LAS VEGAS — Training employees and building solid relationships with local law enforcement are two keys in being prepared for an unruly convenience-store customer.
That training begins with awareness, said Sharon Cruz (pictured second from left), field security manager at Chicago-based McDonald’s Corp., during the session De-Escalating Customer Issues on Oct. 1 at the NACS Show in Las Vegas. The session was hosted by Amber Bradley, owner and brand strategist of the Calibration Group (pictured far left), Hendersonville, Tenn.
“That awareness must be through organic growth at a company, through webcasts, in-person meetings, role-playing, keeping it top of mind at all times,” Cruz said. “Make sure it’s proactive.”
Getting the message to employees is difficult due to high turnover, added Travis Goff (pictured far right), director of risk management at Salt Lake City-based convenience-store chain Maverik. The message, however, is the same regardless of the size of the c-store chain, and the message must be conveyed onsite and come from the store leader. “Keep it simple,” Goff said.
- Maverik is No. 22 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 list of biggest U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Goff added that employees should always care about their own safety first, use verbal de-escalation techniques and have respectful empathy and be trained to understand the customer.
In an example of a sub shop customer furious because the store was out of meatballs but didn’t note it on its menu board, Goff, said, “Validate why the customer is upset and humanize the person you’re dealing with. Offer empathy and respectful validation.”
Tips like these should be given in bite-size pieces to crew members, said Cruz said, who added they distribute “one-pager” sheets of advice to employees. If the customer remains angry, call law enforcement. “Make sure the information cascades down to the whole crew. We want to keep giving small reminders,” she said.
One area Goff focuses on is greeting customers. “Just saying hi and greeting them will create that safe environment for them,” he said. “I want to focus on techniques and driving those out to team members.”
In addition, Maverik has an internet safety program where employees search for and read more on subjects.
Harj Sahota (pictured second from right), director, facilities, safety and asset protection at Aldergrove, British Columbia-based Otter Co-Op, advised using the “10 feet in 10 seconds” rule. “It’s really simple to remember: If a customer is within 10 feet of you, within 10 seconds you want to greet them,” he said. “That contact goes a long way. It diffuses a situation and shows you were there to provide a level of service to that customer.”
A survey the co-op conducted found employees want a script of one or two lines of how they can approach a customer if they’re not wearing a mask or a situation has escalated. “We compiled one and gave them different scenarios on how to engage with those customers,” he said. “We did role-playing and it eased their anxiety.”
Cruz said she makes role-playing fund and interactive. “I pretend to have an issue, yelling and screaming and asking the manger how would you handle me? It shows what your manager’s natural habit would be. They might want to push you out of the store. And I’ll coach: ‘Be a little calm when you’re talking because there’s no science to this.’ It’s best practices that seems to be pretty impactful.”
When it comes to working with the police after a situation such as a theft, Goff suggested installing better surveillance equipment so the police can have better images and be more likely to solve the crime. “Make the police a business partner,” he said.
Sahota said Otter Co-Op has a strong relationship with law enforcement, helping them host a community movie night by providing free popcorn and knickknacks for kids. “Three thousand people showed up with 40 police offers,” Sahota said. “A police officer came by and said he had to follow up on a case with one of the stores.”
Otter Co-Op also has opened up its stores to act as a police command center if there’s an emergency in the community. “We provide coffee, tea, water. They can use our store, and that goes a long way,” Sahota said.