Theft is never a non-issue when cash is involved.
True. There is a Amtrak OIG (Office of Inspector General) report from June, 2011 with the catchy title
"Food and Beverage Service: Further Actions Needed to Address Revenue Losses Due to Control Weaknesses and Gaps" which is available on the
OIG website. Interesting reports on there. Along with some silly press releases. We recovered a credit card machine, stop the presses!
The OIG made findings and recommendations that are likely a factor in the push for POS system and the cashless club-diner experiment.
Some excerpts:
"Between March 2003 and January 2010, we identified 903 theft, dishonesty, and policy/procedure violations by 306 LSAs, and issued 447 administrative referrals to Amtrak managers. The recurring schemes described in this report involve the falsification of documents to conceal missing food and beverage revenues and inventories."
"Shorting cash register sales. This scheme involves selling items for their retail value and ringing up smaller amounts, with LSAs pocketing the difference."
"Most domestic airlines have implemented in-flight cashless sales. During tests of cashless flights, airlines reported, customers spent more when using charge cards. Airlines were also able to simplify in-flight procedures for their flight attendants so that they could focus more on customer service and safety. However, according to Transportation Department officials, on-board cashless sales may not be appropriate for some selected Amtrak routes and trains due to the unique nature of the rail passenger industry."
"We recommend that the President and Chief Executive Officer direct that actions be taken to:
1. Establish a pilot project of cashless food and beverage sales on selected routes and trains to determine the short- and long-term effects on operations loss prevention, revenues, costs, customer satisfaction, and the on-board work environment."