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50 Ways Bartenders Can Steal From You

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1. Short Ring - Under-ring the correct price of item and pocket the difference.

2. Phantom Register - Extra register put in bar and items not rung in on main register.

3. Serve and collect while register is reading between shift changes.

4. Claim a phoney walk-out. Keep money received from customer.

5. Phantom Bottle - Bartender brings in his own bottle and pockets cash from the sale.

6. Short Pour - Pour less than shot to cover "give away" liquor costs.

7. Collusion between cocktail server and bartender.

8. Using one shot on two glasses.

9. Claim a returned drink - Extra drink is sold and cash is pocketed.

10. Returned bottle of wine - Wine is credited on inventory, bartender sells wine by the glass, pockets cash.

11. Undercharge customers or free liquor in hope of large tip.

12. Re-Using register drink receipts.

13. Bartender exchanges drinks to cooks for dinners.

14. Adding water (diluting) liquor to get more shots out of it. Pocketing the cash.

15. Using lower priced liquor and charging for call brands.

16. Receiving kickbacks from liquor distributors.

17. Charging customer regular prices, ringing happy hour prices.

18. Complimentary cocktail or wine coupons from hotel rooms sold by maids to bartender which can use in place of cash.

19. Short-Changing Customers.

20. Ringing food items on liquor key in order to cover high liquor cost percentage.

21. Giving free drinks to employees in exchange for higher tips.

22. Not pouring liquor into blended drinks to cover high pour costs.

23. Duplicate imprinting of customers credit card charge slip.

24. Claiming opening bank till was short.

25. Z-ing out register tape early. Under-reporting of sales.

26. Recording incorrect overrings and voids.

27. Change a credit card amount after a customer leaves.

28. Hitting "no sale" key to open register. Pulling money out later.

29. Keep income from vending machines.

30. Ringing items on another bartender or manager key.

31. Bringing in a pair of work shoes, wearing boots. Put liquor bottle in boots and walk out with it.

32. Claiming fictitious Paid-Outs to customers for broken malfunctioning vending machine. Keeping Cash.

33. Re-using empty bottles to get new inventory out of storeroom without suspicion.

34. Pouring wine by the glass and ringing in a bottle sale. (the sum of the glasses is more than the bottle price).

35. Not ringing in cocktail server sales and splitting the money.

37. Turning in only the amount of sales on Z-Report and keeping any overages.

38. Under pouring drinks by a sixth, keeping track, and pocketing the cash for one drink every sixth drink.

39. Using jiggers brought in from home that all smaller than standard pour, with the same objective as above.

40. Substituting a house brand for a premium brand (that usally sells at a higher price), charging for the premium brand, and pocketing the difference.

41. Overcharging the number of drinks served to a group of customers who are running up a tab to be paid later.

42. Claiming a fictitious robbery.

43. Re-pouring customer wine leftover in bottles (e.g., banquet wine) to other customers by the glass.

44. Claiming a fictitious walk-out.

45. Free drinks to local merchants in exchange for merchandise.

46. Making juice or coffee drinks with little or no liquor.

47. Picking up excess customer change on bar.

48. Carrying full bottles of liquor and beer to the dumpster with the empties.

49. Free drinks to the cooks in exchange for food that is sold and cash pocketed without ringing in.

50. Inflate ending inventory values by filling empty liquor bottles with water and counting as full.

By Chuck Gohn