Clerk fired 1 day after being robbed
Kangaroo Express said he had too much cash in registers
By Jill Coley
Video
Kangaroo store robbery
Mount Pleasant police are looking for the two men in this video who robbed the Kangaroo on Ben Sawyer Blvd. in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The Post and Courier
Mount Pleasant — Two armed men robbed Reynolds "Rey" Reeves as he worked the graveyard shift Tuesday morning at a Kangaroo Express gas station.
The following day Reeves was fired for having too much cash in the till, he said.
Company policy is to have no more than $50 in a register, Reeves said. The robbers made away with $300 from two registers, he said.
"There were no big bills, only small bills," Reeves said. "It's hard with it being tourist season and being a busy store at night."
Reeves, 25, had worked at the station at 1402 Ben Sawyer Blvd. for nearly a year and had recently been promoted to assistant manager, he said.
At 3 a.m. Tuesday he was doing paperwork when a buzzer alerted him that customers had entered the store, he said. He looked up and saw two men, one of them pointing a gun at him, according to a police report.
The robbers demanded money from the register, he said. "They were impatient. They were in a rush." Reeves opened the second register to appease them, he said.
On Wednesday, Reeves said his manager offered him the day off, but he insisted on going to work. A few minutes after arriving, he was taken aside and told the regional office had fired him.
"I was very shocked I was terminated over that," he said. "I didn't think that was right."
Reeves said he has a lot of student loans and bills to pay and that he had moved back into his parents' North Charleston home after his wife left him.
"Right now I'm just looking for a job. Places don't like to hire people terminated from a job," he said.
The store manager could not be reached for comment. Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Sodini of The Pantry Inc., which operates convenience stores under the Kangaroo Express name, declined to comment.
Mount Pleasant Police Sgt. Steve Meadows said there are no new leads in the case. "We're still hoping that someone comes forward," he said.
Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.
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carolinapanther (anonymous) says...
Harpo, quit being a cry baby and get over it!
June 14, 2008 at 1:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
This guy gets fired over $300? All because the store is doing well and it's drawer runneth over?
Lost my business Kangaroo. Hop your ass out of this area.
June 14, 2008 at 3:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Siri (anonymous) says...
I quit using them last year after they refused to accept a $50 for gas at 3am. I was returning from a weekend in N.C. were we buried my aunt. I was told no large bills. Even after I said change would be less than $10. I was told no large bills. The Hess station down the street was glad to acept my money. Gas and 4 sodas $42.98 change $7.02 loss of my business and the 3 others in the car priceless.
June 14, 2008 at 4:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
heartmommy (anonymous) says...
I quit working for Kangaroo after a year and a half. They don't treat their employees with any respect and will let their cashiers take the fall every time. I was robbed on 3rd shift as well, while working alone. If Kangaroo would keep two employees on a shift instead of expecting one person to do everything to save money, maybe they'd still have their precious $300. They lost my business and respect 3 years ago. I will pay more for gasoline at a different station than stop at a Kangaroo.
June 14, 2008 at 4:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BKLYNIRISH (anonymous) says...
Too much $$$ in the register. Hmmm...inside job?
June 14, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammer (anonymous) says...
I won't be poping in that store again, that's ridiculous to fire him... this is one case I think he should sue for emotional distress and anything else he can milk out of this no good company, and then a civil suit against the a*swhole that fired him... what a douche
June 14, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Dont see how the store is the bad guy here. Their rule is no more than $50/register, he's got two registers open (why 2 registers for one employee?) with an average of $150 in each. He was doing paperwork and the store was empty, so it's not like he was in a crush of customers and couldn't shove the overage in the little slot. For a college boy he either isn't very good at math or he just wasn't following directions, or maybe he was complicit in the crime. I'd have fired him too.
June 14, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paul (anonymous) says...
The Kangaroo here on James Island is dirty, sleezy , and at night has an abundance of low lifes. Once on the way to work in the early morning was the scene of a small crowd with the display of guns, police cars and adoring rubber neckers. Not to mention the specific race, but ..
June 14, 2008 at 7:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
On a gallon of gasoline the retailer, wholesaler and distributer make about 20 cents profit combined. The government takes 40% of their profit in corporate taxes. The federal and state excise taxes combined are 35 cpg in South Carolina. Taxes are the second highest cost of gasoline at the pump after the cost of crude.
Government makes more off of your cost at the pump than any entity except the crude producer yet produces no jobs or paychecks, and not only doesn't contribute to the economy it hinders it by not allowing Americans to tap their own reserves, estimated to be the third largest untapped sources of crude and natural gas in the world.
Other nations like Saudi Arabia, Venezuala and Russia grow rich and powerful by tapping their natural resources while we are the only country in the world whose government will not allow it's resources to be accessed.
Instead our government want to impose a windfall tax on profits over the 40% already collected. 98.5% of all energy stocks are owned by pension and mutual funds. Those are the funds we buy for our retirement, firefighter and teachers retirement accounts buy them for pensions, cities and states own them for their workers pension funds. When you see Barak call for a windfall profit tax, those are where the money comes from. He makes it sound like he's taxing the evil oil companies, but it's really your pension and retirement savings that the tax comes out of. Hope you like the thought of social security, because he's going to severely damage your chances of collecting a pension or living off of your savings.
June 14, 2008 at 8:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Perspective (anonymous) says...
Yes it is sad he got fired, BUT it is employees like him that cause these gas stations to repeatedly get robbed putting us all in danger when we are forced to stop there late at night.
Virtually all such stations have a company policy that they drop the money in the safe's money slot so that bandits do not get a good haul and dont waste their time robbing their stations again. It is a strong deterent.
The store was obviously not busy and the clerk's first priority was to drop the money, NOT do paperwork. It is ridiculous that he had money in two registers.
He has put other gas station employees' lives at risk as well as us if we use the stations during late hours.
While I am sad for him, I am glad he got fired. He may have cost the next clerk or a customer their life.
June 14, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
OOPs...last comment posted against the wrong article...sorry bout that
June 14, 2008 at 8:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
Stage a Kangaroo boycott over this incidence!
Geesh, wonder if the guy would have been killed if he would have been blamed and requested the $300 stolen from the family?
June 14, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
Did yoiu watch the video- they left fingerprints all over the place!
June 14, 2008 at 8:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sfarris (anonymous) says...
I thought this was the want adds..
Really this is wrong and very sad, but it proves there are politics in every job. And the very reason I hate them is because they don't take in consideration people, only the rules.
June 14, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Carolinaluv (anonymous) says...
The sad thing is even with fingerprints it doesnt matter because unless they have a prior record nothing is going to pop up on them. And how do you ya'll know its not some kind of policy to have money in two tills???? And how the hell is it his fault that some sleaz balls that are to lazy get a real job put other peoples lifes in danger??? Let's see....does that mean if he didn't give all the money up out of both drawers and they got pissed and killed him, that would solve all the crime and no one would ever rob anyone ever again?? And I don't know how it works at that gas station (but I will find out)but I work at a bank and with us you have to do certain things before you can drop money....who says he wasn't doing paperwork to do a drop????
June 14, 2008 at 8:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Time4action (anonymous) says...
write the man up for not following policy. But to fire him over the extra $250. ($50.00 in register ok) after what this man went through. I will not do business with a company that has such lack of respect for a human being. He must have been a good employee to be promoted. I agree with previous posts-----Boycott Kangaroo.
June 14, 2008 at 9:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CarolinaWren (anonymous) says...
I vow to never buy one ounce of gas from Kangaroo again! Shame on them!!
June 14, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Time4action (anonymous) says...
Correction. He was fired over losing an extra $200. $50.00 per register is ok.
June 14, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tulane75 (anonymous) says...
I am less inclined to patronize Kangaroo as a result of their reaction to the incident.
There must have been a number of ways to handle this matter internally, without firing the employee. Whether they have the right, under the law, to fire him is not my concern. The company's action does not pass the "smell" test.
June 14, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beth1070 (anonymous) says...
Perspective...you're a moron!
June 14, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
WOOHOO!
Old Glory flying high today
By Adam Parker (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Saturday, June 14, 2008
June 14, 2008 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Time4action (anonymous) says...
silly me. This man's life was in danger. Then fired because he caused the company to lose an extra $200.00. I don't know the particulars or policies but would think this man had shown promise since he was promoted recently. I just think firing is extreme and uncompasionate. I will not stop at Kangroo Stores.
June 14, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beth1070 (anonymous) says...
Perspective...I apologize, name calling is jeuvenile and uncalled for and I am sorry. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and had to face a minor catastrophe at my house, and I took it out on this story, and that was wrong for me to do that.
But I truly do not see how this minimum wage cashier has put anyone's life in danger over an extra $200 in two registers. If thugs like that are going to rob a convenience store, they'll do it over $300 or $30.
June 14, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mnbvcxz (anonymous) says...
Next time I go to Kangaroo (without purchasing anything) is to take a big dump in their bathroom, squeegee my windows, and take their paper towel from the squeegee box. Boycott them!!!!
June 14, 2008 at 10:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jammer (anonymous) says...
Carolinaluv I'm going to go out on a limb and say they already have a long record with many sets of fingerprints in the jailhouse records... just a hunch... lol
write him up if he fails to follow policy, it's highly unlikely he'll do that again following this experience
firing him was wrong, and I will not stop there again... unless it's to drop the kids off at the pool like mnbvcxz said... lol
June 14, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lucy_fan (anonymous) says...
There is a reason for these stores to have policies on how much money can be in the till. The clerk was obviously aware of the policy but chose to ignore. Perhaps it is company policy that to have more than $50 in the till would result in termination. Hard to say.
JohnQ- you have some serious issues. You come across as a very bitter, unhappy man. That is a shame. But to resort to name calling here is so uncalled for. Perhaps you should take a break from these posts until you have yourself under control
June 14, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Carolinaluv (anonymous) says...
raregar67: I take it as you have never had to work a crapy job just so you can pay bills and get back on your feet or get a job in what you went to school for??? I guess it's better to just go downtown and ask for foodstamps and sit on your ass and complain about how you can't get the actual job you want(or maybe it would be easier if we all just ran around holding up gas stations for some easy money)...at least he was trying to be a productive person.
June 14, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LadyTarHeel (anonymous) says...
I'm with the Kangaroo boycott! I patronize the Sunoco anyways. I think a write up would have gotten the desired affect. No one who works wants to get a write up. And to answer the two till question, I've been to stores that keep a separate till for lottery purchases. I'm assuming that that was the case.
June 14, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
"The clerk was obviously aware of the policy but chose to ignore"
How do you know the employee was not in the middle of doing the money count and drop?
June 14, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drp7773 (anonymous) says...
The company has rules and the Assistant Manager violated them period........if this is a termination offense so be it, if this bothers you so much then open your own business and hire this person and let him violate your rules.
June 14, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lucy_fan (anonymous) says...
ThinkAboutThis- you bring up a good point. I don't know that. None of us were there so we don't know what he was doing.
June 14, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sfarris (anonymous) says...
raregar67-you're name should be raregem because you are one rare gem. :)
June 14, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Perspective (anonymous) says...
Beth - nice that you apologized. I honestly think that if you look at the other side, you may see it differently. "Intelligence is the ability to understand an alternative opinion, even if you do not agree". Again, thanks for the apology.
For some of you others who are so much in disagreement for a manager being fired for violating company policies -
It is possible that you have failed to take into account that the story is based on the employee's version of events. He may have already been breaking that and other policies as well. This may have been the last straw. The policy is in place to discourage robberies, prevent future robberies, and to prevent employees from getting their friends to "jack" the place when the register has a lot of money in it. (That happens all the time at fast food places. Many of those are inside jobs.)
Who do you guys think will make up the profit lost by this employee not following policy? In the long run it is us with paying higher prices. Gas already cost enough without me paying for this guy to lose money by violating policy.
Again, it is sad a man got fired from his job, but that is what happens when you do not follow your job requirements.
June 14, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
Reeves, 25, had worked at the station at 1402 Ben Sawyer Blvd. for nearly a year and had recently been promoted to assistant manager, he said.
Companies usually don't promote those who violate company policies!!!
June 14, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
Also from the report "At 3 a.m. Tuesday he was doing paperwork"
Could this have been the paperwork to drop the money from the register after a busy transaction?
I know we were traveling recently with 2 cars, stopped to get cash and paid about $175 in cash jsut for the gas adn the kdis picked up about $10 in sodas & snacks, so our visit alone was $185 for one family!
Heck, with gas prices the way they are 1 car fill-up could put you at $50, so if there were multiiple transactions as is common then the register could easily be over $50.00 at any given time!!!!!
June 14, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coolfreaknbeans (anonymous) says...
ThinkAboutThis-you brought up very good points.I drive a freakn sedan and if I'm on empty its 60 plus bucks!So this guy couldve been fired for a couple of fill ups and a pack of smokes?Honestly wouldnt you have to wait to do a drop until the store was empty?For safety reasons?I mean Ive never seen a gas station employee perform a till drop every fourth customer.That be fn stupid,dangerous and hold the line up.
June 14, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
"If he had just had a rush of business (highly unlikely at 3:00 AM)"
Not true, if it's the only 24/7 in the area and maybe the robbers were scoping the area to catch the place after a few transactions- making their timing better for a bigger loot bag!
June 14, 2008 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
Bars close @ 2AM around town, milling in the parking lot, walking to your car, driving from downtown, puts folks in MTP around 3 AM or if @ 2AM closing they hit the all night waffle place and then stopped to get gas, ciggies, etc. around 3AM on the way home- or travelers close by the hotel running out for a few snacks or cigs at the closest open 24/7-
June 14, 2008 at 3:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coolfreaknbeans (anonymous) says...
Some places have policies that make it mandatory for an employee to be fired if they did anything wrong and get robbed.Might be the case here.
June 14, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
That would suck!
I believe if I were this guy I would go back and review the company policies and maybe consider having an attorney review the facts, especially since it's not uncommon to have a $50 fuel fill up nowadays!
I will no longer go to Kangaroo after reading this story, so there is the shorter line some want :=)
June 14, 2008 at 4:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Time4action (anonymous) says...
It appears the immediate supervisor was sympathic, offering him the next day off. He came in anyway. It was the Regional Office that fired him. I think he was treated unfairly. Than's my opinion. Some of you seem to never have made a mistake. And this was not a major mistake. $200. give me a break! From what has been written, this guy seems to have been a good employee, I can't see them promoting this guy if he had not been. Of course we don't know the whole story but firing this guy makes Kangaroo seem money hungry, not caring about their employees. As such, they will not have my business.
June 14, 2008 at 5:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kerwin1959 (anonymous) says...
I wonder when this $50 policy was written........in 1975, when gas was 50 cents a gallon? Do the math - two registers(depending on which window you go to). $50 in each drawer allowed; $100 additionally in each drawer is less than is takes to fill up two SUVs. I filled up 2 SUVs recently and it was $165!
These regional managers need to get with the program and update their manuals.
June 14, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
$50 in the register doesn't leave much for him to work with in giving change either! $55 gas purchase- customer hands over a $100 - gives $45 amt due and only leaves $5.00 for the next transaction or the ability to pull bills as needed-and if he can pull bills then at hold-up they would demand the entire kitty!
June 14, 2008 at 11:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jmw29410 (anonymous) says...
Kangaroo/Pantry and Lil Stickit oooops! Kricket....have something in common.
Both will sodomize an employee in a heartbeat. I know from experience.
June 14, 2008 at 11:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
I see a lot of people talking about how they spent $80, $100, one guy said $165 to fill his tanks. How many of you paid CASH? I wager the guy who filled 2 suv tanks (?) didn't walk in and pop 165 CASH out of his pocket. There may be a guy walking in with a $50 once in a while, but the vast majority of people pay for their gas with plastic. He didn't accumulate $300 in a couple of transactions.
June 15, 2008 at 12:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
How many of you paid CASH?
I do, as well as my kids, parents, and siblings- it's they way we were brought up to handle our finances.
Plastic used only for emergency situations and no I am not Mexican- if you notice though, most of them carry and pay in cash too!
June 15, 2008 at 7:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
I'm hardly poor. I pay for practially everything with a debit card. The only debt I have is my mortgage. My only credit card is seldom used and paid off when it is used. Very few of my friends carry $50 to $100 on a constant basis. I have trouble believing many people with bank accounts would do so.
June 15, 2008 at 8:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ThinkAboutThis (anonymous) says...
"Very few of my friends carry $50 to $100 on a constant basis."
Our friends do, heck the kids want money to take off to the movies and you need cash to dole out- that's $20 or so needed for each kid with a $7 ticket and another 10 or 12 for popcorn.
Or if they run with friends to grab a burger or something that's another $10/kid.
I always have cash on hand, as do many of our friends.
June 15, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cstoreguy (anonymous) says...
Most of you are missing a very important point. He was not terminated because the company lost an extra $200, but due to concern over employee safety (including his). The Pantry (owners of Kangaroo) has spent close to two million dollars providing every store with a time delay safe in order to make the store less attractive to robbers. This expenditure far exceeds cash losses due to robberies. They provide the safes and establish low cash policies because studies have shown that if armed robbers get a large sum of money at a c-store robbery they will keep robbing. They may have to rob stores many more times and get less than $50 to know $300 was a fluke.
Further, you do not know what counseling history this employee has. Was he counseled for having too much cash in the drawer previously? The issue is not cash losses as much as it is employee safety. I am very glad this employee was not hurt and I feel sorry for him. But he not only endangered himself but he put at risk others who work in c-stores because he was lax about making drops. The Pantry was correct in terminating him, and they did so for his own protection if he has shown an inability or unwillingness to keep the cash low. I bet the cash in area tills is a lot lower after his termination and employees are safer as a result. So quit bashing Kangaroo and realize that safety is the primary issue. It costs way more than $200 to hire and train this guy's replacement. The company knows that. But employee safety was the paramount reason for the termination, not $200 lost. I for one, will continue to buy my gas at Kangaroo, those of you calling for a boycott are wrong to do so.
June 16, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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