A spokeswoman for the Framingham-based convenience store chain said the call to terminate Moore was not a decision that was made easily or hastily.
Douglas Moore, 24, was fired as a clerk at the Cumberland Farms store on West Street in Ludlow following a Dec. 22 gunpoint robbery. Moore was terminated for having too much cash in the drawer, according to the Framingham-based convenience store chain.SPRINGFIELD – The Cumberland Farms convenience store chain is defending its decision to fire Douglas Moore, a clerk who was robbed at gunpoint last month, citing the company's "desire to maintain employee privacy" as the reason for not releasing more details about Moore's termination.
The story of Moore, who until Dec. 23 had worked as a clerk at a Cumberland Farms store in Ludlow, elicited a strong response from readers of The Republican and MassLive.com. Dozens made online comments supporting the 24-year-old Springfield man and faulting the Framingham-based company for its perceived callous treatment of Moore, who was let go just days before Christmas – and after having a gun stuck in his face.
But the company is firing back, saying Moore was let go because he violated a strict policy governing how much money can be kept in a cash register at any given time.
"The discharge of Mr. Moore is a decision that we do not take lightly nor arrive at easily," Cumberland Farms spokeswoman Carin Warner told abc40, media partner of The Republican and MassLive.
"Mr. Moore was absolutely not terminated because he was a victim of a robbery, nor because the company suffered a financial loss due to the robbery," Warner said in a statement to the TV station.
"Due to a desire to maintain employee privacy, the facts surrounding (Moore's) termination must remain private," Warner said. "However, the policy that limits the amount of money that can be held in the register is only there to provide a safer environment, as well as to act as a deterrent to crime."
On the night of Dec. 22, Moore was robbed at gunpoint as he manned the counter at the Cumberland Farms store on West Street in Ludlow. A man pointed a pistol at his face and ordered him to empty the cash register, Moore told The Republican last week.
Ludlow police released this surveillance image of the suspected armed robber who held up the Cumberland Farms store on West Street in Ludlow on the night of Dec. 22.The following morning, Moore’s boss asked him to come to the store for a talk.
"I thought she was going to see how I was doing," he said, but instead the conversation quickly veered toward his employment.
"I didn't think I'd be fired," he said.
Moore, who spent about 18 months working 40-hour weeks earning less than $9 per hour, said he was fired because more than $75 was in the cash register drawer when the store was robbed.
Police haven't disclosed how much money was stolen, but Moore said management claims it was more than $200. Company policy only allows a maximum of $75 to be kept in a register, though Moore believes the gunman got away with $100 to $150.
Cumberland Farms reviews each worker violation "to determine if an exception to employee discharge can be made," Warner said. But company policies must be "close to zero tolerance," she said, considering "the potentially significant safety risks" to employees and customers.
"Unfortunately, the facts in this case, even after thorough review, could not allow for an exception," Warner said. "As is always the case in these rare circumstances, crisis counseling was offered to Mr. Moore."
On the night of the robbery, the store was busy with people buying lottery tickets, gift cards and last-minute Christmas presents, Moore said. When the clerk wasn't operating the cash register, he was busy restocking coolers and shelves, cleaning up messes, and brewing fresh pots of coffee, he said.
Moore said it's virtually inevitable that more than $75 will accumulate in the register during the course of a shift, but he didn't think he'd be fired for accidentally exceeding that limit on the busy night of the robbery.
East Longmeadow resident Nancy Cardaropoli said she and other regular customers of the West Street store were furious when they learned Moore had been fired. Cardaropoli vowed to boycott all Cumberland Farms stores because of the company's mistreatment of Moore.
"It is appalling what they did to him," she said. "Doug could have been killed, and all they cared about was the little bit of money in the drawer. That is so wrong on so many levels."
Moore said he had been chipping away at a college degree, but his sudden unemployment has forced him to suspend his studies. "I can't sit at home; I've got bills to pay," he said. "Unemployment is not for me."
Ludlow Police Lt. Paul Madera described the Dec. 22 robbery suspect as a light-skinned man, possibly Hispanic, who's around 5½ feet tall and was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Madera said the suspect showed a revolver-style handgun, demanded cash from the register, then fled the scene in a dark Pontiac Grand Prix that was last seen southbound on West Street.
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