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Catching employee shorting

daisy

New member
Well for the first time in a very long time I caught an employee cheating me out of money, I usually allow my only 2 employees to have a tab and pay up within a week, they usually just run a tab on pops and small food items they take home. My accountant notified me that inventory on 2 liters and can pop has been off lately, so I told my employees that from now on they must pay as they go no more tabs, & that I was going to start doing physical inventory daily on 2 liters & cans, well 1 employee had written down over the last week what pops he has got, and Saturday before I left I mentioned to not forget to pay the tab, well after going in and opening this morning and going over last nites sales, I noticed he had re-written his tab of a different sheet of paper, so I compared it to what he actually started with at the beginning of the week and he shorted me $7 on pops.

Should I make a big deal and confront him or just blow it off ???

I feel if I don’t confront him he is going to think he got away with something & might do it with something else. He is an excellent worker, this is his first job ever, so I trained him from not having any experience at anything to being a very good cook and excellent customer skills
 
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Yes confront him. Stealing is stealing no matter how small.

Every item must have a bill before it is made or consumed. This is the rule for everyone including ME. The reasons are many but here are a few:
  • Inventory control
    no guessing because an item has no bill
    keeps the staff honest
Staff are allowed to charge items to their check while they are working but not on days off. A copy of the receipt is attached to their pay stub.
 
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bodegahwy:
I would fire him.
I seriously thought about that, I confronted him asked to explain discrepancy, got no explanation, just said oh I will pay it right now, BUT my mg is aware of it and we both are keeping an eye on him and if anything in future happens 1 more time I will fire him, he is aware Im watching him more closely, also had a few more cameras installed back in kitchen area.

I just shack my head, because I have been watching that one show where the one guy goes in to other restaurants & shows owners on video what their employees are doing…“restaurant stakeout”
 
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Personally, I let my people eat and drink anything they like - as long as they consume it on premises themselves. (No friends or take home) (Ok, they can take a small pizza home, but no bigger). As for your thief, it’s of course up to you, but while (first offense, first job) might be a reason to give him another chance, it might actually be in HIS best interests to fire him - just so he understands that if he steals, he’s out a job. If you keep him, he may not get that message.
 
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smeagol8:
Personally, I let my people eat and drink anything they like - as long as they consume it on premises themselves. (No friends or take home) (Ok, they can take a small pizza home, but no bigger). As for your thief, it’s of course up to you, but while (first offense, first job) might be a reason to give him another chance, it might actually be in HIS best interests to fire him - just so he understands that if he steals, he’s out a job. If you keep him, he may not get that message.
Well he just put the nail in the coffin last nite, caught him on video taking pizza & breadsticks home without paying, hes outta here. I’m sooo disappointed in him.

I do allow my employees to eat whatever they want while working, drinks they pay for, I don’t have fountain pop, if I did I can see letting them drink pop for free, & they were told that whatever they cook & take home, they must pay for.
 
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Sorry it worked out that way. Hopfully it will be a good thing for him in the long run.

We provide pizza (or anything they can make using pizza ingredients) and salad at no charge for shift meals. We have 20oz drinks and they are half price as are any apps like wings etc. NO food goes home for free but employees can buy anything they want at half price as long as it is carryout (not delivery).
 
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Yeah I’m sorry as well, but I have to protect my business, and losing inventory this way hurts my bottom dollar, and they know that they are welcome to eat for free while working and any take home for friends & family is to be pd at a discount, I’m just really disappointed in him, I have a feeling now his mother will not get told the truth on why he was fired, she is a long time friend of mine back from high school 😦

From now on I will never hire friends or family ever again. This is the 2nd person I have had to fire that was friend or family Ughhhh… :cry:
 
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