How to Secure Your Quick-Service Restaurant
A good security plan layers in basic security measures and technology.
By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 11/1/2008
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| Security consultant Chris McGoey says QSRs should use a combination of basic security measures and technology to keep both employees and customers safe. |
McGoey says QSRs should use a combination of basic security measures and technology to keep both employees and customers safe. "In a fast-food place, you have to build layers to your security plan," he says.
Deposit money in time-delayed safes. They dispense cash in small bills and increments and are programmed to delay dispensing another batch of cash for a certain number of minutes. "[If] a robber comes in, the manager can activate the safe and it will open, but it might take several minutes to open," McGoey explains. "The theory is, robbers aren't going to stand around for several minutes waiting to get access to the safe."
Don't accept large bills such as $100 and $50 bills. It allows the unit to operate with a smaller amount of cash on hand.
Invest in a digital video surveillance system. Analog systems typically have poor-quality images and limited search functions (fast forward and rewind). Digital surveillance systems have more storage capacity, motion-sensor cameras that film only when activity occurs, and better search capabilities such as locating a specific time of day or transaction. Some can also generate reports to alert managers to out-of-the-ordinary activities such as the back door being left open.
Place video cameras to deter robbery, not just employee theft. QSRs often direct cameras at employees to ensure they are productive and honest. However, cameras should also be aimed at customers at the entrances, across the front counter, and at the drive-thru window and menu board.
| MORE TECH 2.0 Social Networking Skills: Krystal turns to social-networking tools to get customers talking about its food. Digital Surveillance: Watch and Learn: Lime Fresh Mexican Grill's digital video system helps the fast-casual restaurant chain address both operations and loss prevention. How To Secure Your Quick-Service Restaurant: Security consultant Chris McGooey offers tips for putting together an effective security plan. Supply Chain Technology: Made to Order: Church's Chicken's restaurant-level ordering system saves time and money with automated invoice processing. Supply Chain Software Aids Quality and Safety: Subway's Independent Purchasing Cooperative uses its supply-chain technology to monitor food quality in real time. |
Place the drive-thru at the front of the restaurant. Older restaurants usually have the drive-thru at the back of the building, where it is dark, remote and least visible. By having the drive-thru at the front, the employees and customers are visible from the street and to customers inside the restaurant.
Program 911 into the phone's speed dial. Panic buttons are not effective, McGoey says, because of the substantial delay involved in alerting the police. When a panic button is used, the signal goes to a central alarm station, rather than the police. The central alarm station calls the restaurant to find out if the signal was a false alarm or not before it calls the police. Instead of installing a panic button, McGoey suggests programming 911 into a phone with a speaker. That way an employee can simply push the 911 button, allowing the dispatcher to listen in during the robbery.
Have an alarm system wired into a cell phone backup line. When an alarm is triggered, it will try to alert police through the restaurant's landline. But if the landline is cut or disabled, the alarm will dial out automatically on a cell phone line.
Conduct criminal background checks online. "It's very easy, very inexpensive now," McGoey says. "A lot of public data is available online. Criminal record research is available online."
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