Would you work alone in a coin shop?
Dave99B
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I've been think a lot about the tragic of loss dealer Gary Duke in Fort Worth, all because some lost meth-heads decided they needed some quick cash for their next 'fix'. So, so very tragic...
Stories like this always remind me of a similar event in North Seattle about 30 years ago. A young dealer working alone had been executed, and his store was cleaned out of all of his gold and silver bullion. I had only been to his shop one time, but the dealer was killed just a few weeks later. I was in shock when I read about it in the newspaper. His shop was in a small stand-alone building, much like Gary's. Not the best of areas either. The guy was mainly a bullion dealer, but he did have a few cases of collector coins. Super nice fellow, probably in his mid-30s. I remember vividly thinking at the time that he had very little security, and as a result, I actually felt a little uncomfortable while I was there. Anyway, a few weeks later, it all ended. I also never heard if they arrested anyone. Just another very sad dealer story.
Anyway, the poll question is would you work alone? I would not. I don't care about how many cameras or other security measures are in place. Just now worth it, IMO. Would you?
Comments
No. It's too risky these days, especially in those cities where the police have been wrongly prosecuted and are now reluctant to do their job. There was big article last week on the front page of “USA Today” about how the murder rate in Baltimore has gone through the roof after the Freddy Gray case.
That’s a darn shame because Baltimore has made great efforts to make it a first class city with the new sports stadiums, the Inner Harbor and their excellent convention center. It shows how a few rotten people can screw it up for everybody.
If it was in a "bad" neighborhood I would not work there at all, and be wary of patronizing it.
yes, i'm no dealer, but i'm very confident and at ease with my sidearm on my hip. That's the only way I'd do it.
Shops are tough. you depend on foot traffic and advertising. I read the article in Coin World and can say I don't agree with the suggestion of just give them what they want as quick as possible and take mental notes. Anyone who is willing to do a robbery when a business is open, like seeing a racoon during the day,is not in right state of mind. I would not want to go down without a fight. Just me.
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I know a few who work alone but have friends who frequent or come in every day, so there are ways around "working alone". In general it can be hard to work alone, it is much easier to get motivated working with others if they are the right people. Also stories like that tend to generate unwarranted paranoia.
I prefer to work alone when it comes to safety. I can control who I let in and can focus on protecting myself.
On occasion, I DO sometimes. It's actually quite peaceful. lol
Half the time I'm on these boards!
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no. if there was a constant flow of people i knew to check on me or the store then yes, maybe
Given changes in consumer behavior, I'm not sure a store is a positive attribute. There was/is a hole-in-the-wall place in Gaithersburg, Md that was mostly a front door, and bullet proof plastic cage and cameras. They bought and sold a lot of gold and silver, but that was it.
No way I'm ever working "anywhere" again! I'm done.....
Too much risk. Coin Shop says: "Lots of cash here in addition to stuff I can fence."
How your vision in the eyes in the back of your head?
If there are two with you, never stand together. I have been working in a shop when a couple of guys came in separately and tried to get the two of us close together - asking to look at things in the same case. It made them nervous when I went to an entry of another room where the hold-up button was, and they knew I had a cross-fire shot 90 degrees from the other dealer. They ended up leaving because they knew that at least one of them wouldn't be leaving if something happened.
Unless I am carrying...I am walking. I will not go down without a fight.
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Carrying entails another big risk. Several years back a local coin shop was held up. Everything was recorded on the store's video camera and the local news stations ran the tape.
The shop owner appeared from the rear of the store (other employees had been in the front of the store) and started shooting wildly at the thieves. They quickly exited the store without being hit or getting any loot. What is bad is that the store owner's shots were going out the front of the store and passing through a very busy main road. It is amazing no innocent bystander was hit. Can you imagine the lawsuits if any innocent bystander had been killed or wounded?
Depends entirely on the location as to whether I would work in ANY business open to the public that carries cash or readily disposed of goods of value. Alone or not. Even with super security, one has to walk out the door at some point.
This poor guy was just working to make a living, then this scum comes in and takes his life there should be no mercy on him if he get caught. It's not right to send him away on a vacation just so he can do it again and he will some day some time some where.
it's hard to say a lot can happen my brother was shoot 3 times taking out the trash when he was a kid working at a 7-11 some guy grab him and said do you have a dime he said I gave it to him turned to walk away then the guy pulled a gun and started shooting. he was ok just has some extra lead in him. Then two days later his friend was shoot and killed in a phone booth in the same parking lot.
It's not right it's a tough world out there we just need to keep are eyes open and guns loaded and ready. I may get shoot but I'm shooting back I'm going out with a fight it's my job to take him or her out Failure Drill 2 to the chest 1 to the head that's part of the training.
Hoard the keys.
291fifth, your story reminds me of another incident. This also occurred about 25 year ago at Al's Wooden Nickel coin store, also in N Seattle. Al worked alone 99% of the time. Two young men (18-21) walked in, looked at a few coins, asked some newbie questions, then left the store. Al told me he felt like he was being cased. About 10 minutes later they walked back in. Al knew immediately he was in trouble. One guy pulled a gun and jumped over the counter, while the other guy watched the door. The guy with the gun led Al back to the safe near the back of the long, narrow store. With the gun pointed directly at the back of his head, Al was forced to open the safe. Al reached in and pulled out his loaded .38. He turned around and fired two rounds as the guys ran for the door. He missed them, and luckily both rounds were stopped by the door casing. Directly across the street was a busy McDonalds.
The men were caught within 30 minutes. No one was hurt, but Al never really recovered mentally from the incident, and closed the store within a year.
Dave
No, but mostly because it'd be lonely.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
I said no, it wouldn't be safe.
With that said, if someone could outfit a coin shop with a huge bullet proof glass like the banks do (with you sliding merchandise through a narrow hole in the window), then I would give it a whirl.
Absolutely... with the combination of my security experience and my firearm training (tactics, the law, etc.) I would not worry. Cheers, RickO
My tattoo shop rule is no one is in the shop alone. We either have two or more employees present or we close. Not just for security, but for backup and a witness on just about any issue. You just can’t predict what’s coming your way each day. I would have a pizza joint with one guy, much less a coin shop.
Sure but it depends on the details. In a bad part of East St. Louis (is that redundant?) with no security from midnight to 5 AM - no thank you. I wouldn't be the night cashier at the local 7-11 either.
In a decent place with regular working hours and a well developed security plan - sure, why not. All human endeavors include risk. Just stay alert and don't set yourself up for trouble.
Without a doubt.
No.....are you kidding me?
BTW how did you folks copy the square thingi to your post?
the realistic dynamics make working in a coin shop not worth the risk. Well trained and well armed staff good security IP cameras inside and out scanning Identification to allow entry all lower risk. The issues are more profound though not only the risk of robbery and harm but the great risk of being ruined by legal fees if one has to kill or hurt a robber and any one who uses any weapon in a crime should expect lethal decisive force to be used but the courts are more and more on the side of the criminal. The sanctuary and socialist meccas like Cali make it far easier for the criminal to advance there chosen career path. Cynical yes but pragmatic too unfortunately.
it might of been a bit more safe working in a coin shop decades ago, not so much now
Alone, but with Mr. Magnum holstered for all the world to see,
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
I was married to a German woman. You think working in a coin shop alone is scary ?
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Threads like this and the threat reporting the crime that resulted in the "HOMICIDE" aka the "MURDER" of coin dealer Gary Duke in Texas are depressing.
Some people have no moral compass and no soul. Their fellow humans have no value to them at all and they view anyone and anything from a prism of "what can I get/take from them".
Wishing for the good old days is folly, as the same stuff happened in the good old days going back to the beginning (though maybe there has been an increase in the number of crimes per capita between the good old days and today).
The difference between then and now is that modern technology and communication allows anyone, anywhere, anytime to be bombarded with information about anything and everything. Human nature being what it is, the subject matter of the information being bombarded is Negative, Negative, Negative.
Tonight I will ignore the bombardment and spend some time reading a few more chapters in a novel (The Once And Future King, by T.H. White).
I'd be nervous to work in a store by myself, but would probably do it if it was a rare occurrence. There are many different layers of security that can be applied, but if you aren't trained in using all of them and actively USE all of them its pointless. I know several shops that don't even have cameras and keep their doors propped open to get fresh air into the store...
I carry whenever I'm in the coin ships I visit and always check the front door(s) when people are coming and going.
It's against our company policy to have the retail store open with only one person on staff. With 15 or so of us on staff it's not much of an issue except during shows.
I was born and raised in East Saint Louis.
I would not run a coin shop there.
(Although the rent would be really cheap,)
Yes you are right--it depends on the details.
And yes, you are also correct that all things we do involve some element of risk.
Normally we weigh them subconsciously.
Packing a sidearm !!!
feeling safe and confident in your ability to protect yourself isn't the same as being able to protect yourself. look at the statistics and see how many Law Enforcement and Security personnel are killed annually. what's the explanation for that, are they just stupid and careless??
prudence and common sense dictates that it isn't wise to work alone, so we typically have three people in our store at all times. two other points that I think are germane to the discussion: while we have firearms available at all times they aren't realistically at arms length most of the time --- and --- it sounds good as a deterrent, but it isn't realistic and reassuring to customers to be walking around with an openly visible firearm.
No. I won’t even go into a coin shop alone as a customer let alone work there alone.
If you work alone someone will pick up on it and as the bad guy (s) do you hit a coin shop with multiple employees or the one with Hans Solo without Chewy?
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......