VANCOUVER, B.C. -- More than 40% of 7-Eleven's 140 stores throughout British Columbia already comply with new WorkSafeBC regulations requiring more than one employee for late night retail operations, the company said in response to the regs going into effect February 1. The rest of the stores will comply within the 90-day period to introduce these new measures by May 1, 2008.
In the next 30 days, all stores will have provisions in place to allow customers to prepay for fuel sold at 7-Eleven outlets in British Columbia, the company added. Many of the stores already have gasoline pumps that [image-nocss] allow prepayment with the use of bank cards.
"We support the new regulations as they relate to prepayment of gasoline purchases and have already been moving toward full implementation of the provisions," said 7-Eleven spokesperson Alyn Edwards. "The prepayment requirement for all fuel sales is a significant business change for us and our customers. We will be educating our staff and customers on prepayment and will have this fully in place by the March 1 deadline."
Also, 59 of the 140 7-Eleven outlets throughout British Columbia already have double employee coverage during late night retail operations, the company said. This double coverage is based on customer demand so the stores can best serve their customers in a timely manner in order to avoid delays in transaction. The company added that is in the process of hiring and training the number of employees required to ensure that all B.C. stores have these staffing levels for late night operation by May 1.
7-Eleven has chosen this option over a second choice of having late-night employees physically separated from customers by a locked door or other barriers. "These security measures are not in keeping with 7-Eleven's policy of providing direct customer service during all hours of operation," Edwards said.
Burnaby, B.C.-based 7-Eleven Canada said it is an industry leader in violence avoidance and security measures that are in place to reduce criminal incidents. The company builds in crime prevention measures through environmental design principles at all stores. These include ensuring a clear view through windows by not displaying ads or posters enabling a fishbowl effect, height strips on doors for criminal identification, time delay safes, closed circuit video surveillance, low cash levels in cash drawers, personal safety devices, employee monitoring and ongoing training for all staff.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 7,300 7-Eleven stores in North America, 466 in Canada. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses about 33,200 stores in 17 countries and one U.S. territory. During 2006, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $44 billion.
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