Employer has beef with worker who allegedly stole meat
May 8, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Employees do the strangest things, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
A pen here, a pad of paper there. Employee theft happens - and sometimes it’s hard to track. Not so for a New Jersey restaurant.
A highlighter goes into a pocket. Some sticky-note pads find their way into a briefcase. As long as employee theft is small and infrequent, many companies may not even notice that certain items are leaving the supply closet more quickly.
So if this incident took place as reported, it apparently took some skill for Carlos Trinidad of Vineland, NJ, to almost get away with stealing hundreds of dollars worth of ribs and prime beef from his employer, Texas Roadhouse.
Trinidad allegedly took the meat out of a freezer and hid it in back of the restaurant near the trash bins.
Someone tipped off the restaurant manager who found the beef and called the police.
Trinidad turned himself in. Police arrested him, and the restaurant fired him.
There’s no word on whether Trinidad had a childhood fascination with the Hamburglar.
(Has your company ever caught an employee ”borrowing” something out of the ordinary? Drop HR Blunders a few lines about it below in the Comment box.)
Tags: employee fired, employee theft, stolen meat
May 9th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
There is nothing unusual nor surprising in restaurant employees stealing valuable cuts of meat or other expensive inventory items. As a veteran of the hotel business, a former practicing CPA with restaurant clients, and currently serving on the board of a fraternal organization that operates a “white linen” fine restaurant, I have seen this situation again and again. If you are in the restaurant business and your food costs appear at all out of line, you should be very suspicious of employee theft. Surveillance cameras at key locations in chillers, pantries and entrance/exit doors are an unfortunate but necessary part of proper inventory control. And note that I am from North Dakota, a state renowned for its honest, trustworthy workforce.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:24 am
At one of my former employers, the purchasing agent took the coins from the soda machine and lost them gambling at the casinos. When asked why he had not turned the cash over to the proper party he readily admitted his problem. I thought that he was being sarcastic since no one in his or her right mind would do such a thing. Imagine my surprise to learn that he really had taken the money and more than once. He was, of course, terminated.