Running a successful restaurant goes beyond serving delicious food and providing excellent customer service. In today’s digital age, video security has become an essential tool for restaurant owners and operators who aim to prioritize safety, security, company culture, and operational efficiency. One valuable tool that can significantly support these goals is a long-term cloud-based video storage solution. Let’s explore why restaurant operators, like yourself, need a solution like this and how it can substantially impact your business.
Liability Protection and Insurance Claims with Cloud-Based Video Storage
Accidents and liability issues can arise unexpectedly in any restaurant. Having access to a long-term video cloud storage system allows owners and operators to quickly retrieve footage and provide evidence for insurance claims or legal disputes, if ever needed. Video footage can help:
- Establish the facts
- Protect your restaurant against false accusations and reputation damage
- Expedite resolution
- And most importantly, save you money
In this interview, hear from Amy Hoover, with Manna Inc., as she discusses how Envysion’s Cloud Archive helped her business save $1.5 million dollars in lawsuit fees:
Here are common liability issues in restaurants and why a long-term cloud storage solution is important.
1. Slip-and-Falls
“Slips and falls are the most common cause of injury in restaurants among both employees and customers.” (Neff Injury Law)
In any restaurant, beverages, spilled food, grease splatter, and mopping solutions can make the floor slippery. Slip-and-fall accidents can happen in restaurants. Further, if the victim decides to take legal action, these lawsuits can be brought to your attention weeks or even months after the initial event. It’s important to have your video camera security footage saved in a secure location, available when you need it.
In the event of a slip-and-fall incident, video footage serves as crucial evidence to determine the cause and liability. This helps protect you and your restaurant from false claims or potential legal disputes, as the recorded evidence provides clarity and transparency.
2. Workers’ Compensation
“According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s most recent data, there were 197,400 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in restaurants and other eating places in 2017. More than 50,000 of those incidents required missed days from work.” (Employers)
Workplace injuries can occur in many different ways in the food service industry. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), says that common restaurant workplace injuries can include:
- Burn injuries from a stove, oven, deep fryer
- Muscle strains, broken bones, and sprains caused by lifting heavy objects
- Car accident injuries occurring while delivering food
When workplace injuries arise in your restaurant, it’s important to have recorded documentation of the incident. A cloud-based video storage solution can save your restaurant against Workers’ Compensation claims. Having access to important footage of employee actions, dangerous work conditions, and incidents causing injuries provides reliable evidence. This evidence helps you understand and support the events surrounding the claim.
3. Wrongful Termination
Terminating, or firing, an employee is (most of the time) never a pleasant experience. Now imagine, a former employee suing you for wrongful termination.
This occurs when an employer fires an employee in violation of the employment contract or in violation of employment laws. To lower the chance of a bad situation, it’s crucial to have recorded videos of these occurrences. This critical footage can serve as evidence.
With security camera footage stored in the cloud, access interactions between employees and management that happened up to the termination. This evidence can be used as a valuable record of the events, ensuring accuracy surrounding the termination. Retrieving and sharing the recorded footage helps your restaurant demonstrate the fairness and transparency of the termination process.
4. Employee and Customer Altercations
As an owner or operator of a restaurant, it’s crucial to know the potential risks of employee and customer quarrels. Whether the incident turns into a customer complaint, loud argument, or worse, a violent situation, you want to ensure that video footage is stored in case a lawsuit arises in the future.
With a cloud-based video storage solution, footage is archived for extended periods, even years if needed. This capability is essential when dealing with legal cases that may take a considerable amount of time to come to light. In the case of altercations between employees and customers, you have access to footage from past incidents, helping reconstruct the events accurately and providing a solid defense against false claims, saving you time and money.
5. Food Poisoning
A customer filed a lawsuit against a restaurant for finding rat poisoning in the food. The restaurant had a cloud-based video storage system and pulled the exact instance of when the restaurant was making the customer’s food. The outcome: there was no evidence of the restaurant employees placing rat poisoning in any of the food given to the customer. The restaurant ended up winning the lawsuit against the customer all due to having archived security footage.
A cloud-based security video storage solution can be a crucial asset to your restaurant when facing a food poisoning claim. A cloud-based video storage system archives footage of food handling and preparation processes, providing critical details of the events leading up to the alleged incident.
The long-term cloud-based storage ensures that video footage from the relevant time frame remains accessible even as the claim and legal proceedings progress. Quickly access and share the footage with health authorities or lawyers, speeding up investigations. Make your defense case even stronger by showing that your restaurant takes safety seriously.
6. Alcohol Sales
Lastly, serving alcohol to an obviously intoxicated customer or minor can lead to liability claims. Besides following protocols like not serving a customer who is clearly intoxicated and checking customers’ identification, it’s crucial to have video footage of evidence in cases involving intoxicated customers or underage drinking.
Video footage stored in the cloud can serve as valuable evidence in legal claims, helping restaurants establish a strong defense against false claims or exaggerated allegations. Moreover, by having a reliable and long-term storage solution, restaurant operators can review past incidents, identify patterns, and implement better training and preventive measures for their staff. This proactive approach can significantly reduce the likelihood of liability issues arising from alcohol service and protect the restaurant’s reputation and financial well-being in the long run.
Enhanced Security and Loss Prevention with Cloud-Based Video Storage
The safety and security of your restaurant is essential. Video security systems serve as a proactive way to discourage theft, vandalism, and other security risks. By implementing a cloud-based video storage solution, restaurant owners can securely store security footage off-site, ensuring that critical evidence is preserved, even if the physical security equipment is tampered with. This ensures quick identification of culprits, aids investigations, and prevents future incidents, ultimately protecting your restaurant and its profits.
Cloud-Based Video Storage with Remote Access for Peace of Mind
Cloud-based storage solutions offer the convenience of remote access to your video footage whenever you need it. Typically, a Network Video Recorder (NVR) storage device holds around 90 days of video footage.
With a cloud-based storage option, you can store footage for months to years. This long-term storage solution gives you the ability to access historical footage anywhere at any time. The ability to remotely access video footage provides peace of mind, knowing that you can monitor and respond to incidents even when you’re physically away from your restaurant.
“And what’s really nice is I don’t have to go from location to location on a Friday afternoon to count cars in the line. I can just see video from one spot and know what’s going on in minutes.”
Director of Safety and Security for Eat n’ Park Hospitality Group Bill Moore highlights the importance of using a cloud-based video storage solution. “It’s a far cry from the original VHS tapes with one camera or footage for one week: the Monday tape, the Tuesday tape. Now we have video archived for two years, which surpasses the statute of limitations. Our CFO couldn’t be happier. Our liability has gone down so much because of this camera system,” Moore says. (QSR Magazine)
In a complex industry like restaurants, where security, compliance, and operational efficiency are crucial to the success of your restaurant, long-term video cloud storage is a game-changer. Cloud-based storage solutions offer benefits like enhanced security, improved compliance and company culture, streamlined operations, and peace of mind for owners and operators, saving your time and money. By investing in a solution like Envysion’s Cloud Archive, restaurant owners can protect their business and profits, provide a safer environment for customers and employees, and ensure the smooth functioning of their establishment.
Because the past is never truly behind us, safeguard your restaurant locations against liability claims and other workplace events with Envysion’s Cloud Archive – connect with us today to learn more.