This happened just a few weeks ago. I do a lot of online work (check us out on ebay, amazon and half under seller name CapCityOutlet) for the shop which involves a lot of packing and shipping items that were sold. It was during one such occasion that I was in the back room (where I keep the shipping boxes) that I heard a strange noise coming from the back door. It sounded like a scraping sound, and at first I thought it might be some stray animal scratching at the metal door. I stood very still for a while (heart racing like mad) and heard footsteps, then a very loud bang. My mind was working in overdrive thinking of what I was going to do to apprehend the thief. After about 45 seconds, I ran full throttle out to the front room, flung open the door and yelled at my manager, "Hey, come here RIGHT NOW!". I'm usually a very calm person so my manager didn't ask any questions, just hurried to the back room where we stood by the door for a while. Another 30 seconds later there was another bang, followed shortly by another. I made a move toward the door, then thought against it (after all, the customers' items are stored in the back and I wouldn't want to risk them being stolen or damaged).
My manager and I both stood there, stiff as boards, trying to figure out what to do. The person outside started to speak, but it was too muffled for us to make out what he was saying. Finally, I decided to confront the person. I walked out front, past my confused employee, and out to my car. From there, I drove around the shopping center and just far enough to see down the back alley. By this time, the perpetrator was walking away from the back door of the shop and towards me. It was a very cold day and the guy was wearing a scarf around his mouth. I sized him up and figured that as long as he didn't have any weapons, I could take him. I drove up to him, rolled down my window and then recognized the familiar face. It was an employee of the local electric company that had been to the shop for the first time the day before, wanting to read our meters. Turns out he missed a meter and was coming back to get the reading, not knowing that he would have been a lot better off just walking through the front doors. Three years of working at a pawn shop, and that's the closest I've come to being robbed.
Showing posts with label Interesting Happenings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interesting Happenings. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
My First Day
I'm going to be stepping away from the informative side of my posts for this one. There are a lot of exciting experiences that happen at a pawn shop, and I want to share some of them with you. I don't want to paint the picture that pawn shops are uneventful and boring. Although most of our customer base are people just like you and me, we do have a tendency to attract some of the more "interesting" clientele (then again, so does Wal-Mart).
I'll never forget my first day of work at the pawn shop. I had the same mindset as the majority of the population in that pawn shops were run-down, sleazy places that people went to get their next "fix" or take the stuff they just stole out of the car sitting down the block. I was soon impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the organization of the store along with the cleanliness and bright displays. It was my first time in a pawn shop so I wasn't exactly sure what I should expect.
The day was going by quick, all I was really learning was that there was a lot to learn. My manager at the time had me start off "pulling" forfeited items to clean then hand them off to somebody to price and put out for sell. It was during one of these trips to the back room that some excitement occurred out front. The manager came back and yelled at me, "grab the towels!". I stood there looking at him thinking, how in the hell am I supposed to know where the towels are?
After a few seconds of standing there, I think he realized that I wasn't going anywhere and decided to brush past me and get the towels himself. I walked out front, thinking how strange that last exchange was when I noticed something was wrong. There was a guy laying on the floor at the front loan counter with a pool of blood beside him. My good friend (the assistant manager) was on the phone talking hurriedly to someone, explaining what had happened. Five minutes later, there were two firetrucks and an ambulance parked outside of the shop, all with lights flashing.
Turns out that this guy was extremely drunk and passed out right at the counter, managing to hit his head twice on his way to the floor. Of course, he was fine (wouldn't feel so good about relating this story if he wasn't).
Why did I continue working for the shop after that? Well, I thought something exciting like that might happen on a regular basis but alas, I haven't witnessed a customer passing out since that day.
I'll never forget my first day of work at the pawn shop. I had the same mindset as the majority of the population in that pawn shops were run-down, sleazy places that people went to get their next "fix" or take the stuff they just stole out of the car sitting down the block. I was soon impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the organization of the store along with the cleanliness and bright displays. It was my first time in a pawn shop so I wasn't exactly sure what I should expect.
The day was going by quick, all I was really learning was that there was a lot to learn. My manager at the time had me start off "pulling" forfeited items to clean then hand them off to somebody to price and put out for sell. It was during one of these trips to the back room that some excitement occurred out front. The manager came back and yelled at me, "grab the towels!". I stood there looking at him thinking, how in the hell am I supposed to know where the towels are?
After a few seconds of standing there, I think he realized that I wasn't going anywhere and decided to brush past me and get the towels himself. I walked out front, thinking how strange that last exchange was when I noticed something was wrong. There was a guy laying on the floor at the front loan counter with a pool of blood beside him. My good friend (the assistant manager) was on the phone talking hurriedly to someone, explaining what had happened. Five minutes later, there were two firetrucks and an ambulance parked outside of the shop, all with lights flashing.
Turns out that this guy was extremely drunk and passed out right at the counter, managing to hit his head twice on his way to the floor. Of course, he was fine (wouldn't feel so good about relating this story if he wasn't).
Why did I continue working for the shop after that? Well, I thought something exciting like that might happen on a regular basis but alas, I haven't witnessed a customer passing out since that day.
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