Be A Good Sport Find Out How Electronic Article Surveillance Can Protect Your Store

 

Electronic Article Surveillance – 4                                                                                    WC Blog 707
Sensormatic Labels – 3
Be A Good Sport Find Out How Electronic Article Surveillance Can Protect Your Store
     I would not normally relate a football game to electronic article surveillance but I saw something at a game that got me thinking about just this topic. When I get the opportunity, I enjoy attending football, baseball and occasionally a basketball game at my Alma Mater. In the last two years, our school has transitioned to FBS level football and they have begun requiring attendees to carry clear totes or purses. Absolutely no backpacks or standard totes or purses are allowed. All of this is for security purposes and while my wife is no fan of this she has grudgingly followed this policy in order to get into the venues. I personally think the policy is more to do with keeping illicit candy, food and drinks from getting into the stadium rather than security but that is a matter of opinion (who wants to pay $8 for a lemonade and pack of M&M’s?). That aside, giving the benefit of the doubt I will allow that the rules are intended to make the building/stadium safer for fans. So you can imagine my anger when I saw a couple of men arrive in the 3rd quarter of the game and one of them had a backpack on! It made me wonder where the lapse in security for the stadium took place. Did security officials at the gates stop checking for bags after the initial rush of fans? I can only wonder. It was this that caused me to think about retail security and Sensormatic labels. What steps do you and your managers take to protect your business from theft, fraud and criminal activity and do you let your guard down during operating hours?
     On the surface it might seem like protecting a football stadium and fans would be different than protecting a store but in reality there are a number of similarities. When entering the football stadium the security guards and police are preventing “contraband” from getting into the facility. In a retail store you want to keep unpaid merchandise from getting out of the building. In the football stadium officials want to keep bad guys and criminals out and the same should be true for retail store owners. In a sports venue it may be a security team monitoring the gates and entrances. In a retail store it may be Loss Prevention or managers monitoring the doors and sales floor. In the stadium, staff scan tickets to let people in. In the retail store an electronic article surveillance tower is scanning for active Sensormatic labels or security tags. It isn’t a perfect analogy but I think you get the picture. 
     What took place that the guys with the backpack somehow made it into the stadium? Did security become tired or careless? Did they decide after a certain time that checking fans was less important than it was when the gates opened? Now let me ask you this; do your employees get lax about responding to electronic article surveillance alarms during the shift? Do cashiers get in a hurry to finish a shift and take short cuts while scanning merchandise that can lead to failing to deactivate Sensormatic labels? Lapses in these areas for a store are not much different than a lapse in the procedures at a sporting event. 
     We can also look at safety issues surrounding a store when people stop paying attention. If no one is watching and greeting customers as they come through the doors a certain amount of deterrence is lost. Criminals seek out stores where they can enter unnoticed and this isn’t restricted to shoplifters. We are talking about purse snatchers, robbers, sexual predators, etc. all persons you don’t want in your building. Lest you think I’m over-blowing this I worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for thirteen years and I dealt with ALL of these criminal types. I learned that recognition is something they will all avoid and if your employees are not saying hello as customers enter the wrong element will start to frequent your store. No, you can’t require everyone to carry a clear purse or bag to enter your store but you can have other controls in place. Those controls should include people who greet each customer (regardless of what time of the day it is) and an electronic article surveillance system that will sound the alarm when merchandise such as clothing is protected with Sensormatic tags and labels.
     Don’t let down your guard. Protect your store and merchandise at all times. If you need more information on how to do it Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has the answers. Don’t fumble this play, call them today.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
 

I would not normally relate a football game to electronic article surveillance but I saw something at a game that got me thinking about just this topic. When I get the opportunity, I enjoy attending football, baseball and occasionally a basketball game at my Alma Mater. In the last two years, our school has transitioned to FBS level football and they have begun requiring attendees to carry clear totes or purses. Absolutely no backpacks or standard totes or purses are allowed. All of this is for security purposes and while my wife is no fan of this she has grudgingly followed this policy in order to get into the venues. I personally think the policy is more to do with keeping illicit candy, food and drinks from getting into the stadium rather than security but that is a matter of opinion (who wants to pay $8 for a lemonade and pack of M&M’s?). That aside, giving the benefit of the doubt I will allow that the rules are intended to make the building/stadium safer for fans. So you can imagine my anger when I saw a couple of men arrive in the 3rd quarter of the game and one of them had a backpack on! It made me wonder where the lapse in security for the stadium took place. Did security officials at the gates stop checking for bags after the initial rush of fans? I can only wonder. It was this that caused me to think about retail security and Sensormatic labels. What steps do you and your managers take to protect your business from theft, fraud and criminal activity and do you let your guard down during operating hours?

On the surface it might seem like protecting a football stadium and fans would be different than protecting a store but in reality there are a number of similarities. When entering the football stadium the security guards and police are preventing “contraband” from getting into the facility. In a retail store you want to keep unpaid merchandise from getting out of the building. In the football stadium officials want to keep bad guys and criminals out and the same should be true for retail store owners. In a sports venue it may be a security team monitoring the gates and entrances. In a retail store it may be Loss Prevention or managers monitoring the doors and sales floor. In the stadium, staff scan tickets to let people in. In the retail store an electronic article surveillance tower is scanning for active Sensormatic labels or security tags. It isn’t a perfect analogy but I think you get the picture. 

What took place that the guys with the backpack somehow made it into the stadium? Did security become tired or careless? Did they decide after a certain time that checking fans was less important than it was when the gates opened? Now let me ask you this; do your employees get lax about responding to electronic article surveillance alarms during the shift? Do cashiers get in a hurry to finish a shift and take short cuts while scanning merchandise that can lead to failing to deactivate Sensormatic labels? Lapses in these areas for a store are not much different than a lapse in the procedures at a sporting event. 

We can also look at safety issues surrounding a store when people stop paying attention. If no one is watching and greeting customers as they come through the doors a certain amount of deterrence is lost. Criminals seek out stores where they can enter unnoticed and this isn’t restricted to shoplifters. We are talking about purse snatchers, robbers, sexual predators, etc. all persons you don’t want in your building. Lest you think I’m over-blowing this I worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for thirteen years and I dealt with ALL of these criminal types. I learned that recognition is something they will all avoid and if your employees are not saying hello as customers enter the wrong element will start to frequent your store. No, you can’t require everyone to carry a clear purse or bag to enter your store but you can have other controls in place. Those controls should include people who greet each customer (regardless of what time of the day it is) and an electronic article surveillance system that will sound the alarm when merchandise such as clothing is protected with Sensormatic tags and labels.

 

Don’t let down your guard. Protect your store and merchandise at all times. If you need more information on how to do it Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has the answers. Don’t fumble this play, call them today.

 

Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.