Worker fired for fighting robber:
Why I'll Never Eat At Long John Silvers
Aside from the grease, the idiots at Long John Silvers have just fired a long-term employee for defending himself.
The robbery passed in a blur – rough voices, barked orders, workers forced to the floor, a bag of money changing hands.
Then one of the robbers ordered the supervisor at the Richardson Long John Silver's to the back of the restaurant.
"He's going to kill me," the man recalled thinking. So he grabbed a hammer, turned and swung.
The robber fell, then fled, his accomplice with him. The bag of money lay on the floor.
A few days after the Sept. 18 robbery attempt, the supervisor got another shock: Officials at Long John Silver's fired him.
He'd risked his co-workers' lives and violated company policy, he said they told him.
A company spokesman declined to discuss specifics, acknowledging the attempted robbery at the Belt Line Road restaurant and the policy.
Spokesman Rick Maynard said, "Our policy outlines the steps that should be taken to prevent putting customers or employees at risk, including directing employees not to attempt to disarm a robber."
The decision stunned the fired supervisor, who asked that his name not be used because the robbers remain at large. And it surprised law enforcement officials.
"You know what? He might not have followed policy. But don't Monday-morning-quarterback someone whose life was threatened," said Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich.
The supervisor, 46, said his fears overwhelmed him, and for good reason.
"They had my three employees on the floor," said the Dallas father of six who had worked for Long John Silver's for 10 years. "I gave them the money, but the dude who's supposed to have the gun, he orders me into the back.
"The only thing I could think is he was going to kill all of us," the fired worker said.
He'd been robbed on the street 25 years ago. He had handed over his money and offered his watch, but the robber shot him anyway.
"I had a flashback, and I was panicking. I knew I had to do something. I had seen a hammer in the back, and I grabbed it."
A few days later, he was called in by his boss and fired. The managers at Long John Silvers, in the interest of protecting themselves from lawsuits, are promoting a profoundly stupid policy.
Here's a simple rule: If, after you've given them the money, they start ordering you onto the ground or into the back room or the freezer, you should refuse to do it, and then, if necessary, fight. Your life may depend upon it.
Five Murdered in Wendy's Restaurant in New York City
Two men walked into the Wendy's restaurant on Main Street about 11 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, shortly before closing. They waited until the last customers had left. Then one of them, who had once worked at the store, went downstairs to the manager's office and announced a robbery. The six other workers in the restaurant were then called downstairs, where they were tied up, their mouths sealed with duct tape and plastic bags placed over their heads. In the next few minutes they were marched single file into a walk-in refrigerator where, in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to leave no witnesses to the robbery, they were shot execution-style in the back of the head.The Long John Silver supervisor did the right thing, and now he's being punished by a short-sighted and stupid corporate management, one that's promoting the same policy of passivity that resulted in three airplanes being used as guided missiles on September 11th, 2001.
I'm not advocating fighting armed thugs tooth-and-nail for cash-register receipts. Instead, I'm saying that there are situations that you shouldn't allow yourself to be put into. Give them the money, but don't let them put you on the floor or into the freezer.
If you want to know how to do it, read the best book ever written on the subject, Massad Ayoob's The Truth About Self Protection.
(Via Spoons)
posted by H.D. Miller
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