For those of us who work in retail and loss prevention, we unfortunately have to deal with shoplifters in our stores on a regular basis. When you stop shoplifting suspects, sometimes it’s easy to let your nerves and adrenaline get the best of you in these situations. You don’t want to let the shoplifter know that you are nervous, so the best thing to do is be calm and keep your mind on what you are trying to accomplish. You also want to be able to make sure they don’t become agitated, so it’s important to keep the line of communication open throughout the process and give the shoplifters straight forward direction.
I remember a time that I was standing in one of the music CD aisles, watching someone at a distance in the electronics department. The next thing I know, a guy walks right next to me and picked up several of the exact same CD and placed it into a shopping cart. This was earlier in my career, so needless to say, my adrenaline was through the roof at that point. Many things were going through my head at the moment and I was thinking how lucky I was to have seen that happen right in front of me. I also knew that I now had to be extra careful because the shoplifter has now seen me, so I can’t let him see me again or he will become suspicious. The CDs at the time had large plastic anti-shoplifting devices on them, and I also noticed that he had a backpack in his shopping cart.
I stayed calm, took a breath and walked away to watch him from a distance. He continued picking up CDs and placed them into the shopping cart. Then he went into a different department where he started looking around and popped the anti-shoplifting cases off the CDs with a screwdriver. Naturally, his next move was to put the CDs into his backpack. After concealing them into the backpack, he headed out to the garden area and exited the store with the stolen merchandise. When I approached him and identified myself, he recognized me from being there when he first picked up the merchandise, which he actually laughed about when we got back to the office.
During apprehensions when you stop shoplifting suspects, you have to remain cool and collected. Another time composure and communication helped me was when I caught a guy pushing out a cart full of beer. The cart of beer wasn’t the surprising part, it was what happened during the actual apprehension of the subject. I watched the guy load up a cart with cases of beer and starting pushing it toward the front of the store. Once he got near the registers, he took off running with the cart out the exit door. I was not expecting this, and wasn’t close enough to him when he exited to stop him. I knew it was against policy to chase him through the parking lot, so I decided to stay on the sidewalk and call out to him. By this time, he was almost to his getaway vehicle, so I could not believe my eyes when he turned around with the cart and came back to talk to me. I couldn’t believe that it actually worked, but it did, and I got all of the beer back to the shelves where it belonged.
For more information contact us: (stop shoplifting) or call 1.770.426.0547
For those of us who work in retail and loss prevention, we unfortunately have to deal with shoplifters in our stores on a regular basis. When you stop shoplifting suspects, sometimes it’s easy to let your nerves and adrenaline get the best of you in these situations. You don’t want to let the shoplifter know that you are nervous, so the best thing to do is be calm and keep your mind on what you are trying to accomplish. You also want to be able to make sure they don’t become agitated, so it’s important to keep the line of communication open throughout the process and give the shoplifters straight forward direction.
I remember a time that I was standing in one of the music CD aisles, watching someone at a distance in the electronics department. The next thing I know, a guy walks right next to me and picked up several of the exact same CD and placed it into a shopping cart. This was earlier in my career, so needless to say, my adrenaline was through the roof at that point. Many things were going through my head at the moment and I was thinking how lucky I was to have seen that happen right in front of me. I also knew that I now had to be extra careful because the shoplifter has now seen me, so I can’t let him see me again or he will become suspicious. The CDs at the time had large plastic anti-shoplifting devices on them, and I also noticed that he had a backpack in his shopping cart.
I stayed calm, took a breath and walked away to watch him from a distance. He continued picking up CDs and placed them into the shopping cart. Then he went into a different department where he started looking around and popped the anti-shoplifting cases off the CDs with a screwdriver. Naturally, his next move was to put the CDs into his backpack. After concealing them into the backpack, he headed out to the garden area and exited the store with the stolen merchandise. When I approached him and identified myself, he recognized me from being there when he first picked up the merchandise, which he actually laughed about when we got back to the office.
During apprehensions when you stop shoplifting suspects, you have to remain cool and collected. Another time composure and communication helped me was when I caught a guy pushing out a cart full of beer. The cart of beer wasn’t the surprising part, it was what happened during the actual apprehension of the subject. I watched the guy load up a cart with cases of beer and starting pushing it toward the front of the store. Once he got near the registers, he took off running with the cart out the exit door. I was not expecting this, and wasn’t close enough to him when he exited to stop him. I knew it was against policy to chase him through the parking lot, so I decided to stay on the sidewalk and call out to him. By this time, he was almost to his getaway vehicle, so I could not believe my eyes when he turned around with the cart and came back to talk to me. I couldn’t believe that it actually worked, but it did, and I got all of the beer back to the shelves where it belonged.
For more information contact us: Stop Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547
It was one of those hot, miserable New Orleans days. Middle of August and the humidity was probably around 300%. One of those times I enjoyed working inside along with the central air. I was working a joint investigation with local police and a few retailers. This task force was assembled with one goal in mind, prevent shoplifting in our parish. With the help of some area stores and a strong partnership with the police, we had set up shop at a local pharmacy since they were constantly targeted for household items, such as detergent and soap. We were in place and we just waited. 3 hours in and sweat dripping down our faces, a familiar face walked through the front doors. We knew this guy. He was a booster with a criminal record a mile long. Sure enough, he walked right over to the laundry detergent.
Believe it or not, laundry detergent is one of the highest theft items right now. Boosters can easily walk out the doors with this product and turn it incredibly quick at flea markets, or less than honest brick and mortar stores. In this store, their LP team had secured most of their detergent with an alpha 3 alarm hard tag. For most, it’s a great physical deterrent. It will trigger the EAS upon exit, alarm if the cable is cut, and my favorite part, alarm for about 10 minutes after going through the towers. Getting back to our booster… he walks over with a buggy, loads 5 up and simply walks out. The EAS tower alarms and the 3 alarm tags start wailing. Doesn’t faze this guy one bit. He casually walks over to his vehicle, loads them in the trunk and drives off. The purpose of our operation was to find out where the product was going, so we let him leave and we, along with police, followed behind.
About two blocks down the road, he pulls into a neighborhood grocery store. Cameras were rolling as he very casually unloaded the detergent and brought it inside. After a few minutes, our friend emerged and detectives affected an arrest. He immediately denied any wrong doing, not knowing we have watched, filmed and followed his every move. We went inside the store to receive our stolen goods, but the shop owner claimed to have no idea what we were talking about. The detective asked a few of us to come inside to see if we could identify any of our store’s product that may be on display. After a few laps around the small store, I didn’t see anything that could belong to me, so I began walking towards the front when a faint, chirping sound caught my attention. I called the detectives over, to what appeared to be a supply closet. I knew this sound. It was the alpha 3 alarm tag still chirping from when it had been trigged at the EAS tower.
Long story short, the owner, trying to weasel out of trouble agreed to open the door and cooperate. Inside was roughly 3 dozen bottles of detergent, most still with the retail anti-theft device still attached. And there, in the corner, still chirping away were the 5 that our booster had stolen from us. You couldn’t ask for better evidence than that!.
It was one of those hot, miserable New Orleans days. Middle of August and the humidity was probably around 300%. One of those times I enjoyed working inside along with the central air. I was working a joint investigation with local police and a few retailers. This task force was assembled with one goal in mind, prevent shoplifting in our parish. With the help of some area stores and a strong partnership with the police, we had set up shop at a local pharmacy since they were constantly targeted for household items, such as detergent and soap. We were in place and we just waited. 3 hours in and sweat dripping down our faces, a familiar face walked through the front doors. We knew this guy. He was a booster with a criminal record a mile long. Sure enough, he walked right over to the laundry detergent.
Believe it or not, laundry detergent is one of the highest theft items right now. Boosters can easily walk out the doors with this product and turn it incredibly quick at flea markets, or less than honest brick and mortar stores. In this store, their LP team had secured most of their detergent with an Alpha 3 Alarm Hard Tag. For most, it’s a great physical deterrent. It will trigger the EAS upon exit, alarm if the cable is cut, and my favorite part, alarm for about 10 minutes after going through the towers. Getting back to our booster… he walks over with a buggy, loads 5 up and simply walks out. The EAS Tower Alarms and the Alpha 3 Alarm Tags start wailing. Doesn’t faze this guy one bit. He casually walks over to his vehicle, loads them in the trunk and drives off. The purpose of our operation was to find out where the product was going, so we let him leave and we, along with police, followed behind.
About two blocks down the road, he pulls into a neighborhood grocery store. Cameras were rolling as he very casually unloaded the detergent and brought it inside. After a few minutes, our friend emerged and detectives affected an arrest. He immediately denied any wrong doing, not knowing we have watched, filmed and followed his every move. We went inside the store to receive our stolen goods, but the shop owner claimed to have no idea what we were talking about. The detective asked a few of us to come inside to see if we could identify any of our store’s product that may be on display. After a few laps around the small store, I didn’t see anything that could belong to me, so I began walking towards the front when a faint, chirping sound caught my attention. I called the detectives over, to what appeared to be a supply closet. I knew this sound. It was the Alpha 3 Alarm Tag still chirping from when it had been triggered at the EAS tower.
Long story short, the owner, trying to weasel out of trouble agreed to open the door and cooperate. Inside was roughly 3 dozen bottles of detergent, most still with the retail anti-theft device still attached. And there, in the corner, still chirping away were the 5 that our booster had stolen from us. You couldn’t ask for better evidence than that!
For more information contact us at losspreventionsystems.com or call 1.770.426.0547
For every apparel retailer there comes a steady stream of people who just don’t want to purchase your product. From my experience, it seems like more shoplifters target apparel merchandise than any other section of the store. Maybe because there are a plethora of high dollar, easily concealable items, or that you can get more articles of clothing in a bag, or maybe it’s because most stores are not utilizing security tags on clothes. Whatever the case, apparel theft is huge, and if your store has a fitting room, this could be a part of the problem.
I was training some new in store LP agents recently, when we began to observe a female in our apparel department. We watched as she began selecting random articles of high end clothing, without regard for size. One thing we noticed is that she was particularly attentive to whether or not clothing security devices were used on the pieces she was selecting. Exhibiting all the classic signs of a shoplifter, we began observation. It wasn’t long before she took a pile of clothes into the fitting room. About 25 minutes later, she emerged with what seemed like a smaller pile of clothes. I couldn’t be 100% certain if a theft had taken place, so I just had to watch as she left the store with, what I’m assuming, was a few hundred dollars’ worth of my merchandise. What happened?
The company I work for doesn’t have a fitting room policy. Meaning, there is no employee working this area, and customer can come and go if they choose. This is great for customer service, but it also leaves the store open for theft in a big way. Since there is no control of merchandise going in to the room, it’s almost impossible to make a shoplifting apprehension from the fitting room. Without an accurate number of what went in the stall, there’s no way to tell if the same amount of merchandise had come out. We would routinely find defeated checkpoint tags in the stalls at night. We needed a solution.
After several lengthy meetings with our operations group, we decided to test a fitting room policy at a few of our higher shrink stores. The area was staffed with an employee during business hours and now we would limit the amount of items a customer could take into room. In addition, the employee would give the customer a number that matched the number of garments and the clothing would be verified by that employee upon the customer’s exit. The return on investment was almost immediate. The first thing we noticed was a reduction in the number of checkpoint tags we would find in the stalls. We also saw a reduction in shrink in the apparel department overall. The biggest challenge we thought we’d face was opposition from our customers, however, what we learned is that most every big box retailer has a similar process. I think no matter the size of your store, if you have a fitting room, you need to implement a control. If not, you will continually open yourself for unnecessary losses caused by shoplifting.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
For every apparel retailer there comes a steady stream of people who just don’t want to purchase your product. From my experience, it seems like more shoplifters target apparel merchandise than any other section of the store. Maybe because there are a plethora of high dollar, easily concealable items, or that you can get more articles of clothing in a bag, or maybe it’s because most stores are not utilizing security tags on clothes. Whatever the case, apparel theft is huge, and if your store has a fitting room, this could be a part of the problem.
I was training some new in store LP agents recently, when we began to observe a female in our apparel department. We watched as she began selecting random articles of high end clothing, without regard for size. One thing we noticed is that she was particularly attentive to whether or not clothing security devices were used on the pieces she was selecting. Exhibiting all the classic signs of a shoplifter, we began observation. It wasn’t long before she took a pile of clothes into the fitting room. About 25 minutes later, she emerged with what seemed like a smaller pile of clothes. I couldn’t be 100% certain if a theft had taken place, so I just had to watch as she left the store with, what I’m assuming, was a few hundred dollars’ worth of my merchandise. What happened?
The company I work for doesn’t have a fitting room policy. Meaning, there is no employee working this area, and customer can come and go if they choose. This is great for customer service, but it also leaves the store open for theft in a big way. Since there is no control of merchandise going in to the room, it’s almost impossible to make a shoplifting apprehension from the fitting room. Without an accurate number of what went in the stall, there’s no way to tell if the same amount of merchandise had come out. We would routinely find defeated Checkpoint Tags in the stalls at night. We needed a solution.
After several lengthy meetings with our operations group, we decided to test a fitting room policy at a few of our higher shrink stores. The area was staffed with an employee during business hours and now we would limit the amount of items a customer could take into room. In addition, the employee would give the customer a number that matched the number of garments and the clothing would be verified by that employee upon the customer’s exit. The return on investment was almost immediate. The first thing we noticed was a reduction in the number of Checkpoint Tags we would find in the stalls. We also saw a reduction in shrink in the apparel department overall. The biggest challenge we thought we’d face was opposition from our customers, however, what we learned is that most every big box retailer has a similar process. I think no matter the size of your store, if you have a fitting room, you need to implement a control. If not, you will continually open yourself for unnecessary losses caused by shoplifting.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
You shouldn’t have to wonder what happened to your 99 bottles that used to be on the wall. If your store sells any type of alcoholic beverages, chances are that you want to keep your bottles in stock for your real customers, and you want to keep thieves from taking one down and passing it around. This problem has an easy solution, which is bottle locks. These devices may look simple, but looks can sometimes be deceiving. They are the standard for bottle security, and can help you keep your store profitable. After all, you’re supposed to be making money, not losing it, right?
When it comes to keeping your merchandise safe, you shouldn’t be going to a sketchy guy down the street that a friend of a friend of your 3rd cousin recommends. If you do, your bottle security strategy might consist of some duct tape, a paper clip, and a padlock. Instead, you should look to an industry leader, such as Alpha Security. They are the makers of bottle locks, and the protection they provide for your merchandise doesn’t get any better. Your merchandise will be safe, and accessible, where customers will be able to handle the merchandise before buying it. I know that as a consumer, I would be less likely to purchase something that I couldn’t hold and read. Unless I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, I would want to know details about the product before I made a purchase.
Bottle locks are not throw-away retail anti-theft devices, and can be used over and over again. They have been developed to deter and stop theft of alcoholic beverages, and they are very good at it. These devices are also easy to use, because all you have to do is put them on top of the bottles, and that in itself will be enough of a visual deterrent for most would be thieves. The last thing a thief wants is to see something that’s standing in the way of what they want. That would mean they have more to risk in terms of getting caught. They will most likely move on to something without protection, or just go to another store that doesn’t use it at all. If that isn’t enough, some of the devices are also equipped to work in conjunction with your existing EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system. That means if they try to bring a bottle through the EAS antennas, an alarm will sound.
The people that actually try to go through with the theft will not be happy when they learn that the benefit denial aspect of the device will damage the bottle if it is tampered with by someone without the proper key. The key is also easy to use, and makes removing the devices from the bottles a very quick task for your staff, so customers won’t have to wait a long time just to purchase a bottle of liquor or wine. Overall, you aren’t going to find a better bottle security solution for your store on the market today. It’s time to do something about the loss you’ve been experiencing and these devices are the perfect solution.
For more information contact us: (bottle locks) or call 1.770.426.0547
You shouldn’t have to wonder what happened to your 99 bottles that used to be on the wall. If your store sells any type of alcoholic beverages, chances are that you want to keep your bottles in stock for your real customers, and you want to keep thieves from taking one down and passing it around. This problem has an easy solution, which is Bottle Locks. These devices may look simple, but looks can sometimes be deceiving. They are the standard for bottle security, and can help you keep your store profitable. After all, you’re supposed to be making money, not losing it, right?
When it comes to keeping your merchandise safe, you shouldn’t be going to a sketchy guy down the street that a friend of a friend of your 3rd cousin recommends. If you do, your bottle security strategy might consist of some duct tape, a paper clip, and a padlock. Instead, you should look to an industry leader, such as Alpha Security. They are the makers of Bottle Loks, and the protection they provide for your merchandise doesn’t get any better. Your merchandise will be safe, and accessible, where customers will be able to handle the merchandise before buying it. I know that as a consumer, I would be less likely to purchase something that I couldn’t hold and read. Unless I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, I would want to know details about the product before I made a purchase.
Bottle locks are not throw-away retail anti-theft devices, and can be used over and over again. They have been developed to deter and stop theft of alcoholic beverages, and they are very good at it. These devices are also easy to use, because all you have to do is put them on top of the bottles, and that in itself will be enough of a visual deterrent for most would be thieves. The last thing a thief wants is to see something that’s standing in the way of what they want. That would mean they have more to risk in terms of getting caught. They will most likely move on to something without protection, or just go to another store that doesn’t use it at all. If that isn’t enough, some of the devices are also equipped to work in conjunction with your existing EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system. That means if they try to bring a bottle through the EAS antennas, an alarm will sound.
The people that actually try to go through with the theft will not be happy when they learn that the benefit denial aspect of the device will damage the bottle if it is tampered with by someone without the proper key. The key is also easy to use, and makes removing the devices from the bottles a very quick task for your staff, so customers won’t have to wait a long time just to purchase a bottle of liquor or wine. Overall, you aren’t going to find a better bottle security solution for your store on the market today. It’s time to do something about the loss you’ve been experiencing and these devices are the perfect solution.
For more information contact us: (bottle locks) or call 1.770.426.0547
While attending the University of New Mexico, working toward a degree in criminology, I worked part-time for loss prevention at a local retail store. I had seen many people walk through the security system pedestals in my store sounding an alarm with their Checkpoint labels and looking about in a nervously awkward fashion, not sure whether to stay and seek an employee out, or to simply continue on their way. Sometimes I would find it mildly humorous.
That changed when one day, I had to buy textbooks from the school bookstore. As I was exiting the store after paying for my books, the alarm sounded. Even though I had seen this scenario occur probably hundreds of times, I still got that knot in my stomach like I had done something wrong. Everyone was looking at me as security approached me and asked to see inside my book-bag. I was rushed to get to class, but I complied, showing all of the pockets in my bag, and showing the books I had just paid for. After a good once-over, the security guard gave me the ‘OK’, and allowed me to proceed on my way. I had my first memorable “uh-oh” moment with Checkpoint labels.
These security labels are miniscule stickers designed to emit a certain radio frequency that, when active, sets off an alarm at the security pedestals that are placed at a store’s entrance. The great thing about these stickers is that they are completely flush with the merchandise—in my case, books. When they are scanned by deactivators at the point of sale, they will no longer emit the radio-frequency that will set off the alarm, thus allowing paying customers no issues—usually. They can be both a great deterrent against theft, and a great indicator that theft is occurring and allow the store staff to prevent it. However, they do require minimal training and persistence to prevent those “uh-oh” moments that can be embarrassing for paying customers.
One of the best time-tested ways of gaining compliance is through socialization. For example, people tend not to do things that will make them stand out in a socially awkward way, like not wearing pants to work, cutting in line, or even speaking in front of a large group of people. It is a social norm that stealing is not acceptable and neither shoplifters nor shoppers want to be suspected of it. That is what makes Checkpoint security labels such an effective method of deterring theft. Even those who aren’t shoplifting don’t want to beep at the door!
In retail it’s important that shoppers have a great experience shopping in your store. It is very important to be consistent with label placement, deactivation, and alarms response. When an alarm sounds, the customer should not be accused of theft. It’s best to apologize for the alarm and to offer assistance. Usually, this consists of checking the customer’s receipt and taking the item back to the register for deactivation or purchase, if the item is not found on the receipt. If the alarm sounds again on the way out, the issue should be investigated after the customer leaves.
Even if the customer paid for the merchandise, alarm follow-up is important! Remember, the Checkpoint security system is a deterrent. Shoplifters are watching how your employees respond to alarms. If they can set off the alarm without having customer service after, they might steal. Checkpoint security labels are most effective if implemented with a consistent plan.
For more information contact us: Checkpoint labels or call 1.770.426.0547
While attending the University of New Mexico, working toward a degree in criminology, I worked part-time in loss prevention at a local retail store. I had seen many people walk through the security system pedestals in my store sounding an alarm with their Checkpoint labels and looking about in a nervously awkward fashion, not sure whether to stay and seek an employee out, or to simply continue on their way. Sometimes I would find it mildly humorous.
That changed when one day, I had to buy textbooks from the school bookstore. As I was exiting the store after paying for my books, the alarm sounded. Even though I had seen this scenario occur probably hundreds of times, I still got that knot in my stomach like I had done something wrong. Everyone was looking at me as security approached me and asked to see inside my book-bag. I was rushed to get to class, but I complied, showing all of the pockets in my bag, and showing the books I had just paid for. After a good once-over, the security guard gave me the ‘OK’, and allowed me to proceed on my way. I had my first memorable “uh-oh” moment with Checkpoint labels.
These security labels are miniscule stickers designed to emit a certain radio frequency that, when active, sets off an alarm at the security pedestals that are placed at a store’s entrance. The great thing about these stickers is that they are completely flush with the merchandise—in my case, books. When they are scanned by deactivators at the point of sale, they will no longer emit the radio-frequency that will set off the alarm, thus allowing paying customers no issues—usually. They can be both a great deterrent against theft, and a great indicator that theft is occurring and allow the store staff to prevent it. However, they do require minimal training and persistence to prevent those “uh-oh” moments that can be embarrassing for paying customers.
One of the best time-tested ways of gaining compliance is through socialization. For example, people tend not to do things that will make them stand out in a socially awkward way, like not wearing pants to work, cutting in line, or even speaking in front of a large group of people. It is a social norm that stealing is not acceptable and neither shoplifters nor shoppers want to be suspected of it. That is what makes Checkpoint Security Labels such an effective method of deterring theft. Even those who aren’t shoplifting don’t want to beep at the door!
In retail it’s important that shoppers have a great experience shopping in your store. It is very important to be consistent with label placement, deactivation, and alarms response. When an alarm sounds, the customer should not be accused of theft. It’s best to apologize for the alarm and to offer assistance. Usually, this consists of checking the customer’s receipt and taking the item back to the register for deactivation or purchase, if the item is not found on the receipt. If the alarm sounds again on the way out, the issue should be investigated after the customer leaves.
Even if the customer paid for the merchandise, alarm follow-up is important! Remember, the Checkpoint security system is a deterrent. Shoplifters are watching how your employees respond to alarms. If they can set off the alarm without having customer service after, they might steal. Checkpoint Security Labels are most effective if implemented with a consistent plan.
For more information contact us: Checkpoint labels or call 1.770.426.0547
