Pie, I get where you are coming from. In a small community, external watchdogs arent normally needed to monitor malfeasance because the group will tend to police itself. And I think this is what occured in Ducks situation. Now that the problem is gone (the thief left), I would think that Duck could put the camera away until she needs it again.

Be the change you want to see in the world - Gandhi

Mmmkay - Just another brick in the wall.

Are there customers waiting while this is going on?

They tend to not book clients until 10...sneaky huh?

Then I would tend not to pay them until 10....

I'm with Monster. If they're not booking clients til ten but are on the PAYROLL before that, change the payroll! The girls shouldn't get paid for eating and doing makeup and the like at work... work is for work. HOME is for the breakfast thing. If you don't have time to eat/makeup/whatever before you leave for work, get your lazy ass out of bed half an hour earlier and MAKE the time... -trails off grumbling-

I work at home, so it's always time to eat.

Now, you know it has nothing to do with the impossibility of my spouse cheating... And I really wish you'd stop telling people the secrets to my financial success. Those tapes are valuable, I tell you! Valuable!! :thepain:

Actually I think the eating & make-up thing is give & take.
I've certainly been known to use salaried time in the Cellar, and when Dylan went missing I ran off colour copies of Cat Missing posters and fliers.

Okay, I actually do a fair amount for the company outside of working hours - not least shopping and going to the bank, which previous and current employees charge travel expenses for and I do shanks pony.

But surely every job has its perks and benefits.
If you explain to the staff that you are not "spying" on them, cameras are only used to check back in case of missing money, but they should remember that dossing about before 10.00 is only winked at by management, I'm sure everything will be fine.

Even without a camera, it might be worth reminding them that their pre-10.00 primping is at management discretion.

I think its perfectly reasonable to keep the camera in place:
1) its already there
2) she will have to hire new people, good to be able to have the film in case anything pops up
3) customers could possible steal from the register too
4) crazy person comes in to shoot up the place/steal
I'm sure there are more reasons, but if you wait until there is another problem to re-implement the safety measures then the problem is probably harder to handle or larger than if it could have been caught/dealt with right away. Instead you have to re-do everything first. Sounds like now is a great time to make some positive changes for your business. Your employees are employees, not friends, they need to understand you're there to make a living and their actions are very important to the well-being of your company. They are expected to act like professionals, and you will treat them well with benefits, better pay ect as the business grows. That will create loyalty and good moral, a security system won't be a hassle if they understand that.

very well put MTP - except the camera isn't there yet. I was suggesting she have one installed for all the reasons you so aptly stated though.