A server stealing from their restaurant is nothing new. Each year this happens thousands of times. It is also very seldom reported in the media. Most of these things are handled in house which means that you have no idea if the employee you just hired was fired from their last three jobs for theft. When it does hit the media it is disastrous for the restaurant. Even though the restaurant did the right thing by prosecuting the thief, the confidence of a restaurant’s customer base can be rocked for some time.

The best case scenario in this situation is always to catch the scam before it spreads. One server successfully executing a scam can lead to others following suit. This can mean an epidemic of theft that robs you of both money and a good portion of your staff.

Most people are honest and will not steal. The perfect storm of watching others benefit from the scam and thinking it is harmless to a large corporation provides justification to otherwise honest servers. Knowing how to catch these scams before they cost your restaurant money and staff is vital.

1. The Penny Trick

This scam dates back well before my time in restaurants. A bartender places a penny, paper clip, or other item in the bar drawer each time they don’t ring in a cash drink. This is generally done with the same drink so the bartender can multiply the price of the drink by the number of items to know how much to pull from the drawer and place in their pocket.

The way to catch this one is simple. Most registers now have a large “no sale” message on the screen when the drawer is opened to make change. If money goes in the drawer at this point, there may be a problem. Bar drawers should be audited for any irregularities. No personal items should be allowed behind the bar. This also will prevent the theft of a bottle. The first line of defense though is to not have your drink prices end in even numbers. $3.00 draws including tax might be easier on your guests, but it also makes it easy for a thief.