The basic ingredients are fairly simple. A number of years ago, older ownership buys into the computer age with a ticketing system and puts a Long-term Employee in charge because said Long-term Employee has own computer at home. Key phrase is “older ownership.”
Believing adage about teaching an old dog new tricks, employee is given (gladly) full control of new computer system.
Another ingredient: the new computerized system is a nightmare during its first season of use. Result: no one except Long-term Employee wants anything to do with it. Second result: Long-term Employee finally rides in on white horse as system is apparently fixed after the first season, and tells all other employees to keep hands off so as not to screw it up again. Terrified of bringing back nightmare, all employees follow orders. The Boss doesn’t even have to be told to keep his hands off, let alone touch with proverbial ten-foot pole.
There are clues, however. Long-term Employee comes early, stays late, takes work home, duplicates computer and printer at home, puts ticket software on home computer, has baby and is absent only two days. Instead of raising suspicion, Long-term receives praise for dedication, and management worries that such devoted dedication is not being rewarded. (Hah!) Clues are offered to management, but not accepted. We know all that stuff about no time off, but choose another path to the “truth.”
Somewhere in this sad scenario the rental department, ski school and outdoor grills are put on the computer system. The entire operation speeds up and we have arrived in the Computer Age. Long-term is working still harder and longer. Years pass.
Fast forward to this past season and two things have become obvious. One, we are very busy with record crowds; and two, we do not seem to be generating enough cash. The rental shop is down nearly $15,000 from the previous year. Weekly staff meetings have become increasingly acrimonious and (alas, alas) we collectively conclude that our group business is way up and, logically therefore, our prices must be too cheap, which explains our low cash. (Today, I call this the “grain of truth factor.”)
Management is told the “old” computer system was overloaded by all this wonderful new business so reports could not be generated. No proof of average sales. No quick skier numbers. Just faith and over 30 years experience. Now the Old Dog with no new tricks is the Old Fool.
Because Long-term is one of only four people in the company who pick up money from the departments during the busy days, we have created a system which, with 20/20 hindsight, could generously be described as fatally flawed.
The only person in the company able to interpret the computer totals takes cash from the computers to the office upstairs where this same person confirms the accuracy of the cash count made by the bookkeeper. Since someone else is counting the cash, everything seems all right. However, the only person able—indeed, the only person permitted—to read the computer totals is confirming the accuracy of the cash totals after they are totalled by office staff. Old cash registers in the bar and kitchen check with their tapes and all monies in these departments are accurate and untouched.
Our version of the “Crime of the Century” was brought to light just as our season was ending. We did have some employee dishonesty insurance in our package—$10,000 to be exact. We spent that in about two weeks, flying the software seller in here, having our accountants at the area to help design our plans to reconstruct the decimated ski season. (After the fact, we determined we could have had $50,000 coverage for less than additional $140. We have since purchased the extra coverage!)
And, much of the off-season was been spent searching for documents that were probably destroyed, redoing sales day-by-day to prove an amount lost, trying to confirm past attendance figures for future planning, attempting to help the District Attorney establish the best case possible in pursuit of a reasonable amount of restitution that might be ordered in the criminal case. Perhaps a civil trial and its cost can be avoided.
In the wake of it all we have faced some truths, the first of which is that we were not alone. Local publicity and later discussion with our industry peers has demonstrated how common, how nearly universal, this type of crime has become. I don’t mean everyone is stealing from their employer, but I do mean that a terrifyingly high number of businesses have found someone to be stealing; some of the stealing is major. Then, too, a waitress friend reported a cashier was pocketing her tips, so stealing comes in all sizes.
Another sad truth is how many cases go unreported. This is truly depressing as your thief may become my thief. (And you knew you were running a crime school when you let the matter drop!) I also guarantee you will not let the second embezzlement go unreported. More the fool you, by then.
Conclusions in mid-stream on the way to hoped-for justice: The loss of money is bad, particularly in the startling amounts involved here, but the violation of trust is worse. And worst of all, you seem to be asked to mistrust everyone else—those dozens and dozens of honest people who have worked for you for so long. Everyone else because of this one rotten person. That’s true violation.
“Final” conclusion, for now anyway: Our business has lost money for the past three ski seasons. We have found the leak in our corporate dike and it is us. In our trust of an employee, we (read “I”) have abdicated our job as management by allowing someone else to gain unchecked control. Not wishing to learn and understand new technology was lazy and, frankly, stupid.
It does gladden this stupid heart to know, however, that we really have been doing a pretty good job of attracting people to this place and getting them to spend their money. Now if we can get the cash flow to flow in the right direction!
