Employee is (probably) stealing- now what?

[Zurvan]

Do you have a probation period? Here all employees start on 3 months probation, and can be let go in that time with basically no recourse.

[guids]

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Do you have a probation period? Here all employees start on 3 months probation, and can be let go in that time with basically no recourse.

[/ QUOTE ]


most of the time, it will only keep them from stealing for 3 months. I deal with this kind of stuff all the time, the restaurant biz is WAY worse than retail usually, but there are 3 types of people in the workplace, those that will steal no matter what, those that steal if you give them an easy opppurtunity, and the owners. Dont give them the oppurtunity, and you eliminate 90% of the problesm, and the other 10% with the right equipment you will catch sooner rather than later.

[DarrenX]

[ QUOTE ]
At will employment. Tell her you're sorry but it's not working out, and fire her. Don't give her a reason. She hasn't ben working there long enough to qualify for any unemployment or the like, just tell her you no longer need her services, and let her go. Change the locks though, and long term the camera thing isn't a bad idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for all the replies. The cameras make sense, and we are looking into security systems this afternoon (yes, probably overdue).

As far as firing her, I like the idea of just no longer needing her services. If she pushes for a reason, we could say that things have been disappearing on her watch, which basically gets the point across without directly accusing her.

And yes, the locks!! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[rutang]

Darren, I owned a game store, and hired only employees that I trusted a ton, and can tell you that I agree with quids, just get camera systems.

I actually think that my employees did not steal from me, but every time I was unsure, it would have been great for my peace of mind if I had just invested in a camera system. When I sold the store, that was my first piece of advice to the guy I sold it to (he was also a good friend.)

[guids]

If you are looking at just camera systems, and have ANY, even just a tiny bit of technical ability, just buy a system off ebay. If you are getting a camera system that will hook up directly to your register (which is what Id go with) call a pro. Cameras = very easy and much cheaper if you DIY.

[tuq]

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Thanks for all the replies. The cameras make sense, and we are looking into security systems this afternoon (yes, probably overdue).

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But is it really? How much has this broad stolen from you total, $100-150? And posters are suggesting that you invest $2K+ in a camera system? I fail to see how you get your ROI with that.

Granted, the posters seem to know about retail, but it seems like an awfully expensive fix when you can just fire her and hope for the best with the next person.

Christ, just get a fake camera and point it at the register and occasionally mention things to the staff about it so they remember it's there. Sort of like getting a flashing LED on your dashboard instead of a whole alarm system.

[guids]

Tuq,


If he is catching 100$ worth of theft, there is no telling how much he isnt cathing in product loss, and other scams. Even if it saves him a 200$ a month (which is entirely possible), he has his money back in 10 months. 99% of the time, these systems pay for themselves within a year due to the stoppage of theft.


ps, those fake cameras never work.

[tuq]

guids,

OK fine, I still don't buy it though. Sounds like something a security system salesman would tell me. Let's say you're right though - the cameras are acting primarily as a deterrent rather than evidence. Personally, I'd have a hard time believing someone is back there poring over tape because they're missing a couple of bottles of hair gel. So if I had a tendency to steal I would probably continue to do so in the form of product or other non-register related theft.

[guids]

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guids,

OK fine, I still don't buy it though. Sounds like something a security system salesman would tell me. Let's say you're right though - the cameras are acting primarily as a deterrent rather than evidence. Personally, I'd have a hard time believing someone is back there poring over tape because they're missing a couple of bottles of hair gel. So if I had a tendency to steal I would probably continue to do so in the form of product or other non-register related theft.

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Im with ya, and I am a salesmen sometimes, but this is just what Ive learned from clients that I have sold too. They are the ones that tell me how much they save etc, and usually when someone doesnt believe how much it does save, I give them a list of area business that Ive helped out, and tell them to ask them for themselves, most of the time its a done deal after they talk to people that were in a similar situation. also, with teh advances of the software for most of these systems, you dont need to pour over tapes, you can "green" out whole sections of where the camera points at, so if you point it directly at a product case, and everything around it is greened out, the camera will not start recording unless something within the non-greened out area is moved. So basically, at the end of the say, you check your money, you check your inventory, and if you are a few bottles short, all you have to check is about 2 minutes of recording time (ie a bunch of 20 second clips of people takign stuff off the shelf), to see who did it, then you cross reference the times of people taking stuff off the shelf, with teh register reciepts.

[tuq]

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also, with teh advances of the software for most of these systems, you dont need to pour over tapes, you can "green" out whole sections of where the camera points at, so if you point it directly at a product case, and everything around it is greened out, the camera will not start recording unless something within the non-greened out area is moved. So basically, at the end of the say, you check your money, you check your inventory, and if you are a few bottles short, all you have to check is about 2 minutes of recording time (ie a bunch of 20 second clips of people takign stuff off the shelf), to see who did it, then you cross reference the times of people taking stuff off the shelf, with teh register reciepts.

[/ QUOTE ]
OK, that's extremely cool.