I worked in a bar, in Cornwall four about four years (on and off).
It is no longer there. The bar was part of a large chain (I think it still exists in some form) and the management who ran it were just incredible. Had it been run properly, it would have made the company an incredible amount of money. It still did do pretty well for a number of years and was a lot of fun for a long time.

Management scams included:

1. If we started the cover charge at 7pm, the till would be switched on at 8. All money taken before then would be... well... stolen.

2. The company provided the managers with a generous 'buy people drinks' allowance. They were allowed to give out a number of free drinks vouchers to anyone they pleased, it was about a thousand a month. When you were given a voucher, by a punter, you had to ring in what they had and press the 'voucher' button on the till. The managers would ask selected staff, on busy nights to use the voucher button, when people paid, give them change from the drawer and then print a receipt so that they knew how much to take out of the drawer. A couple of hundred from two tills in a busy night would be scammed.

3. Stock walked in a big way. A friend of mine, who was supervisor at the time, was fired after the manager back-doored too much stock and needed a scapegoat. He was later re-hired after the dust had settled. On the general managers 40th birthday, about a third of the stock, in the bottle room (a BIG room) was taken to his party. Most of the furniture too, although that came back.

4. Out of date stock was sometimes knowingly sold.

There were other scams going on, but I never knew exactly what they were. The good thing about it was that it would pay for staff outings. If there was a company party going on somewhere, the scams would pay for all the staff to get on a coach (with a load of stolen stock) and go for a massive party. It would also subsidise the occasional go-karting or laser quest party too. Cool eh?

If they'd ever been caught, I often wonder if we'd have been blamed and gone down for it.
( The Togaboy The world will end on, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 1:13, 5 replies)

Speaking as someone who still works in a bar in Cornwall
the only thing that really surprises me here is the inventiveness displayed.
As for point 4, I think every pub ever has secretly knowingly sold out of date stuff. When I started my first job I found a can of Diet Coke that was three and a half years out of date.
Not being an arse. Just saying.
(Paolo Nutini's Bikini Better than Frederick Fleet's optometrist, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 2:02, closed)

Who knows?
Maybe I served you. If you were old enough at the time. I'm talking tomato juice that is two years past. It still got sold. So grim.
( The Togaboy The world will end on, Sat 9 Jul 2011, 10:19, closed)

Didn't have hairs in it, did it?
/old jokes No. 473
( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Sat 9 Jul 2011, 12:53, closed)

to both you and TT
which bar?
( Peej, Sun 10 Jul 2011, 15:20, closed)

I've pretty much
admitted to helping defraud a large company with their own legal department. I might just keep the name to myself...
( The Togaboy The world will end on, Wed 13 Jul 2011, 6:44, closed)