Calif. convenience store clerks robbed, and then told they were

[cboy4]

fired.

Seems a little harsh to me.

I understand they violated company policy by having more money in the register than they should have.

But you'd think they would have had the opportunity to pay back the difference and/or been warned.

I dunno.





Two convenience store clerks in Lodi went through an armed robbery, but gave police critical information to catch the suspects. Days later, they were fired for leaving too much cash in the till. And it was less than twenty bucks.

"I think it's ridiculous for me to be terminated over $16," said 31-year-old Cynthia Lopez, who was robbed at gunpoint, then fired from her minimum wage job at the USA gas station on Kettleman Lane and Lower Sacramento Road.

"They didn't offer any counseling, nothing at all. Just, you're terminated. How did I do wrong? I don't feel I did something wrong. Tell you the truth," Lopez said. The cash drawer wasn't supposed to have more than $50.

Lopez, a mother of three, worked the graveyard shift when a masked, armed man came in around 1 a.m. on July 11. He was banging the gun on the counter, demanding cash. Lopez emptied the till, amounting to about $70, then gave the crook the lottery tickets he demanded, according to police reports. He fled with another man in a blue Dodge.

MORE:


http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=30841

[RedCappedBandit]

1. Harsh is an understatement..

What kind of a person would want to fire an employee that had just been ROBBED while working at their store?!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. If I lived in Lodi,

I know where I wouldn't be shopping.

[MADem]

15. I'm with you. That's just egregious. NT

[mzmolly]

2. Tha's outrageous. There isn't always "time" to put money aside.

And less than $20 bucks!?

[RedCappedBandit]

6. Could've been one sale! what an overreaction..

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Fire her!

I bet if she had been injured by the gunman, the company would have fired her so that they wouldn't have to pay for medical expenses. And if she had been killed.....

[Solon]

10. The company would have been paid through the "dead peasant's" insurance they took out on her.

Sorry, had to finish the thought you had. :)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

36. Well, that might not be far from the truth

My boss took out a policy on his workman that made the boss beneficiary if the workman was killed by an accident on the job. He also took out AFLAC-like policies for all of us, and we chose our beneficiaries (had to be fair about this).

[LisaL]

31. Those jobs usually don't have medical insurance.

I know I didn't.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

35. but would they have to pay workman's comp?

I don't have health insurance, but my boss has to buy workman's compensation, to pay out if a person gets injured on the job. Think that would have applied here?

[Mythsaje]

5. Well, it IS Lodi.

:evilgrin:

[cboy4]

8. I don't get it.

:shrug:

[Mythsaje]

11. There's an old Credence Clearwater song

about being "stuck in Lodi again."

It's known for being a little backward.

[cboy4]

13. Ahhhh. Got it. n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

48. I was wondering how long it would take.

Geographical elitism. I'm never disappointed on this board.

LTH,
Fresno, CA

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. I don't quite understand how the cashier controls how much cash is in the drawer

Was there a safe she was supposed to have transferred the $16 to?

Either way, it's definitely bullshit.

[indepat]

9. This nation is so fucked-up

[Bennyboy]

12. They have a drop safe right under the counter.

But most employees usually wait till there is a 20 dollar bill to drop in.

[ComerPerro]

20. basically, you're never supposed to have more than $50. But she was just $16 over

probably just a power-tripping manager.

[LisaL]

25. Let me just put it this way-it would be difficult to keep

less than $50 in the register at any given time. What if somebody comes in with a $100 bill? And the money in the register is not counted during the shift, so the clerk would not know the exact amount in the register at any given time. This woman was close enough to the $50 limit, it's not like she had $500 in there. But hell, our gas station had people fired for not smiling, so what do I know?

[ComerPerro]

28. exactly my point, i was just explaining it

[Warren DeMontague]

14. It's the RULES.

They BROKE the RULES.

If we allow people to BREAK the RULES without CONSEQUENCES, what will happen? Society depends on STRICT ADHERENCE to THE RULES. If THE RULES are not strictly observed to the letter, society will break down, and before you know it, folks will be running around town, holding up convenience stores, where the clerks who were smart enough to provide information on the robbers no longer work there, because they were fired for BREAKING THE RULES, and replaced by a dumb automaton who doesn't BREAK the RULES but doesn't have any higher brain function, either.

[cboy4]

16. I understand your point about how bad guys might be

more apt to rob the place if they figure there's a chance employees are keeping more money in the register than than allowed.

But, why couldn't the company have quietly warned the employees?

That way, nobody probably would have learned more money was in the register than should have been.

[Warren DeMontague]

46. No, actually, my point was that by strict adherence to THE RULES in microscopic detail

the company is missing the forest for the trees. That post was sarcastic, sort of. I thought it was clear, but maybe not. :shrug:

[treestar]

24. Actually society would shut down if the rules were not bent

when needed.

Here, a little mercy is called for.

Absolute adherence to the rules would kill any concept of justice.

We also make too many rules in this society, also. Some of the minor mistakes have to be let go from time to time.

This case sure shows one. If it was a case of catching an employee breaking this rule for their own benefit, or doing it repeatedly, then it would justify firing them, but not from catching them doing it once due to a robbery they lived through.

[Warren DeMontague]

45. I know.

I thought it was obvious, but I left this out. :sarcasm:

[me b zola]

37. Thanks for that

I have been seeing a lot of 'OBEY' posts lately and it's been driving me nuts.

[populistdriven]

41. LOL!

[rodeodance]

17. workers are expendable-------

[melody]

18. Happened to my husband when he was in college and worked a 7-11

He was tied up in back and everything. The manager came out, untied him and fired him.

It's insurance rules or something.

[David__77]

19. I like that this gets media attention.

Abuses by businesses against the workers need to be exposed at every turn. The glare of attention from the people is sometimes enough to prevent the worst of the abuses.

[stirlingsliver]

21. It's What Happens When You Have Readily Available Labor

This is the sort of outrage that happens when you have readily available labor.

The employer is able to fire these people because he knows that there are lots of others waiting to take the jobs.

This would not happen if there wasn't so much labor on the market.

[LisaL]

22. I used to work as a gas station clerk.

It's a dangerous job, especially the night shift. The woman is lucky the money is all that was taken. As for her being fired, the clerks usually don't count the money in the register during the shift, so how would this woman know the exact amount that she had? 16$ over the 50$ limit, and they fire her for that?

[Gormy Cuss]

23. The purpose of the limit is usually to prevent robberies, but in this case it seems it was about

losing dollars rather than protecting employees. With the price of gas and the many gashogs on the road a $50 limit is a tad ridiculous. The clerks may have violated the rule but it sounds like a reprimand would be sufficient penalty after a robbery.

[treestar]

26. How do they figure it prevents robberies?

The robber may be disappointed but he'll still have as much cash as was there.

They usually have a sign up saying the cashier only has so much in cash. That's only going to discourage some robbers - if they're desperate drug addicts, maybe not.

[LisaL]

29. The logic obviously is that at least some robbers won't bother

if there is not a lot of money to be had.

[treestar]

47. Robbers engaging in cost-benefit analysis

Interesting thought. They'd have to believe it, too.

[Gormy Cuss]

30. Because they advertise the fact in the store.

One of the convenience store chains developed this approach (Store 24 or 7-11, IIRC) and after they installed safes and posted signs, word got around that it wasn't worth the effort to rob them and the rate of robberies went way down. Since then many late night stores have followed suit but it only works as prevention if the store makes it clear through signage and the clerks follow through.

[LisaL]

27. Well, of course the purpose is to prevent robberies.

But it's difficult for a clerk to keep that register at less than $50 at all times. They might have this rule, but is it easy to follow that rule, and would all employees be able to follow this rule at all times?
First of all the clerk would have to know the exact amount of money in the register at all times. Second of all, what if a lot of customers come in, then she could easily have more money than $50 before she could put that money into the safe? Third of all, what if customers come in with large bills? The woman only was a little bit over the limit.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. I didn't argue that the $50 limit made sense

nor that firing the clerks over that small overage made sense either for that matter. Whether the clerk can keep up with the cash flow is partly a function of number of customers and partly how easy they make it to drop the money in the safe. It strikes me that $100 would be allowance level for the clerks these days anyway.
I've been in convenience stores where the clerks had to turn away customers because they couldn't break a $20. I'm sure that's not something the owners like but it's better than dealing with repeated robberies and injured or killed employees.

[LisaL]

34. Well, our gas station has been robbed a number of times

and sometimes the robbers just took cigarettes. Even if the clerk manages to keep less than $50 in the register at all times, does not mean there won't be repeated robberies or injured and killed employees.
Also people were constantly stealing gas by not paying.

[Gormy Cuss]

38. No, but the idea is that there will be fewer than without it.

I actually think it's no longer effective because most late night stores have such rules and people who want to rob know that they need to demand more than cash. Cigs have a good resale value and don't weigh much.

People leaving without paying for gas are a whole 'nother story.

[LisaL]

39. My point is, gas station could easily lose more than $16

a day if people aren't made to pre-pay for their gas.
That's why I find it difficult to understand why this woman was fired over such a small amount.

[Orsino]

32. Tesoro Contact Form

It would be a shame if anyone found this form, and used it express his opinion to corporate management:

http://www.tsocorp.com/stellent/groups/public/documents/published/tsi_ctu__contactusform.hcsp

[LisaL]

40. Notice the gas station also fired another clerk, who was outside

cleaning. Now, how would that other clerk even know how much money was in the register, and so why was she fired?

[cboy4]

42. I know, I wondered about that at well!

:wtf:

[Kingshakabobo]

44. Someone mentioned, up thread, about her husband being fired automatically.

I thought I read somewhere that WAS a policy for some chains? I could be wrong. IIRC, the theory is you were PROBABLY in on it and/or you aren't worth the risk or even an investigation - completely throw-away employees.

[Hekate]

43. My niece was fired as a bank teller for the same reason

The bank was busy and she kept serving customers -- was robbed -- was fired.

The thing that shook me up, aside from the fact that my niece could have been killed, was that her own mother sided with the bank. My SIL had worked in banking for years, and she basically said her daughter should have known better than to have let the till get overfull.

Ewwww.

But I guess that explains why lines in banks get so long while there are closed work stations.

Hekate