Need bait for thieves ideas
 and since then I've noticed the roll of stamps is missing some, and I have a bag of candy in my desk that somehow got emptied really fast for it just being me eating it (I used to have candy in a bowl ON my desk, but I was tired of leaving for the day with it full and coming back in the morning to 2 pieces).
Well, this morning I came in to find my bookshelf slightly rearranged (I had 2 boxes of unopened GS cookies on the top shelf, in the middle, and this morning they were in the corner of the shelf with something else on top of them--still unopened, though). The only thing that seems to get cleaned in my office is the trash can is emptied, so they weren't moved b/c the shelf was being dusted. So, I thought it was strange and thought I would check on a box of Thin Mints I just opened yesterday that I had in my desk drawer. I had eaten 1. I took out both sleeves and sure enough, 2 were gone (if both sleeves had equal amounts). And someone had taken another GS cookie from another box last week. SOOO...What can I do to bait a thief? So I know EXACTLY what they took, but not have it be something valuable? I'm going to start locking my office at night, but I've been told the cleaning staff has keys to all offices so they can empty trash cans. So, basically, if something gets taken, at least we'll know it's the cleaning crew. Should I leave some candy out on my desk? Should I bring in an old broken cell phone and leave it somewhere? It just creeps me out that someone's been in my desk  |
|
|
| Steph, I would be completely freaked if I thought people were taking individual cookies from an open package. I don't want to eat food that total strangers have touched - particularly if there's a chance that the people have been cleaning. If you can't lock your desk, then get a lockbox for your office and put the food in there. You don't need exposure to other people's germs. |
| Do you have a way to set up a camera...nanny cam? |
| You should wrap up chocolate ExLax in candy wrappers and leave that in your drawer. You'll know who the culprit is the next day. |
| A mouse trap baited with Girl Scout cookies. Arrange the cookies so that you can't see the trap underneath.
Is there a security guard or department at your work? I would talk to them and tell them what is happening. That makes it official and should make your work liable for anything missing. Plus word will get around and the thief will probably get scared and stop the pilfering. |
| I love the exlax idea!!!! At work, I keep my office locked and put my trash outside the door in the evening. |
How about one of those dye packets the banks use. that would leave a mark.  |
| Sorry to hear you are going through this, it is so violating.
If you think it's the cleaning people, I would notify your boss so that the word can get out that there is a thief try to get a cabinet or something that you can lock..
I also agree with Jill that it would be fun with the ex-lax or something that might stain teeth, etc.. |
ButtersStotch wrote: You should wrap up chocolate ExLax in candy wrappers and leave that in your drawer. You'll know who the culprit is the next day.
Haaa! You should definitely do that!!  |
| how about that disgusting harry potter candy? some of it's yummy---you eat that--but leave the ear wax, and booger flavours for the crook! |
| Post a note on your desk on a piece of paper that says:
"I was holding the candy you have taken to bring it to the police, as I saw little puncture marks in it and it looked like it may have been tampered with before I purchased it. Please do NOT eat it!!!" |
| OK, don't really do that, but it is fun to think about doing it. |
| Remember several years ago that commercial with the hand that said "Back off get your own sandwich?" For some reason I thought this could be solved with humor but still letting the person know you are aware of the thefts without accussing anyone.
A sign that reads Back off! get your own candy or something to the fact that you have a contagious disease and person who stole your candy should immediately go to the nearest health facility to get themselves immunized. 
Marianne |
| Leave a note in your candy bowl among the candies saying "Before helping yourself with more, please know that you are not stealing my candies, you are stealing from a helpless baby! These are the candies I am eating for my baby carrying inside me" - Send that person to a round-the-world guilty trip |
The idea with the exlax is good but if I remember correctly you can taste it, we had this once when I was working on site and we were pointing out finger a one person who claimed to be innocent. I made a curry one day and put a liquid "exlax" into the curry and sure enough this guy ate it and could not get off the toilet for three days believe me he learned his lesson and we had our fun.  Try baking some home made cake or biscuits with the exlax a choc chip cookie sort of thing, remember to make some with normal choc for yourself so they can see you eating the biscuits/cake and if they take the bait you will know the next day for sure. Best of luck I hope you catch this "tea leaf" very soon. |
dairymaid wrote: Try baking some home made cake or biscuits with the exlax a choc chip cookie sort of thing, remember to make some with normal choc for yourself so they can see you eating the biscuits/cake and if they take the bait you will know the next day for sure.
Best of luck I hope you catch this "tea leaf" very soon. Stewart, I  this idea!!! Brilliant!!! 
I think the ex-lax chocolate actually has the name ex-lax imprinted on it, but the cookie idea would work. |
| On this note, never eat brownies made by ambulance people. They are never "real" chocolate.
We had an episode of people stealing food from the refrigerators at the stations. One medic had enough. A sign on one fridge read: "To the person stealing my stuff, there is a 6 pack of sodas in the fridge. I have opened them all and spit in 3 of them. Good luck." There are all sorts of better drugs than Ex-Lax. You just need a prescription pad to get them!!! |
| I'm going to nix the exlax idea. There was an article in the paper about somene who did that and ended up with legal charges (assault) and losing their job.
I would get a key to yuor desk, LOCK IT and put a sign on you desk asking whoever is "taking" stuff to please stop. Or, you could get a nanny cam! |
I vote for the nanny cam idea too. We've had similar situations at work over the years. "They" would go right in people's desk drawers and were taking calculators, another time it was any loose change. About 10 years ago there was an instance where RAM cards were stolen right out of computers!! A sting was set up. They took a spare computer and put it in an empty office. A camera was placed on the inside of a binder. They popped the top rivet out of the binder spine and put the camera in there and pointed it towards the desk where the computer was. Sure enough, it caught the thief - and it was a security person!! 
Recently I purchased a small change wallet to take to the cafeteria with me, instead of hauling my whole purse. I accidentally left it on my desk one night with $3 in it and sure enough, the next day it was gone. I left a note on my desk the next night saying, "I hope you needed that $3 more than I did!"  |
| What a shame, huh? It's so sad that we have to resort to such tactics to keep our own stuff. But, like most of you, I've been there, too.
Since you're locking your office at night, Steph, are you fairly certain it is the cleaning crew? If so, I'd just report what's been stolen. Usually, contracts for cleaning offices are pretty competitive and if whoever runs the cleaning company knows they've got a thief, they'll find them and can them quickly to retain their contract.  |
| Yeah, I'm not gonna make exlax brownies--I'm a horrible baker (good cook) so my regular baking would probably be just as effective!
Anyways, when my iPod was stolen I told the person at our office (we have about 200 employees) who is in charge of fixing things, problems, etc. I also told HR and my boss (and anyone who would listen, really!). Nothing was sent out (like a company email) about it, until several weeks later there was just a vague email about please remember to not leave valuables around the office (several other iPods were stolen). In the time since then, I've just noticed little things, but things I wasn't certain about, like the # of stamps left on the roll. So I started counting them. And, then nothing ever seems to disappear when there's only 2 or 3 left. It's just when they're in larger numbers. I told my boss yesterday about the missing cookies, etc. and he just said to lock my door (before my iPod was stolen I didn't even have a lockable door, but they gave me one). He said, that way, if anything else is taken, we know it's the cleaning crew b/c they are the only ones with the key. So no one seems particularly concerned about any of this, which makes me mad too. I know right now I'm complaining of missing cookies, but it's more the fact that someone is INSIDE my desk drawer. Who knows what else they're doing or looking for or whatever. I locked my door last night and nothing was amiss today, and the trash can had been emptied, so I know the cleaning crew was here overnight. |
Quote: I would get a key to yuor desk, LOCK IT and put a sign on you desk asking whoever is "taking" stuff to please stop.
Or, you could get a nanny cam! To me, this is the best advice. After someone first takes something, I would do this the second I had something I wanted in my office. ...and there would be no question about locking my door even if I was just going to the bathroom. |
| I have a white board in my office and after it was stolen I wrote Give Me Back My iPod...but they didn't listen, so writing notes to thieves doesn't work |
| those are hysterical ideas...
and sue is right...i dont know that i would eat anything that youre not sure who your ''sharing '' with...here at my office, its a communal food-fest....but then again there are only 3 of us...... i hate it when they get on my computer and change fonts or mess with the icons.... |
| Oh, I agree--I'm NOT touching the food that is open. Before, it was always pre-wrapped stuff, like the Starbusts would come in little packages of 2 (sealed). But there's no way I'd eat open stuff. Although with the Thin Mints, I just gave away the top few and I plan on eating the rest They're too expensive not to!
Another pet peeve is my salad dressing and mustard in the fridge at work. VERY clearly written on it is my name...and I KNOW I didn't use the amount of dressing that was gone in the bottle (I had stopped bringing salads because the baby didn't want salad anymore ). That just makes me mad. Bring your own @#$# dressing, people! |
| Sounds like your company needs to have a few presentations from HR that there will be a zero tolerance policy on theft, both from the company and from other employees.
If I were "the company," I'd be very concerned about that level of petty thievery going on as the dishonesty it reveals could possibly affect areas of their business besides employee dissatisfaction and retention. |
I was going to say exlax to LOTS!!!! Once there was a guy that way stealing Shampoo at the mine site when the quys were showering no one knew who it was UNTIL they ALL put NEET(hair remover for legs) in their shampoo and waited to see who came in with no hair. IT WORKED the quy had no hair or beard or eyebrows.  |
| How long does it take for indelible ink or paint to dry out? If it takes several hours, put goodies in a fancy metal tin. Be certain that people in the office see it opened with goodies in it. Before you leave work, coat the tin with indelible ink in certain places. See who wearing gloves the next day. |
| I worked in a office that things missing out of the refrigerator all the time. One day my blood suger was dropping and I felt very shaky. I went to the refrigerator to get some dried fruit. But the frig thief had taken it. A friend ran out and got me from across the street. I never was sure who it was but my standing there shaking must have scared them, becaus it stopped. I hope that does not take someting drastic to stop your thief. |
ButtersStotch wrote: You should wrap up chocolate ExLax in candy wrappers and leave that in your drawer. You'll know who the culprit is the next day.
I was thinking the same sort of thing. My understanding of office theft is that it is usually not the cleaning people. Is there anyone who is known to work late? |
| Have a fresh box of goodies with a flip up lid that opens from the top. Place the open box in an irresistable spot.
Write a note on the inside of the box that says, "SMILE, YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA!!!"
Under that, "Thank you! I had your fingerprints, NOW, I have your photo! If anything else is missing, I'll report you to the police!") |
mouthypf wrote: Have a fresh box of goodies with a flip up lid that opens from the top. Place the open box in an irresistable spot.
Write a note on the inside of the box that says, "SMILE, YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA!!!" Under that, "Thank you! I had your fingerprints, NOW, I have your photo! If anything else is missing, I'll report you to the police!") HA, good idea! But put the note on the bottom of thebox so they see it AFTER they picked the goodie out |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|