Bottled beers are relatively easy to control for management; draft beer is almost impossible to control.  Bottled beers are controlled by simply refilling to par at the end of a shift and comparing the usage to the sales of each beer from the sales reports.  The ratio of draft beer to bottled beer should be fairly consistent for each shift and all bartenders over time.  A low draft beer ratio could possibly be an indication that not all draft beers are being rung up correctly. The effects on sales as a result of making these comparisons is well worth the effort.  The temptation to pull a few extra drafts for regulars who are good tippers can be quite compelling.

Most POS systems produce audit reports for reporting this activity, but the clever bartenders know how to hide their activity on these rarely-read reports.

Ratios and Trends

Once an bartender has spotted an opening, he needs to use the

sequence or trick more often than the other bartenders.  Now you got him!  If you can identify key  ratios and compare those ratios to other bartenders, a pattern will emerge.  

The temptation to pull a few extra drafts for regulars who are good tippers can be quite compelling.

Trends can also point to potential problems.  If an bartender's selling practices have changed in the last week or two, it could be that this bartender has discovered an opportunity.

What Now?

The most effective approach is to use the processing power of a computer. All bartenders fall into behavior patterns after working in the restaurant for a while.  “The challenge is to compare the behavior of all the bartenders 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 bartender 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/