Customer service
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All customers should be greeted with a smile and a simple statement: “Welcome to Housing
Works Thrift Shop, can I help you?” Follow the 10/4 rule: at ten feet, make eye-contact, at four
feet, verbally greet the customer.
Bag Check
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All employees/volunteers must have their bags checked by a manager when exiting the store.
Employee/Volunteer Purchases
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All employee/volunteer purchases must be rung through the register by a manager.
Manager/Administrator Purchases
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Manager and administrator purchases must be rung through by another member of
management.
Inventory Log
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All stores must log and track all non-clothing items of $100 and over.
Banking
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Deposits must be made before the store opens.
Pricing
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Two individuals must be present when items are priced.
Securing the site
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Manage the property to ensure maximum safety and control.
Internal
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Any Housing Works employee/volunteer/manager found engaging in any dishonest activity will
be terminated immediately.
Conflicts of Interest
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All potential conflicts of interest must be reported to a supervisor before date of hire.
Overview of Internal Theft
Research indicates and retail industry experts generally agree that employee theft is the largest
cause of inventory shortage. While only a small percentage of employees are dishonest, the losses
caused by this group are considerable. There are many theft methods used by dishonest employees. The
following are theft methods that cause inventory shortages:
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Removal of merchandise
Carry out, wear out
Pass to a friend or relative
Remove in trash
Under-ringing
Void fraud
Fraudulent markdowns and ticket-switching
Abuse of the employee discount
Theft of donations
There are other employee theft methods that do not cause merchandise inventory shortages but do
cause the loss of profit or other assets. A few of these methods are: direct cash thefts, credit card/check
fraud, payroll fraud, and non-merchandise property thefts.
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All Housing Works employees and volunteers who bear witness to any illegal, disrespectful, or
otherwise harmful activity have a clear responsibility to report it immediately to a supervisor.
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Any Housing Works employee, volunteer or manager found engaging in any dishonest activity
will be terminated immediately.
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All Internal Theft incidents must be documented in an incident report and then sent directly to
the VP of Operations and the Loss Prevention Department.
Ensuring employee honesty has a lot to do with the selection, training and management of people. It
also has a lot to do with developing an awareness and concern throughout the thrift shops which results
in everyone helping to deter or report a dishonest associate. Finally, because all associate dishonesty
cannot be deterred, the Loss Prevention Department conducts investigations to uncover embedded
associate theft in Housing Works facilities.
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Price Negotiation
 Under no circumstances may staff negotiate the price of any item in the store (items on the
floor, donations received, etc.).
 No person can price an item they wish to purchase, nor may they price down an item another
staff member has expressed an interest in.
 Absolutely no stashing of merchandise allowed in Housing Works Thrift Shops, The PDC or at
offsite events, nor can unpaid for items be placed in lockers or behind the register or in offices or
in any area inaccessible to customers.
Report stashed items to management and the Loss Prevention Manager immediately