A Need for Surveillance
Aside from my work at night as a social media manager, I also manage and own a small business – an internet cafe that operates from morning ’til night. You might be wondering how I handle both my job and my shop and still have time to rest. Two years ago, I hired an assistant who I trained to operate the shop without my supervision. It’s been smooth-sailing, but in the most recent months, I’ve had issues with the sales at my internet cafe.
Integrity – for me, it means doing your job and doing it right even without people watching. And in this case, it’s reporting all of the sales or profits you made for the day to your boss – no less, no excess. This is my current dilemma, which I force myself to brush aside. You know, to be successful in any kind of business, you have to trust the people who work for you. But times are tough and sometimes, you need to take action to somehow establish that loyalty and integrity you expect from them.
So, for the past few weeks, I have been contemplating on buying a CCTV camera. Upon checking the prices for a decent CCTV camera system online through various sites such as tmart.com, I quickly realized that I’m not keen to spending that much money over fears that I have yet to completely justify (completely as the operative word). I’ve consulted a few of my friends who are also in the internet cafe business, and there were some who advised that I go for a more affordable solution – mini DV camcorders or web cameras that can stream live video and be accessed through the IP address on any browser.
That’ll be my next project for my internet cafe. Right now, we have a faux CCTV set up, which I don’t think really scares anyone. 😀 Hopefully, by next month, I’d be able to purchase a camera or camcorder, then I’ll just set it up myself. I just want to make sure I’m not losing money over trusting someone this much.
Do you have a CCTV or surveillance system at home or at your small business? Please share your ideas or tips at the comments section.
