Preventing Internal Theft

Employees have a responsibility to prevent, detect and control losses. If you are aware of a co-worker or other employee who is stealing, report your suspicions to a manager/supervisor. Organisations are obliged to protect the identity of employees who turn in their co-workers.

Do not cover up for co-workers, even if they are your friends. If they are caught, you could be implicated as a conspirator in the crime. At the very least, you could lose your job. However, you should not take direct action yourself if you can avoid it. You should alert the stockroom manager or supervisor. Explain what you saw and let the manager handle the situation. You will probably have to explain what you saw to the manager and the employee. For this reason, you should be sure of the facts.

Preventing Other Loses

Stealing is not the only cause of store losses. Employee carelessness in conducting money transactions and in handling merchandise cuts into store profits as well. Prevent store losses by following these guidelines:

Authorisation

Get authorization on every credit card transaction. Never accept a charge without checking to see if the customer/retail outlet has an established account/allocation number. Never complete the sale until you receive this authorization.

Follow Procedure

Follow procedures for receiving and stocking incoming merchandise. Do not sign for unauthorized merchandise. Count the number of items received. Check the condition of the contents of any damaged boxes before signing for them. Do not take items out of the stockroom before they have been checked in and priced.

Accuracy

Code/price items accurately. Make certain that all merchandise is marked with the correct retail price and code. When merchandise is received, check the delivery note and invoice against the purchase order. Then mark the item. Make certain all the necessary coding information appears on the ticket and that the ticket is attached to the correct item. If you are not sure, ask – never guess!

Double-Check

Always double-check delivery information. Store losses result from delivering merchandise to the wrong address, delivering when no one is home, or delivering an item more than once to the same address because the original delivery was not verified. So, get the customers’/outlets’ exact delivery address and copy it accurately. Always call before attempting to deliver an item; check/make sure that delivery is accepted.

Careful

Handle merchandise carefully. Improper care and handling of items for sale in the store can result in damage that devalues merchandise. It may have to be sold at a reduced price or even discarded. Be careful when putting merchandise away, or when moving it in and out of stock. Return merchandise to its proper place. Do not handle merchandise with dirty hands.