One of the perceived costs of doing business is the problem of credit card fraud and bad checks. Restaurant owners and managers have responded to this threat in a variety of ways: subscribing to various credit card and check guarantee programs, purchasing insurance to cover major losses, insisting upon multiple forms of customer identification or simply no longer accepting certain types of cards or checks.
One of the more frustrating and difficult aspects of this problem is proving a
suspected perpetrator’s guilt. Time lapse VCR recordings are notoriously poor
and inconclusive, and employee eye witness accounts are only marginally more
reliable. With the implementation of a FocusMicro digital video server,
restaurateurs can now reproduce video clips and still images of fraud
perpetrators. Used in conjunction with point-of-sale systems, precise video
date and time stamps allow managers to conclusively document an event, making
restitution and prosecution a certainty rather than a hoped for occurrence. 
As painful and sometimes embarrassing as customer theft situations can be, they pale in severity when compared with the problems of employee theft. Employee theft problems are widespread, affecting all segments of the restaurant industry ranging from small cafes to downtown four star establishments.
A recent study by a Minneapolis based research firm calculated that restaurant employees steal an average $218.00 per year. Some consultants disagree with this number, arguing that the true figure is much higher – as much as $1500.00 per year. Overall loss estimates due to employee theft for the U.S. restaurant industry range from $15 billion to $25 billion each year.
A full coverage FocusMicro digital video surveillance system is a very effective tool in stopping employee theft. Orientation and training for line staff on the capabilities and ease-of-use of a digital video server make the futility of undetected theft obvious. Case studies have shown that the installation of comprehensive video surveillance systems nearly completely eliminate large-scale theft incidences and substantially reduce petty theft.
