[CopperStar]

As I've mentioned on here before, my BPD issues tend to get triggered in the work place, mostly paranoia problems, probably the combination of pressure and authority figures, would be my guess. So whenever I get upset about stuff at work, I feel like I have to second, triple guess everything and try to make sure I'm not just "acting like a borderline" basically.

So from the very start of me cashiering, everyone else (managers and other cashiers) has been allowed to get into my cash drawer willy-nilly throughout my shifts, and I am unable to lock my register when I have to step away from it (make coffee, stock shelves, change trash bags, etc).

At first, even amounts of money were going missing from my register, like $20 or $40 at a time, and my instant gut suspicion was that someone must be stealing from my cash drawer. But at the same time, I'm also questioning it, like what if it's just me not taking responsibility, or me being paranoid?

So I wrote corporate an anonymous email using a helpline explaining the situation to them and asking them establish proper cash handling procedures at the store, basically making it so that other people can't / aren't allowed to get into my cash drawer, since there are other registers they should be using, anyway.

Well corporate just forwarded the letter to my store manager, and my store manager surely knew it was me who wrote the letter due to the specific details I provided. So of course that just made my paranoia shoot through the bloody roof. All the store manager did was put up a note by the time clock saying that people should only use their own registers.

Well of course nobody follows this rule, and nothing is done about it. And as time goes on, larger amounts of money are going missing from my register.

Today it was $110 missing at the end of my shift, and I saw both the other cashier and the shift leader getting into my cash drawer multiple times.

I'm not sure what to expect when I go in tomorrow. Will I be confronted? Will I be fired? Will the store manager care that other people were in my cash drawer?

At this point I am freaked out and livid. I feel strong urges in multiple directions.. Quit (but I really need the job), write another but angrier letter to corporate, demand that the security video footage be checked, going off on someone if I am confronted tomorrow.

And at the same time there is that nagging voice in the back of my head, maybe you're just being paranoid, maybe it's all in your head. I have to keep going over all the details over and over again, but I lack proper skills to self-validate, so it's like a complicated, endless process trying to determine if I can trust myself.

I would appreciate any input from people outside the situation who are not emotionally and personally invested, like I am. The situation is totally crazy, isn't it? My expectations about my register are reasonable, aren't they? Someone is probably stealing from my register, right?

Or no? Promise not to bite anyone's head off if they think that yeah I might be being paranoid and why. Just looking for some honest and objective feedback, because my stress level is close to overload and my thoughts are racing.

[dancinglady]

Originally Posted by CopperStar

As I've mentioned on here before, my BPD issues tend to get triggered in the work place, mostly paranoia problems, probably the combination of pressure and authority figures, would be my guess. So whenever I get upset about stuff at work, I feel like I have to second, triple guess everything and try to make sure I'm not just "acting like a borderline" basically.

So from the very start of me cashiering, everyone else (managers and other cashiers) has been allowed to get into my cash drawer willy-nilly throughout my shifts, and I am unable to lock my register when I have to step away from it (make coffee, stock shelves, change trash bags, etc).

At first, even amounts of money were going missing from my register, like $20 or $40 at a time, and my instant gut suspicion was that someone must be stealing from my cash drawer. But at the same time, I'm also questioning it, like what if it's just me not taking responsibility, or me being paranoid?

So I wrote corporate an anonymous email using a helpline explaining the situation to them and asking them establish proper cash handling procedures at the store, basically making it so that other people can't / aren't allowed to get into my cash drawer, since there are other registers they should be using, anyway.

Well corporate just forwarded the letter to my store manager, and my store manager surely knew it was me who wrote the letter due to the specific details I provided. So of course that just made my paranoia shoot through the bloody roof. All the store manager did was put up a note by the time clock saying that people should only use their own registers.

Well of course nobody follows this rule, and nothing is done about it. And as time goes on, larger amounts of money are going missing from my register.

Today it was $110 missing at the end of my shift, and I saw both the other cashier and the shift leader getting into my cash drawer multiple times.

I'm not sure what to expect when I go in tomorrow. Will I be confronted? Will I be fired? Will the store manager care that other people were in my cash drawer?

At this point I am freaked out and livid. I feel strong urges in multiple directions.. Quit (but I really need the job), write another but angrier letter to corporate, demand that the security video footage be checked, going off on someone if I am confronted tomorrow.

And at the same time there is that nagging voice in the back of my head, maybe you're just being paranoid, maybe it's all in your head. I have to keep going over all the details over and over again, but I lack proper skills to self-validate, so it's like a complicated, endless process trying to determine if I can trust myself.

I would appreciate any input from people outside the situation who are not emotionally and personally invested, like I am. The situation is totally crazy, isn't it? My expectations about my register are reasonable, aren't they? Someone is probably stealing from my register, right?

Or no? Promise not to bite anyone's head off if they think that yeah I might be being paranoid and why. Just looking for some honest and objective feedback, because my stress level is close to overload and my thoughts are racing.

I think you are right on. I hope you are not the only one responsible for your drawer at the end of your shift. Your office seems to have weird ways of handling their money. Having others going into each other's register seems so unprofessional.

[Seraphine]

I don't think you are being paranoid at all. It's more than reasonable to be concerned about being scapegoated, or called a liar when realistically registers should only be opened by that employee so they can stop precisely that. I think taking notes, of who you see going to your register, when money goes missing etc, as if you get blamed it may help prove that you're not a thief would be helpful.
Another letter may help too, express your concerns about being fired over the complaint, and fear that you may be framed for others skimming from your register, that could be a good idea too.
I can imagine this would be quite stressful

[CopperStar]

I wound up writing another message to corporate. I am so wound up I will probably get almost no sleep tonight. I'm terrified to go into work tomorrow, and really angry at the same time. I have no idea how I will experience it mentally and emotionally if I am confronted about the shortage. I might disassociate, or burst into tears, or fly into a rage. I can't predict it.

In my message I explained everything and asked them to please make it so that I can lock down my cash register when I have to step away from it, to keep other people out of my drawer. I tried to avoid letting the letter be emotional and tried to keep it professional. I think I did mostly okay, but the letter was really long, maybe longer than it needed to be.

I just hate confrontation, I hate other people doing dumb **** that I then have to deal with. At least one superior titled staff member is in on it, and I am just a new cashier, disposable and still learning about things.

This whole job is so trippy and weird that it's making it very hard for me to reality-test, since reality-testing typically involves questioning things that are weird, and everything seems weird.

One time when I came up over $60 short, a manager informed me that another cashier came up over $60 over, and so therefor that other cashier must have accidentally take $60+ from my register, which was no big deal, problem solved.

I was just like.. problem solved??? Why is it okay that someone else "accidentally" took money out of my drawer? How does that even happen??

[ThunderGoddess]

I'd be feeling the same that is pretty stressful. I would say coping ahead is your best bet to getting sleep and not dissociate or tears if someone does confront you.

So here's how I'd cope ahead...

Open up wordpad on your computer or write it out on paper which ever one you will be able to carry a piece of paper with your coping strategy in with you tomorrow.

If confronted about missing money :

Over the course of my employment here I have had numerous employees using my cash drawer and on those dates that my drawer was used I noticed money has been missing. The rules clearly state we are not to use any one's drawers but our own. It has also been posted at the time clock and still employees are ignoring this rule. I am glad you confronted me with this issue because I value my position here and do not want to jeopardize my employment, it also has been bothering me frequently so at this point in time I would like to request that my cash drawer be locked and not used by any other employee.

OR...

Don't wait to be confronted and you go and confront the manager as soon as you get in and state the above in your own words of course

Also make a coping ahead plan for the worst case scenario response you would get after telling them this

So if he said you are a liar you stole the money!
Then you will flip your paper and say...

I am sorry you feel that way but you are mistaken and beings that my drawer has been used by multiple employees I will contact corporate about this issue and maintain my innocence.

Just keep in mind we usually go to worst case situations in our mind and the real situations are much easier to deal with so try to stay calm tonight and tomorrow getting upset or angry while there will not help you feel any better in fact you will probably be even more upset! And being scared about something that hasn't happened yet sucks up a lot of energy and causes so much turmoil be kind to yourself.

[Seraphine]

As far as the immediate problem of sleep, a nice shower or bath, then some asmr knocks me out on even the worst days.

Document. Document. Document. Every time you are aware anyone has been in your drawer, document it; forward that information to corporate each and every time.

[dancinglady]

Originally Posted by lolagrace

Document. Document. Document. Every time you are aware anyone has been in your drawer, document it; forward that information to corporate each and every time.

WHAT happened when u went back to work b

[CopperStar]

Originally Posted by dancinglady

WHAT happened when u went back to work b

It has just been a huge, weird mess.

First the shift leader (one of the people who kept getting into my drawer when the $110 went missing) approached me the next day about the missing money. He immediately came up with a reason to explain the imbalance, and his reason made no sense, but he acted like it did, and then dismissed it as not a problem. In my head I was just like omg dude could you be any more obvious.

Basically sometimes I have to have a manager do a manual drop into the safe when a large bill is legit but for whatever reason the electronic safe keeps spitting the bill out (such as if the bill is very old, damp or too wrinkled). In that case the manager enters into the information into the register software system, so that the manual drop does not affect the register balance. So on the day the $110 went missing, the shift leader had to manually drop a $100 bill for me, and I saw him enter it into the system, so it would not have affected my balance print out. Then his explanation for why the money was missing was that he dropped it into the safe so it's no big deal. I guess he doesn't know that I know how the system works and that that's NOT the reason my drawer was short so much money.

Then today the district manager showed up at the store in response to my messages about the situation. He broke the agreement to keep me anonymous, so now everyone knows that I have been complaining about the situation and are snippy with me. The district manager embarrassed me in front of everyone by showing me how to lock the register like I was a dumb***, even though I was trained not to lock my register and multiple people know my code anyway.

Then the store manager has me sign a paper stating that I had been trained to lock my register and that therefore I am responsible for the balance. Completely ignoring that lots of people know my code and that other people have been allowed to get in my cash drawer the whole time, and that I was supposed to let them. I signed it since it was true that I have now been trained to lock my register.

But I am not going to passive or friendly anymore about people getting into my drawer, and I am planning to quit in two weeks anyway due to this crazy bull****. I just need two more paychecks and then I will be okay for a little bit while trying to get a new job.

It sure has become obvious fast who has had sticky fingers, since now certain people are real pissy with me. What a joke of a store.

[Permacultural]

If money is actually missing and you aren't miscounting or making an error, then yeah somebody is stealing it. Doesn't sound like you're being irrationally paranoid.

[CopperStar]

Originally Posted by Permacultural

If money is actually missing and you aren't miscounting or making an error, then yeah somebody is stealing it. Doesn't sound like you're being irrationally paranoid.

I am sure I occasionally make a mistake, but not in the way of large, even amounts of money going missing. I could definitely understand me coming up like $4.32 short, which would account for stuff like if I accidentally gave someone 4 singles in change instead of 3, or something. If small, odd amounts of money were missing, then I would automatically assume error on my part, even if I couldn't remember it.

Well anyway after further thought, I am just not going back to the store ever again. Basically the way it stands now is that proper procedures did exist, but I was never trained in them, so everyone knew I was ignorant and knew they could get away with getting into my cash drawer whenever they wanted. I also look like a bloody fool to corporate since I've been practically begging them to implement proper cash handling procedures the whole time, when those procedures always existed, I was just kept ignorant of them.

Basically the district manager
- Broke the agreement to keep me anonymous
- Treated me like I was an idiot for not being trained properly
- Covered the company's *** by having me sign papers
- Completely ignored the fact that the store is not following proper procedures and doesn't provide proper training

Even if things went smoothly tomorrow, I just can't trust or feel comfortable with half my coworkers now, including multiple superiors. So there's no point in going back.

[DBTDiva]

Originally Posted by CopperStar

Then the store manager has me sign a paper stating that I had been trained to lock my register and that therefore I am responsible for the balance. Completely ignoring that lots of people know my code and that other people have been allowed to get in my cash drawer the whole time, and that I was supposed to let them. I signed it since it was true that I have now been trained to lock my register.

Are you in the US? They should not be able to force you to sign something stating that you were trained to do something you were trained NOT to do! Contact the Dept of Employment Security for your state if you are in the US. I had a friend who had an employer that kept switching her from salary to hourly based on what they had her doing, so they didn't have to pay her overtime. The state agency helped her get the overtime wages that were owed to her. The place did end up firing her for contacting the agency, she could have sued for wrongful termination but decided just to move on. It sounds like these people are setting you up by having you sign something, and that is totally illegal!!

[CopperStar]

Originally Posted by DBTDiva

Are you in the US? They should not be able to force you to sign something stating that you were trained to do something you were trained NOT to do! Contact the Dept of Employment Security for your state if you are in the US. I had a friend who had an employer that kept switching her from salary to hourly based on what they had her doing, so they didn't have to pay her overtime. The state agency helped her get the overtime wages that were owed to her. The place did end up firing her for contacting the agency, she could have sued for wrongful termination but decided just to move on. It sounds like these people are setting you up by having you sign something, and that is totally illegal!!

Well the district manager did show up at the store and make a big deal of showing me how to lock my register, then I was to sign documentation saying that I had been shown how to lock my register. So I wasn't upset specifically about signing the document, but rather about what everything implied.

Basically that I should have been taught to lock my register and not let anyone in my cash drawer from the very beginning, but instead I was taught the opposite, because I was brand new and naive, so that people could take advantage.

And instead of corporate caring about that, they are more concerned with singling me out like I am troublemaker, like it is my fault that I was trained incorrectly and that I am in the wrong for reporting my concerns to the helpline.

Apparently it has been considered perfectly okay that other staff have taken advantage and broken policy, I'm the troublemaker for expressing concerns about it.

And after I signed that paper and went home, I realized that I could wind up in very hot water if I go back. Since multiple people know my code, and will now have a shoulder chip since they know I reported their behavior, there is nothing to stop them from using my code, taking money from my register and then waving that document like, "See, she agrees she was trained to lock her register."

I mean I guess I could contact corporate again and explain that multiple people know my code, but after the way they handled my whistle-blowing the first time, and considering that I was set up by some of my peers, to me it's just not even worth it at this point.

I mean they could have used the helpline feature to communicate with me, ask me questions, and they could have gracefully enforced proper cash handling procedures. But noooope, had to act like an @SS, out me to my managers, single me out and not even solve the problem in the process.

So they can just enjoy that high turnover and their future internal theft losses.

sounds like people are skimming. That sucks. I can say, in MOST situations you should always go through your chain of command about issues. It seems as though you are in a place where some managers want to make a bit of extra money. I would get out of there. CYA until you do.

[DBTDiva]

Originally Posted by CopperStar

...
So they can just enjoy that high turnover and their future internal theft losses.

Yeah, if that's how they're going to treat people! They're lucky you aren't the type of person that would just start stealing too since everyone else was doing it. What a poor way to manage a business!

[CopperStar]

Originally Posted by April72

sounds like people are skimming. That sucks. I can say, in MOST situations you should always go through your chain of command about issues. It seems as though you are in a place where some managers want to make a bit of extra money. I would get out of there. CYA until you do.

Yes I do regret not professionally confronting the store manager about the issue first. I gave everyone the benefit of a doubt and (dumbly) assumed that there simply were not proper procedures and that my training reflected the current policies of the company. So that is why I reached out to corporate to talk about my concerns with the policies (or lack thereof). It never occurred to me that a bunch of people at the store (including superiors) were knowingly violating procedures and manipulating my training. And since the DM did not keep me anonymous as promised by the company helpline policies, all of my superiors now know that I am a threat because I am capable of "tattletaling". I would rather eat my socks than have to see any of them ever again.

[CopperStar]

Omg the crap doesn't stop. I was supposed to be paid today and it was supposed to be $240-something, instead the deposit into my account was $164. So wtf did they take the money out of my paycheck? Pretty sure that is illegal. I'm so angry I could puke.

[DBTDiva]

Originally Posted by CopperStar

Omg the crap doesn't stop. I was supposed to be paid today and it was supposed to be $240-something, instead the deposit into my account was $164. So wtf did they take the money out of my paycheck? Pretty sure that is illegal. I'm so angry I could puke.

What does the check stub say? Call the Dept of Employment Security, seriously don't let them screw you over!! You did nothing wrong.

[CopperStar]

I was really tempted to just stop showing up to work without a peep, but finally worked up the courage to at least officially quit. I called the store last night to let the manager on duty know that I would not be returning to work. Ironically it was the supervisor who I am 99% certain stole money from my till. Unsurprisingly he asked no questions and seemed to be expecting my resignation. Still royally pissed but at least I didn't completely chicken out over the whole thing.

[TMac1010]

Get out. I would.

[Seraphine]

I'm glad you quit tbh, who knows, if you'd started skimming as well they likely would have pinned you for the whole lot. Hopefully the next job is less corrupt. Usually management is very concerned when supervisors are caught skimming from registers. I can't believe they treated you so badly. Hopefully it comes back to bite them all on the *****.

[CopperStar]

Originally Posted by Seraphine

I'm glad you quit tbh, who knows, if you'd started skimming as well they likely would have pinned you for the whole lot. Hopefully the next job is less corrupt. Usually management is very concerned when supervisors are caught skimming from registers. I can't believe they treated you so badly. Hopefully it comes back to bite them all on the *****.

Well the district manager seemed to be very buddy-buddy with the store manager, and the store manager is very buddy-buddy with the co-managers and shift leaders. So I think it may have just been a case where workplace politics were trumping procedure and common sense. Not my problem anymore, though.