A Few Personal Safety Issues for Laundry Operators

Coin and card-op laundry crimes mostly are night or early morning break ins to jimmy the coin boxes or bill changer. Or, it could be the use of a welder''s torch to rob the change machine or the Value Transfer Machine of its cash. It''s not the kind of work that many professional criminals do. It''s usually done by part time lowlifes. Crooks and bad guys may be sly, but as a rule they''re not too smart. The type who''d attack a coin laundry or its owner should be, at best, considered small time. Laundries don''t keep nearly as much money on hand as fast food restaurants, convenience stores, banks, bars or taverns. In coin laundries the money is mostly in the changers. Often before the thieves hit laundries they have gotten high on something. So, at the time they do their dirty work they are not that well organized. Their decisions tend to be made on the spur of the moment. They often use only simple hand tools that are easily available to them. The damage they do can be considerable, but the money they take usually isn''t much. These kinds of crimes, for the most part, take place when there''s no one around, let alone the laundry owner. The answer for this kind of crime is having a monitored alarm system and security cameras with a recording system with which one can see what happened when a crime has been committed. Klaxons and other sound alarms may also scare the bad guys away before any heavy damage is done to the laundry. Lets face it, because laundry owners are rarely subjected to attack or acts of violence on their person, they can get careless. Perhaps too careless. Remember, a hold up or robbery of a coin laundry owner does happen from time to time. Once is too often, so smart operators do everything reasonable to make sure it won''t happen to them. Following are some suggestions that have worked well for personal safety. Always be Discreet. Does the world really need to know the days of the week or the time of day when you collect? Vary your collecting routine so it is unpredictable. Don''t let yourself get into a habit of doing things that are scheduled. There are laundry owners whose timing is a complete secret, even from their family. If possible, collect only when the laundry''s doors are locked. Early in the morning, prior to opening is ideal. There''s no one looking over your shoulder and there are very few people around on the streets at 6:00 or 7:00 AM. If you must collect while the laundry is open, and customers are around, have someone else there to watch your back. If that is not possible, keep as low a profile as you can. Don''t make any kind of production with the sights and sounds of the collection process. When you collect using small containers, it doesn''t look like it''s so much money. Even an empty five-gallon bucket looks like it holds a huge amount of coin. To avoid drawing attention to your collecting, drop a cloth or sponge in the bottom of your container to muffle the sound of the falling coins. After your small container is filled, stop collecting and do something else for a while. That makes it look like there are only a few coins at a time and that helps curtail any wild thoughts of large amounts of money there in your laundry at any one time. Remember, in most coin laundries, some of the -clientele already has a record, or is related to someone who does. The less attention you draw to yourself while collecting your money, the less likely the world will be to find out about it, and it is then less likely that something will go wrong. Load the changers rapidly. Remove currency and close the changer. Go back later and load the coin into the changer in the second of two separate steps. Before you open the change machine, glance to see that there is no one too near who could be a risk when your back is turned. Remove currency and get it out of sight fast. Lock the changer and move away. Come back after a while to load the coins. If someone sees both cash and coins, it will seem like more money than it really is. It could be talked about among those in the criminal class who could, coincidentally, be some of your own customers. Don''t collect in a brightly lit laundry at night. You have no idea of who may be looking in from the outside. Always think and act as if others are watching you. Some operators do collect at night only after they have turned off the main lights. Stay alert. If you get into a routine, and do things ''automatically'' it numbs your senses. Don''t allow yourself to get into a predictable routine. Don''t get so engrossed in what you are doing when you collect or otherwise handle money, that your aren''t aware of those around you. If you are not alert, you might just be surprised in a not very nice way. Until they have enough to go to the bank, too many laundry operators accumulate cash and coins, either in the laundry or at home. Unless that is a total secret, it could make you, your laundry and your home a target for thieves. Those who carry bank deposits should disguise what they are doing by putting it in toolboxes, laundry bags or any other innocent appearing container. Many carry currency in a plain brown paper bag for safety. Never flaunt what you''re doing. Using a bank money bag to take deposits to the bank is like having a neon sign saying rob me, I''ve got money. Instead, use an innocent looking package like that plain paper bag to disguise what you are carrying. Drive alternate routes to the bank and park as close as possible. Look around before getting out of the car. Always think about security when you carry cash. There have been cases where owners were tailed by thieves and robbed at a stoplight in broad daylight. Whether or not you accumulate the pre-deposit cash at home or at the laundry, keep the amount and its location a total secret. Even the attendants or your family members should never know about how you do things. Why? Because they could confide in others about what you do. There''s always the possibility a slip of the lip could bring bad results. Letting outsiders have knowledge of your schedule in handling the laundry''s money is not always a bad thing, but since it could be, be careful. Think about personal security in dealing with laundry clientele. Gone are the days when one could routinely tell customers what the rules for conduct in a coin laundry are. There are those who feel they have the right to sit on the machines, sleep on tables, bang things when -frustrated and smoke despite no smoking signs. You never know today what the reaction will be when you are trying to have customers observe laundry rules. It used to be they were no threat to an owners personal safety, but there are enough kooks and nuts out there to present a possible real risk. So, in dealing with laundry customers, especially those you really don''t know, one should remain calm and courteous. If they do as you ask, thank them for their courtesy and for their business. Don''t ever let your temper get in the way of common sense. Why win an argument and lose a customer? Why lose your temper when by so upsetting the customer, maybe you could also lose your teeth or your life? When, or if things ever get out of hand with a belligerent customer, let someone else handle it. It''s the sort of thing law enforcement is supposed to handle. Go quietly and call them. Don''t try to confront an irate customer, especially one who may have been drinking or may possibly be on drugs. Common sense is the first and best rule of what is good for business. Anyone dealing with the public should be aware that things and times have changed. Customer temperament has really changed along with the times but common sense for laundry operators is still the same and has not changed. Keeping a calm level head and always thinking about personal safety are two of the best rules that any laundry operator can follow.