... you get robbed at work?

Well, one of my coworkers at my pizza delivery job got robbed tonight. He's fine, other than being a little pissed off and a lot scared. He lost about $60 and that's it. He was leaving a delivery so the perps got his money, but not the pizza. The police were at the store for about 90 minutes doing all kinds of stuff: taking fingerprints off his ride, fingerprinting him(so they could tell his from any others on the vehicle), filming, questioning, etc. Turns out it was three guys, all wearing masks and all with guns. Whacha gonna do with those odds? I would have done the exact same thing- give them what they want and go on living.

If they write it up in the paper, I'll try to provide a link. What really concerns me the most, is that I have been to that same neighborhood hundreds of times, and deliveries are random, it could have just as easily been me at the scene. What would I have done? The scene keeps playing through my head. I honestly have no idea what I would have done had I been the one looking down the barrel.

Brian is fine, though (the most important thing), and I'm sure he's going to have a good cry once he's at home with his family, and rightly so. I'll take this opportunity (if you can honestly call it that) to learn from his misfortune. We deliver in a fairly good part of town, but I guess there's always a chance for crime. So, don't be an easy target! Look around, know your surroundings. Are people milling around where you're parked? Is the porch light on where you are delivering? Are things odd in any way? Do I have too much money in my pocket (I personally carry around my wallet, usually with only a few bucks i it)- in the future, I'll carry only my bank ($20) and leave my wallet in my locker at work, put my driver's license in my truck and nothing else. <b> We aren't allowed to carry at work,</b> though I'm sure there have been a few that did. Still, concealed weapons would have been useless when the bad guys already have the drop on you. It's not like we can go around with a gun out and visible.

It's a damn shame we have to worry about thugs and this kind of <strike>petty</strike> crime. (it isn't petty when there's a gun involved) It's a shame we all work so hard just to have crap like this happen. I hope they catch the guys. They won't, but wouldn't it be nice?

Thanks for reading this.

 

Stu, this is some freaky stuff and it gets worse as we get closer to the holidays. Fortunately your coworker was unharmed, $60.00 isn't worth one's life or safety.

Does your employer allow you to carry concealed? Mine does not and I'm just as vulnerable as you and it scares the hell out of me everyday.

Please be careful Stu.

 

Three guys, masks and guns, wow. Three to one would have been bad odds even if they were unarmed.

They do sound like some real idiots though. How much did they think that they'd get from a pizza driver? Now they're up for armed robbery. If they wouldn't have had guns, I'm not sure how much the cops would have done about it.

hj

 

I have to retract the earlier portion of my post above. I don't know for sure if we are allowed to carry or not, my assumpton is that we are not authorized, and I think it's a reasonable assumption. Still, once there is a gun involved- pointed at you- it really doesn't matter if you have one tucked into your waist or not, you aren't going to grab it.

Truth is, Brian is going to be fine once he decompresses and deals with his ordeal in his own way. I am actually a little disturbed at how this event has affected me, an uninvolved third party. Perhaps it's because of the helplessness one feels when a friend or loved one is mistreated or maybe it's becuase I know how easily it could have been me at that delivery. Truth is, any of us delivery guys could be a target. Brian isn't a small guy, by any means, so it wasn't just a 'bully' taking his lunch money. These criminals could have killed him. All for a lousy $60. Brian did joke a little after the fact. He said the guys ran off with his $60 laughing like they had won the lottery! $20 each!!! Yippeeeee!!!

 

They had masks on. That tells me that that they did not intend to kill their victim.
If they did not have masks they were not going to leave witnesses.
Take the money and gently toss it off to the side and telling the robbers that they can have it and start backing away slowly.
Get 20-30-feet away then turn and run like hell.
They will go for the money.
You go for cover.

 

Stu, does your employer offer any type of counseling after a horrific event such as this? This is no laughing matter and I hope your coworker isn't just shrugging this off like "oh well". I mean ya can't dwell on it either. Even if these guns looked real and fired pellets instead of bullets for instance, the perps still made their point.

 

Glad to hear Brian is fine. What a terrible situation to be in. Keep alert Stu

 

I think he absolutely did the right thing. I'm not going to take a chance on dying for 60 bucks...especially if it's not my 60 bucks. I've got to agree that carrying isn't going to be much help in that situation. Might even be more dangerous if a perp happens to see your weapon.

Sounds like something newbs would do. Emboldened by their success, they'll no doubt do it again somewhere. Eventually they will become statistics.

 

Sorry to hear about the robbery, but glad that Brian is OK.

Been there, done that.

Well, no, not quite. I was robbed at knife point by a retard, not gun point.

As a delivery person, they teach us not to fight with the robber, to give them what they want. Generally, they don't intend to injure the victim if they cooperate.

 

Been there done that. When I was working in a Liquor store in Hollywood back in the 70s we got robbed a few times, once while I was there.

Store policy was give them anything they want, nothing is worth anyone's life.

We were robbed by some skinny sweaty drug addict from the looks of him. I am 6'4" and there were 2 other people behind the counter. We were all meek as sheep. A 25 caliber pistol may be a pop gun but the barrel looks like a cannon when it is in your face.

We were especially nervous since sometimes these guys just pop you anyway, just like an acquaintence store owner a few blocks away was popped in the head.

We were a few blocks from the local PD, it took them about 30 minutes to respond to our silent alarm and followup call.

So give them anything they want but be wary if they seem weird and be ready to run like hell if you can.

Jim Henderson

 

Sure, a gun wouldn't have helped in this specific situation, but what if there's a guy with a knife next time? I'm going to guess that most pizza delivery robberies are not at gunpoint.

 

I agree, Andy, and the truth is, if we were allowed to carry on the job, the whole dynamic would change, if for no other reason than the change in the confidence factor (but I don't really know for sure). Someone trying to rob me with a knife might not be successful at all if there's only one robber. I don't know. A year or so ago, one of the other drivers got almost robbed. The guy tried to whack him in the head with a mini baseball bat... yes, really. Bad news for that particular perp was that the driver was not one to be trifled with and the would-be mugger got a heaping helping of ***-kicking, instead of a free pizza. Wish I could have seen that one!

I'll see Brian again tomorrow, assuming he comes to work. We'll see how he's doing. I'll also find out about the carry rule for Domino's, though I'm pretty sure I know the answer already.

 

The rule WAS you were not allowed to carry. I witnessed a driver getting fired for violating the policy...but that's been a few years ago now.

I drive for Pizza Hut these days, but I doubt that it has changed.

 

What's worse? Defending your own life and getting fired for it or getting shot over $60 and a couple cheese & pepperoni pizzas?

 

The best thing you can do, armed or not, is to pay attention. I don't know the specifics, but your friend was surprised by 3 guys wearing masks. Was there not a longer path he might have took so he wasn't surprised by someone? Personally, if i see 3 guys wearing masks, I don't plan on waiting around to see what they want.

If you do get stuck staring down the wrong end of the barrel, still pay attention. Remember most people that might hold you up don't have any professional training. They've probably already made up their mind as to what they are going to do. Pay attention to any clues. If you think they just want money, give it to them. If you think they're going to shoot you regardless, throw something at their face or poke them in the eye.

The natural reaction is to protect your face when that happens, even though the logical reaction if someone you want to harm tries to throw a dollar bill at you would be just to shoot them.If you're forced to react, be aggressive and be loud. Don't give them time to think, just make them react. But the simple advice is still, don't let 3 guys wearing masks get anywhere near you.