Lancing State Journal

Restaurants begin to tap fingerprint technology 

By Betty  Lin-Fisher

June 9, 2004

AKRON, Ohio - As small-business owners, Laila Zakham and her husband can't be at their Akron restaurant at all times. So the owners of Aladdin's Eatery have employed what Zakham said is the next best thing: They use a computer system that requires employees to log in using their fingerprints. The employees use the system for everything from clocking in to placing food orders and printing checks.

"I think it's the best tool a restaurant could ever want to get," said Zakham, who has used the technology for 2 1/2 years.

The technology is so new - and for some businesses, so expensive - that it hasn't caught on in the mainstream, according to Michigan Restaurant Association spokeswoman Kristyn Sorensen.

"For a lot of small businesses, it's not a cost that is within their reach," she said, noting that the Lansing-based association isn't aware of any of its 4,500 member eateries using the fingerprint system.

But Zakham said the technology, which cost about $11,000 for four terminals equipped with the computer system and fingerprint pads, was "worth every penny."

"Owners cannot be at the restaurant all day long watching this and that," she said. "We had problems with people clocking in other people. It was just hard to keep track. My location is small. Imagine bigger locations."

Biometrics have been in use for many years in the law enforcement industry for databases, but the use in businesses for control and access to systems is "really starting to gain some traction in the marketplace," said Trevor Prout, director of marketing for the International Biometric Group, a consulting firm.  Biometrics also are increasingly being used by employers to secure access to buildings and special areas within buildings and even logging into computer networks so employees don't have to remember a password, Prout said.  The New York City based International Biometric Group projects annual global revenues for biometrics will be $1.2 billion this year.

In the restaurant industry, fingerprint technology helps eliminate what's called "buddy punching," which is when one employee clocks in another employee on traditional time clock systems.  And it puts responsibility back on managers to help with security, said Brian Canale, owner of White House Chicken in Barberton, Ohio.

"The fingerprint doesn't let you cheat," said Canale, who said he was just as guilty as others of giving his code number to employees. Or sometimes, some of the more enterprising employees might watch a manager input the code and then use it on their own without permission. The employer is able to assign different responsibilities to each employee's fingerprint. For example, one employee may get access to a cash drawer while another doesn't.

Stefanie Murray contributed to this story. Contact her at 377-1016 or stamurray@lsj.com.