Recently, I went shopping for a new driver to add to my collection of “slightly used” golf clubs. (Those bad-boys are expensive brand new!)

I went back to a small store in a local outlet mall and was not surprised to see that the storefront was vacant and out of business. I mentioned that I was not surprised to see the store out of business…because a few months ago I watched one of their employees steal them blind!

Here’s how he went to the “dark side”…On my first visit to this golf store I selected a cheap no-name driver ($99) and approached the front register to make my purchase. There was a middle-aged, clean-cut, male employee who acknowledged me and rang up my driver. I asked him if he was selling a lot of the “knock-off” drivers due to the high price of a new one… and instead of answering my question, he said, “I can knock off 20% of this club if you pay with cash!”

Well… I’ve been catching thieves long enough to know that this phrase usually means “It’s On …Like Donkey Kong!”  (flashback to the 80’s)  In other words, to a trained observer like me, he just exclaimed, “I’m not as innocent as I look!”.

Onward…

So…I play along with this genius and reply,”Really? Ok, I’ll be right back… I need to get some cash out of the ATM.” (Note: see future post regarding ATM safety)

So I get some cash and go right back into the store to see how this is going to unfold.

“Einstein” rings me up again but this time he just hits a “no sale” on the register and says “That’ll be $80.00 even… including tax.” I give him 4 twentys and he thanks me for shopping with him as he hands me a receipt that he picked up near the side of the register.

I didn’t question the receipt , walked out of the store, and continued watching this “model employee” through the front window of the store. As predicted, he quickly took my four 20’s, folded them up, placed them in his front pocket, and closed the register drawer.

Talk about EASY MONEY! Here’s the kicker…

I continued watching him from outside the front window and he did the same routine 3 more times in less than 14 minutes. ( Yes, I was keeping track) I figured at this rate he was making somewhere in the neighborhood of $200.00 bucks an hour! Tax Free!

I felt horrible for the owner of this store. This guy was killing his profits!

So… I made a valiant attempt to contact the owner. I made phone calls… I wrote a letter explaining my observations…I copied my fake receipt…I left a message and my phone number with the property managers,etc.etc.

Sadly… I never heard back from anyone! As much as I wanted to fire “Einstein” myself, I couldn’t do much more but go back and try to catch him again.

I went back… and the sign on the front window said “FOR LEASE”.

It was definitely too late! I wonder if the owner blamed it on the economy?

I guess I ‘ll never know… but I hope this is a valuable lesson for those who own a business. Never forget the words of the late Ronald Reagan… “TRUST…but VERIFY”.

This simple phrase could mean the difference between life and death for your business!

Class dismissed!