Employee Theft (AOL Post April 6th, 2005)

This was a post that I wrote on April 6, 2005! I am posting it here, because it's kind of relevant to the entry that I am writing at the moment!

Yesterday was a very shocking day for me. I've seen associates steal from work, but I never would have expected it from this kid "T". He's a very nice and a very articulate kid, he never got complaints, only compliments as far as I know. He went out of his way for people, I do to, but not as much as he would. He would volunteer to do carry-outs, help customers take there groceries out of there carts and put them on the belt...etc.

"T"started working on the front end at 3pm, when he was on his break he came up to the service desk and handed in a $4.20 bottle script (receipt used to get money for cashing in bottles) to my friend Shannon. She cashes it in and waits until he walks away and tells me that this is his second bottle script within a week. She didn't see "T" put any bottles into our machines (there right in front of the desk). She calls our Customer Service Manager and tells her about him cashing it. The CSM looked into it and there was a $4.20 bottle script in the report for his register. They still didn't have enough proof, so I told Shannon to look at the time on the bottle script. She wasn't aware that there was a time or a date on it. When she finally looked it showed the date and time right down to the second. Military time, 15:20:--(3:20pm). "T" started work at 3pm. So the CSM came up with this clever idea to bait him. She had me print up a bottle script for $7.75 from our little register that we use when customers turn in there glass bottles.(another journal entry) I did and she sent (our receiver) down to get it. We gave it to him and he went through "T's" line, and cashed it in. All we had to do is wait, and they eventually got him on camera taking the bottle scripts and putting them on the side of his register. Then when it was time for him to go "T" grabbed them and went to go punch out. I have no idea how they didn't notice him doing this before, but If I am the CSM, I will be keeping a close eye on those bottle script reports. It makes me kind of wonder if there is anyone else doing that. I also think Shannon deserves some credit, whether it be a $50 gift card or a raise, because she is always catching people stealing. Whether it be employees or customers, she always gets her man or woman.(lol) I used to call her eagle eyes, because she could always spot something out of the ordinary. GO Shannon!
later!

Sooner!

I took a break from the computer, and while I was away I was thinking about thefts in general. Robberies, burglaries in general it had me thinking why do people do it. You know the story of Robin Hood (Steal from the rich, and give to the poor), that's a very noble cause, but what about these people out here today robbing the the rich and the poor. I'm not suggesting that we should go out and rob rich people, its just that people out there are struggling out there to make ends meat, are being robbed at gunpoint, homes broken into, or worse. I just wonder where these people's morals are when they commit these acts. Do they have a conscience? Do they ever wonder how taking things from people that wasn't given to them will affect that person. When I was a kid I took things that wasn't mine(mostly food) because I was hungry and I didn't want what my mom was cooking for dinner. I learned my lesson one day though. My first year at John Marshall High School, my winter coat was stolen out of my locker along with my house keys. It was a good coat (my favorite coat, but it wasn't worth much). When I told one of my teachers, she sent me to the principals office. They called my mom and she told them to send me to her job. The school wasn't responsible for locker thefts, so they never reimbursed me for my coat. So the school gave me 2 bus tokens and sent me on my way in the freezing cold with nothing but the clothes I had on which included a short sleeve shirt. I had to wait 20 minutes for a bus to come and I had people looking at me like I was crazy at the bus stop and on the bus, until someone asked me, "where's your coat?" I was so humiliated but I answered back hoping that I wouldn't feel people staring at me anymore. I felt very embarrassed and anxious. I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy. From that day on I vowed not to ever take things that didn't belong to me.