Covering Restaurant Seating Areas with Security Cameras
Many restaurants are starting to monitor the customer seating areas of their restaurants with security cameras. These cameras can provide many benefits to vigilant owners. Security cameras that are well placed in the dining room of your restaurant can be very useful in alerting you and other personnel when customers are leaving, letting the management or servers check to ensure that the bill has been settled, and to begin clearing the table for the next customers. Beyond the obvious, these cameras can also be used to monitor the wait staff, providing valuable information on how the staff are working and how customers are fairing with their dining, so you can dispatch managers to the tables of disturbed customers, or dispatch a server if it appears that customers are not receiving care that meets your standards.
Security Cameras for your Restaurant
Security cameras inside your restaurant will help provide evidence and recording, so that if employees break the rules, or customers skip out on their check, you will have video footage. Restaurant owners looking to provide this level of security should also take into account the lighting level, and traffic patterns, to ensure appropriate coverage.
If your restaurant has lower light levels, then IR Infrared style cameras should be considered, as these cameras can provide much better coverage during these low light periods, even seeing when it is completely dark. These IR indoor dome cameras provide color video during the daytime, and then they switch to black and white mode in low light conditions allowing the camera to illuminate the area in front of the camera with invisible IR light for great night vision. However, if light levels are normal, and lights are left on at night, then daytime color style restaurant security cameras such as our standard indoor dome cameras can be used.
When considering cameras for your restaurant, take into consideration the entrances and exits. Cameras placed in these locations can deliver the best picture for identification of personnel and customers if needed later. However, in the case of front door areas, ensure that the camera will not be positioned in a backlight condition. During daylight hours, light coming through front windows behind customers that are walking in, will reduce the brightness of the faces of customers, because the camera will adjust to the brighter outdoor area. Therefore, cameras in the entryways should be positioned to look instead at the faces of customers, but positioned to reduce backlight conditions.
Also, you should consider placing cameras above your cash registers, this will allow you to keep track of cashflow into and out of the registers, as well as monitor credit cards. Especially as economic times get tough, more and more stories of credit card fraud increase, and often authorities rely on restaurant security cameras for evidence. Most restaurant owners and managers think that their employees wouldn’t do that, but statistics show that restaurants have higher levels of employee theft than even retail stores. Restaurant Security cameras placed to in such a way to cover the registers can help to deter this theft, and certainly provide evidence while possibly even alerting managers to the existance of any problems.
If you still have a budget remaining after coverage of entries and exits and registers, the dining area of the restaurant can provide additional value-added information to restaurant managers and owners. Wideangle cameras placed in the dining room will help you track the customer load and properly allocate your resources. These cameras will also assist managers in watching for customers who are waiting for their server or are dissatisfied with their food. This can allow you to promptly respond to problems, leading to better customer experiences. When used appropriately, restaurant security cameras used in this method can help improve the entire customer perception of your restaurant, while still providing the security that you need