There have been a lot of stories on Unsolved Mysteries about gas station robberies and some workers that have been abducted while working at them. I dont think I would ever feel comfortable working by myself at a gas station from the 11pm - 7am shift. Im sorry, but when a store is open this time of night, there should be 2 or more people on that shift in case of a robbery or some other type of disaster. At our gas station a few years ago, they had a robbery by knife point. The guy working that shift quit after this and the store closed at 12am from then on. Also when me and my family where traveling to Florida years ago, we stopped at a gas station about 1:30am (around the South Carolina area) and this young girl was working all by herself. It made me sick. I think that gas station had one of those bullet proof windows where you have to slip the money under a little cubby-hole to pay for your purchases.

There have been a lot of stories on Unsolved Mysteries about gas station robberies and some workers that have been abducted while working at them. I dont think I would ever feel comfortable working by myself at a gas station from the 11pm - 7am shift. Im sorry, but when a store is open this time of night, there should be 2 or more people on that shift in case of a robbery or some other type of disaster. At our gas station a few years ago, they had a robbery by knife point. The guy working that shift quit after this and the store closed at 12am from then on. Also when me and my family where traveling to Florida years ago, we stopped at a gas station about 1:30am (around the South Carolina area) and this young girl was working all by herself. It made me sick. I think that gas station had one of those bullet proof windows where you have to slip the money under a little cubby-hole to pay for your purchases.

Yes I agree and would never work at a convenience store at night. Plus just having one employee on duty then is just asking for trouble.

I agree as well. I would never work graveyard shift at a convenience store, and there should be a law requiring 2 or more people working at night.

Having been to my share of gas stations/convienence stores at late hours, I can report that a lot of them are now locking up after certain times. There is a glass partition (sort of like the box office at a movie theatre) where the attendant can interact with the customers. You tell them what you want, and they have to go get it and bring it back. You pass the cash to them through a slot and they hand you the item. I presume the glass is bulletproof. I'm not saying that this is the best safety measure, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Is it not actually against the law to only have one person working? over here it would contravene health and safety regulations- what if the person were to have say a heart attack and no customers came in for 30 minutes afterwards? must be pretty hard to work that many hours and not be able to go to the toilet as well.

Is it not actually against the law to only have one person working? over here it would contravene health and safety regulations- what if the person were to have say a heart attack and no customers came in for 30 minutes afterwards? must be pretty hard to work that many hours and not be able to go to the toilet as well.

Not in Canada IIRC, and certainly not in Quebec. I have worked the graveyard shift in a convenience store for two years and a half, all alone 40 hours per week from age 19 to 22 at minimum wage (around 7.25 CAN$ per hour at the time). So yeah, I was doing the exact same job as Debra Poe when she was abducted.

I can confirm it is not a safe job at all for the salary they get paid. I got holded-up only once, by three teenagers aged 14-16. I got my share of spooky strangers and lurkers, but most of them were inoffensive. The real problem were teenage bums who went out to party, some of them who knew me came to cause trouble or pick a fight with me because I am a cashier and due to this I supposedly cannot hustle back (save for self-defense, of course). When I was robbed it took the police a good 15 minutes before arriving on the crime scene. All that time until they arrived I was to remain inside, all accesses locked, with the instruction not to touch anything and go to the back store.

As for the toilets we were able to go to bathroom any time we needed, the door was locked and had to be unlocked by the inside. If someone wanted to come in he would have had to ring from outside to signify that there was a customer present.

I agree as well. I would never work graveyard shift at a convenience store, and there should be a law requiring 2 or more people working at night.

The Sacramento Thrill Killer case demontrates very well that such laws do not make working the graveyard shift anything safer for employees.

IMHO, it should be forbidden to work during the graveyard shift at all, except for public services and factory workers. If you need your coffee at night, just bring it in a thermos.

Yeah, because of this show, (specifically the episode where the older lady whose name escapes me in Florida gets abducted late at night by a punk in sunglasses) is the reason I wouldn't work anywhere that you would have to be alone with the public at night.

After hearing about Trudy Darby's abduction and murder, you (generally) couldn't even pay me a generous amount to work the graveyard shift.

Besides gas stations, are truck stops another?

I remember seeing this UM segment and the part that really creeped me out was the dude who killed the girl was seen at the store and pretended to be an employee.

Oooh wiseguy, you're a hotel night auditor huh? I spent my 4 college years working 3-11s on the front desk of a few hotels.

I remember a couple of robberies taking place at some of the neighboring hotels through those years but never where I worked. I was pretty lucky I guess. At the last hotel I worked at, we could lock/unlock the lobby door from the front desk and we had an intercom and a card key lock for guests already registered.

I do remember a time or two when we'd have a shady looking person try to walk-in and get a room really late. If they looked sketchy, I locked the door, buzzed them on the intercom and told them we were sold out. One guy just wanted to use the restroom. I said registered guests only. This was when I worked at Fairfield Inn.

I wasn't paranoid but I was cautious. I didn't work in a bad part of town but there was crime. Watching UM only adds to being cautious.

I remember seeing this UM segment and the part that really creeped me out was the dude who killed the girl was seen at the store and pretended to be an employee.

Ah yes, the Megadeth guy, I think it's really weird they didn't find him because of his somewhat unusual appearance.

Oooh wiseguy, you're a hotel night auditor huh? I spent my 4 college years working 3-11s on the front desk of a few hotels.

yep. I'm going into work in a few hours. It's the busiest weekend of the year: MSU grad weekend. MSU being the countries' premiere party/riot school, and no doubt they're goint to get really drunk. They sure know how to make the community proud. :rolleyes:

Having been to my share of gas stations/convienence stores at late hours, I can report that a lot of them are now locking up after certain times. There is a glass partition (sort of like the box office at a movie theatre) where the attendant can interact with the customers. You tell them what you want, and they have to go get it and bring it back. You pass the cash to them through a slot and they hand you the item. I presume the glass is bulletproof. I'm not saying that this is the best safety measure, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

I have been to a few gas stations that have those kinds of partitions. It does give the attendants some protection. My sister worked at hotel during college and she was robbed a couple of times. I have also been to gas stations were there are two people on duty usually one person is stocking or removing old items or preparing money for deposit while the other is behind the counter.

LOL. Apparently, I'm one of those "high-risk" gals. I worked at a convenience store on the closing shift for three years while in college.... then I took some time off of college and became a night auditor at a hotel for another year. And then after that, I was a night clerk at the local Greyhound station.

None of these jobs were equipped with cameras. At all of these jobs, I was the only one on shift. I am not aware of any sort of law (at least in Montana) that requires there to be more than one person on shift after certain hours. As a result, I have been held up at gunpoint (once) and had my life threatened (seriously) one more than one occasion.

I know my family downplayed their concern for me at all of these jobs, but I know that when I made the decision to go to law school, no one was more relieved than them. :)

I was reluctant to jump into the middle of this one because I am an owner of not only a gas station / convenience store, it has a liquor store to boot. How's that for a combination? Also, prior to that I was a regional manager of a large restuarant chain for 23 years. (5 state area, 23 outlets with 1300 employees) I will share my point of view.

There are no laws that dictate the number of people that are required to work per shift and the break rules are complicated so I won't go into that except to say there are no provisions for breaks unless 3 or more people are working per shift. But on to the safety issue.

Risk prevails in each and every job you may work at. What about banks for example? Day time hours, several employees on duty, typically in good areas of town etc. and get robbed alot. I am sure we could come up with a long list but getting back to the point - As an employee - you should evaluate the risks and your own level of comfort in working in such an environment when taking a job. Also evaluate your employers position on employee safety concerns. Not every store will have security camera's or silent alarms but knowing what their policies are can be a big factor in your personal safety.

Not every employer will have the same level of concern, (We are in a somewhat remote area and only one employee works per shift, day or night)but I will share my little speil I give each new employee. "NO Heroics! If you are robbed, give them everything they want! YOUR life is more important to us than the money in the til. You can even offer them a 6 six pack of Bud, a bottle Jeam Beam or carton of cigerettes on the way out. Or even a lottery ticket that's up to 89 million bucks! I don't care - stay safe!" They often laugh at me but they get the point.

Bottom line is if you don't feel comfortable working there or the working conditions, find a more suitable job or employer. You were looking for a job when you got that one and can find another one. BUT STAY SAFE!! When I traveled over the years I often needed that tank of gas and cup of coffee or had to check into my hotel at 2 AM at night, so I don't think the need of those services will go away. Also, I could tell you many stories of the robberies we had in the restuarants but I can say that at least no one got hurt.

I have worked the 11pm-7am shift alone at hotels for most of the last 8 years. You are allowed to go to the bathroom when you want, but sometimes when you return the guests wonder where the hell you have been, and also grossly exagerrate how long you've been gone. I tell them "I had to assist another guest", because it sounds alot better than "I was taking a dump"

I work in the Lansing, Michigan area. I am comfortable with my current hotel's security. Other hotels I have worked at in the area, uhh, not so much. In fact, their security was non-existent. The manager of one of the hotels that had no security turned around and put out a college textbook on hotel security. He also put out a college textbook on hotel human resources management, but when I worked there, I found a petty cash slip that stated he had purchased the idiot's guide to retaining employees after losing 4 front desk employees (half of that department's staff) in a week. Now how's that for messed up?

ut going back to me formerly working for hotels with no security, let's just say I was younger and not so wise :lol: Watching Unsolved so much in the last few years definitely keeps you alert. But management and guests have praised me for my security measures.

The no-break thing irritates me, after all I believe it is law for employees working an 8 hour shift to get at least a half hour lunch, and a couple 10 minute breaks. I can usually get those in, unless there are guests to tend to. I usually try to take my break in the dead of the night, like 3 a.m. Unfortunately, sometimes guests rationalize that this is the best time of night to ask for extra towels sent up to their room, etc., so, you know.

But even when I worked during the day, I still rarely got a lunchbreak. Is this just a Michigan thing, or does this happen elsewhere?

What worries me about people working at convenience stores on the 11-7 shift, is the dead of the night time period, like 2-4 a.m. Usually, there is enough traffic at the start and end of their shift, that people with bad intentions will avoid those times. But egads, 2-4 there is hardly no one.

I have to agree about MI, Wiseguy. I worked at a hotel in Mt. Pleasant, plus I work in the UP now. We are lucky to get our 30 min breaks for food. 10 min break? Yeah, if we sneak away to the bathroom!

Watching UM as a kid make me swear off working the graveyard shift. My sister did it at a 7-11 by CMU and she said enough freaks went in there. Money is nice, but one does not get paid enough to work by themselves in a store in the dead of night. I think it's like painting a bullseye on you saying "ROB ME!"

Thanks for your input, Shek! Actually, it reminds me of something that happened while I was working the closing shift at the convenience store:

It was a pretty quiet night. A guy came into the store and as I said hello, he refused to make eye contact with me. Always a strange sign. Anyway, a few minutes later, he calmly walked out of the store with 2 12-packs of Bud Light. I yelled at him to stop, but he continued to walk out. I was the only one on shift and ran out of the store after him, but the second my feet left the store, I stopped. The shoplifter was still walking, very calmly and deliberately, to the alley behind the store. My instincts were telling me that it would be stupid to follow him further, so I went back into the store and called the police to report the shoplifting.

The police showed up to get a statement from me... and I don't know if they were trying to scare me or whatnot, but the officer on shift told me it was a good thing that I didn't follow the shoplifter into the alley at the back of the store because the facts I told him matched the description of a murder of a convenience store clerk that had occurred in a town near the one I was living in a few months earlier. :eek2:

And if that wasn't enough... the next day, the owner of the convenience store came in to have a talk with me. He commended me for my dedication to the store and the detailed description of the shoplifter I was able to give to the police, but chided me at the same time for chasing the guy out of the store. I was informed that my young life was worth much, much more than $24.99, the price of the stolen beer.

That advice came in handy when I was robbed at gunpoint a few months later. No heroics that time, that's for sure!

I can't resist telling this story of the most memorable robbery I had at one of my restuarants. This restuarant was located in the mid of Denver in a very scary area and prone for robberies and such. One night we had a man that attempted to rob the night manager, Bob, at knife point. Bob, however, had a consealed gun under the counter AND handcuffs!! Bob pulled his gun, a scuffle ensued, he subdued the would be robber and even had him handcuffed when the police arrived. What happened next? Well, of course the would be robber was taken to jail but it get's better. Bob, was also arrested for having an unregistered weapon and I had to fire Bob for not following the safety procedures that put himself, other employees and customers at risk.

Now ya don't even want to get me started on the break policies.

I can't resist telling this story of the most memorable robbery I had at one of my restuarants. This restuarant was located in the mid of Denver in a very scary area and prone for robberies and such. One night we had a man that attempted to rob the night manager, Bob, at knife point. Bob, however, had a consealed gun under the counter AND handcuffs!! Bob pulled his gun, a scuffle ensued, he subdued the would be robber and even had him handcuffed when the police arrived. What happened next? Well, of course the would be robber was taken to jail but it get's better. Bob, was also arrested for having an unregistered weapon and I had to fire Bob for not following the safety procedures that put himself, other employees and customers at risk.

Now ya don't even want to get me started on the break policies.
Jesus, that is screwed up.

no way. they should just close stations at night anyway. leave the pay at the pumps open and put out vending machines. money is a factor though. I wouldn't work at a gas station at night that's for sure. or during the day either. but that's just me. I'm kind of like wade the duck. I know in europe and other countries places close at night.

Wow, so many night auditors here! I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the posts in the thread. I, too, worked as a night auditor in Oregon (about the time I signed up for the first time here) while going to college for afternoon classes.

When I was first hired, the door in the motel I worked stayed unlocked all night. I would have raised a stink about it, but the new manager (who was hired the same week I began working there) also noticed the all-night unlocked door and promptly told me to start locking it when my shift began. We had a window we could check people in with if we needed to. I also kept the door from the hotel lobby to the main hallways locked as well. Luckily I experienced no incidents while I was working at this motel (about six months) but sometimes at night, just to make myself feel that much safer, I would turn on the "No Vacancy" light. I know, it's awful, but I did it...:D Shame on me. I wouldn't do it now...

Er, anyway, back in the 90s there was a graveyard convenience store employee abducted in Eugene, Oregon (I lived in Springfield at that time). She was never found. After that, everybody started closing up at 11pm. Since then I've never been to a convenience store that was open past 11. Even here in Arkansas, none of them (that I have been to anyway) are open all night. And I totally agree with it. It's just too dangerous.

But I give my complete respect and kudos to those people out there, like Debra Poe, who faced the danger anyway because they had to work and had bills to pay. No doubt many thousands of people still work the graveyard shift at little stores all over the country.

my cousin Cindy worked a graveyard shift at a convenience store and was robbed and brutally assaulted. when they finally caught the guy his defense was that Cindy had made a racist remark that provoked him, which was untrue and when it was brought up in court the prosecutor made a point of letting the jury know that cindy's son happened to be african american (technically mulatto) so his defense went down the toilet. I worked at one myself for about a half a year and am fortunate that i never had an experience that someof you had. although i worked at one located in a rural town but there was a freeway not to far off and uconn was a mile or so as well. the customers were pretty much thesame faces day in and day out but i never fooled myself into thinking it was safer than any other convenience store. the fear still crept in the back of my mind. actually the most dangerous job i had was as a security guard at st. francis on 3rd shift. duties included patient restraint and taking bodies in and out of the morgue.

I used to work at a McDonalds about 2 years ago. When I first started to work there, the opening shift had to meet in the parking lot next to McDonald's. We had to circle the restaurant for security reasons and we all had to go in at once. There was a back door we used to go out of to take the trash out. The manager said if we were robbed when we went out that door to take the garbage out, we were on our own.

I worked at a bowling alley for several years. We never had a robbery but I heard about a few where people were killed. Obviously, UM and AMW have profiled cases were people were murdered at a bowling alley.

We did have to call the police every so often. One time, someone attacked someone with a screwdriver after a dispute.

This is interesting! I often think that deciding what job to take is a luxury people don't have. I see a lot of comments like "don't work the graveyard shift ever," or "assess the safety of the job and don't take it if it seems bad." I agree with both, but I have personally known several people (single moms, elderly women) who had to take any job they could get, and in small town America, that often means a crappy one that is potentially unsafe. When I was living in rural NC I would often go to the 24 hour gas station right off of the highway (frequented by many truckers but in a very small town) and the worker was usually a young single mom or an elderly woman. I felt really bad for both of them, and often would go by just to check on them and keep them company. Thank God neither of them was ever harmed.

I do like the idea of glass partitions, but keep in mind a lot of the segments on UM were not about money, they were about abductions and sadism. I would be very worried about leaving the store and getting in my car at night alone...

After watching the Debra Poe story, I would be way too scared to work at night.... there's got to be a way to make the places safer.

Earlier in the thread, wiseguy182 asked about Michigan's role in all this.

For a couple of years, I was the only employee managing a healthcare clinic. (My boss had just opened it and was still building up her patient load.) I worked 9-5 weekdays and was not allowed any breaks. No lunch break, no cigarette break, (she told me later that one reason she hired me was because I didn't smoke, so she wouldn't have to worry about me hanging around outside instead of being at my desk), and in a way, there were no potty breaks.

I had to eat my lunch at my desk in the patient waiting area. If patients were present, I had to put off eating until they were gone, or else go into the supply room, grab a few bites of food under the guise of getting paperwork, and then run back out to my desk.

For potty breaks... well, during the eight hour shift, you're gonna hafta pee. lol I was required to bring the 2 office phones and a notepad and pen into the bathroom with me whenever I had to go.

We were located in a halfway decent suburb of Detroit. We only had one or two safety scares. One was when the gas station on the corner, about 500 feet from our office, was robbed at around noontime and the perps were fleeing on foot. They put the nearby school on lock down and I just locked up the front and back doors to the office in case they tried to hide out with me. :P

Oh, and I just remembered... Back in my younger days, I was a bank teller at the main bank of a small bank chain. It was in a not so great suburb of Detroit, on Michigan Avenue.

We worked behind the thick glass wall that kept the customers from jumping the counter and grabbing all the money. The one commercial teller, who dealt in very large sums of money, was in her own little booth that was completely surrounded by glass and had a special locking door.

We were NEVER given any safety rules, instructions, suggestions, guidelines, or informed of any policies and procedures to follow in case of an emergency or bank robbery.

I guess the biggie bosses just hoped that the fake glass partition would keep the tellers safe. But what was even more stupid was that since it was the main office, we had a couple dozen employees who were not behind the glass. About half of them were right there in the open, just waiting to be used as hostages held at gunpoint in order to force the tellers to hand over the cash.

After watching the Debra Poe story, I would be way too scared to work at night.... there's got to be a way to make the places safer.

Sadly with all the office & campus shootings tha have happened in broad daylight, there may be NO safe occupations from violent crime. :(

Back in 2001 my ex=husband worked a 2nd job at a local dump store, graveyard of course, and he was the only one on that night. Very bad part of town. He was robbed and sucker-punched one night, otherwise he was ok. This store still isn't up to speed the way other stores are, and I think they might have 2 at night now, but that's it.

Other stores lock the doors at late night and you have to do all your transactions via a little window, like at a bank or drive-through pharmacy. Too bad this wasn't happening when these crimes happened.

Bumping this to hear more interesting stories :)

Is it not actually against the law to only have one person working? over here it would contravene health and safety regulations- what if the person were to have say a heart attack and no customers came in for 30 minutes afterwards? must be pretty hard to work that many hours and not be able to go to the toilet as well.

It definitely isn't in NY or VT. Or at least it wasn't as of a few years ago. I used to work nights in a gas station, and that's how it was run. The place was actually robbed at machetepoint, one night about six months prior to my starting there, too.