s a BEVINCO auditor, I often hear the comment that “all
bartenders steal”. Although sometimes it might seem
to be true, that accusation probably isn’t fair.
ood operators know that
minimizing employee turnover is a critical
component of profitability. And because
our employees’ tips are a substantial component
in their net pay, it stands to reason that
anything that can be done to increase our
employees’ tips will increase server’s happiness,
encourage them to remain in our employee,
and, thus, improve our profitability.
An
April 2004 study by Michael Lynn, Ph.D, published by the
Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University, gives
operators some concrete ideas on helping your employees
increase their tips. Dr. Lynn looked at several studies and
found that by using a few proven tactics, your servers can
increase their tips substantially.
Unfortunately,
terminations bring with them the ever-present danger of
litigation. Firing bar employees for over-pouring, theft of
poor performance can open you up to a wrongful dismissal
lawsuit. Here are some essential tips that can help protect
you.
Put your policies in
writing – A jury will want to see that your policy rules
were communicated to your employees. If the rules are not
clearly written out and communicated to the employees, you
could be opening the door to a wrongful termination suit.
Opposing lawyers will try to show that your rules were simply
devised ad hoc.
Develop employee manuals
– One of your best tools is to have a written employee manual.
Such a document should clearly spell out the employee’s
duties, your policies on a number of issues and instructions
on basic job tasks. Make sure you include a clear list of cash
handling policies, tip policies, cash register instructions,
drink pouring policies and, perhaps most importantly, drink
recipes that clearly detail how much of each ingredient goes
into each drink.
Implement effective inventory
and cash controls – In order to prove that a termination is
valid, you need to be able to show that objective standards
were used to determine that policies were violated. The legal
standards are much higher when proving theft or other serious
charges. Circumstantial evidence, hearsay or unverifiable
measurements, such as pour costs, are not adequate. Having
independent inventory auditors such as BEVINCO monitor your
bar will virtually guarantee that you avoid problems.
Less
shrinkage. More profit. Better Business. / 
s a BEVINCO auditor, I often hear the comment that “all
bartenders steal”. Although sometimes it might seem
to be true, that accusation probably isn’t fair. 
ood operators know that
minimizing employee turnover is a critical
component of profitability. And because
our employees’ tips are a substantial component
in their net pay, it stands to reason that
anything that can be done to increase our
employees’ tips will increase server’s happiness,
encourage them to remain in our employee,
and, thus, improve our profitability.
Put your policies in
writing – A jury will want to see that your policy rules
were communicated to your employees. If the rules are not
clearly written out and communicated to the employees, you
could be opening the door to a wrongful termination suit.
Opposing lawyers will try to show that your rules were simply
devised ad hoc.