Security Tags On Clothes –3 WC Blog 716
Sensormatic Tags – 3
Don’t Be Detached From Clothing Theft – Use Sensormatic Tags
Do you use security tags on clothes in your store? Are they effective at stopping theft? I ask these questions after reading an article on pjstar.com, “Three suspected shoplifters arrested at J.C. Penney Wednesday” by Leslie Renken, Nov. 15, 2018. She reports that three men were accused of stealing $1,420 worth of athletic clothing. That is no small amount of theft. While that kind of loss by itself may not be a huge blow to a retail chain like Penney’s, it could be a huge blow to a small or medium sized store. Now I have shopped at this chain before and I do know that they use some type of electronic article surveillance tags on some merchandise but I do not know if they are Sensormatic tags or another brand. I also do not know if the items the men were attempting to steal were tagged or not though the article mentions that one of the men appeared to be, “trying to remove the security tab on the bag”. I have no idea what this was in reference to or what the story meant by security tab. What I do know from my many years in Loss Prevention is that the use of anti-theft tags does work. What is not helpful is when shoplifters get a hold of handheld detachers from stores and use them at other locations.
When a retail store arms itself with an electronic article surveillance system (EAS) that business will place security tags on clothes or other merchandise to prevent theft. Tagging may take place in a stockroom or on the salesfloor. The employees doing the tagging should have handheld tag detachers with them while working. There are times when tagging you don’t place a tag on properly or in the wrong location and it needs to be removed and reattached. Having put tags on merchandise myself, I know that errors happen. I have pinned a tag through both sides of a shirt sleeve that would have prevented a customer from trying it on. We used Sensormatic tags on clothing and on comforters to keep people from unzipping a comforter and hiding products inside of them. I would occasionally find a zipper that could be pulled open because another employee did not know how to tag it properly. One way to remove these tags was to gather up all the problem items, take them to the register and detach the tags then attach them properly. The other method was to use a portable detacher and take off the tag where you are working and reattach it. Just from a productivity standpoint this makes more sense than the former. Think about the time it would take to gather up all of those items, go through the steps and then have to restock that merchandise. Portable detachers just make sense to carry when you are protecting goods with an EAS system.
I have found that not all stores do a great job accounting for their security devices. The store may not have a system in place to sign in or out portable detachers and so when a device is misplaced or lost no one realizes it. One feature that makes Sensormatic portable detachers a better choice than some others is that they have internal EAS protection to make them sound the EAS towers if someone tries to steal one. That said let’s face it not all stores do an equally good job at responding to system alarms. Those stores that have not trained their personnel to quickly respond to alarms are the same ones that will probably not be as careful about controlling their detachers. That means there are instances when detachment devices are stolen and may be sold over the internet or used by those persons to shoplift in other stores. This is why even stores that use security tags on clothes need to still train employees on customer service. You never know who is in your store and when customer service is a focus your team will improve sales but also remove opportunity for theft, as we saw in the case above even if the perpetrator has a detachment device.
Sensormatic tags along with a strong customer service culture are a sure means to dramatically reduce shortage. That is why Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. encourages retailers of ALL sizes stop theft through a multi-pronged approach. They support the installation of an EAS system but they also offer manager training to prevent theft, pre-employment drug and background screening and even an Applicant Management Center all of which can aid in improved profits. Find out more about how you can protect your store from clothing theft and other shoplifting and make your business more profitable.
Get more information on Sensormatic tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Do you use security tags on clothes in your store? Are they effective at stopping theft? I ask these questions after reading an article on pjstar.com, “Three suspected shoplifters arrested at J.C. Penney Wednesday” by Leslie Renken, Nov. 15, 2018. She reports that three men were accused of stealing $1,420 worth of athletic clothing. That is no small amount of theft. While that kind of loss by itself may not be a huge blow to a retail chain like Penney’s, it could be a huge blow to a small or medium sized store. Now I have shopped at this chain before and I do know that they use some type of electronic article surveillance tags on some merchandise but I do not know if they are Sensormatic tags or another brand. I also do not know if the items the men were attempting to steal were tagged or not though the article mentions that one of the men appeared to be, “trying to remove the security tab on the bag”. I have no idea what this was in reference to or what the story meant by security tab. What I do know from my many years in Loss Prevention is that the use of anti-theft tags does work. What is not helpful is when shoplifters get a hold of handheld detachers from stores and use them at other locations.
When a retail store arms itself with an electronic article surveillance system (EAS) that business will place security tags on clothes or other merchandise to prevent theft. Tagging may take place in a stockroom or on the salesfloor. The employees doing the tagging should have handheld tag detachers with them while working. There are times when tagging you don’t place a tag on properly or in the wrong location and it needs to be removed and reattached. Having put tags on merchandise myself, I know that errors happen. I have pinned a tag through both sides of a shirt sleeve that would have prevented a customer from trying it on. We used Sensormatic tags on clothing and on comforters to keep people from unzipping a comforter and hiding products inside of them. I would occasionally find a zipper that could be pulled open because another employee did not know how to tag it properly. One way to remove these tags was to gather up all the problem items, take them to the register and detach the tags then attach them properly. The other method was to use a portable detacher and take off the tag where you are working and reattach it. Just from a productivity standpoint this makes more sense than the former. Think about the time it would take to gather up all of those items, go through the steps and then have to restock that merchandise. Portable detachers just make sense to carry when you are protecting goods with an EAS system.
I have found that not all stores do a great job accounting for their security devices. The store may not have a system in place to sign in or out portable detachers and so when a device is misplaced or lost no one realizes it. Let’s face it not all stores do an equally good job at responding to system alarms. Those stores that have not trained their personnel to quickly respond to alarms are the same ones that will probably not be as careful about controlling their detachers. That means there are instances when detachment devices are stolen and may be sold over the internet or used by those persons to shoplift in other stores. This is why even stores that use security tags on clothes need to still train employees on customer service. You never know who is in your store and when customer service is a focus your team will improve sales but also remove opportunity for theft, as we saw in the case above even if the perpetrator has a detachment device.
Sensormatic tags along with a strong customer service culture are a sure means to dramatically reduce shortage. That is why Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. encourages retailers of ALL sizes stop theft through a multi-pronged approach. They support the installation of an EAS system but they also offer manager training to prevent theft, pre-employment drug and background screening and even an Applicant Management Center all of which can aid in improved profits. Find out more about how you can protect your store from clothing theft and other shoplifting and make your business more profitable.
Get more information on Sensormatic tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
