What is Loss Prevention (LP)?

We'll start by answering a basic LP question: what is loss protection? Loss prevention (LP) refers to your restaurant's efforts to reduce any revenue loss. This includes taking simple actions, such as ensuring you don't order too much produce and wind up with excess food waste. Reducing LP can also strike a deeper chord, including restaurant theft protection strategies to combat dine-n-dash situations, credit card fraud, and employee theft. Let's turn our attention to the latter point.

Common Types of Bar Employee Theft

Unfortunately, theft occurs frequently in restaurants, and the saying “one bad apple spoils the barrel” rings true here. Research shows that the likelihood of one server stealing increases if a co-worker is stealing. And if a new hire sees a co-worker stealing within their first five months on the job, chances are they’ll make it a habit, too.

With that in mind, here are some of the most common types of employee theft in restaurants to familiarize yourself with so you can spot them and stop them.

1. Short Ringing - Short Ringing has also been called under-ringing of sale, here’s what short ringing typically plays out: A customer pays in cash for a $15 2 oz cocktail, but the bartender inputs the order into your POS as a $10 1 oz cocktail and pockets the other 5 dollars, leaving no paper trail. Talk about an unhappy Hour!

2. Cash Register Skimming involves stealing cash from sales that weren’t recorded in the restaurant’s books, such as a customer ordering a piece of pie and the server not ringing it in, then keeping the cash instead of putting it in the register. In other brazen instances, skimming can also involve stealing small amounts of cash directly from the register.

3. Comping Too Many Orders is standard practice in many restaurants. However, if comping becomes too frequent, you must address it as part of your restaurant loss prevention strategy, especially if your overly generous employees give free appetizers to their customers every time they dine at your establishment.

4. Voiding Sales After Closing can and does happen after hours. Don‘t let your guard down after hours, especially if it’s the last shift of the night. Your supervisor on duty might sneakily void one item off several orders and pocket the entire amount instead of including it in your cash-out.