Label me theftproof
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007We had some ups and downs at work last year. One of the downs was a kleptomaniac receptionist who in her short tenure manning the phones managed to abscond with:
1 scanner
1 projector
1 fan heater
1 cash box full of cash
N$100 from my purse
N$100 from a colleague’s purse
N$44,000 in forged cheques, which she cashed at the bank, and which eventually led to her rather dramatic ’surprise’ arrest one morning in our boardroom. It was a bit like a surprise party, but without the punch and the streamers.
So in a drive to reduce the incidence of theft from our offices, one of my colleagues has been shuffling around my little office for the last half hour sticking stickers on everything that could be construed as ‘company property’, and asking me what things are so he can tick them off on his sticker list (”Rachael, what are these in English?” “Pliers”).
I was sitting here minding my own business, tapping some numbers into a spreadsheet as is my wont, and he came over and just lifted up my keyboard. While I was using it. Then he stuck a sticker on the bottom. I didn’t realise there was so much crap under my keyboard - or that I’d lost that much hair lately.
There’s a sticker on the phone (Telec6009), a sticker on my monitor (Compt1015), one on the back of my chair (Furnt1505), and one on the free UNICEF Alcohol Aids HIV wallplanner, of which we were donated 250. Given the way staff are regarded in this place, I’m hugely surprised I didn’t get one stuck to the back of my neck (Volnt2007).
I don’t really see how it’s going to help though. The one on my chair has only been there three minutes, and it’s fallen off already.
