In the 7 years Suds has been operating, we have had a few experiences with scam artists. We also heard of stories how even employees can steal from a laundry business. Here are a few that we've experienced and heard of.
The Sweet Talker
The Modus Operandi of this guy is to pretend that he's the friend of the owner. He goes in the shop, asks for you, the owner, by first name ("Kumusta, andyan ba si Pedro?"). Of course, he knows Pedro or whoever the owner is isn't there. This guy researches in advance. He knows personal information about you, the owner. He knows your schedule and he knows you won't be in the shop at this time. He then chats your staff about your 'friendship' then gets them to trust him because of all the bits of information he drops.
This guy then says he has a business deal with you, the owner. He says he is there to pay but then his payment is in check. He says he has some change to collect from the payment. He proceeds to pay with an authentic-looking but fake check. Then asks for the change in cash. Your staff will have his trust by now and will probably give some cash in return.
How to stop this: Always ask your staff to call you if someone claims to know you and money is involved. Seems like common sense but these con artists are really, really good.
The 'Auditor'
Another style similar to the one above. This time, the guy pretends he is the owner's friend and that the owner (you) asked him to audit the shop. He starts to get angry at all the SOP violations. Sometimes he shouts and makes the staff afraid. He then says he is there to collect the cash to deposit it in the bank. Depending on the acting, this guy could be really convincing.
How to stop this: Same as above.
The Fast Hand
This guy has very fast hands. Watch out, he may even trick you. His modus operandi is to go in your shop and pretends to be a customer. He may even have some clothes with him. He then gives you P1,000 as payment. When you receive the payment and reach for the cash box, he changes his mind and says he has a smaller bill. You give him the P1,000 then he quickly switches it to a P100 bill. Then he says you made a mistake and shows you the P100. This happens in a split second and if you are not sharp, you could be tricked.
How to stop this: Always say how much money you are giving to the customer. Example: "Here's your P1000 back, sir". If you saw the quick trick, don't be afraid to yell and say "I saw that!" and threaten to call the police.
Here's How Your Own Employees can Steal from You:
1. Your employee will not give the customer a receipt - Your employee may say that he will make the processing a special one or say that they have ran out of receipts. A lot of customers are ok with this, especially if they are already friends with the cashier/ employee.
When you audit, you will not know that there transactions like these and your employees can pocket the payment.
2. Your employee prints his own receipt - This has been known to happen. The customer and the owner have no idea that they are being tricked. The customer gets his receipt and thinks everything is ok. Meanwhile you think you had no sales because there was no record in your receipts.
3. Your employee receives the payment but does not record it - The customer comes in, pays for his laundry. The employee pockets the money. Sometimes, if you are not in touch with your business, your employee can even pack stuff and write a certain customer's name in there to make it appear that the item is still unclaimed.
How to stop this: It's very hard to detect good inside jobs. You need a series of systems to catch these. Receipts and audits are essential. Also, you need to be on top of your business or become the manager yourself. I personally believe that there is a difference between working IN your business and working ON your business. If the business becomes something you cannot leave, then you have become an employee of your own business.
A laundry franchise may be able to teach you techniques on stopping these.
At Suds, we developed a computerized system of transactions and integrated it into our processing of the items. This reduced pilferage while freeing up the time of the Suds laundry franchise owner to focus on more important things such as marketing.
No system is fool-proof though. When you own a laundry business always be cautious about how money gets handled. Audit, audit, audit. Make your receipts hard to copy. Have a logbook for everything. And be careful about how you treat your employees. If you lose their respect, it may be time to go on separate ways.
Til next time!
- Written by Caloy Ang for the Suds Laundry Blog
- For more information about us visit www.suds.com.ph or see our blogsite at sudslaundry.multiply.com
