What would you do if accused of stealing?

So, I have notheard this in a while, but I got a call from customer couple of days ago saying that after oil change and car wash, they are missing two wireless headsets(for DVD backseat)and about $10 loose bills.

Here are the facts:
-Yukon Denali came to our wash and lube 3 or 4 times a year for past few years.
-I think they also have another car or two that they bring
-$10 loose bills were placed inside the center console
-our wash finishers are instructed NOT to open center console
-2 headsets were placed in the back seat pockets.
-the 2 employees that worked on the car have worked here for about 3 years(husand and wife).

Customer is absolutely sure that we "stole" it. I've looked at the camera and all and there is nothing fishy as far as our employees working on the car. Lube guys never open the back door and they were hardly in the car so that would rule them out. So if anyone, then it'll be the wash finishers who could have taken the headsets and loose bills. Now, $10 I can understand, but they have no need for the headsets. And plus how can they put that thing away in their pockets?

I'm 99% sure that our guys are innocent, but that wouldn't matter to the customer. I told him that I would do further investigation and call him back. I don't have a good news to share with him and he is already threatening not to come back because we "stole" his stuff. I don't think the customer is faking it and I do genuinly believe that he may have lost the headsets. But I also believe that we did NOT "steal" the headsets.

What do you think and what would you say to the customer?

-tom

Just have the customer watch the video with you and have him tell you where the headsets went. If nothing looks fishy and the guys keeps working and they don't run off to there cars,then there's no way they could of taken the headsets. Plus what will they do with them? They only work for that car. I'd give him a FREE wash, and maybe tell him to check else where at home and bring the car in so you can check it out for him. I have an escalade and those headsets will fit in the center console, top part and bottom. May want to check there. If I'm not 100% sure my guys stole something, then I send the customer on down the road. They'll find them later and if there a real man they'll call you up and say sorry. Best of luck

Hi, Something like happened to me few months back.I showed the video to the customer but I have an officer from Police Department there too. The cop saw the video too. After watching the video in front of the cop his attitude totally changed. If your workers are with you for last 3 yrs. And I hope any other customer never complained about them why suddenly a theft complaint comes up.

THere's not much you can do without evidence that your employees stole something, but you can put them on notice that if it happens again where they are the only suspects that they will be fired.

For the record, couples, family and close friends that work together are much more likely to comspire together if they aren't 100% honest.

I called the customer and left message yesterday. He hasn't called back. Either he found the headsets or just don't want to talk to us anymore?

I still can't figure out the motive for "stealing" the headsets and I can't figure out how the finishers could have "stolen" it. So, as I cannot figure those two important questions out yet, I'm more convinced maybe the customer may have perhaps found his headsets. And least that's my hope.

These are always difficult situations. Employees who steal often start soon after being hired (fire them immediately). It would be extremely rare for someone to work for several years then start stealing from customers.

When accused of theft, I try to search the car for the customer (it is amazing how many people can't find something that falls under a seat) then find out when they last saw the item in the car.

I have far more stories about being wrongly accused of theft than I do of actual theft. A customer accused us of a stealing a wallet 4 years ago. He went as far as to call the police. We explained that we were sure no one stole it. He was irate, threatened to take us to court, etc. He left and we didn't hear from him again. I tried to followup, left messages with his secretary but no response. About three months ago, he comes in for a car wash. Introduces himself and explains that he hasn't been back because he was embarrassed. He found the wallet at home.

In your case, I would find out which alleged theft the customer discovered first. They probably discovered one thing "missing" and started to look around for other things that may be missing. I don't think I would pay to replace the headsets. I might offer a refund on the wash for the $10 while maintaining that you are sure it was not stolen by your employees.

One more comment... you said the lube guy is off the hook because he doesn't open the back door. Is there a chance he took the $10 and the headsets were never in car to begin with?

Good luck, these situations are why so many operators stopped getting in cars... I wish I had that luxury.

David

Tom
If accused of theft I would always begin an investigation, like it sounds you did, after concluding that there was no way my guys did this I would explain the circumstances to the customer and always offer the advice to file a police report, this way it doesn't look like you are trying to hide anything.
After these conversations and explaining your faith in your employees I would then offer to trade out the value of the items in carwash and lube services. It is better to maintain this good customer then to chase him away. You will look like a compassionate and concerned business owner even if you didn't committ the crime.

I guess there is always possibilities for everything. I didn't think about it but I guess maybe he was missing either the headset or $10 then started to look for other things that were missing.

We either stole it or we did not. Either way is possible. Based on objective research and study, it is more likely that it was NOT stolen. If I had to bet my life on it, I would definitely bet on NOT stolen. But then again, such statement will not be very pursuasive to the customer and it may actually make him more angry.

I wouldn't mind buying him new headset or giving him $10. But wouldn't that be sign of admitting that we stole it? "I want you to know that we did NOT steal but here it is". I think no matter how you say it, it'll be taken in wrong way. The customer also told me that he is positive that we stole it because he ALWAYS keeps the headsets in the seat pockets and it's not there anymore.

It's like I can't win either way. If we DID steal it, then I loose. If we did NOT steal it we loose because he is still missing the headset. Only way I can win is hope and pray that he finds the headset.

I have had some similar situations in the past too. But most of them were wrongful accusation where the customer came back and apologized. I had a customer who said we stole here DVD player. Turns out her daughter had left it on their garage shelf because she knew her mother was going to take her car for carwash. I had instances where my guys found stuff for customers like jewelry. I had a customer who had $800 cash underneath driver side mat. I found $20 bill laying on ground. I took it to lobby and waved to everyone and asked if anyone had lost $20. NO answer. Then about 30 minutes later a guy comes to me and thanks us. He had forgotten that he had stashed $800. And he was very pleased to know that the guy who finished his car did not touch it even though he vacuumed around it. He was missing on $20 bill which I assumed was the one I picked up. He told me to keep it and he also gave some serious cash to the guy that finished his car. Stories like this further reinforce my SUBJECTIVE belief that our guys did NOT steal. And even looking OBJECTIVELY I must say that the evidences are more overwhelming that we did NOT steal.

But what the heck matters to customer, huh? If they believe that we "stole" it then that is so no matter what I do or say. It just sucks to see losing a good customer and there ain't much that I can do about it other than to hope and pray that maybe his daughters will find for him.

-tom

Tom,
Somtimes the customer is wrong. A few years ago a customer claimed my general manager stole the wallet out of her purse while he doing some additional vacuuming on her car after the wash. She didn't notice it was missing until later that evening. We searched the car and could not find it. We asked if she had stopped anywhere else after leaving the wash and she said no. I explained to her that I had personally know this employee since we were in highschool and he had worked for me for over 20 years. I told her that it seemed unlikely that he would jeopardise a good paying job for a few dollars from a customers wallet. She wasn't buying it and demanded a police report be made. We wash all the cars for our township and even when the reporting officer vouched for my manager she wouldn't change her mind. She called me for weeks demanding that I fire my manager and make restitution. This went on for over a year. I happened to be at the township hall for other business 18 months after the incident and overheard her in the Chief of polices office demanding the arrest my manger. At about 20 months after the incident, I got a call from the police chief. She had found her wallet in her neighbors car where she had left it the day of the incident.She didn't even have the guts to call and apoligise.I always back my employees first and unless there is good evidence to the contrary I trust them to tell the truth.

When we were full service (Thank God those days are over), customers would often leave change in their ashtray. Invariably they would come back and say something like, "I had $20 in change in my ashtray and half of its gone." Being the sympathetic person I am I would say, "you're lucky, you got one of my good employees." I mean really, leaving money in your car and going to a car wash? Does your mother still have to remind you to wear clean underwear too? Leaving anything of value in your car and turning it over to complete strangers - especially those working in a car wash, is nothing short of stupid.

I alwasy figured it this way. 1/3 of the time the customer was lying, 1/3 of the time they were mistaken and 1/3 of the time they were telling the truth. That mean 2/3 of the time you were not responsible. We had an old, African American man come through and get an exterior only wash. He claims to have left a blank money order for $475 dollars on the seat of his car. We called the police. Now only the drive on and drive off man got in his car. All of our crew was African American as well. When the cop found this out and asked if the man could identify the drive off employee he responded, "i don't know, they all look alike." I think the cop bit a hole through her tongue to keep from laughing - I had to walk away. And no, we didn't give the customer $475 back.

If you go to a full service car wash and leave valuables in it, its your own damn fault if they come up missing. I mean really, most employees work pay check to pay check, many have personal problems, and here you come in with your $40,000 SUV and you leave valuables in the car? How stupid are you? (that was a rhetorical question - the fact you left valuables in the car answeres it completely).

Yeah I know, every operator performs background checks and does drug testing and performs psychological tests before making a hire -especially when trying to gear up for the busy season. After all, they are applying for a job with a fortune 500 company.

I have heard similar statements from Chiefs and other operators over the years and I have to disagree. You can have trustworthy employees and you can take responsibility when necessary.
If we do not trust an employee to not steal a quarter, a $50 bill or an ipod, etc. in the vehicle, we let them go. If a customer doesn't empty the change out of their ashtray or drops a twenty under their seat, they should not have to worry that it will be stolen.

Customers deserve better and our industry needs to stop making excuses and acting like theft is acceptable because an item was left in a car.

I believe that too often we let the 1% (or less)of problems dictate policy that damages our image and our customer's experience.

(...stepping off soapbox)

David

Dave,

"Somehwere Over The Rainbow". All you can do is to try to not let the dishonest ones get inside people's cars. $20 in change to a guy driving a Hummer Mercedez of Jag or anything else is just $20 in change. To the guy who gets in your car and doesn't have money to buy food or has to support his habit (whatever it may be) its everything.

Good luck finding those high school and college grads who grew up in a good home and have a well developed values system - especially when you're staring at 4-5 500+ wash days in the winter and you start the week with 25 guys and on day five only 12 show up.

Most employees come to the car wash because they are incapable of holding down a job at Wendy's. Our last few years of full service we were sending out 250-300 W'2s every year! Most guys worked anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks. Try getting a consistently trained, loyal and honest crew out of those numbers. The last couple of years we even instituted a program of paying $7.00 per hour Min. wage at the time was $4.35 an hour. The only stipulation was you had to show up on time every day you were scheduled. It was just amazing how many would work all week on time and then not show up on Saturday or Sunday. Often that represented a $100 or more hit on their check. They just didn't care. We got to the point where we were handing out plastic bags and telling people to take all valuables out of their car before getting it washed. Thank God those days are behind us and we now wash 2.5 times as many cars and the labor factor has gone down from 50% to 18%.

It is very discouraging to hear stories about the headaches involved in HR mgt when running full service wash. I'm going on 3rd year on mine and I absolutely love it and it's probably because I am extremely lucky to have the people that work for me now. The more I hear stories about HR problem, the more I realize that what I have is not to be taken for granted. Believe it or not, our average turn over hear is less than 1 person per month. I have hired one person since February of this year. And I thank my lucky star everyday.

But nevertheless, it is discouraging to see that HR problem is inevitable in Full Svc. Because eventually(within next 2 years), I wanted to branch out and either buy or build another full service. But I see that it will not be an easy matter of finding good employess like the ones I got now. I guess going Express is the best bet if I wanted to be multiple location, huh?

I had gas stations and hotels before. I had similar problem with keeping the right people. But it was relatively easier to find right people. Car Wash is just a totally different field it looks like. It always seems that it's lot easier said than done in car wash biz especailly full service.

Anyways, the conclusion of our story on this particular incident is that the customer has NOT called me back and I do not know and perhaps will never know what really happened. I could only say that the probability of our wash finisher stealing head sets seem ridiculously low while the probability of the customer having misplaced it might be high. So, I'm hopeful that the customer may have found his headset and just doesn't see the importance of calling me back.

And life goes on...

-tom

Tom, if the customer hasn't called back hopefully that means he realized his error. Hopefully someday you get to hear the full story.

"Most employees come to the car wash because they are incapable of holding down a job at Wendy's" I think that is a very telling comment. I don't hire people who can't get a job at Wendy's.
In our case, employees that come to us from Wendy's are moving up, not down. Applicants that cannot get hired here, go to fast food places. We work hard to be an employer that people want to work for. I strive to minimize turnover.

My goal isn't to simply disagree but I want people who read these posts to realize that it doesn't have to be this way. The trade show last month had an excellent seminar by a trainer from Autobell car washes and he addressed this issue. Car washes must get away from hiring the guys who can stand up and hold a towel. We have to create higher standards. When a 500+ car day is coming up, the crew should be in place and well trained, not hired off the street at a moment's notice.
When I hire an employee who lasts only a few days or weeks, I consider that a mistake on my part - I hired the wrong guy. (yes, it is unbelievable how many workers like this are out there)

David

David,

I agree with you, mate. And it's true for any other biz as well. Having the right people is one of the biggest asset. It may even be the biggest asset. And I think we will also agree that just as important it is to have the right people, it is so easy to hire the wrong people. Put it another way, it is hard to find a good talent... or is it?

I think finding the right people is definitely a good start. Then comes the training and mentoring. I think you need both. You need good person to start and good training to foster that person to grow to your needs. If you fail the one or the other, it's a receipe for disaster. But that is so much easier said than done. So much so that I see many managers just give up on it and write it off as either "it's hard to find good people willing to work for lousy pay" or "it's hard to train these people for lousy pay".

But on the brighter side, everyone including your competition has similar pool of employees to choose from. So, it's not like as if it is a one-sided competition to begin with. You just got to make the best with what you got.

I didn't realize it for sure until this morning. I had to turn my latest P&L to the bank for possible re-fi consideration. Along with it I put few bullet points to explain the P&L and the general mood of our wash. In it I bragged about the low turnover. Turns out I hired 1 new wash finisher and 0 detailers this year and 3 lube techs. I have the same greeters, cashiers, front line manager and my AGM. It just dawned on me that that is an awesome thing and like I said before, I am extremely grateful for that. Would I be able to maintain this streak for rest of the year and years to come? I'm not so sure. I can only hope and pray that good Lord will continue to bless me.

Now the most frustrating part despite the fact that we have low turnover staff is when it gets crazy busy. You know, like one of those once in a blue moon busy days that happens maybe a dozen or so times per year. You are just overwhelmed with sheer volume and you don't have the men power. What do you do? I've always thought that this is the biggest challenge for car wash industry. How do you cope with those situation? I mean if you have max of 8 teams who can knock out say 300 cars. But you get 400 cars, what do you do? Do you resort to finding quick warm bodies and throw towels in theird hands and start washing cars? Or do you tell 100 cars to come back? It is a serious delima that somehow every operator when thrown in such situation find way to cope with. And it is just amazing how quickly the operators can adapt to various situation. But by no means do I envy that chaos.

Finally, I agree that working at car wash CAN BE upward move compared to Wendy's. At the same time I agree that it CAN BE downward move. I think that really depends on the part of employer. I guess that's the "training and mentoring" factor.

While I am writing, one incident came into my head. About year after he sold it, the previous owner came by because I needed help with something. We came to the subject of HR matters and he went about rambling how every employee is out here to "cheat" you. Any opportunity they see, they will take advantage of you. And I thought to myself, "wow, is this guy serious?". I can see how you can "feel" that way. I "feel" that way to sometimes, but running the business like that can make you paranoid, don't you think so? Come to think of it, he was a bit paranoid and weird. I think in the end money was all that matterd to him and people, employees or customers, didn't mean much to him either than that those people were the means to his end, money. But he is relatively successful, so it kind of bothers me.

Oh well, everyone is different.