A reader writes:
I have a small takeout restaurant. We have four employees, plus me and my business partner. Hiring is hard and when we find employees who come in every day and live up to our expectations, we try to keep them happy.
We have had an employee for about 2.5 years. Gradually over time, he has started taking more and more freedom with regard to food and ignoring our requests to perform a task. I’ve had three conversations with her, and things always get better for a period and then she starts slipping again.
Recently, she has started taking more of the $10 meals we provide per day (which includes a sandwich, side dish, and drink). She’ll have an extra drink once or twice a month, or today she had her free meal on her break and then I came back from running errands to find her eating a bag of chips when she was supposed to be working.
It all seems very small. How do I negotiate $1.50? But, it bothers me that I’ve had to talk to him about it more than once, and it keeps happening. When she’s taking more, it’s a few dollars here or there. But it increases with time. Our margins are tight and our costs have skyrocketed in the last year.
Part of me thinks that if we are too strict on these things, we will lose employees and hiring is one of the biggest challenges we face. But I also feel like she’s stealing from us and my ego just wants to scream. Should I address it again, or just find a way to let it go and accept that it is what it is?
I answer this question – and two others – today in Inc. In, where I’m revisiting letters that are buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding their responses). You You can read it here.
Other questions I’ll be answering there today include:
- My client changed my email before forwarding to make himself look better
- Should I tell my team that I’m trying to get them a raise?
