It’s something you do every day … many days without thinking. You go to work, unlock the door, and disable the alarm. You set about your business like clockwork, preparing for the day. When the day is done, you put your goods in the safe or vault, set the alarm, lock the doors, and leave. You could do this in your sleep!
Even though this is routine and seems mundane, you must be aware that opening and closing are the most dangerous times for jewelry businesses.
To keep yourself and your staff safe, adopt these recommendations for opening and closing procedures:
- Upon arrival at work and before parking your car, examine the business surroundings to see if there are any suspicious individuals or vehicles positioned near your business. If there are, remove yourself from the vicinity and return later. If your concerns continue upon your return, immediately contact the police.
- The perimeter of the business should be examined for any signs of a possible break-in (broken glass, kicked-in doors, ladders, or other obvious signs of a burglary). If you encounter any sign of a break-in at your business or at a business adjacent to your location, leave the area immediately and notify law enforcement.
Have law enforcement meet you in a location out of the view of the business. After meeting with the law enforcement personnel, ask them to conduct a thorough investigation of your premises before you proceed with your business day.
- Open and close with at least two people: one to open and one to observe the opening. When opening, the associate unlocking the facility should immediately lock the door after entering. Then, this individual should conduct a full walk-through of the premises, looking for anything suspicious.
The other associate should watch from a safe distance with a cell phone ready to call police if the need arises. Only after receiving a preestablished “all-clear” notification from the first associate, the second associate may enter — again locking the door behind him/her — and assist with opening safes and/or vaults, setting up display cases, and preparing for the day’s business.
- It is not uncommon for a criminal to wait outside of a facility for the first arriving associate of the day to come and unlock the door. Often, the criminal will then confront the employee with a weapon and force the employee to disarm the alarm system.
Click here to find out 5 tips to recognize the warning signs of casing.
To deter this type of an ambush, follow the steps immediately above, and enter and exit the facility using the main entrance that has proper lighting and good visibility.
- After entering the store for opening, keep doors locked, remove merchandise from safes and vaults, and arrange displays. Unlock your doors only after you have completed these tasks and are ready to open.
- At the close of the day, clear the business of all customers and lock the door before you begin to secure your merchandise for the night. Store as much merchandise as possible in safes or vaults.
- If all of your merchandise will not fit in a safe or vault, consider removing it from cases and putting it out of sight. This will deter criminals from committing a smash-and-grab at your location.
- Do not open your doors to anyone outside of your normal posted business hours. Jewelers Mutual provides free door signage indicating that your insurance company does not permit you to open your doors before or after business hours.
