Is a police presence bad for business?

[geonuc]

Remember though that you're polling a different segment of the world that you'd normally see in the lobby.

Not entirely. I travel on business fairly often. In fact, I'm heading to the airport this morning and will be staying at a Holiday Inn Express tonight. Last week, I spent five nights in hotels - a Fairmont and a Hilton Garden. I do a lot of repeat business and my company has even set up deals with our favorite hotels. If one of them were to start catering to the people Tog refers, we'd be finding a different hotel for sure.

[tnjrp]

Purely as a gut reaction, seeing police makes me a bit worried. I tend to think something untoward is going on when I see them around tho I logically understand that's not necessarily the case. Admittedly it's a quit part of the world where I live in so days can pass by without me seeing a single one, which prolly contributes quite a bit to the effect.

[jokergirl]

Purely as a gut reaction, seeing police makes me a bit worried. I tend to think something untoward is going on when I see them around tho I logically understand that's not necessarily the case. Admittedly it's a quit part of the world where I live in so days can pass by without me seeing a single one, which prolly contributes quite a bit to the effect.

Same here. Additionally, if you actually see police on guard here in Europe (as opposed to regulating traffic or writing tickets) it usually means either something bad already happened or they're out looking for trouble (-makers, like protesters, rioters, terrorists...). And even though I know there is no actual rational reason behind it, my gut feeling is always that they WILL find trouble with you if you so much as look at them strangely.



(No, I never was a rioter, or even in any violent protests. Nor do I know of many cases of police overstepping their rights. I still get uneasy, especially in places like France where the riot police takes their duty very seriously.)

[mutleyeng]

what are the laws over there for being required to accept anyones business?
I think in the UK a business owner can refuse to do business with whoever they choose, for any reason other than discrimination.
If you are able to politely explain to guests, that have behaved suspiciously, that you would prefer them not to use your establishment in future, then the word would get out soon enough.

[Tog]

Jokergirl - When I was younger it wasn't unusual for me to be out too late. I'd often run into police looking for people my age who were out too late. I never ran into a problem with any of them, mainly because I never tried to evade them. By that, I mean I didn't slowly walk away or anything. Once they talked to me, I'd walk up so we didn't have to yell.

Mutleyeng - In theory, we can refuse service to anyone. In practice it's not that easy. The first hurdle is that it's one grouchy night clerk against an unknown number of people who might be on anything from heroin to meth. The other problem is that they might be dealers. One night they were an ID theft ring, complete with printer and laminating machine. They'd make their own checks on real accounts, then make fake ID's to go with the checks. Asking them to leave wouldn't be met with civility.

The other obstacle is the owner, who doesn't want to do anything that results in bad publicity in anyone's eyes. He doesn't want to go after people who steal TV's because it tells people we're the type of place that has TV's stolen. What that does is tells people we have nearly free TV's. At least one has come back for a second one. He also doesn't seem like a long-term-picture sort of guy. He'd rather have the revenue from 5 problem rooms than to miss out on that money. He doesn't think people affected by the problem rooms will mention it on any of the review sites, or that anyone looking for a hotel might make a decision based on those comments.

Basically, once they get in, they can stay, and we can't refuse anyone outright. He even said that someone with no method of payment was okay because we didn't want to lose business by embarrassing anyone. The not getting paid part of that seemed to get lost on him.

[jokergirl]

Let me rephrase.

Why are you still working there?!?!?

[Tog]

It's mainly due to my low ambition and limited education paying for itself. I'd never find another job that pays this well given my skills. Especially now. Increasing my skill set in a way that matters isn't financially viable.

On a tweaker-free night, I've got a block of about five hours where my only responsibility is to be awake in case something happens. My boss (not the owner) said if he worked my shift, he'd play Halo all night. I use the time to write.

This stuff just started picking up this winter, so I'm hoping to find a way to get it stopped before it gets a hold on us.

[R.A.F.]

He even said that someone with no method of payment was okay because we didn't want to lose business by embarrassing anyone. The not getting paid part of that seemed to get lost on him.

I am astonished that payment isn't required upon registration.

I know from reading your last post that you have little choice regarding working there, but I don't see this business lasting too much longer with policies such as this, so it might be better to "cut your losses" before the business goes "belly-up".


Of course, this is just opinion.

[Extravoice]

If George Will can be believed, you'd better do something ASAP (Feel free to discuss among yourselves off-board)

BTW: Police in a nearby minor city frequently provide security for housing projects while in uniform, but I think it must be coordinated through the police department. I learned a bit about this when I was on jury duty a few years ago.

Back to the original question, it is a tough one. I recently stayed in a very nice hotel in Newport Beach, California, and if I had seen a police officer in the lobby, my response probably would have been "I wonder why he is here."

On the other hand, several months ago, my wife scheduled a weekend get-away for us at a historic hotel in a section of Baltimore that I wasn't 100% comfortable with. If they had an officer in the lobby, it would have just amplified my concern about the neighborhood.

[Luckmeister]

Evergreen isn't exactly in a high-crime area, being in the middle of the woods and all. I felt vaguely guilty the time it looked like we had presented them with a real crime while on a simple walk to the beach. Did you know that skeletonized seal flippers look like human hands?

You could have just told them you found this guy.

[Solfe]

It's mainly due to my low ambition and limited education paying for itself. I'd never find another job that pays this well given my skills. Especially now. Increasing my skill set in a way that matters isn't financially viable.

On a tweaker-free night, I've got a block of about five hours where my only responsibility is to be awake in case something happens. My boss (not the owner) said if he worked my shift, he'd play Halo all night. I use the time to write.

This stuff just started picking up this winter, so I'm hoping to find a way to get it stopped before it gets a hold on us.

Well, if I had 5 hours of time to stay awake, I would consider college or community ed. classes. It could be tough but rewarding if it allows you to escape.

As a more functional solution, I would suggest checking out local and regional Police Benevolent Associations and requesting mailing for the business address. This is mildly distasteful as it is trying to trick the owner into publicly backing a group.

Largely, getting the management to buy in to the whole "love your local police officer" might be the best bet.

Easy: You could make sure you have (good) coffee on hand for officers should they happen to stop in. Buy some flavoured creamer and then been sure to ask your new found friends if they have a favourite. Make work pay for this.

Medium to hard: Get the management to extend any available discount program to law enforcement, fire-rescue, etc. There is a good chance that the people you want to attract are already legible for discounts. If you could legitimately ask each and every person staying at the hotel "When you registered your, room did you receive the Law Enforcement discount?" Make sure they question is asked everytime because that is a conversation starter that no criminal wants to have.

The wickedly hard approach: If you have a community room your company can sponsor a high profile event for scouts, church, civic group, etc. Maybe you could host a "meet your local Police/Fire/Emergency" for schools, scouts and civic groups. Having a big "Welcome Law Enforcement!!!" sign might be a little daunting for criminals. This is almost a social media campaign, not only would you have to have management buy-in but the help many of outside groups. It is specifically not designed to have the desired effect, but would have an impact.

[Tobin Dax]

Let me rephrase.

Why are you still working there?!?!?

What jokergirl said. And how long have you been there? Start taking online courses from your local community college. You seem to have the time to do them, and it might give you something new to talk to your boss about when he calls you to talk at night.

Seriously, though, one or two classes each semester means at least three classes per year, counting summer. That's only half the rate of most students. And while you won't be able to do everything online, you should be able to take most of the general courses that way.

Salt Lake Community College (and most others, probably,) have started the summer term, but apply for fall. In fact, it looks like they offer complete online programs for an Associate's Degree. http://slcconline.squarespace.com/ If you've got five hours to kill tonight, you've got the time to check out the link.

[Tog]

I've thought about it before, but my only chance of paying for it would be a pell grant until the credit card is paid off. That can't happen until the car is paid off. Best case there is a year, assuming the car can survive another few years. My grades in high school might be an issue there. They had to invent "remedial arts and crafts" for me to graduate.

The other problem is I got burned on the MCSE thing from the late 90's. I'll be paying for that for 8 more years and will have nothing useful to show for it. My classes were on 4.0 and they stopped offering the tests a few months after I took my classes. I only passed 1 of the 6. Because of that, I'm reluctant to dump a bunch of money into classes that only might be of use.

That brings up problem three. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I'd still be happy in my rut if it wasn't for all the trash finding it's way in with me.

[swampyankee]

A remarkable number of Wild West residents have concealed carry permits and own multiple guns.

And that's relevant how? Incidentally, where I live a pistol permit is a permit to carry a concealed weapon; openly wearing a gun is illegal except for police in uniform and properly licensed uniformed security guards. Openly "packing heat" is considered a provocative act, kind of like walking down Main Street with a machete.

[Ara Pacis]

I've thought about it before, but my only chance of paying for it would be a pell grant until the credit card is paid off. That can't happen until the car is paid off. Best case there is a year, assuming the car can survive another few years. My grades in high school might be an issue there. They had to invent "remedial arts and crafts" for me to graduate.

The other problem is I got burned on the MCSE thing from the late 90's. I'll be paying for that for 8 more years and will have nothing useful to show for it. My classes were on 4.0 and they stopped offering the tests a few months after I took my classes. I only passed 1 of the 6. Because of that, I'm reluctant to dump a bunch of money into classes that only might be of use.

That brings up problem three. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I'd still be happy in my rut if it wasn't for all the trash finding it's way in with me.

Have you checked with the student aid office to see about scholarships that don't rely on past academic performance or looked into student loans? If you get a AA, that can open up doors to higher paying jobs. I ask because the career counselor ignored me in HS due to lower grades and that prevented me from applying for scholarships.

[Solfe]

I've thought about it before, but my only chance of paying for it would be a pell grant until the credit card is paid off. That can't happen until the car is paid off. Best case there is a year, assuming the car can survive another few years. My grades in high school might be an issue there. They had to invent "remedial arts and crafts" for me to graduate.

The other problem is I got burned on the MCSE thing from the late 90's. I'll be paying for that for 8 more years and will have nothing useful to show for it. My classes were on 4.0 and they stopped offering the tests a few months after I took my classes. I only passed 1 of the 6. Because of that, I'm reluctant to dump a bunch of money into classes that only might be of use.

That brings up problem three. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I'd still be happy in my rut if it wasn't for all the trash finding it's way in with me.

I say this with the best humor in mind... Have you ever considered becoming a police officer?

[Hlafordlaes]

In answer to the OP's question, I'd say it would make me feel better. If your establishment is in an area where I might be nervous about crime, I probably sensed that before walking in. The sight of a police officer in the lobby would be welcome.

This+++

My business is in an analogous situation, but is too small for something in-house like that. However, business picks up whenever there are uniformed police on foot patrol on our street.

As for the in-house officer, his/her demeanor will be very important in setting the tone. Alert but not on high alert is the look I'd, er, shoot for.

[Tobin Dax]

I say this with the best humor in mind... Have you ever considered becoming a police officer?

Criminal Justice was one of those online programs.

There was also an "I don't know what what I want to do" program. I would also argue that English/Astronomy/Criminal Justice 101 is not the same money sink as the Microsoft certification. (And these courses will transfer.) If you really want to do it, Tog, there are ways to make it work. But it's your decision.

[jokergirl]

I say this with the best humor in mind... Have you ever considered becoming a police officer?

My BF suggested a similar thing yesterday. He said to make your boss pay you to take self-defense/ security guard classes.
Those skills are always useful.

[Solfe]

Criminal Justice was one of those online programs.

There was also an "I don't know what what I want to do" program. I would also argue that English/Astronomy/Criminal Justice 101 is not the same money sink as the Microsoft certification. (And these courses will transfer.) If you really want to do it, Tog, there are ways to make it work. But it's your decision.

Good advice.

My school is a two year college and they offer a 4 year criminal justice program. The field is hot right now.