How to Prevent Employee Theft at a Restaurant

Explore this Article

methods

1Recognizing Common Employee Theft Tactics

2Maintaining a Disciplined Environment

3Limiting Employee Access

4Deterring Theft Through Technology

+Show 1 more...

-Show less...

Other Sections

Related Articles

References

If you're a restaurant owner or manager, you may be concerned about employee theft. Especially in a smaller restaurant, employee theft can be devastating both to your profit margin and to employee morale. Maintaining a disciplined work environment and limiting employee access to cash and stock can prevent employee theft at a restaurant. Security cameras and an up-to-date point-of-sale (POS) system can help as well.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Recognizing Common Employee Theft Tactics

1. 
   1
   Compare stock to sales. If you suspect employees are stealing food or drink, you should regularly audit to check to see if you have less stock than you should have given the volume of sales. If you consistently have low stock, it may indicate employee theft.

   • Discrepancies between stock and sales also may be evidence of poor serving or measuring techniques. It could also indicate that waste wasn't properly recorded.
   • If you can't identify a thief with certainty, talk to your staff about what might be causing the problem. Stress that you're all a team, and get their help with getting the numbers back in line.
2. 
   2
   Review voids regularly. Voiding a sale and pocketing the customer's money when they pay in cash is a common employee theft tactic. You can prevent this tactic by requiring managers to approve all voids.

   • If you don't have enough management coverage, you can also have another employee witness the void and the transaction. Assign "partners" and swap them up regularly to avoid collusion.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Keep an eye out for grazers. Particularly with kitchen staff, grazing can be a common problem. Wait staff may have problems with grazing as well, particularly if a diner sends a plate back to the kitchen.

   • You can't prevent all sampling and grazing, and you don't necessarily want to. But if employee sampling of food is affecting your bottom line, have a talk with the entire staff about the issue.
   • Enforcing an employee break and meal policy is one way to prevent excess grazing. This type of theft may occur simply because the employee hasn't eaten in a while and is hungry.
4. 
   4
   Check your profit margins against your sales volume. When your sales volume increases but your profits stay roughly the same, this may be a sign that you have ineffective cash management procedures.

   • If you aren't monitoring cash closely, employees may be tempted to skim a little off the top. This can happen both at the register and at the tables.
   • If diners pay their servers at their tables, some servers may be tempted to pocket a cash payment and claim the customers did a "dine and dash." While this does happen, it's rather rare. Pay close attention to servers who frequently have "dine and dash" tables.
   Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Maintaining a Disciplined Environment

1. 
   1
   Encourage a positive and fulfilling work environment. If your employees enjoy working for you and feel they are treated fairly and rewarded for their hard work, they will be less inclined to steal from you. Make an effort to get to know your employees.

   • Monthly staff meetings can give your employees the opportunity to present any issues to managers and owners. Meetings also give managers the opportunity to tell everyone the same thing at once, which can cut down on gossip.
   • Talk to your employees, either one on one or in small groups to find out what they need and what would improve their work experience.
2. 
   2
   Observe employee attitudes and behavior. The easiest way to prevent employee theft in a restaurant is to know your employees. If someone starts acting strangely, and is withdrawn or secretive, they may have an issue they need to talk to you about.

   • It may not be that the employee is actually stealing – although they may be thinking about it. Your best option is to get ahead of the problem.
   • If you talk with an employee acting suspiciously and they reveal a family, medical, or financial problem, figure out if there are positive and productive ways you or the workplace as a whole can help.
3. 
   3
   Oversee and monitor cash handling. When register drawers are reconciled, there should be at least two people in the room at all times. Never allow anyone in your store to handle cash alone, even managers.

   • If you do a lot of cash business, only keep a minimal amount of cash in the till and deposit the excess. If you have a POS system, you typically can set it to prompt a cash drop after a certain amount of cash sales.
   • If diners pay at the table, have your servers use a guest check folder for all methods of payment and carry the cash up to the register in the folder, rather than stuffing it in their apron pocket.
4. 
   4
   Track and report inventory daily. When you have systems in place to monitor your inventory regularly, it becomes less likely for employees to slip away with something. You can pick up on small discrepancies and eliminate the problem quickly.

   • For example, you can do spot checks of spirits to see if they're watered down. Test by smell and taste or using a portable alcohol meter.
   • Use a point of sale system to track your inventory and sales accurately.
   • While your employees should know inventory is being tracked, they don't need to know exactly when or understand the particular methods you use. It can become easier for a dishonest employee to circumvent your tracking methods if they know what they are.
5. 
   5
   Monitor employees for serving and pouring consistency. Loss may occur because employees become sloppy or lazy and over- or under-pour drinks, or become wasteful in measuring out food servings.

   • Even when over-pouring or over-serving is accidental, it still costs your restaurant money. Require proper measuring procedures, and don't allow your bartenders to free-pour.
6. 
   6
   Conduct regular time clocks, payroll, and discounts audits. Employee theft doesn't just happen in the kitchen or at the POS. Not clocking in and out correctly or abusing the employee discount also constitutes theft.

   • If you have a camera over the time clock, review the footage periodically for discrepancies. For example, you may have one employee clocking in for multiple employees, with others showing up later.
   • Have clear policies for when it is acceptable for an employee to use their discount or share it with others. For example, you might have a policy that employees can share their discount with family and friends, but only if they are eating with them at the restaurant and are off the clock.
7. 
   7
   Enforce policies consistently. A written policy is only as good as its enforcement. Employee theft is often a crime of opportunity. If a dishonest employee recognizes that one manager or supervisor is lax about a certain policy, they'll learn to exploit it.

   • Keep tabs on your managers as well as your employees. If one manager is developing a reputation for ignoring the rules or turning a blind eye to bad behavior, talk to them as soon as possible.
   Advertisement

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Limiting Employee Access

1. 
   1
   Lock up surplus stock. A filet here and a couple of tomatoes there can add up over time. If an employee sees large amounts of stock, they may think that one or two would never be missed. Keep back stock under lock and key and out of sight to remove the temptation.

   • At the beginning of each shift, pull the amount of food needed for that shift. Never allow an employee to access the surplus stock alone, and make sure it remains locked at all times.
2. 
   2
   Restrict the number of employees with keys and combinations. Locking up your surplus stock or keeping the bulk of your cash in a safe won't prevent employee theft if every employee has access to them.

   • Managers who have keys should keep them on their person at all times – not sitting on a desk or hanging on a hook in the office where anyone can get them.
   • If you lose an employee who had keys or knew combinations, change them as soon as possible, regardless of the reason for the separation.
3. 
   3
   Eliminate the no-sale option. If your registers have a no-sale button, employee access should be programmed in such a way that no employee (other than perhaps managers) can open the cash drawer unless there is a cash sale that requires change to be given.

   • The easier it is for employees to access money, the easier it is for them to skim off the top. The cash drawer should be opened as infrequently as possible.
4. 
   4
   Implement strict policies on discounts and comps. Discounts and comps are powerful customer service tools that can turn a disgruntled customer into a regular. But when they are given out too often, they can end up hurting your business.

   • Employees may comp meals for friends, but typically the overuse of discounts and comps isn't quite so intentional. Your best servers will want to please the diners, and may be quick to offer discounts if someone expresses dissatisfaction.
   • Only allow managers to comp meals or give significant discounts. Keep detailed records of when discounts are given and why.
   Advertisement

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Deterring Theft Through Technology

1. 
   1
   Upgrade to a modern POS system. Computer-based point-of-sale systems make it difficult if not impossible for employees to skim off the register. If you have an antiquated cash register system, you are exposing yourself to greater risk of employee theft.
2. 
   2
   Use unique passwords for POS access. Each employee should have their own password that they use to make transactions at the POS. Use the password to control access so regular employees can't void transactions or initiate returns.

   • Passwords should be randomly generated and changed every month or so. Never allow employees to create their own passwords. If someone no longer works for you, deactivate their password as soon as possible.
   • Avoid creating a generic "cashier" password. This will make it more difficult for you to identify the employee responsible when you find discrepancies.
3. 
   3
   Use video surveillance technology at the POS. CCTV systems are relatively inexpensive, and can run through a basic computer. Set up a camera at your POS so you can observe employees entering transactions.

   • You also may want to install cameras in other sensitive areas, such as in the office with the safe, over the time clock, or at the door of a locked freezer.
   • Review the footage on a consistent basis and discuss any irregularities with the staff involved as soon as possible.
4. 
   4
   Install an exception-based system. Especially if you've had problems with theft in the past, you may want to use an integrated system that will monitor employees and transactions in real time and notify you of any irregularities.

   • These systems can be expensive, but they also can make a dramatic impact on your bottom line and save you money in the long run. Consider the investment if you've had repeated problems with theft.
   Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement