Co-Worker Scams To Look Out For Behind The Bar

Posted by barblog on May 20, 2010 in Bar Management | 1 comment

Today we’re bringing you another great guest post. This post is by Doug Fisher, a highly sought after management consultant based in Canada who we’re delighted to showcase on TheBarBlogger.com. You can find out more about Doug at http://www.fhgi.com

Co-Worker Scams To Look Out For Behind The Bar

Bartenders not only steal from their employers and customers, but have also been known to steal from their coworkers as well. Here are the four top ways:

1. Straight theft from the cash till is undetectable until the cash out is completed at the end of the night. If three bartenders are working and one steals $45 from the till prior to cashing out, management will ask all three to make it up. Each will put in $15, leaving the one who took the money $30 ahead. Read more..

Could Your Staff Steal Your Customers?

Posted by barblog on May 3, 2010 in Bar Management | 1 comment

If you’ve been following all the tips on this website with regards to staffing and training then you may have trained your staff so well that they end up leaving the business and setting up a competing business in the area. I’ve seen it happen before and it can have a big effect on your business, so there are a few things you should think about today to prevent too much disruption.

How much confidential information is available to your staff?

The higher level the staff member, the more information they will likely have access to including supplier pricing, phone numbers, entertainment contact details, staff phone numbers, recipes etc. While it is difficult to create a working environment that prevents access to ALL confidential information, the fewer staff members that have access the better. If employees use your confidential information for their own benefit, then you may have legal recourse.

Are your contracts iron-clad?

Do you have contracts in place that prevent senior staff from contacting staff members and suppliers for a certain period of time after they leave? Depending on your area, this may be illegal, so check the law before implementing this. You may also be able to prevent staff members from working their notice period so they can’t spend a week or two after they have handed in their notice in your place of work when you know they are planning another business to compete.

All said and done, it will be near-impossible to prevent a former employee from setting up and competing with you. Competition can be good for business sometimes and cause you to up your game while more customers might be attracted to your area with increased food/beverage offerings. As long as parting is amicable and the law has been observed, game on!

Could a dating couple bankrupt your business?

Posted by barblog on Oct 23, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Staff, bar theft | 1 comment

It’s bad enough when you have a thieving staff member or a manager that thinks it’s their right to fiddle the accounts while they line their pockets, but it’s double the trouble when the staff member and manager collude to defraud you and your business.

It’s more common than you think and a recent conversation with an industry consultant reminded me that you can never underestimate the potential for fraud in the bar.

Here are a few methods of collusion that you should be aware of:

Boyfriend & Girlfriend

The classic “couple on a mission” who can cover for one another, aid each other and double the chances of you losing money and liquid assets in a short space of time. Some bars and restaurants do not allow staff members to date and don’t emply married couples. A difficult thing to enforce, but if you can’t legislate against itm think about having htem work different shifts.

Staff Member & Manager

A manager confides in a staff member that certain “opportunities” exist if they work together. This can be a difficult thing to spot unless controls are in place to audit the management team as well as just the staff members.

Staff Member & Customer/Friend

A staff member utilizes the assistance of a friend or patron outside the bar counter who may distract other customers while theft is taking place or might help open rear gates/doors to aid the theft. A customer might order drinks all night yet never pay full price. Some bars don’t allow friends of staff members or off duty staff members on the premises to avoid the chances of fraud.

Just a few possible situations to bear in mind in your business. Got your suspicions? Take action today!

5 Ways to Reduce Theft in your Bar

Posted by barblog on Sep 25, 2009 in Bar Cost Control, Bar Management | 3 comments

I once read the results of a survey that said 20% of bar owners said they had been the victim of theft in some form or another. It went on to say that the other 80% were either lying or not aware of just how widespread theft and fraud in this industry is.

In an average week, I work with 5 or 6 Hospitality Business owners in identifying stock and cash losses and implementing simple effective procedures to Identify when theft is occurring, Eliminate the losses once identified, and Implement a procedure to prevent it from happening again. It never fails to amaze me as to the level of complacency that exists and the potential that exists for significant losses.

Follow these steps and you’ll reduce the risks in your business:

1. Standardise your Systems

Sounds complicated but this simply means that every critical action in your business needs a standard system and method. Take your Cash Reconciliation of your Tills at the end of the night. If you don’t follow a certain system, you won’t get your reports, your tills won’t be zeroed for the next shift and you won’t know if cash takings are down. The same applies to every other action in the running of your business. Document your House Standards and train each staff member so that everyone completes a task the same way. Once staff members have been trained, a standard is in place and it will become easier to monitor staff performance. Read more..

Catching an employee with their hands in the drawer

Posted by barblog on Sep 18, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Staff, bar theft | 3 comments

You know the scenario. The cash hasn’t been balancing at the end of the night and you have your suspicions as to who is responsible but you haven’t caught anyone in the act and don’t want to risk accusing the wrong employees. Some nights you have too much cash, and some nights too little.

If cash is going missing, then its going missing from one place and one place only – the cash register. The process should be simple, a customer orders a meal or a drink, its entered into the cash register, the customer profers payment and the transaction is closed and change given. However, clever and dishonest employees can work the system so that they dont enter the full value of the meal or hit a button relating to a lower priced item and pocket the difference.

With most cash register scams that I have come across, the defrauded cash normally stays in the drawer until the bartender has an opportune moment to remove it. This will normally be when there are no customers or staff around. To get around this, vary the times at which you remove the cash drawer and do a register reading. If nobody knows when management are going to remove the drawer, they run the risk of being caught in the act.

With this procedure, it is essential that only one staff member is allowed access to one cash register during their shift. Otherwise, blame is easily put on other employees who used it. Also ensure that the employee counted their cash in the drawer when they came on duty so that they cannot use the excuse of the opening float being incorrect.

I’m already hearing the objections now:

“But we always have ten staff on a cash register at a time”

“Its too hard to control staff members on a cash register”

Ok, whose business is it? If it’s important enough for you to control your cash and stop your employees making more money than you, you’ll find a way to make it happen. Remember, fear of change could be killing your business.

Maintain this procedure, even after the offending employees have been caught and fired so that future employees will see the controls that are in place before they attempt something similar.

Business is hard enough without having to worry about dishonest emplyees, so let them go as soon as they are caught stealing.