Last month, a chain of tanning salons in the Northwest suffered losses of approximately $400,000 due to a series of break-ins. According to a report on OregonLive.com, “Between the time employees locked up Saturday night and reopened Sunday, someone broke in, stole cash registers and tanning products and damaged thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment. The culprit took the most expensive products, tore out the motherboards in the highest-end tanning beds and poured a thick, oily liquid into the beds and also took the salon’s security cameras.”
To the most novice sleuth, this would have all the implications of what is known as an “inside job” – a crime committed by a person of trust. Perhaps you even remember the movie with Denzel Washington called Inside Job, which was a pretty good mystery flick. In the crime that occurred in Oregon, stealing tanning products, rendering the high-end equipment unusable, and pouring perhaps a toxic or hazardous liquid on the sunbeds’ acrylic shields was, more than likely, someone who had inside information. By the way, no door locks were damaged.
Are you prepared to handle a situation like this? What steps can you take to prevent it? According to a 2014 Report on Global Fraud, “inside jobs” can involve:
■ Financial schemes
■ Invoice kickbacks
■ Sales schemes
■ Overstated expenses
■ Cash and refund schemes (think free sessions for friends)
■ Timeclock misreporting
■ Illegal gratuities
■ And much more.
So, how can a salon operator be protected from these schemes and more? Entrepreneur magazine lists several steps that owners can employ:
■ Thorough pre-employment background checks.
■ More than one employee involved in bookkeeping (consider outsourcing it).
■ Spot-check audits.
■ Limit employee access to “back office” info.
■ It is also useful to let staff and customers know that they are being monitored – in public access areas, of course.
Even with these practices in place, you may still run into issues with a disgruntled current or former employee. At the minimum, make sure that all keys and logo apparel be returned upon dismissal of a staff member.
Remember, inside jobs can occur in any business. When it comes to salon preparedness, make sure that you are on your “A” game.
