Now, Dunedin-designed technology is helping Night 'n Day staff throughout the country to deal with such an eventuality.
Management of Dunedin-based Night 'n Day Foodstore Ltd launched its new training tool to franchisees at its recent national conference in Wellington.
Online learning management system Bracken, developed by Dunedin IT company The Tarn Group, provides customisable and interactive training sessions to any user, as long as they have an internet connection.
Video analysis tools from the company's product Siliconcoach, which has been used throughout the world for sports coaching and training, have been integrated into Bracken.
Real footage of armed hold-ups were being used within the training modules, Night 'n Day national operations manager Karina Duthie said. Staff could see a real-life situation unfold and learn steps they could take if they found themselves in a similar situation.
Feedback had already been positive and she believed there was ''huge potential'' for the system's use.
With 46 stores around the country, trying to co-ordinate staff for training was difficult.
Training runs were done three or four times a year, and a staff member was out of town for about two weeks at a time.
They had to work around staff rosters and commitments and it was quite difficult to do.
While there would still be staff on the road for training, the new tool meant better use of resources for on-site training, a focus on practical elements, and also flexibility, she said.
Night 'n Day had been looking for a similar training tool for three years and it was a ''matter of coincidence'' The Tarn Group called at the right time and was able to offer ''something superior'' to the other solutions it had been looking at.
Night 'n Day chief executive Tony Allison was surprised with the depth that Bracken had.
''Once you peel back the layers, the knowledge that the company have of training and what is available within the tool is outstanding,'' he said.
