JL03
Protect fragrance – 3
Alpha Keepers – 4
How to Protect Your Fragrance
Perfumes and colognes have been around almost as long as history books themselves. Ancient Egyptians used perfumes in religious ceremonies. Medieval Queens used perfumes to mask their body odors. In the turn of the century, flowers started being used for perfumes. Even now, though they are more affordable and available to everyone, perfumes are a symbol of elegance and class, and they are in high demand among customers and shoplifters alike. So, how do we protect our fragrance?
We’ve all walked into that department store with the large glass counter right up front, for all to see, with carefully constructed pyramids of bottles and gift sets. To a customer, it is a beautiful, eye catching display. To loss prevention, it is a nightmare. The hard truth is; this is exactly how stores should have their fragrances displayed. This is what will draw the customer in to that bottle of magnificence that they would otherwise pass by. It caught me once! I used to spray myself with inexpensive drug-store spritzes until I started working retail and smelled my scent of choice for the first time. Now, I am hooked and at $80 per bottle, it is quite a luxury. It had never occurred to me that scents would be a product of choice among shoplifters until my 2014 inventory yielded a $10,000+ loss in our fragrance department. At $80-$100 each, that is approximately 100-120 bottles. Upon investigation it was determined that every single bottle was taken by the same man. Our store was in a shopping mall and he would sit outside the mall entrance and wait for the associate to round the corner. As soon as the associate was out of sight, he would run in, grab the nearest display (everything on the display) and run back out. Obviously he did not take all 100-120 bottles in one hit. He did this multiple times during the Christmas season but he was so fast and so calculated that, no matter what I tried, I could not stop him. I spent many evenings sitting outside the mall entrance waiting for him to show up. Eventually he caught on and would just walk by when he saw me sitting there (it’s so hard to make friends in this line of work). I needed another way to protect my fragrance.
I pitched the idea of display cases to my boss. We had large clear cases that we displayed our jewelry in, so why couldn’t we put 5-6 bottles of perfume in each of them and put them on the glass counters. It looked just as elegant. The issue was that it limited customer access. Sure, we didn’t want the shoplifters to help themselves, but we wanted the customers to be able to gather their purchases without having to wait around for an associate with a key. It makes sense. Loss prevention should never implement a program that hinders sales because, for every shoplifter out there, there are at least twenty honest customers. Don’t quote me on that exact number. With that plan shot down, I went back to the drawing board. It was then that I discovered Alpha Keepers. Alpha Keepers are little display boxes, of various shapes and sizes, that are equipped with an alarm that activates when taken through the EAS towers at the door. The great part about these little boxes is that they are made for one item. Customers are free to select their scent, Keeper and all, and walk around the store with it before checkout. There is no waiting for an associate to unlock anything. My boss loved this idea and was more than willing to approve the expense, as it was less than we were projected to lose if we failed to find a way to protect our fragrances.
Needless to say, our shoplifter came back. It only took him one attempt at running out with a bottle protected in an Alpha Keeper. He promptly dropped the product at the door, ran and never came back. I guess he really didn’t want to be my friend.
For more information about Alpha Keepers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Perfumes and colognes have been around almost as long as history books themselves. Ancient Egyptians used perfumes in religious ceremonies. Medieval Queens used perfumes to mask their body odors. In the turn of the century, flowers started being used for perfumes. Even now, though they are more affordable and available to everyone, perfumes are a symbol of elegance and class, and they are in high demand among customers and shoplifters alike. So, how do we protect our fragrance?
We’ve all walked into that department store with the large glass counter right up front, for all to see, with carefully constructed pyramids of bottles and gift sets. To a customer, it is a beautiful, eye catching display. To loss prevention, it is a nightmare. The hard truth is; this is exactly how stores should have their fragrances displayed. This is what will draw the customer in to that bottle of magnificence that they would otherwise pass by. It caught me once! I used to spray myself with inexpensive drug-store spritzes until I started working retail and smelled my scent of choice for the first time. Now, I am hooked and at $80 per bottle, it is quite a luxury. It had never occurred to me that scents would be a product of choice among shoplifters until my 2014 inventory yielded a $10,000+ loss in our fragrance department. At $80-$100 each, that is approximately 100-120 bottles. Upon investigation it was determined that every single bottle was taken by the same man. Our store was in a shopping mall and he would sit outside the mall entrance and wait for the associate to round the corner. As soon as the associate was out of sight, he would run in, grab the nearest display (everything on the display) and run back out. Obviously he did not take all 100-120 bottles in one hit. He did this multiple times during the Christmas season but he was so fast and so calculated that, no matter what I tried, I could not stop him. I spent many evenings sitting outside the mall entrance waiting for him to show up. Eventually he caught on and would just walk by when he saw me sitting there (it’s so hard to make friends in this line of work). I needed another way to protect my fragrance.
I pitched the idea of display cases to my boss. We had large clear cases that we displayed our jewelry in, so why couldn’t we put 5-6 bottles of perfume in each of them and put them on the glass counters. It looked just as elegant. The issue was that it limited customer access. Sure, we didn’t want the shoplifters to help themselves, but we wanted the customers to be able to gather their purchases without having to wait around for an associate with a key. It makes sense. Loss prevention should never implement a program that hinders sales because, for every shoplifter out there, there are at least twenty honest customers. Don’t quote me on that exact number. With that plan shot down, I went back to the drawing board. It was then that I discovered Alpha Keepers. Alpha Keepers are little display boxes, of various shapes and sizes, that are equipped with an alarm that activates when taken through the EAS towers at the door. The great part about these little boxes is that they are made for one item. Customers are free to select their scent, Keeper and all, and walk around the store with it before checkout. There is no waiting for an associate to unlock anything. My boss loved this idea and was more than willing to approve the expense, as it was less than we were projected to lose if we failed to find a way to protect our fragrances.
Needless to say, our shoplifter came back. It only took him one attempt at running out with a bottle protected in an Alpha Keeper. He promptly dropped the product at the door, ran and never came back. I guess he really didn’t want to be my friend.
For more information about Alpha Keepers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Checkpoint Systems-3
Checkpoint Systems Can’t Do All The Work For You
Long before I came to the retail side I worked for a completely different industry. I was a fast food general manager for four eternally long years. I had no need for a Checkpoint System; I had no idea what that even was. I did not have to deal with external theft. I had the occasional issue with an employee taking food, mostly just hiding a couple sandwiches to take home. I did catch one guy trying to steal packs of breakfast ham, and a whole box of frozen hamburger patties. He stashed them at the back door with the trash, but he couldn’t get out until I came to unlock the door (and inspect the trash.) Manager-1, Dumb Employee-0. After that I went to work for a discount grocery chain. Although the store manager always swore we had lots of shoplifters, we didn’t have any type of anti-shoplifting devices. Even our one and only camera was fake.
When I came to work for a retail pharmacy business, that was my first introduction to the Checkpoint System or any other type of anti-shoplifting tool. Of course, I had seen the pedestals at the doors of many businesses before, and I figured they were there to detect theft. During my training period, I really assumed this was how shoplifters were caught. I learned what we had to have in order to detain someone, but I never seemed to see anything suspicious. But when those pedestals alarmed, I was like an Olympic sprinter coming from where ever I was working to stop the filthy thief! To my dismay, it always turned out the cashier up front or in the pharmacy didn’t get the Checkpoint tag deactivated. I did eventually calm down and I’m ashamed to admit I almost became like the rest of the employees, hardly even paying attention to that announcement and alarm beeping.
After about 3 months, I started really getting into the business and noticing things that I had not seen before. For one, in the back of the store, in the couple of food sections, I kept finding Checkpoint Tags stuck to the shelves or in the floor. I could tell they’d been peeled off of other items, and I knew we didn’t put them on food anyway, so it wasn’t like they were just falling off. I also noticed that when I was walking the floor, ordering or straightening, that the shelves of OTC medications would have product one day and the next day the whole section would be empty. Fast food never taught me about flea market thieves or “boosters.” Then one day I had my first experience with one, and I’ll never forget it. I was in the back aisles stocking some food items and this guy comes around the corner into the aisle I’m working in. (The shelving fixture was six feet tall, so he had not seen me.) I see the basket in his hand and it is FULL of big boxes of pain medications. He is still walking forward but looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is following him. He stops and puts the basket down, still not seeing that I am less than five feet from him, and starts peeling off a Checkpoint tag. I think the light-bulb came on in my head at the exact moment he sensed I was standing there. I’m not sure which of us was the most surprised or who had the biggest eyes. I was terrified because I didn’t know what to do. He picks up the basket like he’s going to run, and that’s when I came to my senses and my instincts took over. I very loudly told him to drop the basket and come to the front with me. He looked at me like I had two heads. He did drop the basket, but he took off running like he was on fire and he was out the front door and in the getaway car in no time.
I learned a valuable lesson that day, and I recovered some valuable merchandise as well. He knew the threat of being caught if he went through the pedestals with those labels still on the merchandise. And he had obviously been successful before in getting out the door because we were not paying him any attention. Employees have to work with the Checkpoint System, not expect it to do all the work.
For more information about Checkpoint Systems, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
Our company has a pretty standard return policy. If the customer has their receipt, we have no issues whatsoever. Without a receipt, they are dealt with at the manager’s discretion. We could give them store credit, provide an exact exchange, or simply refuse and send them on their way. You have to be fair and consistent with refund decisions; you never want to allow yourself to use social bias when you choose to accept or reject a return. I have had experiences with all of those situations, and Checkpoint Tags have been the deciding factor in several.
How do Checkpoint Tags help with refunds? First of all, I guess the simplest way is that if the tag was not properly deactivated, it will still cause the system to alarm when the person brings the item through the door. That is a rare occurrence, as it is usually just the delivery guy that causes mine to sound, but it has happened. Maybe they just swiped the product from another retailer down the street and they heard your store is the place in town that will take stuff back. Once a business has that reputation, you can bet theft will increase right along with refunds. The big box down the street from our store is fighting that battle now.
The second way they help is a little less obvious, but something a trained eye can easily spot. If they stole the product, they most likely removed any anti-shoplifting device before they attempted to bring it in for a refund. If the item has a high retail, or you know it is a target for theft, look closely at the package. Inspect it for the tell tale marking or tearing that is often left by someone ripping off a Checkpoint Tag. There may be some residue left from where it had been attached. I know what items we tag in our store, so if the item they are trying to return is on that list and missing the label, then I can use that to my advantage. I can also check our inventory and see how many we are supposed to have and see how many we have sold in the past few weeks. If the box has a mark and the numbers don’t add up, the return is not happening.
Another way they can help you determine whether a refund is warranted, is they can be used to identify where the item originally came from. Our company has actually purchased special Checkpoint Labels that have our store number and location printed directly on them. I had a man come in to return a diabetic testing meter with no proof of purchase a couple years ago. The box was a little squashed on all the corners so I got suspicious. It actually did have a store identifier Checkpoint Tag on the top of it though, which indicated he had got it from one of our stores. He claimed the device did not work properly. Something told me he wasn’t being truthful, but I would never accuse someone of theft without absolute proof. I told him the only thing I would be willing to do was to exchange it for the exact same item. He thought about it a moment and said that would be fine with him. I felt I had made the right decision, until I handed him the new box, and he asked me for a receipt. I told him there was no receipt involved in an exchange, and I added I wasn’t giving him anything that would make it appear he had paid for this new meter. He said he wanted something, so if this one did not work, he could get money for the device instead of just accepting another one. I looked at him a moment, silently picked up the new box and sat it behind the counter with the old supposedly defective one. Then I called the store listed on the label, which is what I should have done in the first place, to inquire if they had reported any instances of theft with this item. He asked me what I was doing, and when he heard me tell the person on the other end why I was calling and asking for the manager on duty, he ran out the door empty handed. I should have listened to my gut feeling in the first place, and not wasted all that time with him.
For more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us at 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
RWH BLOG 04
Your patrons love the upscale feel and atmosphere of it. You love the convenience and increased sales. If you are in the high end bar and nightclub business you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Yes, that is correct; I am referring to bottle service. Your patrons get the special atmosphere of purchasing their own bottle of spirits and having it available at their table to pour rather than having to go to the bar each time and purchase individual drinks or order rounds of drinks from the waitress.
What possibly could be the downside of that? Well, as a former traffic accident reconstructionist who has seen more than his fair share of alcohol-involved motor vehicle accidents, I can definitely think of a couple of downsides. Ask yourself how likely it would be for your patrons to become extremely intoxicated if they had the bottle sitting on their table in your nightclub and were allowed to serve themselves. You should be flinching a little by now. Let’s add to that the reality that many states prohibit patrons from pouring their own alcohol and now I should have you squirming. No one wants to be on the end of a personal liability suit for allowing someone to be served while intoxicated resulting in a motor vehicle death. Now the sweat should be pouring off of you!
So how do we address these concerns and still have the ability to offer the service? What kind of technological solutions might help us limit our liability and still allow our patrons the atmosphere of bottle service and us the convenience and added profits of selling alcohol by the bottle? There are a couple of solutions that I know about and one stands out for its convenience and affordability. Let’s discuss them.
The first solution, which has been in place in many of your high end establishments is the locking table. The bottles are kept at the patron’s table as we would want them to be; however, they are kept in a locking compartment located in the table. What does that do for your ability to design your nightclub floor with the tables that you want? Not much. You have to purchase specialized tables from specific vendors in limited styles that will cost you thousands of dollars. I would have to agree with you that does not sound too appealing.
The second solution might get your attention. It is something that I came across from Alpha called the EASy bottle lock. It is a modification to the bottle and not the table – a significant price difference. It is actually a locking cap that your server puts over the bottle and uses a special EASy bottle key to unlock it and serve your patrons when they desire. The patrons have the bottle but not the special key so they cannot pour their own drinks. Should they try to force the issue, the bottle will break before the bottle lock gives way. The bottle key is a special controlled key that is easily kept on the nightclub style wardrobe of your servers on a special high-grade retractor so it won’t become lost and have to be fumbled for in their clothing.
In addition, a special policy is provided with purchase so your patrons will understand the importance of controlling the keys and not allowing them to get out to the general public. As a loss prevention professional, this is an important feature as the keys have to be controlled for the bottle service program to be effective using the EASy bottle locking cap system.
Let the EASy bottle locking system take that hand-wringing and perspiration from you by continuing to offer the valuable bottle service while limiting your exposure to state dram shop liability. It is an affordable solution to the potential serious concerns that are inherent in an ill-conceived bottle service.
For more information on employee background checks contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or www. Bottle-Services.net
Your patrons love the upscale feel and atmosphere of it. You love the convenience and increased sales. If you are in the high end bar and nightclub business you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Yes, that is correct; I am referring to bottle service. Your patrons get the special atmosphere of purchasing their own bottle of spirits and having it available at their table to pour rather than having to go to the bar each time and purchase individual drinks or order rounds of drinks from the waitress.
What possibly could be the downside of that? Well, as a former traffic accident reconstructionist who has seen more than his fair share of alcohol-involved motor vehicle accidents, I can definitely think of a couple of downsides. Ask yourself how likely it would be for your patrons to become extremely intoxicated if they had the bottle sitting on their table in your nightclub and were allowed to serve themselves. You should be flinching a little by now. Let’s add to that the reality that many states prohibit patrons from pouring their own alcohol and now I should have you squirming. No one wants to be on the end of a personal liability suit for allowing someone to be served while intoxicated resulting in a motor vehicle death. Now the sweat should be pouring off of you!
So how do we address these concerns and still have the ability to offer the service? What kind of technological solutions might help us limit our liability and still allow our patrons the atmosphere of bottle service and us the convenience and added profits of selling alcohol by the bottle? There are a couple of solutions that I know about and one stands out for its convenience and affordability. Let’s discuss them.
The first solution, which has been in place in many of your high end establishments is the locking table. The bottles are kept at the patron’s table as we would want them to be; however, they are kept in a locking compartment located in the table. What does that do for your ability to design your nightclub floor with the tables that you want? Not much. You have to purchase specialized tables from specific vendors in limited styles that will cost you thousands of dollars. I would have to agree with you that does not sound too appealing.
The second solution might get your attention. It is something that I came across from Alpha called the EASy bottle lock. It is a modification to the bottle and not the table – a significant price difference. It is actually a locking cap that your server puts over the bottle and uses a special EASy bottle key to unlock it and serve your patrons when they desire. The patrons have the bottle but not the special key so they cannot pour their own drinks. Should they try to force the issue, the bottle will break before the bottle lock gives way. The bottle key is a special controlled key that is easily kept on the nightclub style wardrobe of your servers on a special high-grade retractor so it won’t become lost and have to be fumbled for in their clothing.
In addition, a special policy is provided with purchase so your patrons will understand the importance of controlling the keys and not allowing them to get out to the general public. As a loss prevention professional, this is an important feature as the keys have to be controlled for the bottle service program to be effective using the EASy bottle locking cap system.
Let the EASy bottle locking system take that hand-wringing and perspiration from you by continuing to offer the valuable bottle service while limiting your exposure to state dram shop liability. It is an affordable solution to the potential serious concerns that are inherent in an ill-conceived bottle service.
For more information on employee background checks contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or www. Bottle-Services.net
Shoplifters are an ever-changing group, and have a seemingly never ending ideas for dishonest activities at their disposal. If you really want to do everything you can possibly do to stop shoplifting in your store, you have to learn their tricks and stay on top of trends. Some trends repeat themselves over the years, so don’t be surprised if you see some old tricks resurfacing a few years down the road.
Have you ever gotten a phone call in which the caller asked to speak with someone from security or loss prevention? If so, it may have been a shoplifter. Believe it or not, some shoplifters actually call the store before they come in to steal. They do this to try and see if there is anyone in the store working loss prevention or security. You pick up the phone and the caller hangs up, or asks a question that was not security related and could have been answered by anyone in the store.
A different scam you’ll want to watch out for is callers that try to get you to perform transactions over the phone. This type of theft has been around for a long time, but is still being used regularly. The caller tries to get a cashier to either load a gift card, complete a wire or money transfer, or key some kind of other transaction. They sometimes claim that they are even from the corporate office, or the company whose product is involved in the transaction they are trying to get you to conduct. They can be extremely convincing at times, and may provide bogus credentials as well. You should already be teaching your employees how to help stop shoplifting by looking out for certain red flags, so why not talk about these kinds of scams at the same time. They can cause you just as much loss, so be sure to include them in your retail theft prevention training.
I remember another shoplifter that used another sneaky trick to try to get away with theft. His method of operation was to bring an expensive item to a register, along with a handwritten note. This note was supposedly signed by the store manager, and said that the item was paid, or that he could have the item at half of its original price. Of course, it was a bogus note, and wasn’t really signed by the store manager. One thing that made the note semi-believable though, is the fact that it was the actual store manager’s name on the note. This guy would also call before he came into the store at times to see if the store manager was there at the time, so his scam would be more believable. He got away with it a couple times before we caught on to his tricks and put a stop to it.
My most memorable experience with a shoplifter phone call was when a coworker and I were watching a guy try to defeat an anti-shoplifting device in the store. We thought he got frustrated and gave up, because he dropped the merchandise and left the store empty handed. This was not the case, because a few minutes after he left there was a call for security holding. I picked up the call only to hear someone laughing loudly, and telling me that we were terrible at our jobs. I was going to say that we couldn’t be that bad because he didn’t leave the store with any merchandise, but he hung up the phone too quickly.
For more information contact us: (stop shoplifting) or call 1.770.426.0547
Shoplifters are an ever-changing group, and have a seemingly never ending ideas for dishonest activities at their disposal. If you really want to do everything you can possibly do to stop shoplifting in your store, you have to learn their tricks and stay on top of trends. Some trends repeat themselves over the years, so don’t be surprised if you see some old tricks resurfacing a few years down the road.
Have you ever gotten a phone call in which the caller asked to speak with someone from security or loss prevention? If so, it may have been a shoplifter. Believe it or not, some shoplifters actually call the store before they come in to steal. They do this to try and see if there is anyone in the store working loss prevention or security. You pick up the phone and the caller hangs up, or asks a question that was not security related and could have been answered by anyone in the store.
A different scam you’ll want to watch out for is callers that try to get you to perform transactions over the phone. This type of theft has been around for a long time, but is still being used regularly. The caller tries to get a cashier to either load a gift card, complete a wire or money transfer, or key some kind of other transaction. They sometimes claim that they are even from the corporate office, or the company whose product is involved in the transaction they are trying to get you to conduct. They can be extremely convincing at times, and may provide bogus credentials as well. You should already be teaching your employees how to help stop shoplifting by looking out for certain red flags, so why not talk about these kinds of scams at the same time. They can cause you just as much loss, so be sure to include them in your retail theft prevention training.
I remember another shoplifter that used another sneaky trick to try to get away with theft. His method of operation was to bring an expensive item to a register, along with a handwritten note. This note was supposedly signed by the store manager, and said that the item was paid, or that he could have the item at half of its original price. Of course, it was a bogus note, and wasn’t really signed by the store manager. One thing that made the note semi-believable though, is the fact that it was the actual store manager’s name on the note. This guy would also call before he came into the store at times to see if the store manager was there at the time, so his scam would be more believable. He got away with it a couple times before we caught on to his tricks and put a stop to it.
My most memorable experience with a shoplifter phone call was when a coworker and I were watching a guy try to defeat an anti-shoplifting device in the store. We thought he got frustrated and gave up, because he dropped the merchandise and left the store empty handed. This was not the case, because a few minutes after he left there was a call for security holding. I picked up the call only to hear someone laughing loudly, and telling me that we were terrible at our jobs. I was going to say that we couldn’t be that bad because he didn’t leave the store with any merchandise, but he hung up the phone too quickly.
For more information contact us: Stop Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547
RL-168
Checkpoint hard tags-3, stop shoplifting-3, Anti-Shoplifting-3
Utilize Checkpoint Hard Tags and Employee Awareness to Stop Shoplifting
If you really want to make an impact on the amount of loss you are experiencing in your store, you have to have more than one approach. But that doesn’t mean the solutions have to be complicated. With all the anti-shoplifting devices on the market today, it’s easy to find something that will work for virtually any type of merchandise. Devices like Checkpoint hard tags have always been one of the must-haves for merchandise protection. In addition to using devices to reduce and stop shoplifting from occurring, you should also utilize your staff to help identify suspicious behaviors in the store. It’s a difficult task to reduce the amount of shoplifting, so everyone in the store should be on board with keeping the merchandise on the shelves for customers.
If you are fortunate enough to have loss prevention personnel on your team, your staff should be letting them know if anything out of the ordinary is observed. If you have a smaller store with only sales staff, they should be trained on how to deal with behaviors that indicate theft or any other dishonest activity, because everyone should be on board to help stop shoplifting in the store. A good way to get your team motivated to help out is to show them how the losses can impact the store’s profit, and in turn affect the cost of merchandise. If you get your team excited about helping save the store money, it makes things so much easier. Sometimes you may need to add a little extra motivation, like recognizing them in front of their peers, or giving away gift cards for merchandise they help recover from shoplifters.
Not long ago, my store was being visited regularly by a shoplifter that took all different kinds of merchandise like tents and electronic items. He would come into the store and actually pick up a duffel bag or backpack from the shelf, and then fill it up with items in the store, before walking out without paying. He got away with it several times. I printed out a picture of the guy and showed it to the whole store team to be on the lookout for him. It didn’t take long before he came back again. An employee was leaving the store to go home for the day when he saw the guy walking into the store. As soon as he saw him, he gave me a call and I started watching him. Of course he picked up a duffel bag and started loading up on merchandise. We were finally able to get the guy thanks to the help of the employee who wanted to help stop shoplifting in the store and gave me a call.
If you are having your team utilize devices that work with your EAS system, make sure that they are properly trained on how to use them before attempting to attach the devices. Don’t assume that they know how to place the anti-shoplifting devices on the merchandise correctly. I have seen merchandise easily stolen several times because the thieves were easily able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices that were incorrectly secured to the items. Also, you want them to know exactly where to attach the device to the item. For example, you obviously don’t want any tags damaging the product or covering important information on the package that your customers need to be able to read. There are so many different ways to use Checkpoint hard tags and different types of merchandise you can use them on, so do some research so you will be sure to make the most of the devices.
For more information contact us: Checkpoint hard tags or call 1.770.426.0547
If you really want to make an impact on the amount of loss you are experiencing in your store, you have to have more than one approach. But that doesn’t mean the solutions have to be complicated. With all the anti-shoplifting devices on the market today, it’s easy to find something that will work for virtually any type of merchandise. Devices like Checkpoint hard tags have always been one of the must-haves for merchandise protection. In addition to using devices to reduce and stop shoplifting from occurring, you should also utilize your staff to help identify suspicious behaviors in the store. It’s a difficult task to reduce the amount of shoplifting, so everyone in the store should be on board with keeping the merchandise on the shelves for customers.
If you are fortunate enough to have loss prevention personnel on your team, your staff should be letting them know if anything out of the ordinary is observed. If you have a smaller store with only sales staff, they should be trained on how to deal with behaviors that indicate theft or any other dishonest activity, because everyone should be on board to help stop shoplifting in the store. A good way to get your team motivated to help out is to show them how the losses can impact the store’s profit, and in turn affect the cost of merchandise. If you get your team excited about helping save the store money, it makes things so much easier. Sometimes you may need to add a little extra motivation, like recognizing them in front of their peers, or giving away gift cards for merchandise they help recover from shoplifters.
Not long ago, my store was being visited regularly by a shoplifter that took all different kinds of merchandise like tents and electronic items. He would come into the store and actually pick up a duffel bag or backpack from the shelf, and then fill it up with items in the store, before walking out without paying. He got away with it several times. I printed out a picture of the guy and showed it to the whole store team to be on the lookout for him. It didn’t take long before he came back again. An employee was leaving the store to go home for the day when he saw the guy walking into the store. As soon as he saw him, he gave me a call and I started watching him. Of course he picked up a duffel bag and started loading up on merchandise. We were finally able to get the guy thanks to the help of the employee who wanted to help stop shoplifting in the store and gave me a call.
If you are having your team utilize devices that work with your EAS system, make sure that they are properly trained on how to use them before attempting to attach the devices. Don’t assume that they know how to place the anti-shoplifting devices on the merchandise correctly. I have seen merchandise easily stolen several times because the thieves were easily able to remove the anti-shoplifting devices that were incorrectly secured to the items. Also, you want them to know exactly where to attach the device to the item. For example, you obviously don’t want any tags damaging the product or covering important information on the package that your customers need to be able to read. There are so many different ways to use Checkpoint hard tags and different types of merchandise you can use them on, so do some research so you will be sure to make the most of the devices.
For more information contact us: Checkpoint hard tags or contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
