Convenience Store bosses share grim experiences
A PREGNANT retailer was battered and repeatedly kicked in the stomach by a female thief she tried to challenge in her convenience store.
The shocking incident was revealed as shop bosses shared their experiences at the annual Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) Crime Seminar.
Dan Brown, owner of Pinkie Farm Convenience Store in Musselburgh, said his partner, who was 26 weeks pregnant at the time of the assault, had to go to hospital. Fortunately, both baby and mother were given the all-clear by medics.
Dan said: “It’s sickening and unbelievable that someone would carry out such an attack – all for the sake of trying to steal a couple of Easter eggs.
“The violence is getting to the point where there’s no guarantee either you or your staff will make it home at the end of the day.
“The abuse is mentally draining, too. And while we try to shelter customers from incidents, I think it’s important to tell these stories.”
Dan revealed that tens of thousands of pounds had been spent on the store in recent years to try to combat crime.
This has included changing the store layout and investing heavily in technology and the likes of body cameras for staff.
Dan added: “It’s made it easier to record theft and understand it. But there has to be a deterrent – speedy prosecutions – and that’s not happening.
“There’s also the problem of repeat offenders. I’ve often been in court with them in the morning and they’re back in the store stealing in the evening.”
Colleen Blackhurst, of Premier Broadway Convenience Store in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, told of how she had noticed worrying changes in the patterns of thefts over recent months.
The shop manager said: “We’ve seen a massive increase in teenagers raiding the chiller cabinets for RTDs. And they’re not local. They’re using their passes for free bus travel to go from area to area.
“And because these thieves are not from the neighbourhood, that creates a problem in identifying them for both us and the local police officers.”
Colleen said she felt firmer legislation needed to be brought forward by politicians because, as things stand, youngsters know nothing is going to happen to them even if they do get caught.
The issue of recruiting and retaining staff against a backdrop of attacks in stores was also discussed and Colleen said: “We are very lucky in that we’ve had very little violence.
“My children, who are 16 and 20, both work in the store. But if it were to turn violent, I would tell them to seek work elsewhere.”
Mohammed Rajak, of Buywell Day-Today, Bridgeton, Glasgow, said that recruiting good staff was a difficulty.
He added: “I’ve told my son to walk away from any violence. There are a lot of good customers who appreciate us. But it’s people from outside the area who are committing the crimes.
“And crime has an impact on footfall. Customers feel as if they are being watched and there’s a negative sentiment to that.
“The police definitely need more resources. But I fear the politicians will only listen when a retailer loses their life.”
SGF president Graham Watson told how even his rural store in Moniaive, Dumfriesshire, was not immune from crime, saying youngsters were more brazen when it came to shop theft nowadays.
Graham said: “Crime is the biggest problem in retail and it’s a blight on society. New for me is the threat of violence and we’ve had to deal with that of late.
“I believe violence has become an issue because of a breakdown in society and the lack of retribution. It feels like we’re in a silent war.”
Ryan Hutchison, of Spar Scone, Perthshire, agreed that crime in c-stores wasn’t just limited to towns and cities when he spoke to Scottish Grocer after attending the SGF seminar at the Doubletree by Hilton at Edinburgh airport.
He explained: “Our store has been in our family for 67 years now and we all agree that we have never experienced retail crime at these levels before.
“We are in a smaller village where violence and threats are rare but they still occur. We’ve even had someone jump over the counter and steal £200 worth of cigarettes and scratchcards.
“The financial implication is huge. It’s not just the cost of the items stolen, it’s then the time spent dealing with the incident, including interviews with the police and court appearances.
“We have spent thousands in store on CCTV and other measures. There’s also the emotional toll it takes.
“Maybe it’s time to be more vocal about this issue and how bad it is getting.”
