How Technology And Data Can Serve As Tools For Detecting Restaurant Theft

Technologies have completely invaded our lives causing everything to change their way of working. With technologies enhancements, the customers’ demand and expectation is also changing towards their favored brands. Apart from food they also want other things like experience, memories and a brand connect in line. But as this has made our life easier, there is lots of disadvantages and the possibility of data breach which has came into the limelight. Chili’s which is an American casual dining restaurant chain recently suffered from such a breach. They believed that a malware was used to gather the credit and debit cards details and informations from their pay stations. They claimed that this breach took place between the month of March and April and the investigation is still going on.  

It is no harm that QSR operators these days are opting for more technologies thereby providing data by expressing the story more beautifully. Detailed information can be found from the various data generated in the restaurant. From their sales to their reason of failure, data has the capability to express everything. “Digitalization has caused both the customers and the restaurants to change. Restaurant business is a chain which will always be incomplete without either party. These technologies provide an ease towards building and maintaining that relation,” shares Vaibhav Raj, Owner, Aasman Restaurant.

Technology can not only help a restaurant to keep the operations running smoothly, but also provide safety from frauds. Restaurateurs are coming with various methods to use data in order to catch restaurant theft. Some of the below mentioned ways can help you keep record of your sales and datas important for the business.

Owners should always be aware about the specific discounts happening at the venue. If a particular discount is used continuously by the same customer, then there are chances that your employee has been flagged by the customer. Many restaurants provide incentives to staffs who sell most of the discounts to the customers. It is generally easy to sell the items when they are free. Employees can ring a particular item for a certain bucks which later are discounted. The remaining money is counted as profit which directly reaches their pocket. Data can work as a savior in such conditions keeping track of everything.

"There was a time when things were not so rapid and precise. With the technologies coming into practice more, things have certainly been very uselful for the restaurant industry. Technologies helps us in keeping the stocks, sales, profits incheck which is very essential in the current time. Data and technology have changed the way the industry worked and its also helping in fighting the restaurant theft," shares Aashima Shetty, Co-owner, Amalfi.

Most of the fraud results because of the mutual planning between the manager and the staffs of a restaurant. Managers are able to swipe their cards for general discounts. If you find the same kind of discount being used by the manager and the staff, then it’s time to act against theft. Creating false inventory value is one of the easiest ways to create theft at a restaurant. 

Managers can easily steak things like they had 6-7 cases where steak was offered while in reality there was only two which happened. You should take a closer look at your sales number more often making sure about the business your restaurant is making. There had been many cases recorded in the past which dealt with data theft. A case was reported by Jason’s Deli franchise which is an international chain headquartered in Beaumont, Texas. They stated that their employees who were there with them from the last ten years or so had been cashing out cash deliveries for months. They later came up with a loss prevention system which helped them in preventing data theft from their venture.

Operating a restaurant is one of the toughest things to do as it requires every kind of attention. Frauds happen at every restaurant, technology and data are acting as tools which can eliminate such frauds.