The Wall Street Journal posted a great article on the rise of employee theft as a result of the recession. You can read the entire article on MSN’s Money page here. The article reports that ‘New research shows that employers are seeing an increase in internal crimes, ranging from fictitious sales transactions and illegal kickbacks to the theft of office equipment and retail products meant for sale to customers.’ The article also mentions that ‘To many employers’ chagrin, the workers guilty of the most grandiose theft frequently turn out to be those deemed to be highly trustworthy’.
We have seen a dramatic increase in internal theft while in the field and expect to see a continued increase in 2009, especially in employees who rely on tips for a large part of their salary. Many hotels have been forced to dramatically reduce the number of hours as occupancy declines and many of the hotel restaurants have slowed down. Many employees are now really struggling to make what they made in the past and most cannot afford to take a pay cut and still pay their monthly expenses. (more…)
We have just added 3 new classes (2 in Los Angeles and 1 in Anheim) to help you get your liquor cost under budget. The classes are on October 20th – 22nd, 2008.
Our new training video on Perpetual Beverage Inventory is now available for free. You can also download the excel template as well as written instructions.
Surprisingly, many people that are in food and beverage management positions and even general management positions do not know how to calculate beverage costs, one of the most important costs in every hotel’s budget.Don’t worry, we won’t tell!We will help you keep that secret by showing you how beverage cost is calculated.It is really quite simple.
Training Video Goal: Successful implementation of perpetual beverage inventory by providing instructions and necessary tools
Training Video Length: Approximately 10 Minutes, Video can be paused and replayed at viewer’s chosen speed
Training Video Audience: All Food and Beverage Managers implementing a perpetual beverage inventory system
This video takes approximately 1 minute to load and will automatically play once loaded. For your convenience, all templates and instructions that are mentioned in the video are available free for download on this page below the video.
Controlling your beverage cost is about much more than hiring the right bartenders and being hopeful that they are honest. Whether your hotel just opened a brand new bar or have had one for many years, make sure that you have these 12 basic internal control standards in place to protect your bottom line.
1. Position the POS terminal so that customers can see transactions rung up. Most bars have the POS screen positioned towards the bar so that the bartender must turn their backs to use the register. This helps on two fronts; first, all guests can see their transactions rung up and second, it is tougher for the bartender to see who is watching him or her ring up the transaction, making it less likely that they will risk using POS manipulation. If your bar design does not allow the terminal to be placed this way, consider installing a display arm that can be positioned to face the guest similar to ones in retail stores.
2. Ensure that it is your bar’s standard to have alcohol poured first when preparing mixed beverages. Pouring the mixer into the glass before the alcohol can only mean one thing; your bartender is attempting to adjust the perceived alcoholic strength of the beverage. This is a good indicator that your bartender may be pouring less per drink to steal so that it will not throw inventory levels off.
3. Require the bartender to give a receipt after each transaction. This is one of the simplest standards to use yet many bars obviously do not require the bartender to give one. Make sure that your bartender knows that if a guest pays cash, it is not some secret code for, “I do not want a receipt.” Even if most of the guests throw the receipts away, at least your bartender gave them one and hopefully rang up the transaction. Check out our article on how bartenders split and re-present checks with the POS.
This book, written by Robert Plotkin, has been around for quite a few years and is in its fourth or fifth printing. The book does a very good job of covering internal theft in bars. The chapters range from ‘Exploring the Causes of Theft’ to ‘Preventative Measures‘. At 96 pages long, the book is an easy read and serves as a decent reference. If you are new to beverage control, you will find yourself going back to the book time and time again as you try to improve the controls in your bar. A more experienced Bar Manager will not find much of the book very useful.
While there is a lot of great advice on preventative measures, the book does feel a little outdated. Also, many of the recommendations for beverage control seem very costly when it comes to supervision. Hotels that do not have a F&B Manager on the floor at all times will have a very hard time with the recommendations. In addition, many of the recommendations are just way too time consuming and small to midsized hotels will have a hard time finding the time and manpower to do them.
Overall, we recommend the book for managers who are new to beverage control. Veteran mangers can probably skip this book.
After you vote in our poll, be sure to tell us a little about your beverage pour cost.
-What was your budgeted percentage last year?
-What was your final cost last year?
-What is the best advice that you can give to someone who is over budget?
Who has read ‘Burning Down the House: The Infamous Waiter & Bartender’s Scam Bible’?
This book was actually written to teach bartenders and servers how to steal from their restaurants and bars. The tagline on the back reads ‘Diners and Managers, beware! Waiters and bartenders, give yourself a raise!’
It was written by two servers who work on Bourbon Street. It is a quick read, you could probably finish it on your lunch break. It is a very dangerous book! It covers the simple scams like check representing and the more complicating scams like the wagon wheel. A couple of the scams are far fetched or out of date, but the book does a good job of describing all of the ways a server or bartender can steal from your hotel. The book is also pretty entertaining. It is written in an edgy fashion and includes chapters like ‘Suggestive Stealing’ and ‘The Buffet Scam’.
Please add your comments about the book below… and if you buy the book, don’t leave it sitting around your office where your servers will see it!
