January 19th, 2012 
A recent survey on BarBusinessOwner.com shows that 68% of bar owners and managers have fired an employee for stealing in the past six months.
If you haven’t fired an employee for stealing in the past six months, there’s a good chance that you will soon – assuming you know how to spot theft in your bar when it is happening.
Now onto the tip:
Unfortunately employee theft is just one of the realities of the bar business. Its unknown how much money owners lose due to employee theft, but based on the statistics of how many employees steal, its significant.
Knowing this it is easy to feel helpless, but in truth, you are certainly not helpless and can look out for your bar’s best interests. How? By learning how to quickly identify theft before it becomes a huge problem.
Here are some tips on spotting a thief in your bar:
- Pay Attention to the Numbers
The numbers don’t lie and can help you determing if someone is stealing. If your costs appear to be getting higher while the cash you’re generating remains the same or decreases, something is off.
- Watch your employees
One of the easiest ways to catch thieves is simply by watching what your employees do over the course of their shift. Take time to observe employees with no other goal than to see if they are stealing. Is everyone ringing in their sales? Do bartenders pour what is ordered? Do servers process couponsproperly and turn them in? If something is off, you can
probably tell by closely observing your employee’s actions.
Other theft indicators from BarBusinessOwner.com:
“Theft Indicator #3: Too Many Cash Register Commands
Take a look at the readings from your cash register or pos system. If you notice an excess of void or no sale cash register commands, theft could be occurring.
Employees may not be ringing in sales and keeping the cash or they might be stealing cash directly out of the register.
Theft Indicator #10: Unusually High Tips
While employees that earn decent tips are good for your business, if you notice that an employee is having an unusually high amount of gratuities you should keep an eye on them.
Its one thing to have a good night, but if staff members are bringing in more tips without additional effort, they could be supplementing their tips with cash from the register or selling drinks without ringing them in.”
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