Retailers encounter cheats during rush hours

Abu Dhabi: They like the brisk business in the evenings, but dealing with the cheaters among customers is a headache during the rush hours, according to some retail outlets in the capital.

But they said CCTV cameras installed at the shops have given the solution.

During the rush hours a few customers use dubious means to cheat the cashier, Dawud Quwaider, general manager of Quwaider Nabulsi Sweets in Khalidiya, told Gulf News.

"These people look very nice and I don't understand why do they resort to such sins," he said.

"Most of the customers come in the evening, causing a rush at that time," he said.

"During rush hours, the unscrupulous customer purchases bread costing Dh50 and asks for Dh450 [change] from the cashier, claiming he had given a Dh500 note," Quwaider said.

"Actually the customer would not have given the money at all, but when the cashier denies the claim, he would start shouting.

"Accepting that claim [would] cost us Dh500.

"Earlier, to avoid embarrassing situations at the shop and inconvenience to other customers, we used to agree with the customer and pay the amount they claim; but not any more thanks to CCTV cameras," he explained.

Nowadays, the cashier will tell a claimant to wait until a shop employee takes him to the office upstairs where they will review the CCTV footage to validate the claim.

"The technology saves me a lot of money," he said.

"When I installed costly CCTV cameras, many friends asked why I was wasting the money on unnecessary things, but I didn't have any doubts," Quwaider explained.

"Now my friends [who questioned the move] also realise that it is very important to adopt modern technology to run a successful business," he said.

Confirming the dubious practices of some customers, a cashier at another bakery said he had experienced different modus operandi during rush hours.

Tricks

"After picking up a sweet worth Dh50 and giving a Dh500 note, he will say its price is high so he does not want to purchase it and takes the money back," said Abdul Bari, a cashier at Zahrat Al Emirates Bakery on Muroor Road.

The customer then strikes a friendly conversation with the shop clerk and they talk about the product's price. After listening to the clerk's explanation, he would "change his mind" and give the money back, explains Bari.

"Continuing [with] the conversation, [the customer] changes his mind again and takes the money back, leaving the cashier confused," he said.

"Finally he ‘buys' the product and [asks for] Dh450 [change]. The cashier later realises [he did not pay after all]," said Bari.

Big brother: Electronic eye on the move

"I stopped my regular visits to the branches of our sweet shops in other emirates thanks to the application of new technology," said Dawud Quwaider, general manager of Quwaider Nabulsi Sweets.

After installing CCTV cameras in all branches and interlinking them to his mobile phone and a central system at his main office in Abu Dhabi, he maintains the digital control over his business.