Will the clerk at Kum & Go in Ankeny get fired?

We've all read the stories where someone says no to a would-be robber and gets on the news. The reaction is "Yeah chalk one up for the little guy!" But is it one for the little guy, the working stiff?

FACTS: The robber comes into the convenience store demanding money. Instead of following company policy and handing over the money the clerk hits the man in the head with the handle of a hammer. Funny? Amusing? Or is this a ground to be fired?

This time it happened in Ankeny; a few weeks ago two clerks were murdered in northern Iowa. I've a client who was held-up and shot in Tama-Toledo. None of this is a laughing matter. In fact it's about as serious as work injuries get.

• Being a convenience store clerk isn't easy.
• Should you resist the convenience store robbery?
• If you give him the money does it encourage more robbers?
• If you don't turn over the money and resist is it likely you will be seriously injured or killed?

Convenience store robberies account for approximately 6 percent of all robberies known to the police.4 Although this comprises a relatively small percentage of total robberies, the problem is persistent. Over the last 30 years, there has been little change in the proportion of convenience store robberies. Nevertheless, convenience stores in particular locations can be vulnerable to repeat victimization, especially those types of retailers that have large amounts of cash, low security, and few staff and customers likely to resist.5

I recall sometime ago one convenience store chain saying the company policy is to just turn over the money so that the employee and the customers aren't endangered. In this instance the actions of the clerk seem to have violated that company policy. Is this a reason to fire the employee? It could be.

Only time will tell.

To read more about convenience stores see:

Search for convenience store clerk robbery policy.

• Video of store robberies.
• Ankeny store clerk uses hammer to thwart robber, Des Moines Register
• 2 convenience store murder trials likely to be delayed, Des Moines Register
• Convenience store slayings: Swanson's trial likely delayed until summer, Des Moines Register
• Robbery of Convenience Stores, Guide No. 49(2007), Altizio and York
• Convenience Store Crime, Wilipedia
• Preventing Convenience Store Robbery Through Environmental Design,
• Convenience Store Robbery Videos: video, video, video, video.
• Kum & Go - the 3^rd largest private owner-operator of convenience stores in the U.S. with over 430 stores in 12 Midwestern states.
• Casey's General Stores, Inc. - A publicly held company headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa. Casey's has 1,542 stores in 9 states.
• 7-Eleven Convenience Stores - 7-Eleven is not only the world's largest convenience retailer, but a global icon. 7-Eleven, Inc. is the world's largest convenience retail chain. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company operates, franchises and licenses close to 7,100 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Of the 6,000 stores the company operates and franchises in the United States, more than 4,700 are franchised. 7-Eleven master franchisees, licensees and affiliates operate more than 32,000 7-Eleven and other convenience stores in countries including Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. To customers everywhere, 7-Eleven is synonymous with convenience and innovation.
• Quik Trip - We have over 550 convenience stores, all open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and no store is franchised. Each QuikTrip convenience store meets our standards for variety, fairness, and service. Every convenience store is compulsive about getting things right, which is why annual sales have reached over seven billion dollars and why our convenience stores are on the Forbes List of Privately Held Companies.

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