Gas Station Clerk Fired After Being Robbed

POSTED: 8:26 pm CDT May 8, 2008

UPDATED: 8:48 pm CDT May 8, 2008

MERRIAM, Kan. -- A gas station clerk is upset that he was fired after he was robbed.

Why was he fired?

The article goes on to say...

The store's policy is to never have more than $50 in the open register. Bills larger than $20 are supposed to be immediately placed into another vault.

And...

"I didn't have the time to put the money in the bill acceptor," Nick said.

The robber fled the store with $200, which is $150 more than the company rules allow to be in the till.

"So, basically, I got fired because a billion-dollar company loses $200," Nick said.

Conoco Phillips won't comment on the specifics, but it said safety is the No. 1 priority. A company representative said there are established guidelines that must be followed to ensure safe practices on the job.

To read the entire article, go to KMBC .

I was not at the store, nor have I seen the surveillance tape, but if the employee is giving an accurate accounting of what transpired, I think Conoco Phillips should add another priority to their list -- A priority called common sense.

I understand the dangers of having a large amount of cash in the till. I wonder, however, if the Conoco Phillips personnel in charge of making rules, realizes how prices affect the ability (or lack thereof) to carry out the rules from olden days when a gallon of gas was a dollar and some change? Now, with gas prices as high as they are, each and every transaction involving gasoline could potentially put the till over $50. So is the rule an absolute to deposit as one goes (possibly with each transaction) or to deposit the funds in a safe fashion using common sense? Has the company made it possible to realistically and safely follow their rules or is that a non-issue from their perspective? One has to wonder when reading KMBC report.