Page 62 - #54 English

Management

Losing product because of theft Your money is in the trash
Don't fool yourself, theft happens! Your employees If you really want to gain a good sense of what's happen-
may have no desire or need for a sleeve of 12oz. paper cups, Java ing to your product, you need to look at what's in your trashcans.
Jackets, or roll of toilet paper… but they might like a frozen cake, I know that no one relishes the thought of digging through the
gallon of chocolate sauce, or a 6-pack of beer or a bottle of wine. garbage, but if I told you could find $10 bills in your trashcans
Theft is a reality in the foodservice business, and while it may every day, I bet you would be going through their contents. The
only be a very small percentage of your staff that might steal from fact is, there probably are $10 bills (in the form of product) in
you, it can have a significant financial impact on your business. If your trash on a daily basis.
it goes unnoticed, your employees will usually become even more
audacious in their activities. When I was a store manager working for a large, national
restaurant chain, my district manger would paw through my
There are some simple things you can do to greatly trashcans every time he visited my store. He would dig through
reduce the chance of being ripped-off. First, don't allow your em- the trash in my food prep area, revealing product that could have
ployees to store their jackets, back backs, and purses near where been used, but that had been thrown away instead. He would
you store product. This makes it incredibly simple for someone make my dishwasher hold his trash can up on the edge of the
to slide something into their bag or jacket pocket when no one is dumpster, while he raked out the contents into the dumpster,
watching. I always had my employees store their personal belong- often revealing silverware, sauce cups, and other kitchen tools.
ings in the cabinet under the cash register(where someone would
always be watching), or in my office, under lock & key. Raking trash out of the can and into the dumpster is a
practice you should employ at sporadic intervals. Not only might
Second, keep the back door of your store locked with a you find where those lost small wares are going, but it might also
key at all times (you or your supervisor being the only one having reveal product that is being smuggled out. At very least, it will
a key). If customers regularly enter through your back door, this make those employees who are thinking about using the trash
may not be an option. If your back door is an emergency fire exit as vehicle to get merchandise out of your store, a bit leery about
(and it probably is), you'll need to install an alarmed breaker bar. doing that.
The whole point is that you do not want your employees to be
able to flow in and out of the back door at will. Carrying product While you would be wise to inspect the contents of all
out the back door to an awaiting friend, their car, or a hiding place your trashcans periodically, when you are first getting started
for later pick-up, is one of the most common ways product will with your efforts to curb unnecessary waste, there is an easier,
exit your store. cleaner way of seeing what's going on. Implement the use of some
waste buckets for a couple of weeks.
Once you have made it more difficult to stash things in
their personal belongings, or carry it out the back door, employ- Get some 3 or 5-gallon plastic buckets, and write wet on
ees may resort to hiding items in the trashcan. Of course you will one, and dry on the other. Put a pair of buckets in the barista's
unlock the back door to let them take the trash out. A dumpster area (where your customers can't see them), and a pair back
diving expedition will certainly be planned for after hours to re- where your food prep is done. Next, make a mandate to your
cover their treasure! We'll talk about how to stop this in just a bit. employees that no food product is to go into the trashcans until
further notice. Instead, put any waste in the buckets!
One situation that will create an ideal opportunity for
employees to steal from you, is having only one person in the The brewed coffee that should be dumped when the
store. If your baker comes in each morning an hour before you or timer goes off, the pitcher of scalded milk, the extra drink made
the next employee, or if one person is left to clean and lock up the in error, pour them into the wet bucket. The burnt panini, 2-day
place at the end of the day, opportunities for theft abound. old pastries, crushed piece of cheesecake, cores of romaine left
after processing, put them into the dry bucket. Now, every time
Always try to have at least two people in your store at all an employee is ending their shift, check their waste buckets.
times. If there is not justification for having a second employee You'll be able to quickly assess what is being wasted, how much,
on the clock, then you will need to be that second person. If this and if there seems to be a connection between the employees
requires you going from a 60-hour workweek to 80-hours, then working and the amount of waste produced.
this may not be a tolerable option. If this is the case, then at least
invest a couple of hours more each day for a week or so to do Now, a word of caution; don't scream at your employees
some detective work. if they seem to produce an excessive amount of waste! If you get
upset with them, they are going to be reluctant to put things in
During those times of day when only one employee the buckets. You need to see what's going on, the good, the bad,
is working, park at the far end of the parking lot, or across the and yes, especially the shocking! This process gives you an oppor-
street, so that you will reduce the chance of being noticed by tunity to see where your money is going, and also provides you
your employee. If they are familiar with your vehicle, use your with the opportunity to work with your employees to minimize
spouse's or friend's vehicle for a few days. Watch carefully (with waste. When excessive waste is encountered, ask your employees
binoculars if necessary). I know this all sounds a little CSI like, why they believe this happened, and what thoughts they might
but better to rest easy, feeling fairly assured that your employee have about how to eliminate or reduce it. You want to get them
isn't carrying away your store when you're not watching. If I had involved in the solution.
the time, I could tell you countless stories of my experiences in
catching employees red handed, loading the trunks of their cars.

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