Standing outside the cordoned shop, with police inside, she was still in shock.
"I'm trying to think in my mind how it happened. The way they attacked us was very fast - maybe five minutes."
There were no customers at the time.
"A customer's car was waiting outside and they saw a lot of what was happening. They saw the guys walking in to the dairy."
A shop assistant at nearby Westshore Pharmacy, Hope Hatton, said she heard the whole scenario unfold.
Their toilet and the store's counter share the same, thin wall - the full effect of the screams penetrating through.
"It happened so fast."
"We just heard screaming and I ran outside to go and see what was going on. Two guys ran out of the dairy and jumped into a parked car," she said.
"Her screams I just can't get out of my head."
The offenders car was parked outside her work. As they ran out the store, she was worried the pharmacy would be next.
"I managed to shut the door and get the number plate. It was freaky, I couldn't get the door to lock."
During that time, they dropped a pack of cigarettes, which hope picked up using gloves and handed to the police.
She said it was the second time in four months the dairy has been robbed, but this one was "by far the worst".
The young couple have owned the store for a mere four months.
The woman used to work for her family's business in Auckland but had decided to move to the region to purchase their first dairy.
"This is a good location, good area," she said.
A police spokesperson said they arrested a 14-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old in relation to the robbery.
"They were armed with hammers and made off with cash and cigarettes before fleeing in a stolen vehicle.
"All three were arrested around 12pm on State Highway 2, Mohaka, after a short pursuit."
