and I am filling my prescription so I can begin destroying the infection that has taken over my tooth. The pharmacist is lovely with excellent human relations skills, and I honestly think to myself, "These are the people that make life great."
As we were in the middle of my transaction, three heavily clothed and covered men waltz in behind the pharmacy counter each one walking swiftly with intent towards a pharmacist. The hulk of a man that walked to the pharmacist I was interacting with, instructed her with a quiet, yet menacingly firm, "THIS IS A ROBBERY". He had to repeat himself once more as it does not click in the human brain straight away that television-like stories happen outside of the set. The three masked men guided the three pharmacists to the center of the pharmacy but just before doing so one yelled, "GET DOWN" while another simultaneously raised his arm. In it was a gun.
I ran for my life. I did not listen. I did not get down. I ran. I kept looking back expecting this savage to be behind me or a bullet to be flying my way, but thankfully this did not happen. This is single handedly the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced.
The employees of the pharmacy did everything right. They listened to the tune of their lives. They allowed themselves to be led by these thugs, and they did everything they were asked. The entire incident lasted a whole 5-10 minutes, but for everyone involved it was an infinite amount of time. The masked men escaped through the rear entrance of the pharmacy with security hot on their heels.
I went back to see to see if the pharmacists were alright(they were), to finish paying for my prescription and to also see if there was anything I could do. These employees have obviously been trained as one was already on the phone with police, another was calming everyone who witnessed the incident with smiles, and the other was breathing with what looked like shock and relief.
I cannot stress the importance of proper training in situations as such. What I did is the exact thing that gets people killed. I ran. I also did it without thinking, so no matter how much training an individual has you truly never know what will happen once you are in the situation. This does not erase the need for the education though. I implore you to educate your staff, and keep them educated on what to do in a robbery situation. There are incredible people out there like security guards and police officers who will take care of us, but you have to take care of yourself until they get there.
These men were never caught, but the security guards and the police did do all they could. They responded with lightening fast speed, and searched for the losers until all traces ran dry. I still thank them though for their efforts.
As we were in the middle of my transaction, three heavily clothed and covered men waltz in behind the pharmacy counter each one walking swiftly with intent towards a pharmacist. The hulk of a man that walked to the pharmacist I was interacting with, instructed her with a quiet, yet menacingly firm, "THIS IS A ROBBERY". He had to repeat himself once more as it does not click in the human brain straight away that television-like stories happen outside of the set. The three masked men guided the three pharmacists to the center of the pharmacy but just before doing so one yelled, "GET DOWN" while another simultaneously raised his arm. In it was a gun.
I ran for my life. I did not listen. I did not get down. I ran. I kept looking back expecting this savage to be behind me or a bullet to be flying my way, but thankfully this did not happen. This is single handedly the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced.
The employees of the pharmacy did everything right. They listened to the tune of their lives. They allowed themselves to be led by these thugs, and they did everything they were asked. The entire incident lasted a whole 5-10 minutes, but for everyone involved it was an infinite amount of time. The masked men escaped through the rear entrance of the pharmacy with security hot on their heels.
I went back to see to see if the pharmacists were alright(they were), to finish paying for my prescription and to also see if there was anything I could do. These employees have obviously been trained as one was already on the phone with police, another was calming everyone who witnessed the incident with smiles, and the other was breathing with what looked like shock and relief.
I cannot stress the importance of proper training in situations as such. What I did is the exact thing that gets people killed. I ran. I also did it without thinking, so no matter how much training an individual has you truly never know what will happen once you are in the situation. This does not erase the need for the education though. I implore you to educate your staff, and keep them educated on what to do in a robbery situation. There are incredible people out there like security guards and police officers who will take care of us, but you have to take care of yourself until they get there.
These men were never caught, but the security guards and the police did do all they could. They responded with lightening fast speed, and searched for the losers until all traces ran dry. I still thank them though for their efforts.
