Wouldn’t it be great if shoplifters wore uniforms and name tags? They would be easily identified as they entered the building, and you could go ahead and call the authorities. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and shoplifters are able to get in and out of the building, many times undetected, with valuable inventory. If you are the owner or manager of a business that sells wines and spirits, you have probably come to realize that there is no single stereotype that identifies your particular brand of thief. When you deal with impulse thefts, it can be any customer in your building. Posting signs throughout the store that your business prosecutes shoplifters, and adding mirrors and cameras are a couple of ways to change the mind of a potential thief. Another great addition is Bottle Loks.
Recently, in one of our locations, an employee was arriving for his shift when he witnessed two men exiting the building, and he heard the Checkpoint Alarm sounding. The employee felt certain he had dealt with one of the men before, for stealing. The clerk at the checkout told him the two men had been looking at different items in the aisle, but had seemed to concentrate on a certain high retail brand of Vodka. They did not buy anything, loudly exclaiming they changed their minds as they walked out the door. There were three bottles of that expensive Vodka missing from the shelf, according to the system. The employee called in the incident, and luckily on this occasion, they were caught just down the street with the stolen items wrapped in one of their jackets.
When someone gets the bright idea to steal bottles of wine and liquor, they don’t generally take the time to think things through. They see the clerk is busy, there are other customers in the store looking around, and suddenly they are imagining themselves hiding some bottles somehow and walking out the door. Sometimes it is for the thrill of it, just to see if they can get away. It could be that they want a more expensive brand than they can afford, and they may feel entitled to taking the better product. After all, they think, the store can afford it. Other times when there is a group of people, it can be a case of peer pressure or just trying to show off, and that can apply to any age. No matter their own justifications, we as the management of the store have to take the initiative to protect our assets.
Signs, mirrors and cameras are great aids for deterrence, but Bottle Loks are more like the arch nemesis of wine and spirits thieves. They fit over the top of almost any size bottle, and have a sleek smart design. They are easily attached, and when done properly, easily removed. There are available with several levels of alarm capabilities. Bottle Loks send the clearest of messages to a shoplifter, that any plans or considerations of stealing these bottles needs to be aborted.
Uncontrolled theft can cripple any store over time. Additionally in the business of selling such regulated products, inventory accountability is paramount. Take a look at how Bottle Loks can make your work day a little easier, and less stressful.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Wouldn’t it be great if shoplifters wore uniforms and name tags? They would be easily identified as they entered the building, and you could go ahead and call the authorities. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and shoplifters are able to get in and out of the building, many times undetected, with valuable inventory. If you are the owner or manager of a business that sells wines and spirits, you have probably come to realize that there is no single stereotype that identifies your particular brand of thief. When you deal with impulse thefts, it can be any customer in your building. Posting signs throughout the store that your business prosecutes shoplifters, and adding mirrors and cameras are a couple of ways to change the mind of a potential thief. Another great addition is Bottle Loks.
Recently, in one of our locations, an employee was arriving for his shift when he witnessed two men exiting the building, and he heard the Checkpoint Alarm sounding. The employee felt certain he had dealt with one of the men before, for stealing. The clerk at the checkout told him the two men had been looking at different items in the aisle, but had seemed to concentrate on a certain high retail brand of Vodka. They did not buy anything, loudly exclaiming they changed their minds as they walked out the door. There were three bottles of that expensive Vodka missing from the shelf, according to the system. The employee called in the incident, and luckily on this occasion, they were caught just down the street with the stolen items wrapped in one of their jackets.
When someone gets the bright idea to steal bottles of wine and liquor, they don’t generally take the time to think things through. They see the clerk is busy, there are other customers in the store looking around, and suddenly they are imagining themselves hiding some bottles somehow and walking out the door. Sometimes it is for the thrill of it, just to see if they can get away. It could be that they want a more expensive brand than they can afford, and they may feel entitled to taking the better product.
After all, they think, the store can afford it. Other times when there is a group of people, it can be a case of peer pressure or just trying to show off, and that can apply to any age. No matter their own justifications, we as the management of the store have to take the initiative to protect our assets. Signs, mirrors and cameras are great aids for deterrence, but Bottle Loks are more like the arch nemesis of wine and spirits thieves. They fit over the top of almost any size bottle, and have a sleek smart design. They are easily attached, and when done properly, easily removed. There are available with several levels of alarm capabilities. Bottle Loks send the clearest of messages to a shoplifter, that any plans or considerations of stealing these bottles needs to be aborted.
Uncontrolled theft can cripple any store over time. Additionally in the business of selling such regulated products, inventory accountability is paramount. Take a look at how Bottle Loks can make your work day a little easier, and less stressful.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
What kinds of Anti-Shoplifting measures do you use in your business? Have you ever had the type of day where you have found theft tracks, like empty packages, discarded tags, or just an empty shelf, and wanted to lock the whole store in glass cases? It can be a challenge to determine the best ways to protect your assets.
You really have to take different things into consideration when choosing the the items that need to be secured. It is easy to only look at the retail price of the item and lock it up. Duct tape it shut, bolt it to the counter, and put it under direct surveillance. Unfortunately shoplifters don’t just look at the asking price of an item when making the choice of what to steal, and you can’t either. The time of year and what is currently trending are just two things a professional shoplifter and even a petty thief will think about when making their decisions.
My store sells pharmacy, beauty and healthcare items. I know that before allergy season begins, I have to get out my Anti-Shoplifting tool box. First of all, the name brand items in that category must be placed in Alpha Keepers. If there has been a new item launched, I will also need to limit those shelf quantities. The same goes for the first of every year. When people start making their resolutions to lose weight, the diet pills we sell have to be protected. Recently we bought some new hair straighteners that had been advertised on television. Customers were inquiring about them, and we thought they were a good choice. I put one out, and it was stolen in less than three days. I never found the box or anything. I hate having to learn the hard way which items are vulnerable for theft, but it happens. The next one I put out was dressed in a Spider-Wrap before going on the shelf. The customer can still pick up the item, know it is not just an empty display box, and read all the information from the package. Not only does this tool prevent the package from being opened, if a shoplifter tries to take the item out the door before the Spider-Wrap is removed, it will sound an alarm. Spider-Wraps are great Anti-Shoplifting pieces, and they are invaluable especially when you have an odd shaped package.
You will have to figure out which items in your store are most likely to get stolen. Some items may not be targeted year round, so figuring that out needs to be a factor in your plan. One good way to do that is to know what is popular at your local flea market. I find that if people are looking for a product at the flea market, then the local fence operation will send out their “employees” to steal those items. High retail or not, the public’s current buying habits are paramount in helping you make your decisions. Alpha Keepers and Spider-Wraps are the two things I use the most right now when I need to protect my inventory, and thus protect my profits. If you don’t have these in your arsenal, take a look at what they could be doing for you.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
What kinds of Anti-Shoplifting measures do you use in your business? Have you ever had the type of day where you have found theft tracks, like empty packages, discarded tags, or just an empty shelf, and wanted to lock the whole store in glass cases? It can be a challenge to determine the best ways to protect your assets.
You really have to take different things into consideration when choosing the the items that need to be secured. It is easy to only look at the retail price of the item and lock it up. Duct tape it shut, bolt it to the counter, and put it under direct surveillance. Unfortunately shoplifters don’t just look at the asking price of an item when making the choice of what to steal, and you can’t either. The time of year and what is currently trending are just two things a professional shoplifter and even a petty thief will think about when making their decisions.
My store sells pharmacy, beauty and healthcare items. I know that before allergy season begins, I have to get out my Anti-Shoplifting tool box. First of all, the name brand items in that category must be placed in Alpha Keepers. If there has been a new item launched, I will also need to limit those shelf quantities. The same goes for the first of every year. When people start making their resolutions to lose weight, the diet pills we sell have to be protected. Recently we bought some new hair straighteners that had been advertised on television. Customers were inquiring about them, and we thought they were a good choice. I put one out, and it was stolen in less than three days. I never found the box or anything. I hate having to learn the hard way which items are vulnerable for theft, but it happens. The next one I put out was dressed in a Alpha Spider-Wrap before going on the shelf. The customer can still pick up the item, know it is not just an empty display box, and read all the information from the package. Not only does this tool prevent the package from being opened, if a shoplifter tries to take the item out the door before the Spider-Wrap is removed, it will sound an alarm. Spider-Wraps are great Anti-Shoplifting pieces, and they are invaluable especially when you have an odd shaped package.
You will have to figure out which items in your store are most likely to get stolen. Some items may not be targeted year round, so figuring that out needs to be a factor in your plan. One good way to do that is to know what is popular at your local flea market. I find that if people are looking for a product at the flea market, then the local fence operation will send out their “employees” to steal those items. High retail or not, the public’s current buying habits are paramount in helping you make your decisions. Alpha Keepers and Spider-Wraps are the two things I use the most right now when I need to protect my inventory, and thus protect my profits. If you don’t have these in your arsenal, take a look at what they could be doing for you.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
I like having a little creativity mixed into my days. Most weeks are spent working on investigations, meeting with detectives, and employee interviews. There’s a dedicated group of people in my organization that works with the buyers in formulating protective standards and strategies that are aimed at reducing shrink in some of our highest loss categories. Sometimes though, working in the stores gives me a unique perspective on some of the bigger challenges faced by the stores. Perspectives that you just don’t get when you sit in an office for forty hours a week. I work for a large sporting goods retailer’s loss prevention department. To this day, it still amazes me what people will steal, and all the different ways they do it.
Not too long ago I was investigating the theft of high end ice chests. When you think of an ice chest, you probably don’t think about spending more than $30 on one… believe it or not, there are a few out there that are upwards of $399. Mostly your serious hunters and offshore fishermen fancy these since they can keep ice, well ice for up to a week. That’s pretty significant and these guys and your amateur hunters won’t hesitate to dole up some serious money for that. The problem I find though is that no matter how much training we provide to our cashiers, they often allow these coolers to be sold to dishonest customers at a much lower price. I’m talking about price switching, and it’s the easiest way to get a $400 cooler for $40. I had a guy that was doing this on a regular basis and I learned later, that he selling this for about half of what we did. We needed a solution to better identify this product to our cashiers and I came up with a clever solution using O-Tags to stop his reign of terror.
The coolers had a handle, just like most, but it was a thinner metal handle. This handle was about the same width as a golf club. I had a stroke of genius. I ran to the supply room and grabbed a handful of O-Tags and started applying them to the coolers. They fit perfectly and blended seamlessly with the product. It wasn’t bulky, it didn’t detract from the display and most important of all is that it worked. I drafted a training memo to the store for all cashiers. It was simple. If a cooler comes through your line with this tag, it cost more than $300. Since the cashier had to remove the tag it was fool proof.
Within a couple of weeks, I had documented at least a dozen attempts to price switch this cooler that were thwarted by using the O-Tag. I compiled my stats and took a few photos and sent it up the chain. Within a week, it was a companywide standard. People still attempt to price switch them, but now they find that even our most inexperienced cashiers will catch their attempt.
I like having a little creativity mixed into my days. Most weeks are spent working on investigations, meeting with detectives, and employee interviews. There’s a dedicated group of people in my organization that work with the buyers in formulating protective standards and strategies that are aimed at reducing shrink in some of our highest loss categories. Sometimes though, working in the stores gives me a unique perspective on some of the bigger challenges faced by the stores. Perspectives that you just don’t get when you sit in an office for forty hours a week. I work for a large sporting goods retailer’s loss prevention department. To this day, it still amazes me what people will steal, and all the different ways they do it.
Not too long ago I was investigating the theft of high end ice chests. When you think of an ice chest, you probably don’t think about spending more than $30 on one… believe it or not, there are a few out there that are upwards of $399. Mostly your serious hunters and offshore fishermen fancy these since they can keep ice, well ice for up to a week. That’s pretty significant and these guys and your amateur hunters won’t hesitate to dole up some serious money for that. The problem I find though is that no matter how much training we provide to our cashiers, they often allow these coolers to be sold to dishonest customers at a much lower price. I’m talking about price switching, and it’s the easiest way to get a $400 cooler for $40. I had a guy that was doing this on a regular basis and I learned later, that he selling this for about half of what we did. We needed a solution to better identify this product to our cashiers and I came up with a clever solution using O-Tags to stop his reign of terror.
The coolers had a handle, just like most, but it was a thinner metal handle. This handle was about the same width as a golf club. I had a stroke of genius. I ran to the supply room and grabbed a handful of Alpha O-Tags and started applying them to the coolers. They fit perfectly and blended seamlessly with the product. It wasn’t bulky, it didn’t detract from the display and most important of all is that it worked. I drafted a training memo to the store for all cashiers. It was simple. If a cooler comes through your line with this tag, it cost more than $300. Since the cashier had to remove the tag it was fool proof.
Within a couple of weeks, I had documented at least a dozen attempts to price switch this cooler that were thwarted by using the Alpha O-Tag. I compiled my stats and took a few photos and sent it up the chain. Within a week, it was a companywide standard. People still attempt to price switch them, but now they find that even our most inexperienced cashiers will catch their attempt.
For more information contact us at losspreventionsystems.com or call 1.770.426.0547
At this point, I have lost count of the amount of shoplifters I have caught throughout my career, but I still remember most of the stories that came from the shoplifters. In order to prevent shoplifting in your store, it’s sometimes good to look back and learn from past experiences. Shoplifters say and do the strangest things. Some of the experiences you can learn lessons from, and some are just entertaining.
I have actually had more than one person try to talk their way out of trouble by saying that the medication they are taking makes them steal. Keep in mind, these shoplifters actually cut open packages and removed retail anti-theft devices from the products they were stealing. After talking to them for a while, they both said that they were making up their stories. I’ve heard of some crazy side effects of medications on television commercials, but I don’t believe one of them was shoplifting.
One of my most memorable experiences was a teenager I caught stealing and he asked me if I liked my job. I told him that I did, and he then proceeded to tell me that he could get me a better job if I let him leave. At this point I laughed a bit, but tried to stay professional and finished listening to his sales pitch. He then said that his father has a lot of money and he could easily get me a better job making more money. So then I let him go…no not really!
Another situation I have seen on multiple occasions is someone asking their parents or spouses if they can purchase something, and they don’t like the answer they receive. You may already have guessed it, but yes, they then steal the item they were denied. One time they even went into the very next aisle over and put the merchandise in their pants. What’s interesting is that when they are stopped for shoplifting, they say that it’s the other person’s fault because they didn’t let them buy the merchandise. Needless to say, this didn’t seem to make their parents or spouse very happy.
No matter what you do to prevent shoplifting from happening, thieves are still going to try to come up with crazy ideas to get away with stealing. I had a shoplifter years ago that though he was really smart, but then realized he wasn’t at all. He walked over to the area with electronics merchandise and found a home theater system that someone forgot to put an anti-theft device on, and put it in a shopping cart. On his way out of the department, he grabbed a small shopping bag from the register. Then he passed by the toys and picked up a small toy and placed it into the bag before walking out of the store without paying. Apparently, the idea was to try to make it appear as if he made a purchase by bagging the small toy that was only about $3. What he didn’t realize until after we stopped him, was that the home theater system was just a penny under the felony amount for the state, and bagging up that toy turned a misdemeanor into a felony. There’s no way he could talk his way out of that one.
For more information contact us: (prevent shoplifting) or call 1.770.426.0547
At this point, I have lost count of the amount of shoplifters I have caught throughout my career, but I still remember most of the stories that came from the shoplifters. In order to prevent shoplifting in your store, it’s sometimes good to look back and learn from past experiences. Shoplifters say and do the strangest things. Some of the experiences you can learn lessons from, and some are just entertaining.
I have actually had more than one person try to talk their way out of trouble by saying that the medication they are taking makes them steal. Keep in mind, these shoplifters actually cut open packages and removed retail anti-theft devices from the products they were stealing. After talking to them for a while, they both said that they were making up their stories. I’ve heard of some crazy side effects of medications on television commercials, but I don’t believe one of them was shoplifting.
One of my most memorable experiences was a teenager I caught stealing and he asked me if I liked my job. I told him that I did, and he then proceeded to tell me that he could get me a better job if I let him leave. At this point I laughed a bit, but tried to stay professional and finished listening to his sales pitch. He then said that his father has a lot of money and he could easily get me a better job making more money. So then I let him go…no not really!
Another situation I have seen on multiple occasions is someone asking their parents or spouses if they can purchase something, and they don’t like the answer they receive. You may already have guessed it, but yes, they then steal the item they were denied. One time they even went into the very next aisle over and put the merchandise in their pants. What’s interesting is that when they are stopped for shoplifting, they say that it’s the other person’s fault because they didn’t let them buy the merchandise. Needless to say, this didn’t seem to make their parents or spouse very happy.
No matter what you do to prevent shoplifting from happening, thieves are still going to try to come up with crazy ideas to get away with stealing. I had a shoplifter years ago that though he was really smart, but then realized he wasn’t at all. He walked over to the area with electronic merchandise and found a home theater system that someone forgot to put an anti-theft device on, and put it in a shopping cart. On his way out of the department, he grabbed a small shopping bag from the register. Then he passed by the toys and picked up a small toy and placed it into the bag before walking out of the store without paying. Apparently, the idea was to try to make it appear as if he made a purchase by bagging the small toy that was only about $3. What he didn’t realize until after we stopped him, was that the home theater system was just a penny under the felony amount for the state, and bagging up that toy turned a misdemeanor into a felony. There’s no way he could talk his way out of that one.
For more information contact us: Prevent Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547
A few articles back, I talked about my love for grilling and how it annoyed me that so many people find it acceptable to steal steaks from the grocery store. One thing I didn’t talk about was Liquor. In my state, we don’t have liquor stores. Every retailer and grocery store sells alcohol, which poses its own set of challenges from theft. If I’m a greedy thief, I may as well steal a bottle of my favorite spirit on way out with that steak in my shirt. I was a manager at a grocery store for a little while, and I can tell you that we leveraged our checkpoint system to fight shoplifting almost every day.
When you think about liquor bottle and checkpoint systems, you more than likely go right away to those bulky bottle locks. I’ve never really been a fan of these. I always had cashiers breaking or losing the keys, and even though they didn’t interfere with the way my product was merchandise, I didn’t like for my legitimate customer to have to wait for me to take the lock off. I tinkered around with the idea of checkpoint labels for a long time and found a solution that worked really well for my store.
Instead of bulky hard tags, I used a simple clear checkpoint label that went right over the barcode. My store had already been using the checkpoint system for years and were happy with the results it gave us. This didn’t’ take any additional equipment and the labels themselves were very inexpensive. We started using the clear checkpoint labels on our high end wine, and when we saw the difference it was making, quickly deployed it to our spirits and eventually anything over $25. It seemed as if the only people who were aware of the change were our shoplifters, who by the way, could not seem to defeat the tags since the adhesive made the label almost permanent. I didn’t spend too much of my career in the grocery business, but this is one of the clever solutions that I bring with me throughout my day. Thieves will try anything to steal from you, and It’s up to us to find every solution to fight back!
For more information, contact us: KW, or call 1.770.426.0547
A few articles back, I talked about my love for grilling and how it annoyed me that so many people find it acceptable to steal steaks from the grocery store. One thing I didn’t talk about was liquor. In my state, we don’t have liquor stores. Every retailer and grocery store sells alcohol, which poses its own set of challenges from theft. If I’m a greedy thief, I may as well steal a bottle of my favorite spirit on way out with that steak in my shirt. I was a manager at a grocery store for a little while, and I can tell you that we leveraged our Checkpoint System to fight shoplifting almost every day.
When you think about liquor bottle and Checkpoint Systems, you more than likely go right away to those bulky bottle locks. I’ve never really been a fan of these. I always had cashiers breaking or losing the keys, and even though they didn’t interfere with the way my product was merchandised, I didn’t like for my legitimate customers to have to wait for me to take the lock off. I tinkered around with the idea of Checkpoint Labels for a long time and found a solution that worked really well for my store.
Instead of bulky hard tags, I used a simple clear Checkpoint Label that went right over the barcode. My store had already been using the Checkpoint System for years and were happy with the results it gave us. This didn’t take any additional equipment and the labels themselves were very inexpensive. We started using the clear Checkpoint Labels on our high end wine, and when we saw the difference it was making, quickly deployed it to our spirits and eventually anything over $25. It seemed as if the only people who were aware of the change were our shoplifters, who by the way, could not seem to defeat the tags since the adhesive made the label almost permanent. I didn’t spend too much of my career in the grocery business, but this is one of the clever solutions that I bring with me throughout my day. Thieves will try anything to steal from you, and it’s up to us to find every solution to fight back!
For more information, contact us at Antishoplifting.net, or call 1.770.426.0547
