With the Oz Lotto $90 million jackpot driving Christmas-like traffic and the Michael Jackson story driving excellent news traffic, we all need to take extra care managing cash this weekend. Here are some tips which may be useful:
- Remind all staff how you want cash handled. Busy times are when you will be targeted for change scams.
- Have senior staff spend more time at the counter to ensure best practice.
- Watch out for fake notes. Fake$50s are known to be circulating in Melbourne at the moment.
- Move cash to the safe regularly.
- If your bank is open today (Saturday), bank yesterday’s takings.
- Check your insurance and your cash limit. This will focus your mind on your exposure. Check to see if your policy has the ability for one off weekends like this for an increase.
- Take extra care when you close.
- If you are in a shopping centre, let centre management know. You may be able to engage security to watch while you close and move cash to the safe.
While this list may seem alarmist, the circumstances we find ourselves if maye us an appealing target.
Please, add to this list…
Here’s some scams I’ve have in my shop.
*Palming coins- the customer counts the price out in their hands then puts it directly into yours, palming some. Count all change on the counter in front of the customer for an agreed transaction.
*Note image burn – I had this guy from Zanzibar(?) ask for a $25.40 quickpick. He held a $100 note in front of me for the whole time, then when I asked for the money gave me a $50 note hidden in his other hand. I processed it as a fifty the he turned around and said “I gave you a hundred”. I could only remember him holding the hundred. (I know you can leave the note on top of the till but my software has images of notes to pair up)
*Order heaps of change – You don’t want to be caught short.
*I thinking of having an eftpos only queue seeing so many people forget their PIN or take so long signing, holding up everyone else. – Cash IS King.
I wanted to have a cash only lotto terminal… It would allow us to process people faster.
We are also telling customers that we will line up for a lotto terminal once. We can’t afford to do one customers transactions in three batches when you have to wait each time. This will become crucial on Tuesday.
We’ve taken this opportunity to remind our staff of what security measures we do take – for their protection and ours. They are all very happy that one of the owners will be there to close with them. Some are very worried about the extra cash.
Just a note about the fake $50’s.
When in doubt try to tear it. Unless the polymer note has been exposed to prolonged exposure to the elements it should not be able to be torn.
The paper counterfeits tear easily and once slightly torn expose the white paper they were copied on. Also they glow bright white under an ultraviolet lamp.
Use to see a lot of these in my last workplace recycling notes from armored car companies and banks.