In Depth

The Scoop on Restaurant Loss Prevention and Cash Management

Friendly's Restaurants' Ernie Patnode approaches cash management with a lot of common sense, a little technology and, yes, politeness

By Scott Berinato

What other low-tech loss prevention techniques are you fond of?

We require employees to break down boxes, and this alone has helped minimize loss from freezers and anterooms (where ice cream and produce are stored). No boxes to put stuff in, no theft. But one of my favorites—if you ever go into the back of a restaurant you’ll see a garbage bucket with a big magnetic bar running across the top. That one magnetic bar creates huge savings; it catches silverware that would otherwise [accidentally] be thrown away. I love it because it saves tons of money on accidental loss while allowing the servers to spend the time serving the customers [instead of] sorting silverware.

Armed robbery is a big concern.

Armed robbery is the most dangerous thing we face in this industry. What I tell employees is: You offer no resistance. The longer [the robber] is in there, the more opportunity there is for something to go terribly wrong. Someone doing an armed robbery is by definition not thinking straight. Give them the money and get them out. Then, watch as they leave, trying to get as much detail as possible. Where did their head reach at the door, what were they wearing? Once they’re gone, lock the door. Then, don’t huddle up to discuss. When you huddle up and talk about what just happened, the strong personalities tend to dominate the conversation regardless of the accuracy of their information. Let the investigators come in and interview each person. They will get a much more detailed portrait of the event that way.

Does security have a say in restaurant design?

From a security standpoint, we have one design rule: Nothing’s hidden. Everything is open, visible and well-lit. No curtains. A lot of glass. When the sun goes down, I tell them, the drapes go up. Because if you can’t see out, the police can’t see in. People, potential customers, also like to see in, so no ads on the windows. I tell supervisors to show activity. A bad guy is looking for a place where there’s one person sitting there reading a book. The register stays up front and open, the employee using it is in full view of everyone, which helps prevent insider threats from becoming a problem. The take-out area looks right through the restaurant. What we’re doing is eliminating the opportunity to get out of sight.

Does the marketing group ever raise a fuss about the limitations—not being able to put ads in the windows, say?

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