NEWSLETTTER_DECEMBER_TEMPLATE

Chronicles
December 2018

7-11 IS BRINGING CASHIER-LESS PAYMENT TO ITS STORES
PAGE - 4

5 SECURITY TIPS FOR CONVENIENCE STORES
PAGES - 6-7

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
PAGE - 12

C-STORE CRIME PREVENTION TIPS FROM SGT RICHARD FLOORES

PAGE - 13

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 1

CONTENTS
STMA CHRONICLES - DECEMBER 2018

STMA BOARD 4 7-11 IS BRINGING CASHIER-LESS PAYMENT
TO ITS STORES
President
Mustak Ali 6-7 5 SECURITY TIPS FOR CONVENIENCE
STORES
Vice President
Saleem Ali 10-11 TOWN HALL MEETING PICTURES

Honorary Secretary 12 HOW TO PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS THIS
Ahmed Badarpura HOLIDAY SEASON

Treasurer 13 C-STORE CRIME PREVENTION TIPS FROM
Inayatali J Momin SGT RICHARD FLOORES

Director 14 2018 SAN ANTONIO PARTNERSHIP WALK
Hasam Ali PHOTOS

Director 15 MONTHLY PROMO SHEET
Nooru Lalani

Director
Amin P Mohmmad

Director
Nizarali Maredia

Director
Iqbal Karediya

Director
Karim J Ali

Director
Rukmuddin Momin

Office:

12054 STARCREST DR.
SAN ANTONIO.
TX-78247

MON- FRI 9AM TO 5PM

PH:210-826-3786
FAX:210-672-2898
WWW.MYSTMA.COM

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 2

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CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018

7-Eleven is bringing cashier-less payments to its stores

Retrieved from: https://techcrunch.com/

Since Amazon opened its first cashier- service to additional cities in 2019.
less Amazon Go store in late 2016,
other retailers have been forced to Customers can pay using Apple Pay,
grapple with how they’ll compete with Google Pay or a traditional debit or credit
the convenience store of the future. card. The only products banned from
cashier-less check-out are hot foods,
Amazon has since opened several lottery tickets, alcohol and tobacco.
additional Amazon Go locations, “For us, it was important to figure out
including in Seattle and San how to continue to drive convenience
Francisco, and, last week, Sam’s in the digital age,” said Gurmeet Singh,
Club said it would open a “Sam’s 7-Eleven’s chief digital officer and chief
Club Now” store in Dallas, Texas. information officer. “We are ready to
Now, one of the oldest international adapt to the changing consumer patterns
chains is announcing a similar new and changing demands of the consumer.”
system of cashier-less payments.
Headquartered in Dallas, 7-Eleven says
7-Eleven is piloting a new mobile 50 percent of the U.S. population lives
check-out process called Scan & Pay. within one mile of one of its stores.
7-Eleven shoppers can track their Like other big brick-and-mortar
items by scanning a product’s QR retailers, it’s doing its best to keep up
code with their phone and pay using with tech’s big advancements. Earlier
the 7-Eleven rewards mobile app. this year, the company partnered with
The company, which operates more the “Deadpool” series to present an
than 65,000 stores in 17 countries, is augmented reality experience in its
currently piloting Scan & Pay in 14 stores, among other experiments.
Dallas stores. It plans to expand the

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 4

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CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 5

5 Security Tips for Convenience Stores

As the owner of a convenience store, you know that when it comes to security there are a lot of challenges to be
faced. The industry’s relatively high employee turnover rate, internal theft and robbery risks are all big issues
for store owners like you. As a result you’ve probably spent a lot of time pondering and researching the best
things to do to make sure that your store, your employees and your customers are safe and secure. And we want
to help, which is why we’ve put together this list of things you can do to improve the security of your store!

1. Optimize the set up of your store. 2. Install some type of video
surveillance system.

There are certain physical aspects of your store that Having a video surveillance system, particularly
have a huge impact on its security. Those aspects being: one with remote access capabilities, can provide a
• Lighting – Having proper lighting of both the number of benefits for you and your store including:
interior and exterior of your store makes people feel more • Provide evidence in slip & fall disputes
comfortable. If an area is well light, it’s easier for employees • Provide evidence in the event of a
and customers to notice suspicious behavior and take action. robbery or other matter that involves the police
• Floor plan – It’s important to have clear paths of • Ability to keep an eye on
visibility. Making it easy for employees and customers to employees when you aren’t in the store
see each other can prevent theft and keep both parties safe. • Ability to monitor customer flow and behavior
Think about the positioning of displays, shelves, and signs. Werecommendplacinganycamerashighonthewallinaclearly
Are they set up in a way that allows customers and employees visible area. This is placement lets customers and employees
to see each other clearly? If not, do a little redecorating. know that they being recorded. Also, placing the cameras far
Install smaller signs and use mirrors to see around corners. out of arm’s reach prevents them from being easily damaged.

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 6

3. Training your employees. 7

It’s important to remind employees to keep a level head,
use common sense during times of danger or stress and
adhere to safety protocol. One way to give them this sense of
empowerment is with periodic training for things like:
• How to identify and deal with shoplifters
• How to deal with customers that are threatening or
aggressive
• How to answer probing questions about the business
All of your safety and security protocols and training should
be documented so they can be referenced later.

4. Implement cash control systems and
procedures.

The cash register protects the lifeblood of your business, your
money. It’s also the primary location that robbers go when
they enter a convenience store. As a result, it’s important to
develop a series of best practices for handling money. Some
things to consider adding to your cash control plan are:
• Make regular banks trips with a partner, because
there is safety in numbers.
• Vary the times of banks trips to prevent robbers from
figuring out your bank run schedule.
• Move money in nondescript containers, such as
plastic storage tubs.
• Use a drop safe or other money storage receptacle.
Once the till reaches a certain amount, put a given amount
into the cash drop box, limiting the amount of cash that a
burglar can steal from the cash register.
• Set bill size limits. For example, don’t accept
anything larger than a $50.

5. Use a managed access system.

A managed access system is a series of hardware (card
readers, door strikes, access cards, intercoms, video
integration, etc.) and software that allows you to limit or
grant access to your store. Having such a system can cover
many different aspects of convenience store security and risk
management.
You can determine which employees have access to storage
rooms where high value goods like gift cards, tobacco and
alcohol are kept. With a managed access system, you can
also make sure that customers don’t end up anywhere that
they shouldn’t.
If there is an incident in a restricted area, there will be a
record to who accessed the area at what time.

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018

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STMA TOWN HALL MEETING

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How to Prepare Your

Business this Holiday Season

(https://www.travelers.com/resources/workplace-safety/holiday-safety-for-businesses)

The holidays often mean in- Hiring Seasonal Workers Early and holidays, when stores see increased
creased sales, new inventory and more Training Properly foot traffic and inventory occupying
customers for retail businesses, with Start the hiring process early to allow more space. Toward this end, consider:
November and December accounting enough time to fully vet employees. • Choosing decorations wisely.
for as much as 30 percent of a retail- This includes conducting background Some decorations may be combustible.
er’s annual sales.1 This time of year checks and planning sufficient time for Paper, decorated trees and wreaths will
can also bring greater risks for retail- onboarding seasonal hires. After a new increase the fire load in an area. Keep
ers, from losses due to employee theft, hire has been onboarded, evaluate his these and other similar decorations
to accidents caused by overstocked or her level of experience before as- away from heat or other ignition sourc-
shelves. signing specific tasks. If possible, pair es.
new workers with more experienced • Carefully selecting locations
“With increased inventory and the hir- employees until the newer workers can for any additional holiday displays and
ing of seasonal employees, the holidays perform the job on their own. products. Be sure not to cover emer-
can be a more vulnerable time for a re- gency exit signs, overcrowd aisles or
tail business,” says Scott Humphrey, Help Prevent Employee Theft clutter any place that would make it
a Travelers Risk Control professional An increase in workers can mean an difficult to get out in an emergency.
who says injuries and employee theft increased potential for theft, according • Maintaining appropriate in-
are two issues that can become more to Humphrey. With more merchandise ventory levels. Avoid overcrowding
prevalent during the holiday season. and more employees present during the backrooms and other storage areas.
holidays, it’s important to have steps in Remember that overstocking shelves
Inexperienced employees can place to protect your inventory. Evalu- could lead to merchandise falling onto
be more prone to injuries and accidents, ate daily transactions, review security staff or customers.
with one in four employees suffering camera videos and validate voided or
injuries within the first year of em- deleted sales to help mitigate theft. Having the right insurance
ployment, according to a 2014 Travel- It can help to have cameras and super- coverage in place can also make a dif-
ers study. And more than a third of the visors visible on the sales floor. Clear- ference to the bottom line if something
$44 billion retailers lost to “inventory ly communicate company policies and goes wrong. A consultation with an
shrink” in 2014 was due to employee/ protocols on theft, and consistently en- insurance agent can help make sure a
internal theft, according to the National force them when appropriate. retailer’s coverage is up-to-date. It also
Retail Federation.2 Shoplifting, admin- can account for changes in inventory
istrative and paperwork errors, vendor Maintain a Safe Workplace Environ- and new workers.
fraud or error and unknown causes ac- ment The holiday season can be a make-or-
counted for the remainder of losses. Create an environment for break time for retail businesses. With
Taking steps to prepare well before the workers that values and promotes safe preparation, retailers can start the sea-
holiday season begins can help retailers practices, such as safe use of ladders son with well-trained employees, better
avoid these common problems. and good housekeeping to reduce the inventory controls and safely stocked
risk of a slip, trip or fall. This can help shelves that will make for an enjoyable
protect both employees and customers, shopping experience, encouraging cus-
and is particularly important during the tomers to return year-round.

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 12

C-Store Crime Prevention Tips from Sgt. Richard Floores

Businesses Against Theft NETwork of SAPD We thank Sgt. Richard Floores for giving us some
of his precious time and giving us such valuable tips that
STMA spoke with Sgt. Richard Floores from San will help our member stores be safe during the holiday
Antonio Police Department and asked him for some tips season
that will help our C-Store members to be safe and secure
during the upcoming holiday season. Here’s what he had to
say:

1. Make sure your Windows have an uninterrupted
open view. Do not put too much marketing posters and
other material on the windows.
2. Limit the money in the cash register. Don’t let the
customers know you have available change. That might
trigger criminal minds that you have money available at all
times.
3. Greet people when they come in so that people
know that you are aware of their presence.
4. Hire extra staff during holiday season. More
people in the store can discourage people from indulging in
criminal activities.
5. You never know what people have in mind and
what really encourages them to criminal acts, therefore
always make sure you have a working camera and security
system in place.
For more crime prevention tips, you may visit https://www.
sanantonio.gov/SAPD/Crime-Prevention-Tips

CHRONICLES DECEMBER 2018 13

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