Shop Security--Lock em up!
Over the last few years, and as employment and pricing conditions fluctuate in the market, we have witnessed a renewed focus on shop security. There has been an obvious and notorious increase in catalytic converter thefts, but we’ve also seen customer vehicles brazenly stolen from shop parking lots during daytime business hours and shops burglarized overnight.
We’ve touched on this in previous Road Warriors and our On The Road publications, yet the New Year has unexpectedly prompted us to bring this to the forefront once again.
We recently heard from a shop whose location was broken into over the holiday. The owner closes his shop between Christmas and New Year. Though his facility has multiple alarms, security cameras, and a gated/fenced perimeter, it did not discourage thieves from breaking into his lot and riffling through parked customers’ vehicles. While it may seem obvious to shop owners who do not have cameras or the benefit of an enclosed parking lot, our member typically leaves customers’ vehicles unlocked. Though all vehicle keys are in a cabinet at day's end, the fact that the location has high fencing, electronic gates, and multiple cameras had given the owner a false sense of security. Unfortunately for him (and his customers), masked thieves were motivated enough to climb over the fence in the middle of the night and help themselves to the valuables inside the unlocked vehicles. In all, about 15 vehicles were "burglarized", and though the thieves didn't damage the vehicles themselves, the police were called to dust for prints, look for shoe prints, and take statements from owners on what may have been stolen. Not only did it "look bad" for the shop owner, but police involvement also meant that the customers waiting for those vehicle repairs had to wait even longer while their cars were being processed by law enforcement.
The start of the New Year is a time for resolutions, reflection, and fresh beginnings. If you haven't done so already, please take a few minutes to consider your own security apparatus and vehicle procedures--and regardless of how your lot is configured, keep customers' vehicles locked overnight!
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