Some servers have figured out clever ways to order food or drinks while charging almost nothing.  You will want to check the miscellaneous or "open food" sales for the servers.  Many POS systems report these sales at the end of the day, but it is easy to miss a few which can quickly add up.

Here's How It's Done

A server takes an order from a regular party for say, a pitcher of beer.  The server orders Open Bar with a price of ".10" instead of $10.00 (oooooops!).  They enter the name of the pitcher so that it looks the same as a normally-ordered pitcher.  The bartender is in a hurry and doesn't notice the small discrepencies in the preparation ticket.

The server now tells her regulars how much the tab is (they probably already know), and collects the money without giving them a receipt.  She now just made $9.90 - $10.00 she collected from the customer minus the $.10 on the check for "Open Bar".  She only needs to do that three or four time a shift and she has made an extra $700-800 a month that was supposed to go into your pocket, not hers.

Most POS systems have audit reports that report this activity, but the clever servers know how to hide their activity on this rarely-read report.

Ratios and Trends

Once an employee has spotted an opening, he needs to use the sequence or trick more often than the other employees.  Now you got him!  If you can identify key ordering ratios and compare those ratios to other employees, a pattern will come into view.  

She only needs to do that three or four time a shift and she has made an extra $700-800 a month that was supposed to go into your pocket, not hers.

Trends can also point to potential problems.  If an employee's sales of a particular item has fallen off in the last week or two, it could be that this employee has discovered an opportunity.

What Now?

The most effective approach is to use the processing power of a computer. 

All employees fall into behavior patterns after working in the restaurant for a while.  “The challenge is to compare the behavior of all the employees to each other and to themselves over time.  This approach is the only way to consistently ferret out the potential losses. 

In Sight Commander Systems has developed a suite of programs that analyzes restaurant employee behavior and activity in order to highlight potential problem areas.  If an alert is detected by The Analyzer, the owner or manager is notified by email.  The owner can then access the computer at the restaurant and view the actual detail of the behavior that caused the alert. 

Video cameras may be effective for insurance, Workers’ Comp, and liability issues, but need to be part of a more complete system in order to be effective as loss-deterrence tools.

Brian McMillan is Director of Product Development of In Sight Commander System, Inc.  a software development company specializing in restaurants and video surveillance systems.  He can be reached at (714) 940-9800 or http://www.insightcommander.com/