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BAR SCAMS
You snooze, you lose

HONEST BARTENDERS - those who pour full shots for customers, charge the correct amount and place the receipts in the till - are becoming a rarer, albeit, distinct breed.

Bartenders who "scam" the bar are common and, unfortunately, difficult to catch. Generally, bartenders who do scam, do so with pride and without conscience, for they do not only take from their employer, but their patron and coworkers as well.
Proud they are. During interviews for consulting assignments, staff members were asked for new ways to take what is not theirs from the restaurant.

Bartenders, who boast the most, believe they are infallible and, in fact, they are right. Not only is there a lack of sophisticated control systems to stop theft, but restaurateurs are not even sure how, the bartenders are doing the stealing.

Yes, restaurateurs have control systems at their disposal including electronic liquor dispensing guns, electronic cash registers, point counts, bottle weighing procedures and spot checks, just to name a few. While these control systems and tools have probably challenged the bartender's intellectual abilities, the implementation of control systems has certainly spurred their ingenuity.

Discussions with restaurateurs reveal the problem that the industry faces with running and controlling a bar. The body of this article outlines a number of the "scams" which may take place in a restaurant.

RESTAURANT SCAMS

1. Bartenders can easily bring their own bottle of stock liquor into the restaurant. When that beverage is ordered they pour from their own bottle, never recording the usage nor the sale. With 40 shots per bottle at $3 per shot the bartender can make $120, while the restaurant loses $120

2. Drinks, such as draft beer which have a high spillage rate and which are generally counted in an estimated fashion, can be sold for cash. If the sale is not recorded, the lost beverage will usually not be noticed, making it possible to take 30 10- ounce drafts per day.

3. If the restaurant serves double shots at a discounted rate (i.e. a shot is $3 and the second shot is $1) the bartender could ring in a double shot ($4) when two singles were ordered while charging the customer for two singles ($6). The result is the nightly counts are correct and match the sales, but the bartender is up $2

4. Mixed drinks such as a Bloody Mary may sell for $4.50 while a shot of vodka sells for $3. In this case, the bartender could ring in the shot of vodka, accounting for the single shot of liquor, charging the higher price, thus pocketing the difference of $1.50.

5. Using the same premise as above, the bartender could sell two Bloody Marys at full price ($4.50 x 2 = $9), but ring a double vodka ($3 + $1 = $4) into the register, thereby making a $5 profit as a result of the discounted rate for the double shot. This obviously would not affect the liquor count, yet the bartender takes a profit of $5.

6. In order to obtain higher tips and keep customers happy, bartenders have been known to provide free drinks after closing. While the cash may no longer be at the bar, the liquor is. If this is kept to a minimum, or if the bartender has enacted another scam and has leftover alcohol, it would likely go undetected.

7. Outright theft is possible although not common. Major theft for example is easily caught by management if a full bottle is missing, but is a shot or two in a coffee considered theft, and just how is a restaurateur supposed to catch the culprit?

8. Bartender and waitress collusion would enable the waitress to request drinks without providing a chit to the bar. The drinks could be added manually to the bill and the customer would pay the amount. In order to adjust the liquor count the bartender would simply ring in a double shot for every two singles taken.

9. In most cases bartenders, because of the volume at the bar, decide independently if a beer is skunky or if the bottle is chipped and it cannot be sold. The skunky or chipped bottle beer, once approved by management, is then sold to a customer without being rung in.

10. Drinks can be sold and later in the night recorded as a wrong mix. This would justify the shortage in the beverage count while the bartender pockets the money.

11. Wine for kitchen use is usually taken from the bar at a cook's request and recorded by the bartender as spillage or kitchen use so it can be reduced from inventory. A glass of wine sold for $4, but not rung into the register can be placed onto the kitchen use sheet. The bartender keeps the $4.

12. When a premium liquor is ordered the bartender could pour a bar shot (especially when a mix is involved), and ring it in as a bar shot. In turn, the customer is charged for a premium shot and pockets the difference.

13. If a bartender is provided with an opening cash and claims it is $10 or $20 short, management almost always puts in the difference from petty cash. The cash could easily have been correct while the missing amount could have been pocketed by the bartender.

14. The service of nonalcoholic beverages, including mocktails and soft drinks from behind the bar, are virtually untraceable. If the bartender doesn't enter the sale into the register, the restaurateur would not notice the loss.

15. Over pouring of liquor for additional tips is common, and usually not traceable.

16. Electronic liquor dispensing machines, which count a shot each time a button has been depressed, have been known to be jimmied. This is done by removing the interior screen and sliding a straw into the nozzle, thus, when the gun is activated, the liquor pours out continuously until the straw is removed. A full bottle could be poured into a pitcher at the bar while recording only one shot. The balance of the liquor would not be found missing until the next full inventory.

17. If a bartender is lucky enough to sell three one ounce Black Russians ($4.50 x 3 = $13.50), he could ring in a double vodka ($4) and a single Kahlua ($3). The Black Russians could sell for $13.50, while the registered shots equal $7. The $6.50 difference ends up in the bartender's pocket.

18. Although pouring drinks after last call is illegal, it is really only the restaurateur who is at risk, not the bartender. It is in fact, very profitable for bartenders to serve after last call. The bartender doesn't necessarily have to punch in the sale while he can charge the customer a little extra to compensate for the high risk involved in serving the drink.

19. Bottle dropping is another favorite method. The bartender works an entire shift and pours shots from a particular bottle and pockets the money At the end of the shift he lets the bottle slip from his hands, and accordingly calls the manager over to see the damage while profusely apologizing. Ingenious bartenders usually add water to the bottle before dropping it to ensure that the puddle is big enough to be believable as a full bottle lost. The manager notes the accidental breakage and deducts the bottle from inventory while the bartender makes a small fortune.

PATRON SCAMS

Patrons are easy to take money from usually because they do not know your policies, shot size or price list, they are considered an undetectable free-for-all. Anything taken from a customer does not directly affect bar costs while an error can easily be apologized for and explained with and "I'm just so busy, sorry."

1. A bartender can pour two mixed drinks with the use of one shot. On a rum and Coke for example, the bartender could fill both glasses with ice and Coke. He then places the glasses next to each other so the rims are touching and pours the single shot, half into both glasses. While there may be only a half ounce of liquor in the glass, customers will perceive a strong shot as the liquor is floating on the top. The bartender charges for both drinks, and rings one into the register.

2. While some bar owners and some customers insist on seeing the shot poured above the counter, a simple and slight forward tip of the shot glass can provide a perceived shot while the customer is being shorted approximately a quarter ounce. By the time four one ounce drinks are sold it is entirely possible to have only used three ounces of liquor. The fourth ounce, already accounted for is then sold at full price to another customer and the receipts are kept by the server.

3. Although customers should not be allowed to drink to the point of intoxication, those that do are extremely easy to shortchange for they are never exactly sure what they paid the bartender with in the first place. Shortchanging becomes easier if the bartender allows as much time as possible to pass before returning the change to the customer.

4. While most restaurant dining customers take their copy of the charge receipts, they are not as frequently taken by bar patrons. Therefore if a bartender receives all the copies of the charge slip they can easily alter the amount entered.

5. A deliberate mistake in the addition of a large round of drinks will usually go undetected by a customer. For the most part a bill is not presented and the drinks are only registered after the cash is collected. Therefore the customer has nothing to add. In a bar, the customer also has less tendency to check the total amount even if a bill is presented.

6. Patrons who are unfamiliar with a bar and the prices at it, could be charged a premium price for a bar shot. The difference is pocketed by the bartender.

7. It is possible to take one customer's order and punch the sale in on another tab, especially if the second person is intoxicated, has a large tab or has been buying a lot of drinks for other people. The money from the initial sale is kept while the excessive tab covers the missing liquor.

8. Theft is possible in the form of picking up a patron's cash which is left on the bar. The bartender can make the assumption that the cash was left on his bar as tip.

9. Customers have been known to try and take bottles out of a restaurant. Unopened bottles of beer and wine can be sold at a much higher black market rate to a customer who wants a bottle-to-go. The bartender keeps the price differential after registering the sale.

10. Another way to create the above scenario is for the bartender to sell the unopened bottle at the highest price available and to replace the bottle at a later date rather than registering the sale. He then makes the bottle markup plus the added black market price.

11. The watering down of liquor enables the bartender to sell extra shots, as there is more volume, and pocket the receipts without ever affecting the inventory counts. It is difficult to notice one ounce of water in a 40 ounce bottle.

12. Both bartenders and servers have the opportunity to short change customers who use American dollars by providing a lower exchange rate than is the restaurant's policy.

13. A customer, who is not a restaurant patron could be charged for mix when no charge exists. For example a shot of rum and a rum and Coke are usually the same price. By pouring them separately the bartender could charge the customer for both and keep the Coke receipts.

14. Bartenders could simply over charge on any drink. Mocktails however, which are created and named to resemble alcoholic drinks, could easily be sold at the higher price and go undetected by both management and the customer.

COWORKER SCAMS

Bartenders not only steal from their employers and customers, but have also been known to steal from their coworkers as well.

1. Straight theft from the cash till is undetectable until the cash out is completed at the end of the night. If three bartenders are working and one steals $45 from the till prior to cashing out, management will ask all three to make it up. Each will put in $15, leaving the one who took the money $30 ahead.

2. If 20 beers are sold by one bartender without being rung into the register, the beer count will be out at the end of the night. If there are two bartenders on at the time, the cost of the lost beers is split by both bartenders leaving the thief ahead in cash by the value of 10 bottles of beer at the end of the night.

3. Similarly most bartenders do their own closing beverage counts. By miscounting the beer at the end of the night by the amount sold, the next shift bartender will likely be charged for the difference.

4. If more than one cash register is used at the bar, it is possible for the bartender to ring in the sale on the register he is not responsible for while keeping the money.

Money is generally not taken openly and all at once. If you do not see your bartender stuffing money in his pocket here and there, it is not enough to say he is not involved in a scam. For a bartender who knows half of these schemes and any of the 100 not mentioned here, he also knows how to account for the money taken and how to pocket it discretely.

However, it is most common for a bartender to take a lump sum just prior to the end of his shift. Therefore, their accounting process is important.

Bartenders usually keep their extra earnings in one of three places- in the till, in their tip jars, or in their pockets. The latter is extremely risky as people will question the constant flow and handling of personal moneys. If the bartender constantly uses his tip jar for additional moneys, it is not necessary for him to maintain a cash control system. He simply takes the money and places it in his tip jar and keeps the revenue at shift's end. Additionally, if a customer who pays by credit card is shortchanged (i.e. the bartender charges him for a drink he did not receive), the bartender must record that he has one drink in hand. In order to do this several simple methodologies have evolved.

Stemware racks which are placed over the bar are commonly used to assist in counting drinks in hand.

While the glasses on one side of the bar may be used in any particular order, one row is generally reserved for a count. A white wine glass on this rack may stand for a single shot, a cognac glass represents a double shot, a red wine glass a shooter, et cetera. Sales are recorded in an abacus type fashion where glasses account for specific sales. Other methodologies include the use of stir straws or matches as either drinks sold or dollars owing. For every drink scammed, or every dollar taken, the bartender moves one straw or match book from one jar to another. As the evening's end approaches, the bartender counts the money owing via his system and in one single move takes the extra cash from the till and places it in his pocket or tip jar. If caught he could say he was simply cashing in some of his tips for larger bills.

Extra funds which go into a tip jar are divided amongst all bartenders so if there is more than one on at a time the bartender who took the extra would want to retrieve it before everyone took their cut.

Additionally if a bartender places his extra earnings in the cash drawer and management, not the bartender, counts the cash, the bartender must have a method by which he can accurately retrieve his additional income without being caught.

CONCLUSION

There is no excuse for bartenders to have the opportunity to take such extreme advantage of the operator, patron or their fellow workers. The following recommendations should assist in eliminating a number of the above concerns.

• Require all shots are poured with the shot glass placed on the bar.
• Bags, jackets or purses should not be permitted behind the bar.
• A sales chit or bill should accompany each drink sold.
• All kitchen liquor supplies should be requisitioned by the kitchen and then sold to the kitchen for the requisition form.
• Opening floats should be count and verified by management before given to the bartender.
• Constant, random checking of perpetual inventories should be conducted.
• There should be a policy forbidding the sale and consumption of alcohol to staff.
• A manager's signature should be on all manual voids.
• Management should provide a visible display of the US exchange rate.
• Maintain a bar par stock and an inventory lockup.

Unfortunately, there is not an answer to every scam, and of course as new controls are implemented new scams will be developed. There are presently several methodologies to reduce the scam artist. The most effective however, is to be aware of the different scams that could be happening in your establishment and be on the lookout. Inform your staff there are controls in place, (even if there are not) and that alone may be your biggest control system. Being aware of all the scams and how they are conducted can be difficult. However, the problems can be combated by making staff aware that managers supervisors are constantly watching and monitoring staff performance and actions.
Ask questions about what they doing and be aware of any actions which may resemble the behavior outlined herein.

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