Coupons, discounts, and certifi- cates are difficult to control.  Even the best controls can't prevent creative cashiers and servers faced with temptations.  Some control problems with coupons:

• Servers can bring their own coupons in and "redeem" them themselves

• Servers can help themselves to coupons in the building

In many cases the server is the one who decides who is a senior citizen, who works in the same mall, or even who is an employee.  Some servers or cashiers are much more generous with these decisions, especially with their friends.  Coupons and certificates should be treated as cash in a restaurant; the customers are certainly using them as cash.

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

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 discounting ratios and compare those ratios to other employees, a pattern will emerge.  

Coupons and certificates should be treated as cash in a restaurant; the customers are certainly using them as cash.

Trends can also point to potential problems.  If an employee's discounting practices have changed 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/