The other day, we were at our local grocery store (one of the largest chains in the Metro Denver area). Lately, our store has had an armed guard whose company is sub-contracted through another international company as well as 2 off-duty police officers (I won’t mention from which city). Usually, when I see the guards, I just shake my head and think to myself, “If you were one of mine, you’d be fired.” Occasionally, I’m pleasantly surprised and see a guard that is actually doing a good job. Truth be told, I’ve thought of trying to poach those guards, but I find poaching to be unethical and unprofessional. That’s just my opinion.
As we’re coming up to turn into the strip mall where the grocery store is located, I see a man and a woman pushing one of the brand-new shopping carts off the property and up the street. The strip mall has its own security. It’s a joke. The guy just sits in his car in the same spot, strobe lights flashing, pretty much all day, every day, and I honestly think he just naps.
As we’re walking up the parking lot to the store, I notice both off-duty officers are outside. They’re nowhere near the entrance. They’re quite a distance from it in fact, almost where the store and the next business share a wall (this is an ‘L’ shaped strip mall). They appear to be chatting up some ladies. Then they go into the Subway restaurant a couple doors down.
We go inside and start shopping. The security guard is nowhere to be found. We later concluded that he was probably on his lunch break. He was near the checkouts when we finished shopping. He seemed to be doing a relatively decent job. However, while we were still shopping, the two cops walk by, Subway in hand, and head to the break room. You’ve got to be kidding. They should know better.
The client (grocery store) is paying for three people to protect the store. Now, everyone deserves breaks and lunch, but not at the same time. Off-duty officers cost $70/hour give or take. In what world does it make sense to have both officers off the floor at the same time? If I was the client, I would be very unhappy. If I’m paying for three people to guard my store, I would want at least two of them present at any given time. Not to mention the fact that the cops didn’t wait for the guard to finish his lunch before they went to Subway. That means the store had zero security presence at all while they are paying for the presence of three individuals.
For anyone who has read my other articles, it’s easy to see that I have a very low opinion towards most security companies in the Metro area. However, I hold law enforcement to the same standard as I do my own agents. I won’t even go into what I’ve seen the off-duty cops do at other times when I’ve been at the store. I guess the point I’m trying to make is why pay such an exorbitant amount for off-duty police if you’re going to get the same level of service as your generic, run-of-the-mill security companies? There are a small handful of companies in the Metro (3 or 4 that I know of) that will give you excellent service, keep your property safe, and charge you way less to do it. If you’re serious about securing your facility, do some research and hire a good, professional company. I promise, there are some good companies out there.
When I ran my post, lunches were staggered and only one on break at any time.