Restaurant Safety Killer™ #1: LOT™

There are plenty of restaurant safety lessons employees can learn gradually.

Robbery prevention isn't one of them.

If an employee has never been taught what to do during a robbery, the first time they need that information could also be the most frightening few minutes they've ever experienced at work.

There's no time to stop and look something up.

There's no time to find the employee handbook.

There's no time to ask the manager what the procedure is.

They have to respond with whatever knowledge they already have.

And if nobody ever trained them?

LOT™ has already done his job.

LOT™ Loves to Steal the Opportunity to Learn

Restaurant Safety Killer™ #1—LOT™ (Lack of Training)—steals something from employees long before an accident or emergency ever happens.

He steals their opportunity to learn what to do before they need to do it.

With some restaurant hazards, that might mean an employee doesn't know the safest way to lift a box, clean a spill, handle a knife, or protect themselves from a burn.

With robbery prevention, the stakes can become much more serious.

An employee who hasn't been trained may have to make decisions during an incredibly stressful situation without ever having been taught what the restaurant expects them to do.

That's not a position we should put employees in.

"Use Common Sense" Doesn't Work During an Emergency

One of LOT™'s favorite arguments is that safety is mostly common sense.

Be careful around knives.

Don't touch hot things.

Watch where you're walking.

And if there's a robbery?

Well...use common sense.

But what exactly does that mean?

People don't all react to frightening situations the same way. Someone may freeze. Someone else may panic. Another person may instinctively try to intervene.

An employee might think they're supposed to protect the restaurant's money.

They may think they should argue with the robber.

They may try to chase someone leaving the building.

They may make sudden movements without realizing how those movements could be interpreted.

They may simply have no idea what they're supposed to do.

That's why emergency procedures shouldn't be left to instinct.

Your Employees Are More Important Than What's in the Register

Restaurants can replace money.

They can replace food.

They can repair equipment.

They can replace almost anything inside the building.

They cannot replace the person standing behind the register.

Employees need to understand that their safety comes first.

That message shouldn't be communicated for the first time while someone is demanding money from them.

It should be taught beforehand, when employees are calm enough to listen, understand, ask questions, and remember what they've learned.

Training Before an Emergency Changes the Question

Without training, an employee experiencing a robbery may be thinking:

What am I supposed to do?

With proper training, the question becomes:

What was I taught to do?

That's a significant difference.

Training cannot control how a robbery unfolds, and it certainly can't guarantee that no one will be injured.

What it can do is give employees information before they're placed in a situation where they may need it.

Instead of inventing a response in the middle of an emergency, they have procedures they've already learned.

Employees Need to Know What Happens After the Robbery Too

Robbery safety doesn't end when the person leaves the building.

Employees also need to understand what they're expected to do afterward.

Who should they contact?

What should they avoid touching or disturbing?

What information should they try to remember?

Where should employees and customers go?

What does the manager need to do?

An employee who's never received robbery prevention and response training may not know any of this.

Again, LOT™ is counting on that.

He doesn't need employees to make reckless decisions deliberately.

He simply needs nobody to have taught them what the safer decision is.

Lack of Training Can Take More Than a Few Minutes Away

This is where the word "steal" becomes particularly appropriate for LOT™.

LOT™ steals the opportunity to prepare.

But when a lack of training contributes to an employee injury, what gets taken away can become much bigger.

An injury can take away shifts.

It can take away paychecks.

It can take away weeks or months that an employee expected to spend doing something entirely different.

A serious injury can affect school, sports, family responsibilities, another job, hobbies, plans, and opportunities that have absolutely nothing to do with the restaurant.

That's why employee safety matters so much.

We're not simply trying to prevent an accident statistic.

We're trying to protect a person and the life that person walks back into when their shift ends.

"We've Never Been Robbed" Isn't a Training Program

Another trap LOT™ loves is the belief that because something hasn't happened, employees don't need to be trained for it.

Maybe the restaurant has been open for ten years and has never experienced a robbery.

That's wonderful.

Hopefully it never will.

But emergency training exists precisely because we don't know when an emergency will happen.

Restaurants don't wait until there's a fire to explain the emergency exits.

They shouldn't wait until there's a robbery to decide employees need to know how to respond.

Preparation happens before the emergency.

That's what makes it preparation.

Robbery Prevention Training Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

One reason restaurants sometimes skip safety training is because managers imagine an enormous program that requires hours of meetings, expensive consultants, or complicated procedures.

It doesn't have to work that way.

Restaurants never slow down.

Safety training has to fit the way restaurants actually operate.

Employees need clear, practical information about the situations they may encounter and the actions the restaurant expects them to take.

A few focused minutes of training before an emergency can be far more valuable than trying to explain afterward what someone should have done.

The REST Compliance Protection System™ Makes Safety Training Simple

The REST Compliance Protection System™ gives restaurant managers a structured way to provide safety training without having to create an entire program themselves.

Employees receive focused training on important restaurant safety topics, reinforce what they've learned with a 10-question situational quiz, and receive a personalized certificate after successfully completing the course.

Managers don't have to wonder whether robbery prevention should be discussed or try to build the training from scratch.

It's already part of the Restaurant Safety Calendar™.

The goal is simple: give employees important safety information before the moment they need it.

Part of Safety Cycle #10: Robbery Prevention

This article is part of Safety Cycle #10: Robbery Prevention in the Restaurant Safety Calendar™.

Robbery prevention is about more than protecting cash or property.

It's about helping employees understand how to protect themselves during a situation that can become unpredictable very quickly.

That means employees need training before an emergency ever happens—not instructions shouted across the restaurant while one is already underway.

Don't Let LOT™ Steal the Chance to Prepare

LOT™ loves restaurants where nobody talks about robbery prevention because everyone assumes they'll know what to do.

He loves:

"It's never happened here."

"They'll know what to do."

"It's just common sense."

Because every one of those statements gives LOT™ exactly what he wants.

No training.

No preparation.

No plan already sitting in an employee's mind when suddenly they need one.

Your employees deserve better than that.

The REST Compliance Protection System™ helps restaurant managers give employees practical safety training before accidents and emergencies happen—so employees aren't left trying to figure everything out when the stakes are highest.

Because during a robbery, an employee shouldn't be wondering what they're supposed to do.

Someone should have already taught them.