How to Prevent Employee Alcohol Theft at Your Wines and Spirits Shop

It’s an open secret that Wines and Spirits shop  owners can lose considerable amounts of money from liquor theft when there are no preventive measures in place. The financial loss can cripple an establishment if the theft continues undetected over time.

Dishonest shop attendants steal alcohol from the shop  in various ways, such as taking taking alcohol from the shop, bringing in and selling their own alcohol, selling at wrong prices etc. You can prevent employee alcohol theft at your wines and spirits shop by adopting several preventive measures.

It’s an open secret that Wines and Spirits shop  owners can lose considerable amounts of money from liquor theft

Check references and run a background check before hiring shop attendants.

A careful investigation can reveal dishonest candidates with a history of theft and alcoholism. This is helpful in creating a staff of dependable workers unlikely to steal liquor. Proper background research can help prevent employee alcohol theft at your shop

Install surveillance cameras to completely monitor inside and outside the shop.

Shop attendants aware of being watched are less likely to steal.

Tell shop attendants about the various anti-theft policies.

Explain the effects of theft and why you need to prevent employee theft at your wines and spirits shop. Also discuss the actions considered alcohol theft and explain the disciplinary measures taken for such actions. Give each worker an employee guide containing this information.

Always verify purchase, receipt and issuing of alcohol 

A dishonest shop attendant can order more than is required and ensure the disparity doesn’t appear in the records.

Have a Main Store and Display Counter

Ensure that new stock is first received into the main store then issued to the counter/display.  Create a record-keeping system that requires the shop attendant  to record every bottle of liquor removed from main storage so as to prevent employee alcohol theft at your bar.

Take a daily count of the alcohol inventory.

You may also assign this task a different person or yourself. If a dishonest shop attendant is entrusted with this task, he can increase or decrease the count to hide theft.

Conduct regular spot checks at the shop to ensure the bottle count and liquor levels match sales.

Undertake random stock counts to determine check if physical stock levels agree with system stock

Ban shop attendant from drinking during a shift or in the establishment when they are off-duty.

This is a logical measure to ensure that the shop-attendant does not get tempted to drink and not pay for the alcohol at the shop

Instruct shop-attendant not to allow any unauthorized person entry into the shop

Ideally, only the owner and the shop attendant should enter inside the shop.

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