Theft behind the bar - need some ideas/thoughts for a newsletter

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Permalink Reply by Dan Smith on October 30, 2009 at 11:04am

Just a few questions of best practices being in place or not?

Perpetual Inventory Established
Up to date
Accurate
Minimum/Maximum Pars established and maintained
Par stocks established for all outlets
Par stock compared with actual
Number of bottles out of line in any
Liquor Requisition in use
Daily Beverage Receiving sheet in use
All bottles are stamped
Specified shot size adhered to
Approved measuring technique used
Empty bottles are broken (A severely scratched label for recyclers)
No partial bottles in the storeroom
Guest Check Use
Spilled drinks recorded
Management Approval of Voids
Missing Check Report in use
Orders taken on checks
Checks are redlined
Check kept on table
check used for payment
Cash register works properly
Programmed correctly
Ring/charge is visible to guest
Well lit & uncluttered
No Tip Jars by the register
Walk outs reported
Food to Bar
Beverage to food handled correctly
Daily Inventory
Weekly Inventory
Theoretical Cost %
Happy Hour Cost %
Wine List Cost %
Late Night Cost %
Specials Cost %
Cash Drawers Audited
X Reading & By Whom Time:
Z Reading & By Whom Time:
Professional Spotters Used
Who Issues Liquor
Notes/Comments



Manager’s Signature: Date:

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Permalink Reply by Rich Bufalini on October 30, 2009 at 6:48pm

Much theft comes during the week, on slower nights. Bartenders seem to have more time. From time to time I would do mid shift drawer changes when we would think someone was stealing. Our restaurant had 2 registers but during the week we only used one because it was slower. During the shift I would make note of what some people were drinking and what time they were there. About 2 hours before close I would run a item sales report, and then close out the drawer and issue another. I had caught 2 thefts with this practice. I was able to see that the drinks weren't rung in because they didn't show up on the sales report and the cash drawer was way over. It takes a bit of work during the shift, but if you believe someone is stealing it's worth the work.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Chandler on October 31, 2009 at 10:07pm

Follow these steps and you’ll reduce the risks behind the bar:

1. Standardize 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.

2. Perform Physical Inventories

Hire an external stock auditor to undertake regular inventories and to report the variance results directly to you, product by product. Only by knowing exactly which products are missing can you take action to prevent the theft. A ship taking in water needs to know where the hole is before it can plug it. Think of your business the same way and you’ll fix the problems in a timely manner. I know one owner who used an external auditor to assist with the first few months of inventories, they tightened the stock losses to a satisfactory level and now the owner performs his own spot checks in the bar on random occasions. The staff see him counting and know he is serious about control procedures. What they don’t see, is him throwing away his count sheet without even looking at it…..his accountant gives him a profit report once a week, he sees he is on target based on stock sold so he uses this exercise to keep the staff on their toes.

3. Undertake Surprise Cash Counts

If you do have an opportunistic staff member working for you, (s)he will be looking for routines in the business to take advantage of. Similarly to dropping your cash to the bank at random times to foil thieves, you should do the same within your business. Most bars wait until the end of the night to balance their cash and most staff know this. If a staff member has been taking cash from customers without entering anything into the till, then they will normally wait until the end of the night to remove their “takings”. Remove this opportunity by taking a reading from the till at random times during the day and counting the cash. If you have too much in the drawer, the chances are you have stumbled upon the aforementioned scheme.

4. Remove Managers Keys and change Passwords

If you leave Managers Keys in the till during service, you are allowing staff to perform refunds, void transactions, print readings of cash takings, program prices and so on. Obviously you don’t want this to be going on so only provide a Manager’s Key to trusted members of management and keep a record of who is in possession of these keys. Certain tills, do not require keys, but a password to undertake the above functions. Change the password every few months or whenever you think there is a problem in the bar. Never write it down or disclose to the bar staff. This is another variable you can remove from your business to bring you closer to a business that gives you answers rather than raises questions.

5. Manage your Back Door

How many times have you seen a member of your staff signing a delivery docket from a supplier without checking the delivered quantity? This is another area which needs standardization in your business. All orders to suppliers should be on a Purchase Order. This should be matched to a delivery docket and both checked that they correspond. Any variances should be noted and countersigned by the supplier or driver and both dockets sent to accounts payable for comparison with the monthly statement from the supplier. I have just been working with a business that was losing a Case of Coke a week from the delivery area to another supplier who would deliver at the same time and when he dropped the vegetables off, he would take the case of coke with him as he left because nobody had stored the soft drinks away as they were delivered. A case of coke a week is worth an average of $50 a week at retail which is over $2500 a year if not spotted!

Start with these steps and you will begin to have a more measurable and manageable business. It starts with you and must be continuously enforced by you to ensure success.

Contact me directly or visit http://www.thebarblogger.com if you need further info.

Cheers,

Barry Chandler

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Permalink Reply by Dan Smith on November 2, 2009 at 11:20am

Derek,
how is your blog coming? A point to consider for it. Nobody likes taking a cut in pay, so at times like these when spending is down, bartenders must look for supplemental income. the practices that i forwarded to you the other day will help mitigate the opportunity for them to supplement their incmoes at work as a bartender. If opportunities are removed, then theft becomes a non-issue, but those opportunities are founded in a well grounded managerial approach that requires diligent follow through.
Good luck,
dan

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Permalink Reply by Richard Allen on November 4, 2009 at 8:23am

Theft behind the bar has always been a challange. I started in the restaurant business in 64 and have noticed that outside of technology and more or less fat (depending upon where you dine) many things seem to be about the same, including ways to steal.

I've seen bartender/server teams, short pouring, and the bar tender bringing in their own bottles, and I have seen a number of ways to resolve the problem from fancy guns to exhaustive inventory taking. When the bartender brings in his own bottle, easy to solve, it's tough to spot. It can be stopped by using stickers on the bottles that are almost impossible to take off, and once off you can't put it on another bottle. The stickers are added when the liquor is added to inventory. A restaurant will never know that the bartender is bringing in their own liquor because it has no impact on the bar's PC and the only way to determine if it is occurring is by low liquor sales volume, if you have been tracking it, or have another point of reference.

As as a controller in the industry for a number of years I found that to support theft in an environment you need 3 conditions:

1- Means to conduct a theft
2- Financial need to conduct a theft
3- Justification to conduct a theft

Think of theft like a 3 legged stool, remove one of the legs and the stool will no longer stand. If your company has a high theft rate you may want to re-evaluate your treatment of your employees as well as your control methods.

Richard Allen

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Permalink Reply by Michael Biesemeyer on November 4, 2009 at 8:32am

The most important theft control measure: vetting your bartenders before they even set foot behind the bar. It is possible to hire people who don't steal, who will actually protect your business and your inventory as if it were their own. There are honest, hardworking, talented bartenders who don't drink while they're on shift, who don't give away the house to their friends, and who actually ring up what they pour.

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Permalink Reply by Howard Appell on November 4, 2009 at 10:05am

Check inside the soapy compartment of your three compartment bar sink for hidden treasure. In the old days 60's - 80's there was a fortune in there.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Paz on November 4, 2009 at 11:51pm

Great ideas from everyone!
That's why I love the FOHBOH sm network!
Paul

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Permalink Reply by Peter Andromalos on November 5, 2009 at 4:26am

Hello,

There are companies that offer liquor inventory service on a weekly basis. The company inventories from week to week by measuring all liquor by weighing the bottles. This information is put into a software program that analyzes the data. From that analysis, it can be determined if there is an ongoing theft problem, or if it is more a case of over pours. I highly recommend it.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Kuck on December 3, 2009 at 9:45am

Inventory services like Bevinco.

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