#retailsecurity?really?

26th May 2020

When you are used to maintaining the safety of thousands of people at festivals or nightclubs, dealing with intoxicated people, conflict and medical issues; clicking people in and out of a supermarket may seem a bit mundane. I became part of the security industry because I found it exciting, but that is not really a word I would have used to describe standing on the front door of a supermarket during a pandemic, but I now have a whole new perspective on my job. 

I am now protecting an elderly man by telling him about the doorstep delivery scheme put in place for the vulnerable during the pandemic. This now means he does not need to leave the safety of his own home.

I am now running to give assistance to a young woman who collapsed from heat exhaustion in the car park. I was able to give sufficient first aid so an ambulance didn’t need to be dispatched.

I am now implementing new queueing systems that keep customers out of the rain or sheltered from the sun. Making sure they do not queue across roads or block in cars. 

I am now making sure I simply smile at everyone, as I have realised that the simple act of talking to someone, even just for a minute, that I maybe the only person they speak to for days... 

So when I’m either standing in the rain, or in the lovely sunshine and I am getting complaints about the ‘one person per household’ policy, or ‘how long the queue is’, or how ‘there are too many people in the store’ - I do think to myself ‘remind me why I’m doing this?’. 

But not even five minutes later, a little girl will say thank you to me when leaving the shop with her mum, or an elderly lady will pass me a box of chocolates and say “this is to keep you going!", and I remember that I’m doing exactly what I joined the security industry to do. 

It may not be the job I imagined and I am used to, and it may not be everyone’s ideal, but I am still protecting people. I am still ensuring everyone’s safety at all times and the little things that I get back make it all worthwhile - the thankyous, the smiles, the nods of appreciation and even the comments like “I don’t know how you stand there doing that job all day!”. 

This pandemic has had an impact on everyone’s work, and my job in particular has changed dramatically, but we can still do our jobs, we can still achieve our goal to protect people, help people, and give as much as we can to get everyone through this crisis.

Cerys Montoya-Sharp

SIA Licensed Door Supervisor

KDM Security Ltd