“Good morning!  Thanks for calling XYZ Company; how may I help you?” 

It’s a gas consumed by millions every day.  Plants need it for survival. In fact we exhale it with every breath we take.  Virtually every restaurant uses Carbon Dioxide (CO(2)) in bulk form to put the fizz in soft drinks.  It’s used as an important ingredient in certain fire extinguishers.  Carbon dioxide is a heavy gas and displaces oxygen, settling at the lowest levels.  It is odorless, colorless, and cannot be detected by human senses.   Exposure can lead to dizziness, unconsciousness, even death.

The young manager knelt in front of the safe, a thousand thoughts cluttering his head. His fingers were nearly frozen with fear as he fumbled with the combination. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears. A few thoughts came into focus; “please just get through this”, as the cold steel of the handgun pressed against his temple. He couldn’t remember if he kissed his wife goodbye when he left for work, or if he grabbed the sippy cup that was lying on its side, leaking milk on the baby seat in his car. The last number on the dial clicked into place releasing the handle of the safe. He pulled down on the handle and the door creaked open. In a sigh of relief, he leaned over and placed his back against the wall of the office, as the armed robber pushed passed him, greedily grabbing the cash. The robber’s attention, now focused on grabbing the money, was diverted and he laid the gun at his foot. The manager staring at the weapon quickly weighed his options. Should I grab the gun? Stay where I am? Get up and run?” The next chapter is yet to be written.

Over the holidays I watched “A Christmas Story” for the gazillionth time.  One of the scenes in the movie is Ralphie getting his secret decoder ring to unlock the mysteries of the universe.  His ring consisted of all the tools that when utilized would transform his world.  He waits anxiously for the secrets to be revealed.  He would have vast knowledge at his fingertips.  In Ralphie’s case it was a series of letters and numbers – the secret code.  He is thoroughly disappointed when the first message he interprets with his super secret decoder ring is “be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

We may have too much faith that it cannot happen, or won’t happen or we’re simply naïve.  Perhaps we don’t seek, therefore we don’t find.  Maybe it’s assumptions, perhaps laziness, or even poor work ethic.  It can breed and morph in a culture where accuracy is considered unimportant.   It is commonly known as – pencil whipping, or faking information on documents.

The restaurant industry is rife with ways to lose profitability.  Just when you think you have things buttoned up, a new twist comes along that can threaten your business and you may not even know about it.  Last year the restaurant industry lost an estimated $200 million to a theft scheme called “skimming”.  The cashier or server is equipped with a portable electronic device commonly known as a “skimmer” that can be easily be hidden in a pants pocket.  When handling customer credit cards the employee swipes the card through the POS system to capture the sale and while still in possession of the customer’s card, swipes the card through the skimmer as well.  The customer’s information contained on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card is captured in the device.  The information is then typically sold or transferred to organized rings that produce counterfeit cards and rack up fraudulent charges.  

The adventure usually begins with a notice from the bank that a deposit was either short or is missing.  It triggers questions of who was supposed to have taken it to the bank and when.  When the accountability for the deposit is determined, the employee in question undoubtedly swears that they followed deposit protocols to the letter and denounces the bank records.  Requests are made to the bank to inspect their night depository including the chute and all deposit records.  If applicable, recorded video may be viewed to determine when the particular deposit in question was prepared and removed from the store.  It’s a long, arduous process.  Trust levels are threatened, feeling can be hurt and false accusations could lead to civil action.

An employee was working at a chain donut shop by herself at 3 AM on a Saturday morning in Johnston, R.I.  She was standing behind the counter when she heard a noise and saw a man climbing the drive-thru window.  According to police, the man grabbed the employee by the arm while a second suspect climbed through the window holding a crowbar.  The pair robbers demanded the employee show where the safe was located. 

The following is a guest blog article from Steve Degener. Steve has a long and varied career in retail loss prevention for such companies as Target, T.J. Maxx, Office Depot, and was the VP of Loss Prevention for Ross Stores. He is the owner of several businesses catering to the loss prevention efforts in the retail industry: