We Dont Talk Enough About Personal Safety

Here is an event that reminded the News that now was a good time to review safety measures for laundry operators. Steps we all should know for the protection of our clientele, employees, our equipment and cash. The guy obviously didn’t belong. He came in empty handed, through the laundry’s back door and stood at the back row of washers looking around. The attendant was with a customer near the front. When she noticed him, he had started to move toward the front of the laundry. Startled by his appearance, she was concerned enough to go behind the counter to get the boss, who was loading changers. “Get out there! There’s a guy and he’s really scary.” This boss happens to be a good sized fellow. Seeing him, the “really scary” man quickly departed by the back door. Was he up to something, or was it just a drunk looking for a place to rest? Who can tell? The point of this story is that even though nothing happened, everyone was -concerned because today, you never really know. Personal security is something that needs to be in the mind of all coin laundry owners and their personnel. No need to be paranoid about it, but security should be a consideration by everyone in the business. COLLECTION AND CASH HANDING. The first assumption one should make is that there are dishonest people who will take advantage of you if they have the chance. If they suspect that you will have great amounts of cash and coin, on certain days and certain times, it could prove bad for your pocketbook, and maybe even your health. Vary the times you collect. Never let the bad guys put you on a schedule. Collect, if possible, only when there’s no one else around. Do it when the doors are locked. Collect while it’s light enough out so that you are able to see anyone outside that is looking in to see what you are doing. If you find it necessary to collect while customers are around, put the coins into small containers so it does not appear to be as much money. Big pails look like big bucks! Collect just a few machines at a time if you must collect while customers are present. You make it look less important an amount of coin or cash if you do it by dribs and drabs. Some operators put rags or sponges in the bottom of their collection pails so that the noise is softened as the coins drop. The softer sound does not attract as much attention. It just sounds like less. Never count your coins out in the public area. Keep your money counting location very confidential. GOING HOME AND TO THE BANK. Carry coin and cash out of your laundry in a type of package that won’t draw the interest of suspicious people. Disguise it using tool boxes, laundry bags, soap boxes and the like. Never be seen with what appears to be a bag full of money. Even a few hundred in coin looks huge in a bank bag, and could draw the wrong kind of attention. Don’t deposit at the bank on the same days of the week, or at the same times of the day. Keep it varied for your own safety. Park close to the bank so that you don’t have more than a brief few seconds walk with the money. Before you get out of the car, look around to see if there is anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable. If there is, wait or drive away. If leaving your laundry with cash, park close to the door and look around before you walk out. Don’t follow the same route each day, either to home or to the bank. While transporting money, be suspicious if your car is rear ended at a light or stop sign. The normal reaction is to get out of the car to see if there was any damage. It’s at that time you notice that the other driver has a gun pointed at you while his partner drives away with your car. Yes! This scenario has happened to coin laundry operators. Many operators take the money home to count and accumulate before going to the bank. Those who do should be careful to check their rear view mirror to be sure they are not followed. Criminal types would rather rob you in your driveway or garage than on a public street where they are more likely to be seen. If large sums of money are kept at home, it should be the world’s best kept secret. Friends, relatives, even your own children might talk about such things with their friends. Small amounts grow larger with each retelling of the story, and that could make it dangerous. The same strategy should be for those who keep a safe at home. It should always be out of sight to any carpet cleaners, painters, plumbers or others who come to work at the home. If it’s seen there in the open, it could be talked about in the local criminal rumor mill. Those who do keep cash at home should at the least have an alarm system that is monitored. Special “kick proof” locks on the front and back door should be installed to help prevent home invasion robberies. The principal advice that can be offered on personal safety is to be cautious when collecting, counting or handling cash. Think safety. Take no chances, and you will avoid problems. If problems can’t be avoided fully, at least there will be less of a loss than would have been if there were no planning. Personal safety is something we at the News have talked often about over the years. We advise readers not to be paranoid about getting robbed. It really happens infrequently, but it does happen. Our advice is for you to develop certain habits in your own personal patterns and behavior so as to make yourself less of a target for thieves and bandits. For example, why would anyone walk out of a laundry openly carrying bags of coin or wads of cash? Wouldn’t it be less tempting for the bad guys if you disguised what you carried by leaving it in a cardboard Tide box? Some operators habitually carry a tool box into, and out of the laundry. People watching don’t expect there is anything inside the box but tools to fix machinery. In other word, think about what you can do to keep what you are doing from becoming the target for the thieves and robbers. If you think that way, your laundry career will be long and uneventful as far as crime is concerned.