Archived Bandits hide in restroom, rob Philadelphia Target at gunpoint

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A trio of robbers hid in the bathroom of a Somerton Target store last night and robbed the store of tens of thousands of dollars when employees closed it for the night, police said.

About 10 minutes after employees closed the Target on Roosevelt Boulevard near Haldeman Avenue at 10 p.m., the trio – at least one of whom was armed – emerged from the restroom and demanded the key to the safe, police said. When the employees told the bandits they didn’t have access to the safe, one brandished a small silver handgun and forced them to open six cash registers. One of the men unloaded cash from each register into a dark-colored bag held open by another, according to investigators.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...t-Target-at-gunpoint.html#9wDYkQDjPOkiWGYj.99
 
This story makes me even more nervous during closing. However, do the stores not do a check for all guests to be clear in the store? We always make sure to check restrooms at our store and open all the stalls to be safe. But then again..depending on how crazy these guys were it could have been worse for some poor TM to stumble upon these guys hiding and get hurt so as to not spoil their plan.
 
At closing time, I would always check the restrooms and do a walkthrough of the store before the LOD would close the front doors to make sure no guests were in there. I'm guessing that store may not have had a closing AP team member to check the restrooms but then again if they did check it could have been a worse situation than what has happened already. Good thing no one was hurt. Safety comes first before anything else.
 
I think this same scenario happened about a year ago at a different Spot, as well.

Some stores (like mine) are terrible for checking for guests...it depends on the LOD. If there's an extra car in the lot that doesn't belong, then they may do a more formal sweep through the store. But honestly, it's about 50/50 if the TMs will even check their areas before they leave for the night (all our salesfloor TMs leave at close thanks to myTime). Bathrooms and back room are rarely checked.
 
I think this same scenario happened about a year ago at a different Spot, as well.

Some stores (like mine) are terrible for checking for guests...it depends on the LOD. If there's an extra car in the lot that doesn't belong, then they may do a more formal sweep through the store. But honestly, it's about 50/50 if the TMs will even check their areas before they leave for the night (all our salesfloor TMs leave at close thanks to myTime). Bathrooms and back room are rarely checked.
Yeah at my old store team members were more concerned about getting the zone done than to check for guests and I would have to check the entire store to make sure all guests were gone or heading to the front registers. I closed almost all the time and I would always check the restrooms and fitting rooms in addition to my sales floor patrol. Some ETL's may have a ton to do and forget to check the restrooms when there is no closing TPS.
 
What was "tens of thousands of dollars" doing in 6 cash registers? I'm not familiar with Spot's front lanes policies on tills but every other store I worked for as a cashier (WAY back when) required a pickup once you got around $500.
 
here is another Target that was hit on Saturday April 19, 2014.


State police identified Keisha Young, 24, as the shoplifting suspect who fled from the North Fayette Target department store Saturday afternoon, causing five collisions before crashing on the Parkway West around 5 p.m.

Police said the incident began when Target security detained Ms. Young, of McKees Rocks, and Whitney Felder, 25, alleging the two tried to shoplift more than $140 in infants’ clothes.

Ms. Young escaped Target security, ran from the store and drove away in a purple Chrysler Concorde, police said. Her 2-year-old son was in the vehicle



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/w...ft-suspect/stories/201404210079#ixzz2zWtjbxka



I like the fact that she escaped Target security, way to go AP.
I give her mother of the year for driving her 2 year old son around, he sure is learning quick.
She also was driving more than 100 mph during the chase.


 
I did GSA for a little while at a volume A super, I'm sure there's an official policy on when to do a pick-up but nobody at my store ever knew what it was. The only time I ever had to do one was when we had like 4 greyhound busses full of kids show up and they all paid cash and there were so many freaking $1 bills the registers couldn't take anymore. When I would count Cash Office I would routinely see tills over $1000 from electronics, guest service, and some of the busier check lanes in the store but nothing close to 30K that sounds absurdly high. Usually the total count for everything was still under 20, but I suppose not a lot of people paid with cash at the store I used to work.
 
here is another Target that was hit on Saturday April 19, 2014.


State police identified Keisha Young, 24, as the shoplifting suspect who fled from the North Fayette Target department store Saturday afternoon, causing five collisions before crashing on the Parkway West around 5 p.m.

Police said the incident began when Target security detained Ms. Young, of McKees Rocks, and Whitney Felder, 25, alleging the two tried to shoplift more than $140 in infants’ clothes.

Ms. Young escaped Target security, ran from the store and drove away in a purple Chrysler Concorde, police said. Her 2-year-old son was in the vehicle



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/w...ft-suspect/stories/201404210079#ixzz2zWtjbxka



I like the fact that she escaped Target security, way to go AP.
I give her mother of the year for driving her 2 year old son around, he sure is learning quick.
She also was driving more than 100 mph during the chase.

We had someone try to shoplift A LOT (don't know the $ amount) of infant clothes and baby items at my store in an attempted push out. AP took her into the back and then I guess called the police. She didn't try to run away or anything.
 
What was "tens of thousands of dollars" doing in 6 cash registers? I'm not familiar with Spot's front lanes policies on tills but every other store I worked for as a cashier (WAY back when) required a pickup once you got around $500.

Maybe because of inflation, but in a matter of an hour we will have over 500 in a register easily. Guest service starts with around 500 at the beginning in each register located there. Pickups are done at the stores I work at only in 4th quarter near christmas and on black friday.
 
Maybe because of inflation, but in a matter of an hour we will have over 500 in a register easily. Guest service starts with around 500 at the beginning in each register located there. Pickups are done at the stores I work at only in 4th quarter near christmas and on black friday.


The amount of inflation is easily countered by the increase in debit card usage (area depending). The article lists an estimate of $30,000 stolen which comes out to over $5k per register. Having that high of an amount is practically begging for a robbery.
 
When I closed I would always walk the back room, fitting rooms, and restrooms with another team member AND a walkie. However, I realized that anyone could have hidden in any of those areas if they were watching what was already checked. It was more to be able to say that I had done it. The only way to really check would be via camera and I don't think they can be in the fitting room or restrooms and the monitors are in the locked AP room. I'm glad nobody was hurt!
 
Maybe because of inflation, but in a matter of an hour we will have over 500 in a register easily. Guest service starts with around 500 at the beginning in each register located there. Pickups are done at the stores I work at only in 4th quarter near christmas and on black friday.


The amount of inflation is easily countered by the increase in debit card usage (area depending). The article lists an estimate of $30,000 stolen which comes out to over $5k per register. Having that high of an amount is practically begging for a robbery.


I agree it is a lot per register. As @Retail Girl said though, they have no idea how much is in the registers and the estimate is most likely a bit high.
 
Well, since somebody else posted it... I used to work at this store. It's the first time in the store's 11 years that it has ever been robbed. The GSA who was working on Saturday night is a veteran - over 10 years in that store. The GSA remained calm and gave them everything within reach.

That store has 18 lanes, typically only 10 of them are touched during the day. There are 10 satellite registers (including pharmacy) and 4 guest service registers. Leadership in that store has always been wary of doing skims, despite the layout of the cash office making it exceptionally easy to drop bags. It's a greatland layout, so the chute to drop skims is right in the middle of the lanes along the wall.

Overall, it could've been really bad. Luckily everyone did exactly as they were trained.
 
Half-way on topic: I have seen very few closes at my store as I always open for logistics. During over-night remodel shifts, I had a walkie and heard the "scan for guests before close" procedure. It might have just been that one night, but not everyone reported in, and some people sounded really distracted. Then the LOD agreed with everyone on walkie that we were empty, locked the doors...and five minutes later a very elderly lady using a walker shambled her way up to the front of the store. Who the hell missed her?
 
In the days up to a holiday, I frequently counted $3K+ in the most-used registers.

We had a break-in one night a few yrs ago while the ON flow team was there.
The burglar broke out the one front pane that wasn't wired to the alarm & smashed cases while flow was working in the back, filling a backpack with small stuff like iPods, etc. By the time anyone figured out something was going on, the guy was already going out the fire door to a waiting car. AP later figured he had some inside help when surveillance showed a flow TM on his phone playing look-out. The TM was gone but I didn't hear any other deets.
 
About the only time we do skims is on Black Friday. And even then I think it's mandated by the company, or at least my district. I've requested a few here and there during Q4 in electronics when my drawer starts overflowing, but I'm pretty sure I'm one of just a few people that knows that you can request a skim. I don't want or need all those bills in my drawer.

Everyone in my store knows to give robbers what they want and to try to remember what they look like, what they were wearing, and significant features or mannerisms. No need to be injured or killed over Target's money.
 
I have asked about register skims, and was told that there is no policy for it. However if a cashier is uncomfortable having excess cash in their register, they can have the GSTL do a skim on it.
 
In the days up to a holiday, I frequently counted $3K+ in the most-used registers.

We had a break-in one night a few yrs ago while the ON flow team was there.
The burglar broke out the one front pane that wasn't wired to the alarm & smashed cases while flow was working in the back, filling a backpack with small stuff like iPods, etc. By the time anyone figured out something was going on, the guy was already going out the fire door to a waiting car. AP later figured he had some inside help when surveillance showed a flow TM on his phone playing look-out. The TM was gone but I didn't hear any other deets.

We had one like that a few holiday seasons past. Flow was working and dude just broke out one of the front windows in our sister store, grabbed a big screen TV and ran for his life. They had to have had inside help to know that the big screens were just out on the floor for black Friday.

And for drawer skims, I thought it was just a good thing to do. True its been during holiday time, but when you get the group buying the "giving tree" lists and paying with office pooled cash, you can stuff a drawer quick. I had no problem calling the GSTL to do a skim.. Its just too big a temptation for someone to try a snatch and run. I thought it was a good idea when their transaction was over 2Gs in cash.
 
Never heard of skims when I was a cashier. My drawer would get wayyyy over the amounts thrown around here during the holidays.
 
Half-way on topic: I have seen very few closes at my store as I always open for logistics. During over-night remodel shifts, I had a walkie and heard the "scan for guests before close" procedure. It might have just been that one night, but not everyone reported in, and some people sounded really distracted. Then the LOD agreed with everyone on walkie that we were empty, locked the doors...and five minutes later a very elderly lady using a walker shambled her way up to the front of the store. Who the hell missed her?

Were early morning as well. One morning about 6am or so, while walking the floor to see where everyone was and how the truck was doing I walked through softlines. Corner of my eye I notice a strange older looking guy walking through the infants area and heading back to mens. Asked the guy if I could help him with anything figuring hes a vendor or something. Turns out the closers didn't lock the front door and left it on so this guest just walked right on in. AP was a tad bit pissed off.
 
Skims were a standard thing everywhere I worked as a cashier. The idea being that if you get robbed, there's not going to be too much cash to hand over.
 
We register skim black friday only no other day just throw all the cash under your drawer is our policy.
 
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