 |
– Sez Who? –
To Catch A Thief
September 21, 2005
Q: A friend of mine works as a shift manager for a food service for a university. Lately
when he receives the morning cash bag for opening, it has frequently been $100 short. The
upper management has been blaming him as well as the other opening shift managers for the
shortage in the cash bag. How can my friend as well as the other shift managers prove that they
are not stealing or causing the shortage of cash? Is there any way of proving their point without
upsetting or pointing fingers at the upper management?
Friend of Up a Creek
A: Find a person who will be perceived by everyone involved as totally neutral and
trustworthy. It could be an employee of the university who has nothing to do with food service, a
professor, for example. Have this person accompany your friend and/or the other shift managers
in the morning when they receive the morning cash bag. If possible, videotape the proceedings.
It is important to document what is actually in the bag at the point of transfer. Do not tell anyone in
the food service program that you are going to do this. If the money still comes up short, you have
proven your case. Have the trusted person write a report of what he or she observed and give it
to upper management along with the videotape. Also, most services of this kind have cash
controls showing who is operating each register and how much they take in. Ask whether these
records have been investigated.
|
|
