There are plenty of reasons for store owners to use Sensormatic labels on merchandise and I experienced one of those reasons at my retail job last night. I was working on the salesfloor putting out merchandise, providing assistance to customers and jumping on a register as a back-up cashier. I had just completed a transaction at the register and the Manager on Duty called me on the radio. I responded to her request to meet her in the middle of the building. She told me of a suspicious customer in the store that she has dealt with before regarding questionable returns without receipts. She told me the woman was in the store and had a large handbag on her shoulder and thought the woman had taken something out of the bag. As a former Loss prevention Manager I assured the M.O.D. I would watch the customer so she could attend to other matters. I first went to the customer, greeted her and offered her assistance. I also used the moment to assess what she was holding, what she was looking at and to see if I could identify any obvious stolen goods. She only had a notebook in her hand and quickly refused my gracious offer to help her. She immediately left the aisle we were on and went down several more aisles near the front of the store. I pretended to put away merchandise but using my Loss Prevention skills, I positioned myself so I could observe her without being seen by her. The customer picked up a small box of laminating sheets, looked around and placed them under the notebook but she did not conceal them in a purse or bag. She walked past me as I continued to pretend I was working and she stopped at a table behind me. I positioned myself so I could continue to watch her without being obvious. The woman was mumbling to herself about prices then turned to walk out the door. She walked past the electronic article surveillance towers but no alarm sounded. I did know she still had the laminating pouches in her hand and called to her that she had forgotten to pay for the item. She initially acted like she could not hear but when I called to her again in a more forceful manner she turned, stepped back in quickly and handed the merchandise to me and left muttering a barely audible, “I forgot” as she scampered off to a waiting car.
The value of the recovered merchandise in this little box was $24! In the bigger scheme of things this doesn’t sound like a lot. But there is more to this story. The store manager called our sister stores in the area and alerted them that the suspect and a male who was driving the car she got into may have other stolen items. The M.O.D. wanted them to turn down non-receipted refunds from the couple. Sure enough, only a matter of minutes passed before she got a call from one of those stores. The woman had label maker tape and two other items she tried to return for a cash refund but no receipt. They turned her down. That merchandise was valued at an additional $30 or more. Not one of these items had an electronic article surveillance tag on them and therefore no alarm was sounded to deter her and/or provide me or the manager an opportunity to ask her about merchandise inside her handbag. To make the whole episode more incredible our store HAS Sensormatic pedestals at the entry/exit doors. The fact that the company only protects a limited number of SKU’s baffles me. The expenditure of a few more dollars to place Sensormatic labels on merchandise could have prevented the theft that did appear to have taken place.
Electronic Article Surveillance equipment when used to the fullest potential can significantly reduce merchandise shrinkage. It is so effective if used properly and employees are trained on proper alarm response that a system can pay for itself over time. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., a leader in retail shortage reduction and helping stores increase profits, is so confident in the impact a Sensormatic system can have in shortage reduction they estimate a system can potentially reduce shrinkage by almost half (a conservative estimation in my professional opinion). They even offer a free Return On Investment Calculator to show how long it would take for a system to pay for itself.
Invest in Sensormatic labels and an electronic article surveillance and begin to reap immediate rewards. Just do me one favor. Put labels on everything! The results on your store profit line will make you glad you did.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.915.0547 and let’s talk.
