I own a full service car wash and detail center and have gotten a few complaints from customers about change missing from their cars after getting washed by us. This is highly unacceptable and i need to find a way to make it stop. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
How do you prevent employee theft?
- Thread starter turtle
- Start date
Washmee
Fullservice Tunnel
Do a better job of hiring. Get a base group of good honest employees and instill the thought that if someone who works there is stealing, it reflects directly on them. Honest people don't like being branded as thieves. Once you get that good base, the honest ones will alert you to the trouble makers and you can weed them out. After a while, the honest employees will do a better job of policing their coworkers than you ever could. Its up to you to instill the level of professionalism at your wash. Having pride in their work is going to result in a happier and more productive work force.
MEP001
Well-known member
Having a checklist of who enters the car will let you track who had access to the change that got stolen. Fire anyone immediately if you believe they're stealing and let your other employees know why. Set up a system of accountability and fire anyone who tries to get around it.
I've never operated a full service wash, but I've worked with a lot of people. A thief is a thief. If someone is stealing change from customer's cars and you manage to stop it, they'll just find another way to steal.
I've never operated a full service wash, but I've worked with a lot of people. A thief is a thief. If someone is stealing change from customer's cars and you manage to stop it, they'll just find another way to steal.
When I was General Manager of 5 washes we used to set up an employee we suspected of stealing. We would plant money in an obvious location and we made sure we could clearly observe the employee or if possible make sure they were the only one that went inside the vehicle. The fact that sometime our suspicions were wrong I would be careful not to fire someone just because I believe they had stolen money. When someone was terminated for stealing we legally couldn't tell the others why they were fired but the others knew it anyway. I think that served as something of a deterrent.
For some reason other than money the only other item that seemed to disappear was sun glasses. We really did not have a problem with thefts. Before an employee was hired we gave them an employee manual and went through it with them. The manual included the fact that theft was cause for immediate termination so most realized the consequences. Each employee had to sign a form that stated they had received a manual and understood the rules stated in it. We hired almost exclusively full time people so they knew they were risking more money than it was worth to steal a few bucks or change. As someone mentioned we tried to do our best to hire good people whenever possible. First impressions aren't always perfect but we seemed to do a pretty good job of it.
For some reason other than money the only other item that seemed to disappear was sun glasses. We really did not have a problem with thefts. Before an employee was hired we gave them an employee manual and went through it with them. The manual included the fact that theft was cause for immediate termination so most realized the consequences. Each employee had to sign a form that stated they had received a manual and understood the rules stated in it. We hired almost exclusively full time people so they knew they were risking more money than it was worth to steal a few bucks or change. As someone mentioned we tried to do our best to hire good people whenever possible. First impressions aren't always perfect but we seemed to do a pretty good job of it.
Earl Weiss
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Ditto. Set up thru secret shoppers has worked for me.
I had a friend with one hand missing that I would pretend to hire at the wash every now and then. When the other employees would chat with him on breaks, he would work it into the conversation on how he lost his hand for stealing on the job. Seemed to work pretty well.
Hold a meeting with your staff and let them know what is going on, explain that there is a no tolerance poilcy for theft and anyone caught stealing wil be terminated and/or prosecuted. Also explain the effect this has on your business and the perception customers have of a staff they can't trust. If that doesn't curb the problem, then set up a sting. If you terminate someone for stealing make sure you have solid proof. Then make sure to "leak" why that person was terminated.
Theft
The advice to hire better people is good, but screening out perfectly is not always possible.
I don't know your procedures, but if you can tighten down which employees are allowed to access a vehicle you might be able to better tie the complaints back to a certain employee. And, I hope you are getting such complaints immediately-- and not a few days later?
Suppose only one employee has been in the vehicle, and this is recorded by a camera covering a wide area of the parking lot. Once you get a single complaint, there is at least a warning issued, and if another complaint comes in there is a termination. And that's being nice. If you had strong enough evidence you could probably terminate on the first incident, of course.
I like the idea of doing a setup vehicle as well. Just be sure to mark the coins or record the bill numbers in advance just in case you need to identify the exact money that was stolen later.
The advice to hire better people is good, but screening out perfectly is not always possible.
I don't know your procedures, but if you can tighten down which employees are allowed to access a vehicle you might be able to better tie the complaints back to a certain employee. And, I hope you are getting such complaints immediately-- and not a few days later?
Suppose only one employee has been in the vehicle, and this is recorded by a camera covering a wide area of the parking lot. Once you get a single complaint, there is at least a warning issued, and if another complaint comes in there is a termination. And that's being nice. If you had strong enough evidence you could probably terminate on the first incident, of course.
I like the idea of doing a setup vehicle as well. Just be sure to mark the coins or record the bill numbers in advance just in case you need to identify the exact money that was stolen later.
In a typical full service set up it is difficult to limit access to the vehicle since it is usually vacuumed, loaded on and off the conveyor and detailed inside by several different people. A decent camera set up could also come in handy. If employees know they are being watched it might make them much more reluctant to steal.
That being said I knew of a C-Store owner that had any employee caught stealing money or goods on his 24 hour surveillance system arrested at the store and posted pictures of the employee handcuffed in the employee rest area. Even with all that he still had a problem with employee theft. I guess some people cannot resist the temptation to steal regardless of the consequences.
That being said I knew of a C-Store owner that had any employee caught stealing money or goods on his 24 hour surveillance system arrested at the store and posted pictures of the employee handcuffed in the employee rest area. Even with all that he still had a problem with employee theft. I guess some people cannot resist the temptation to steal regardless of the consequences.
pitzerwm
Active member
The biggest thing obviously is to remove the temptation as mush as possible. Think about how you steal from yourself, then put safe guards in place to make it more difficult.
One problem now days is that the last employer won't tell you anything, so you need to be tricky to find out if they were a bad employee there.
One problem now days is that the last employer won't tell you anything, so you need to be tricky to find out if they were a bad employee there.
Entrapment would only be relevant if criminal charges were brought. In your case, I really doubt any district attorney would press charges for the theft of a few dollars even if you have witnesses and video. It varies by area, but I've know of the D.A. refusing to file even when the loss amount was in the $5,000 range. Too busy with real crimes, you know?
You're just looking to solve a business problem, and probably not get into criminal charges.
You're just looking to solve a business problem, and probably not get into criminal charges.
robert roman
Bob Roman
An alternative to command and control tactics is to actively engage them in improving the business.
An example of this would be an operator who makes the switch from conventional full-service format to flexible service. With the ride through conveyor, no employees enter the vehicle during the wash process. In the express detail facility (canopy or building), employees work in teams that are supervised by management and observed by the customer.
By eliminating division of labor and reducing the number of work positions and employees necessary to process the same amount of work, you minimize the opportunity for employees to commit the act.
An example of this would be an operator who makes the switch from conventional full-service format to flexible service. With the ride through conveyor, no employees enter the vehicle during the wash process. In the express detail facility (canopy or building), employees work in teams that are supervised by management and observed by the customer.
By eliminating division of labor and reducing the number of work positions and employees necessary to process the same amount of work, you minimize the opportunity for employees to commit the act.
