The Restaurant Chain That Cut Losses with Remote Security Agents
A coast-to-coast quick-service restaurant (QSR) group was facing a silent profit killer: product "shrink" that kept showing up in nightly inventory counts. Each location had a traditional CCTV setup, but the footage was only useful after the fact—long after food costs and labor hours had been written off.
Challenge
Regional managers suspected after-hours access and employee-led theft, but couldn't prove it quickly enough to act. Multiple stores meant thousands of hours of video to review and plenty of room for error.
Solution
They partnered with Tec-Tel to deploy remote security agents powered by AI surveillance across 24 flagship stores. Smart cameras learned each site's normal traffic patterns within days.
Any motion outside scheduled prep and cleaning windows triggered an alert to Tec-Tel's live monitoring center, where agents could issue instant two-way talk-downs.
What Happened Next
Day 3
AI flagged a delivery-door "pop-and-prop" at 1:14 a.m. Two employees had returned to "grab a forgotten phone," but their backpacks told another story.
"This area is under remote surveillance. Please exit immediately."
—Live agent voice announcement ended the attempt on the spot
Day 6
Another store's walk-in cooler showed movement 40 minutes after close. The same real-time intervention prevented nearly $900 in product loss.
Results After 30 Days
- Unauthorized after-hours entries dropped to zero
- Internal theft across pilot stores fell 37 percent
- Managers receive incident clips in their inbox before morning shift
- Investigations transformed from hours to minutes
Remote security agents aren't just reacting; they're preventing—deterring losses the moment they start, not days later when paperwork piles up.
For this QSR brand, Tec-Tel's combination of AI crime deterrence and human oversight transformed security from a sunk cost into a profit-protecting asset.
Ready to Cut Your Losses Too?
Stop inventory shrink before it starts. Get remote security agents and AI surveillance protecting your locations 24/7.