Just a Few Ways to Keep Coin Boxes Safe and Secure

Now and again the laundry owner had a sense that everything wasn''t quite right, but there was never anything he could put his finger on. He''d owned the laundry for years, and had never been careless about the security of his keys. He was certain that he was the only person who had coin box keys. On a day off from his regular job, he came in to his laundry just to see how things were going. A customer he knew complimented him on the nice young man he had collecting the coins. Since the only part time employee he had was a lady, he knew he was being robbed. Immediately he installed new locks and found the laundry''s income rose an average of $300 per week. How long had this been going on? Maybe for years. Who had been doing it? Was it a former owner or members of his family? Could it have been one of the service technicians he had hired over the years? He never has found out. His advice is to always stay suspicious that something could be wrong. Because the number of key codes used in the laundry business is limited, there is always a small chance that someone could have a duplicate key to your coin boxes. Enterprising crooks can surprise even the experts. Of course, one can always purchase new locks, but that can be expensive. Proactive steps operators can take to insure there are no silent partners include salting the coin boxes with identifiable coins. If those coins aren''t there, then there is a problem. Mark coins and put in a specific number, but only in certain coin boxes. Keep coins from those boxes separate from the rest of the collection. Go through those boxes to recover all of the marked coins. If those coins are always there, then it''s likely that a silent partner is not working your laundry. However, if they are not in the box, then you know that something could be going on. Some operators count the coins in each box. The total should be exactly divisible by number of coins needed to start a load. That''s a long and tedious process to go through. The theory behind this is that working quickly, thieves will grab a handful, which could leave a box uneven when divided by the vend price. A smart crook may think of that too, so it''s no real security guarantee if your boxes do come out even, but it''s an almost sure sign if they are off on a regular basis. Vary the days and time of day that you collect. What a silent partner counts on is not being noticed, so they only take a part of the laundry''s income. They may hit on Tuesday, knowing by the time you collect on Friday, that there will be sufficient coin in the boxes to hide what they''ve done. By varying times you collect, you put them at risk of being noticed. By varying collection times you also may reduce the risks of being robbed personally, face to face. If you can''t sleep well because you have worries that you may have silent partners, take steps. Other operators have put in some security cameras to monitor what goes on and who goes in and out of their laundry. Some do their collections daily. Others count coins or salt their coin boxes. Although it may be the most expensive way, you might think about replacing your coin box locks. Keep a sense of cash and coin security. Keep checking to be sure.