Your restaurant's chef just introduced a new dish, and everyone is currently ordering it. The dish seems to be a hot seller, and by the looks on your customers' faces, they love it. The dish costs $50 as it has ingredients imported from different, far away countries. Sitting in your office, you are dreaming about opening multiple chains and going worldwide when you suddenly hear a commotion outside.

Raised voices and accusations hit your ear. Hurriedly, you head outside and see a customer complaining about something in their food. You approach the table and introduce yourself as the owner. You ask the customer what's the problem and are told that there was a hair in their food. You tell the customer that your kitchen staff wears net caps, and the food can't be contaminated in such a manner.

The customer gets angry and goes into full Karen mode. From the corner of your eye, you see one of your employees approaching who whispers in your ear two words: False claim.

And this is why security matters so much! In plain and simple words: Without a CCTV camera in your restaurant, you are bound to face such accusations and much more. Remember to always stay calm and collected. Other customers are watching you, and how you deal with the situation can make or break your restaurant's reputation.

Getting an All-Round Security System – Importance of CCTV Cameras

No matter how low of a budget you have, getting a security system will pay for itself in the end. While it won't impact your ROI, it can boost your overall efforts. According to security professionals, implementing a POS system with security cameras can increase revenue by 10%. The addition of security cameras amounts to 4% of this rate.

Here are some of the basic reasons why you should have a CCTV camera, which we will elaborate on in detail later:

·         Reducing employee theft

·         Deters bad behavior

·         Remote viewing

·         Building security

·         Hard proof if something happens

·         Fake fall claims proof for insurance savings

Every restaurant’s top priority should be to increase security to offer a safer atmosphere. Advanced security features deter thefts and potential crimes after and during business hours. Moreover, the added security will make your employees feel safe. Of course, you can always hire a bouncer to deter violent altercations, but a human being cannot do the same job a security camera does. Your bouncer’s attention will be focused on the front of the restaurant, not knowing what’s happening in the back.

Important Surveillance Areas

A security system arms you with a foolproof defense that helps you identify potential thieves, keep an eye on negligent employees and handle unruly customers who think they are right just because social convention says so.

Depending on your restaurant's size, you might need a security system with more than 6 to 10 channels and storage space above 8TB. This will allow you to cover areas where the customer flow is high. Following are some of the crucial areas where you should keep a watchful eye:

Priority Zones

The Kitchen

The back of the restaurant matters as much as its front. Disgruntled employees can do a lot of harm to your establishment's reputation. This is why you also need to observe the cooking process and ensure the quality of the food is high. Moreover, a CCTV camera in the kitchen will promote efficiency and a clean environment.

CCTV camera in the kitchen can help you:

·         Discover and prevent theft of cash, supplies, alcohol, food, retail items, and equipment

·         Monitor kitchen operations, such as order processing, dishwashing, food prep, and food storage

·         Increase kitchen efficiency

·         Observe employee productivity

·         Track safety procedures and prevent accidents

·         Prevent employee mischief, such as fraternization issues, arguments, fake illnesses, etc.

·         Keep track of beverages and food in freezers and wine cellars

The Dining Area

As the owner of a restaurant, you need to ensure the enjoyment and safety of your patrons. The dining area is where everything happens. Keeping an eye here on your employees and customers will allow you to see whether everything is running safely and smoothly or not. For example, a customer might shout at an employee because they feel their food isn’t hot. An employee might behave badly with a customer because they changed their order four times.

When you are in the business of providing a service, you need to work with patience because customer satisfaction is the key to success. So, if the customer politely asks you to reheat their order, you do so with a smile on your face as long as they are not unreasonable.

CCTV camera in the dining room can help you:

·         Supervise bouncers, bartenders, and wait staff to confirm that they are performing their duties

·         Monitor the seating area to make sure that customers are being treated right

·         Ensure customers are pleased with the service they are receiving and their food and that any problems are dealt with swiftly

·         Determine when customers have finished eating so that the bill reaches their table as soon as they call for it. Also, make sure they don't leave without paying.

·         Observe customers who are stealing decorations or tableware

·         Prevent customer misbehavior, which may lead to possible lawsuits and injuries

Point of Sales

Card transactions occur, and cash exchanges hands are of utmost importance. This is why video surveillance should be pointed directly at the cash register to keep employees safe from sneaky hands and, at the same time, mitigate employee theft.

Entrance and Exit

The place where foot traffic is witnessed the most is the entrance and exit. A security camera here enables you to thwart a stealing attempt, allowing you to catch customers who like to dine and dash.

The Parking Lot

Last is the parking lot and a camera here allows you to cover all the bases. If the parking lot is a part of your property, keeping an eye outside will help you stop parking lot fights, break-ins, burglary, and vandalism.

Advanced Security Systems

Apart from a CCTV camera and alarm systems, there are a few other security options that you should consider to keep the restaurant and your employees safe.

Biometrics

This affordable technology involves a fingerprint or a thumbprint to grant access. Instead of using a password or pin, which can be shared, you can trust biometric identification to give access to certain employees to the cash drawer put in charge of it. This removes the hassle of key cards or fobs that can be stolen. You wouldn’t want the secret recipe of your Alfredo Pasta to be in the hands of your competitors, now would you!

Forensic Property Marking

This technology is seldom used in restaurants, but you need to consider it if your name is well-known in the hospitality industry. The technology is linked to your security system and marks an intruder during a burglary. For example, let’s say that someone is trying to break into your restaurant. When the person trips the alarm, they are sprayed with a forensic chemical. This chemical can be seen under ultraviolet light to identify the intruder during the lineup.

Employee Clock-In Capture

Many POS systems come with a time-clock capture that takes the image of an employee as they log in and out. This allows you to keep track of which employees are coming on time and if anyone is clocking for someone else.

Refrigerator Monitors

Who would have thought that a refrigerator would need to be monitored? Having a CCTV camera here will serve two purposes: First, combined with an alarm, it will alert you when the temperature in the freezer falls below and causes inventory loss. Second, it prevents food theft. There’s a reason why some of the ice cream tubs have gone missing in the past week, and all signs point towards the employees. You can also use the temperature record to show the local health inspector that you have been following food safety protocol.

These are just some security tactics you can employ to protect your assets, patrons, and employees. Your profits rely on them as they are connected to your restaurant's reputation, and as mentioned earlier, this is tied to customer satisfaction.

Internal Threats

Employees — past or present — can become intelligent criminals. Most workers usually don't take this path but when there's no security system in place, stealing from the cash register or coming up with an elaborate scheme to divert the attention from them becomes easier.

When employees know what angles the CCTV camera take, they know exactly how to move. Even the most loyal employees can turn on you one day if they know the workings of your restaurant inside and out. To prevent inside thefts from happening in the first place, listen to issues and disagreements without any judgment and bias so that you can solve them then and there. By ensuring them you believe in them, you can minimize the chances of your employees exploiting your security secrets to get cash out of you.

If an employee tries to exploit you, you can use your existing security camera to gather proof of their theft or vandalism. If this precaution fails, you should take extra security measures, which only you know of. This way, you will be able to gather concrete proof against them and then file a police report with all the evidence.

Here are a few things you can do more:

·         Change the safe’s combination every week, on odd days

·         Check-in with employees regularly to gauge their morale

·         Introduce a reward system to boost morale and award those employees who work harder and make a difference

Other Safety Considerations

Having a schedule helps you get things done quickly. However, when that schedule becomes predictable, people take notice. Following are two things you should do to break from your routine:

Plan Ahead

Most of the thefts by juvenile offenders are committed in the late afternoon. As for acts of crime by adults, they happen sometime during 9:00 P.M. and 2:00 A.M. At night, you should make sure that there’s extra staff so that an 18+ crowd hopped on alcohol or drugs don’t overpower the employees.

Cash Best Practices 

One of the best ways to prevent theft from the cash register is to have a minimal amount. This means emptying the cash register mid-shift. Smash and grabs are quite common in small shops and restaurants so, the less money in the front, the more you will be able to cut down the losses.

Security Cameras and Insurance

One of the best things about having a security system in place is that you get to show the insurance company that an accident that damaged your restaurant was not your fault. These insurance companies offer financial incentives when you install video surveillance.

For example, let's say you get a call in the middle of the night from the company, which handles your security that a fire broke out in your restaurant. You rush to the site and see your dream going up in flames. After an investigation, it is revealed that one of your past employees who was fired for stealing was behind the fire. The CCTV camera caught him in the act. You forward the video to your insurance agency and get the insurance money to repair and renovate your restaurant within a week. If it weren't for your security system, you would have never caught the culprit.

Final Thoughts

By working on these security tips and having the whole place decked, in and out, with security measures, you will be able to not only keep your restaurant safe but also allow it to flourish. Deterring internal and external threats is critical for your customers' safety. So, educate your employees, keep a few security secrets to yourself and monitor the channels now and then to prevent any Karens or Kens from damaging your restaurant's reputation.

Visit the website Motion VOIP to get CCTV cameras installed in your restaurant. Our staff specializes in making businesses, hotels, and resorts technology savvy by offering modern security solutions. To get in touch with us, call (217) 331-6670.