Howard Langston winced when he remembered his wife’s harsh words…
“You promised him a Turbo-Man 2 toy! Why didn’t you order one on Cyber Monday or go out and get it on Black Friday? Jamie’s going to be so disappointed…Didn’t you learn anything last year?”
Last year had involved a desperate last-ditch scramble to find a Turbo-Man at any shop he could, and he get it before that Myron Larabee. He’d had to admit his mistakes to his family then his son saved the day when he gave the Turbo-Man to Myron’s son.
This year, it had to be different.
Now, at the last minute on Christmas Eve, he was back in a hunt for the Turbo-Man follow up.
The shop assistant at Mall of America pushed his way out into the crowd outside and shouted: “We don’t have any but they have some in Saint Paul…”
The crowd ran for their cars. Howard sat down on the sidewalk and shook his head. He couldn’t do that again.
The shop assistant waved him in. “Look, we have one left and as you’re the last one here, you can have it. I couldn’t tell them because there would have been a riot!”
Howard nodded and followed him inside. The assistant rang up the purchase and sighed.
“I honestly don’t know how we’d cope if there was trouble or an attack here. I know the mall managers are worried about it,” he said.
Howard replied: “I’m a salesman, too. I sell mattresses. Our chain of stores has been looking at what they’re doing in the UK. They’re introducing a new law to improve public safety at venues like malls, shops, concert halls, and arenas.”
The assistant nodded. “Good idea. How will it work?”
“Venues must have detailed risk assessments, proper staff training, and an effective plan in place of the worst happens. The UK is doing this in memory of Martyn Hett and the 21 other innocent victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack, so it’s called Martyn’s Law,” Howard explained.
“This makes it much harder for terrorists to stage a successful attack.”
The assistant handed him his bag. He said: “I’ll mention it to our mall manager. I just hope we don’t all drown in the paperwork!”
Howard shook his head.
“Our consultants at Penarth Management suggested online compliance software called Mango. It helps us manage lots of our legal duties and keeps on top of our documents without lots of paperwork,” Howard said.
“All of us can access it from wherever there’s an internet connection and all the documents are held in the cloud.”
The shop assistant smiled as he saw Howard out, shut the door, and out up the closed sign. He sighed.
Outside, as he walked to his car, Howard smiled. He’d finally done things right…
He wouldn’t realise he’d forgotten his wife’s present for the second year running until the next morning…
You can find out more about Martyn’s Law (the Terrorism (Protection of premises) Bill) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/martyns-law-progresses-as-government-publishes-draft-legislation
Find out how Mango’s online compliance software benefits your retail business. Book a free demonstration which will be delivered via Zoom. We can help you achieve the ISOs your business needs, too. Call Penarth Management on 029 2070 3328 or email info@penarth.co.uk