Security is a top priority for any pizza restaurant. For Society Insurance, proud sponsor of Minnesota Monthly’s Pizza Bracket Challenge, helping you protect your livelihood is theirs.
Here are a few procedures that pizzerias (and any restaurants) can implement to reduce liabilities and mitigate the chance of a robbery:
Increase building security measures
- Landscaping: Plant growth that is more than three feet high near entrances offers the perfect cover for criminals to hide until there’s a clear opportunity to make a move. Keep shrubs and trees well-trimmed.
- Lighting: Illuminate potential hiding hazards with motion-detection lighting systems and/or bright exterior lighting controlled by a timer system.
- Surveillance: Security cameras should focus on the parking lot, back door, and other vulnerable exterior locations. Cameras can deter crime and provide helpful information if the unthinkable happens.
Photos courtesy of Society Insurance
- Alarm systems: Activate a centrally monitored alarm system. Off-site alarm companies notify key staff and law enforcement quickly if someone attempts to breach the building.
- Closing protocol: Staff should follow a detailed checklist while they’re finishing nightly responsibilities that includes locking all doors once customers have left, checking bathrooms for “stay-behinds,” and not allowing anyone back in the building after hours.
Enhance in-house employee safety
- Train regularly: Continual safety training will keep new and veteran employees in-the-know about the steps to follow to prevent criminal activity—and the actions to follow in case an incident occurs.
- Schedule smartly: Single employees are seen as more vulnerable targets for a robbery. There should always be a “buddy system” in place during opening and closing procedures to check for security-related problems and ensure employees get to their ride safely at the end of the day.
Protect your pizza delivery drivers
- Limit cash: Restrict the amount of money that drivers carry or keep in the vehicle. All money should be hidden from sight when in the car. Consider in-car surveillance cameras to record delivery activities.
- Refrain from late nights: Late night deliveries can be more hazardous, so cap the time customers can order.
- Park close and in well-lit areas: Drivers should park as close to the door as possible. If that’s not an option, park under a streetlight for maximum visibility.
- Deter hotel room deliveries: Drivers should only deliver to the lobby or main desk. Communicate to drivers that they should never deliver to specific hotel rooms. This is for their safety.
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Want more driver safety tips? Check out Society’s 24 Tips for Delivery Driver Safety.
Enact smart money management
- Dough on-hand: Keep cash in the registers to a minimum and invest in a drop-safe that employees can make frequent deposits to throughout the day to minimize the amount of cash available at any given time.
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Moving money: Make trips to the bank at varied times and through alternate routes of travel to avoid a predictable pattern. If criminals uncover a schedule, it can make your business susceptible to theft.
Crime can happen anytime and anywhere, but a few preventive measures can reduce the likelihood. When you put security first, both you and your employees will feel more at ease.
