Gas Station Held Up

[Wolfie]

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20002015/

 

Attendant fired after being robbed at gunpoint

‘I feel betrayed,’ woman says; 3 sacked when register $16 over $50 limit

Associated Press

Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET July 27, 2007

 

LODI, Calif. - A gas station cashier who was held up on the job and helped track down the robber has been fired.

 

The company that owns the station said Cynthia Lopez lost her job because her cash drawer was $16 over its $50 limit.

 

“We do have policies on cash limits in registers to protect our employees’ safety,” Tesoro Corp. spokeswoman Sarah Simpson said. “We have a zero-tolerance policy.”

 

Lopez, 31, was working behind the counter July 11 when a masked man put a gun on the counter and demanded the contents of the cash register.

 

Lopez handed over the money and some lottery tickets. She made a point of noting the man’s clothing and the license plate number on the getaway car.

 

Police later used the number to track down and arrest two men in connection with the stickup.

 

The next day, Lopez lost her job.

 

She said a manager had told staffers to keep about $100 in the cash register to make change.

 

“I thought I did everything correctly. I thought they should ask, ’Are you guys OK?”’ Lopez said. “This is wrong. I feel betrayed.”

 

The station manager and another clerk who was outside cleaning during the robbery were also fired.

 

 

 

OMG, over $16?!? From the sounds of it, not only was she wrongfully terminated, but also only $50 in the register? Have two people buy only a few dollars worth of stuff and pay with $20 bills, and there'll be a problem with making change. That's stupidity on top of stupidity. These corporation people sound like they want to live in hell after they die. I'm sure they'll be raking in the money when everyone sees what asses they were for firing those employees.

[Quackster]

Poor lady, she helped catch a criminal and then in return loses her job. Idiots

I guess the change thing is stupid as well... I don't think anyone will want to go to that shop anymore

[Dish]

Have two people buy only a few dollars worth of stuff and pay with $20 bills, and there'll be a problem with making change.

Actually, no. Typically they are supposed to drop all their 20s and if they need change there's a change safe. That said, firing her over $16 is a bunch of crap.

[Wolfie]

Actually, no. Typically they are supposed to drop all their 20s and if they need change there's a change safe. That said, firing her over $16 is a bunch of crap.

There's no telling if they use that same set up. I know what you are talking about, and if it is the same type of system, then they can only get change every so often and only for up to certain amounts. That mentioned, all it would take is a small rush of people flowing through, all with $10's and $20's, and there'd be a problem. Would they have fired her if they just had a mad rush of people, and then just as the last customer (in a long line) had finished paying, someone came in and held the place up, getting away with $200? I suppose they want to make a 5 minute line drag out into 10 minutes, aggravating people for her dropping a bill every other minute and filling out paperwork and everything else to keep it below $50.

 

"Thanks for keeping your cool, remembering enough information to capture the crooks and even getting our money back.. You're fired."

[eva]

there was a hold up at a bank near here a couple weeks ago. a sheriff ended up dying from gun shot wounds.

i think i'm going to start a new post ranting about your posts.

[Ike]

Thats a terrible reason to fire someone!

[Dish]

There's no telling if they use that same set up. I know what you are talking about, and if it is the same type of system, then they can only get change every so often and only for up to certain amounts. That mentioned, all it would take is a small rush of people flowing through, all with $10's and $20's, and there'd be a problem. Would they have fired her if they just had a mad rush of people, and then just as the last customer (in a long line) had finished paying, someone came in and held the place up, getting away with $200? I suppose they want to make a 5 minute line drag out into 10 minutes, aggravating people for her dropping a bill every other minute and filling out paperwork and everything else to keep it below $50.

Sure there's no way. But if it's a requirement for keeping your job, then they'd better have this setup (or something similar).

I used to work in a local gas station in a population 500 town. WE had that setup. I'd bet a larger town would be even more likely to have it. I never had a problem following that protocol. Then again we had more of a threshold than $50. Again I'll say it: To fire her for this is pure crap.

[Wolfie]

Then again we had more of a threshold than $50. Again I'll say it: To fire her for this is pure crap.

That $50 limit is indeed quit stupid. If the register was filled with freshly opened coins, that's $17.50 right there, leaving a maximum of $32.50 ($32) in bills. I don't know of any normal customer that wants to end up with $5 worth of coins as change. Normal excludes those who need/want the coins for various reasons, such as playing arcade games or something else that uses coins.

 

I hope that the more people find out about it, the more they'll avoid that company like the plague. Maybe the loss of business will get those Big Cheeses http://www.n-raged.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif to open their eyes.

[Ike]

I thought there needed to be a valid reason to fire someone like that. Cant they launch an investigation?

[Wolfie]

I thought there needed to be a valid reason to fire someone like that. Cant they launch an investigation?

In some states, the employment contract that you sign includes clauses where the employer can terminate someones employment at any time for any reason.

 

Of course, the loophole to that is if you can prove that the reason for being terminated was unlawful. If a boss wants his secretary to have sexual relations with him, then fires her when she says no, then that's illegal. If he just decides that he doesn't want her working for him anymore, for any reason, even no reason at all, then it's legal.

 

I do hope she consults with an attorney, because if she was following orders (her direct supervisors orders), then she was doing her job and the reason for her termination is a lie, thus, wrongful termination.

[Ike]

For her sake, I hope so too.

[Wolfie]

She should also see to it that if she has to appear in court, she gets paid compensation by the company for her time. After all, she was at work and on duty when it happened, so for her to appear to help put the criminals away on the companies behalf, she should be paid for it.

 

All the more reason to consult a lawyer, because it'd be interesting if the company refused to pay up and it ended up in court, on the news. More bad P.R.

 

[Ike]

They'll probably just dish out the money to her when they realise all this.