Of all seasons, I really look forward to the spring time. Not only can we feel our fingers and toes finally, it’s the time of year where everyone gets outside and starts being active again. The snow is melted, the plants and flowers are in bloom and baseball season is getting under way. I love baseball. Probably more than any other sport I’ve ever played. I even coached little league for a few years… back when I had the spare time. For kids, there’s nothing like going down to their local sporting goods store and getting your very own set of equipment. Now that I’m in charge of protecting the product at that store, I want to make sure those kids get what they need, and aren’t shorted by a thief.
Currently I’m an LP manager for a regional sporting goods retailer. About two years ago, around the start of baseball season I began receiving reports from several stores that they were short on thousands of dollars’ worth of baseball bats. I began reviewing the shipping manifests and delivery dates and all corresponding CCTV and was certain the product had arrived at the store. I knew I had a thief, but how was someone stealing bats? They are quite difficult to steal and pretty obvious to just walk out with.
Through the course of our investigation, we were able to identify a ring of shoplifters that were targeting our high end bats. These items were prominently displayed and had no sort of security measure applied to prevent theft. We never had this problem before so we had not invested in any protective merchandising. These thieves were taking advantage of that and we were losing thousands of dollars in product as well as missed sales. Eventually, we discovered how the items were leaving the store. The shoplifters were taking the label from very inexpensive bats, and placing them on the higher end product. The cashiers were not catching the switch and they were paying next to nothing for the product.
We searched for something that could protect the merchandise, identify it as a high value to the cashier, while still keeping the bat merchandised in an open fashion. We came across the O-Tag by Checkpoint. Within a few days, we had these deployed in our stores. So we just sat back and waited. Sort of like a baited mouse trap. It didn’t take long for one of these boosters to take the bait.
I just happened to be in one of my stores when I got called to a register. I never get called to a register, so I figured either something broke, or someone had stolen some cash. When I got to the front of the store, I saw one of the bat bandits standing at the register, along with a supervisor. I asked what I could do to help and the supervisor explained that the bat had rang up for $7.99. She said that during their meeting this morning, the managers talked about the new O-Tags and how they wouldn’t be on any product less than $200.
Due to just a little training and a very simple tool, I was able to close out a case relatively quickly on some folks who were stealing a lot of money from me. That was 4 years ago. To this day, we don’t put our high end bats on display without an O-Tag. Since our use of these tags, we have not had the significant losses like we did before their use.
Of all seasons, I really look forward to the spring time. Not only can we feel our fingers and toes finally, it’s the time of year where everyone gets outside and starts being active again. The snow is melted, the plants and flowers are in bloom and baseball season is getting under way. I love baseball. Probably more than any other sport I’ve ever played. I even coached little league for a few years… back when I had the spare time. For kids, there’s nothing like going down to their local sporting goods store and getting your very own set of equipment. Now that I’m in charge of protecting the product at that store, I want to make sure those kids get what they need, and aren’t shorted by a thief.
Currently I’m an LP manager for a regional sporting goods retailer. About two years ago, around the start of baseball season I began receiving reports from several stores that they were short on thousands of dollars’ worth of baseball bats. I began reviewing the shipping manifests and delivery dates and all corresponding CCTV and was certain the product had arrived at the store. I knew I had a thief, but how was someone stealing bats? They are quite difficult to steal and pretty obvious to just walk out with.
Through the course of our investigation, we were able to identify a ring of shoplifters that were targeting our high end bats. These items were prominently displayed and had no sort of security measure applied to prevent theft. We never had this problem before so we had not invested in any protective merchandising. These thieves were taking advantage of that and we were losing thousands of dollars in product as well as missed sales. Eventually, we discovered how the items were leaving the store. The shoplifters were taking the label from very inexpensive bats, and placing them on the higher end product. The cashiers were not catching the switch and they were paying next to nothing for the product.
We searched for something that could protect the merchandise, identify it as a high value to the cashier, while still keeping the bat merchandised in an open fashion. We came across the O-Tag by Checkpoint. Within a few days, we had these deployed in our stores. So we just sat back and waited. Sort of like a baited mouse trap. It didn’t take long for one of these boosters to take the bait.
I just happened to be in one of my stores when I got called to a register. I never get called to a register, so I figured either something broke, or someone had stolen some cash. When I got to the front of the store, I saw one of the bat bandits standing at the register, along with a supervisor. I asked what I could do to help and the supervisor explained that the bat had rang up for $7.99. She said that during their meeting this morning, the managers talked about the new O-Tags and how they wouldn’t be on any product less than $200.
Due to just a little training and a very simple tool, I was able to close out a case relatively quickly on some folks who were stealing a lot of money from me. That was 4 years ago. To this day, we don’t put our high end bats on display without an O-Tag. Since our use of these tags, we have not had the significant losses like we did before their use.
For more information contact us at losspreventionsystems.com or call 1.770.426.0547
Are you ready for Black Friday? It’s coming up soon, and the crowds will be out. Whether you’re a small business or a big box giant, the masses will be looking for deals and you have to be ready to get your piece of that sales pie. You also have to be ready to defend your merchandise from shoplifters. The professionals are making their plans now for what they want, which routes they’ll take, and how they’ll get away.
You can Prevent Shoplifting by following some merchandising rules. First of all, tag this year’s hot items with Checkpoint Labels if you have the system. If you can open the package without damaging it, put a tag on the inside as well. If you have Alpha Keepers, utilize them where possible. They are versatile, and keep the item visible to your customer. Don’t put this year’s popular items near the door either. You think that’s the way to get people to notice your store as they walk or drive by, but you’re also possibly getting unwanted attention. If you do choose to put them at the front entrance, at least limit the number of items you make available, and keep those on display secured.
A couple years ago my store had some 13” televisions for $88 on Black Friday. We had a lot of them from a special purchase. The owner said to make a big stack of them on the front shelving unit. So we did it, and we did it big and flashy. We even took one out of the box, ran some electricity, and played a movie on it for the day. We really wanted to catch the shopper’s eye and convince them they needed one of those televisions. We were concentrating on sell, sell, sell. There were a lot of people wondering around the store, shopping, and asking questions. We had two registers available at the front, and we were just basking in the glow of the day. That was about the time we looked up to see a man running out the door with four of those televisions, two in each hand. It was so convenient for him since the packages had handles! It turned out a group of these guys were going around all morning to our different locations grabbing these things off the big displays we built. It seemed we had put all our knowledge of how to Prevent Shoplifting out of our minds for that day’s big sale event. No one ever questioned the sanity of putting those items where we did, or why we were putting so many out at once.
Thankfully, we did learn our lesson. The following year, we had a similar deal with some various electronics. We used our bad experience to do this one right though. We kept the bulk of the items either in the back stock area or simply behind the counter. We tagged the ones we put out and stayed much more attentive. Oh, and we had large clear zip ties, and secured those handles on this year’s television boxes to the backs of the shelves.
Think about how you can feature this year’s biggest deals for Black Friday, and think about what you can do to Prevent Shoplifters from stealing your joy this season.
For more information contact us:Preventshopliftingloss.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Are you ready for Black Friday? It’s coming up soon, and the crowds will be out. Whether you’re a small business or a big box giant, the masses will be looking for deals and you have to be ready to get your piece of that sales pie. You also have to be ready to defend your merchandise from shoplifters. The professionals are making their plans now for what they want, which routes they’ll take, and how they’ll get away.
You can Prevent Shoplifting by following some merchandising rules. First of all, tag this year’s hot items with Checkpoint Labels if you have the system. If you can open the package without damaging it, put a tag on the inside as well. If you have Alpha Keepers, utilize them where possible. They are versatile, and keep the item visible to your customer. Don’t put this year’s popular items near the door either. You think that’s the way to get people to notice your store as they walk or drive by, but you’re also possibly getting unwanted attention. If you do choose to put them at the front entrance, at least limit the number of items you make available, and keep those on display secured.
A couple years ago my store had some 13” televisions for $88 on Black Friday. We had a lot of them from a special purchase. The owner said to make a big stack of them on the front shelving unit. So we did it, and we did it big and flashy. We even took one out of the box, ran some electricity, and played a movie on it for the day. We really wanted to catch the shopper’s eye and convince them they needed one of those televisions. We were concentrating on sell, sell, sell. There were a lot of people wondering around the store, shopping, and asking questions. We had two registers available at the front, and we were just basking in the glow of the day. That was about the time we looked up to see a man running out the door with four of those televisions, two in each hand. It was so convenient for him since the packages had handles! It turned out a group of these guys were going around all morning to our different locations grabbing these things off the big displays we built. It seemed we had put all our knowledge of how to Prevent Shoplifting out of our minds for that day’s big sale event. No one ever questioned the sanity of putting those items where we did, or why we were putting so many out at once.
Thankfully, we did learn our lesson. The following year, we had a similar deal with some various electronics. We used our bad experience to do this one right though. We kept the bulk of the items either in the back stock area or simply behind the counter. We tagged the ones we put out and stayed much more attentive. Oh, and we had large clear zip ties, and secured those handles on this year’s television boxes to the backs of the shelves.
Think about how you can feature this year’s biggest deals for Black Friday, and think about what you can do to Prevent Shoplifters from stealing your joy this season.
For more information contact us:Preventshopliftingloss.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Ah, summertime. Just thinking about warmer weather and beaches make me wish this early winter would come to an end already! Just like those Black Friday deals, it seems as if the colder weather starts earlier and earlier every year. I look forward to the summer time, though. Spending weekends on the lake, warmer weather and of course, shark season. If your store sells those high end bikinis, you’ll want to make sure you are utilizing something like the Alpha Shark Tag to prevent refund fraud on those high end bikinis.
Every year around late February/early March, my stores being the seasonal transition. Out with the coats and outerwear and in with board shorts, swim trunks and lately, some very expensive bikinis. These sets have sold really well for us, but they also presented their own set of challenges in finding a clothing alarm that tackled both problems we were having with them. We found wardrobing to be very common with these items, in addition to your standard, everyday theft.
Two years ago, the company I worked for began testing different clothing security tags to combat the growing shrink in the high end brands we carried. Some of these bikinis were upwards of two hundred dollars! Due to our open sell concept, we didn’t want a security device that would interfere with a customer trying the product on, but we needed something that was, at the very least, a great physical deterrent.
We had a group of about 5 female shoplifters who were targeting our coastal stores for quite a few months that summer. They would come into the stores and within minutes, would quite literally, empty entire displays of these bikini sets. Each of my 10 stores were targeted by this group and at the end of their spree, had cost my company upwards of $25,000. The product they were taking was very easily concealed and by using a small clutch, they were able to get out, undetected, each time. It wasn’t until inventory that the losses were uncovered, and by that time it was too late. We knew that for the next summer season we had to take pro-active measures to protect our inventory.
A year went by and it was summer once again. My stores began setting their swimsuit displays, only this year, we invested in Alpha Shark tags on those high end sets. We also made sure our stores were aware of the group of thieves that were targeting the stores last year. Thieves are creatures of habit, and it didn’t take long for that same group to begin targeting our stores. Only this time, they were greeted with some bright red tags that made it impossible for them to quickly conduct their fraudulent activities. We saw a significant reduction in shrink in this category this past year because of those tags.
Additionally, we altered our return policy on those swimsuits over certain price point. Since they are considered intimate apparel, once they are worn, we began refusing to accept them back. By using the tag, our customers could purchase the item and try it on at home. If it didn’t fit, we would take it back, only if the Shark Tag was still attached. This prevented those dishonest customers from wearing the swimsuit for a season then returning it.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Ah, summertime. Just thinking about warmer weather and beaches make me wish this early winter would come to an end already! Just like those Black Friday deals, it seems as if the colder weather starts earlier and earlier every year. I look forward to the summer time, though. Spending weekends on the lake, warmer weather and of course, shark season. If your store sells swimwear, you’ll want to make sure you are utilizing something like the Alpha Shark Tag to prevent refund fraud on those swimsuits.
Every year around late February/early March, my stores begin the seasonal transition. Out with the coats and outerwear and in with board shorts, swim trunks and lately, some very expensive swimwear. These sets have sold really well for us, but they also present their own set of challenges in finding a clothing alarm that tackled both problems we were having with them. We found wardrobing to be very common with these items, in addition to your standard, everyday theft.
Two years ago, the company I worked for began testing different clothing security tags to combat the growing shrink in the high end brands we carried. Some of these swimsuits were upwards of two hundred dollars! Due to our open sell concept, we didn’t want a security device that would interfere with a customer trying the product on, but we needed something that was, at the very least, a great physical deterrent.
We had a group of about 5 female shoplifters who were targeting our coastal stores for quite a few months that summer. They would come into the stores and within minutes, would quite literally, empty entire displays of bikini sets. Each of my 10 stores were targeted by this group and at the end of their spree, had cost my company upwards of $25,000. The product they were taking was very easily concealed and by using a small clutch, they were able to get out, undetected, each time. It wasn’t until inventory that the losses were uncovered, and by that time it was too late. We knew that for the next summer season we had to take pro-active measures to protect our inventory.
A year went by and it was summer once again. My stores began setting their swimsuit displays, only this year, we invested in Alpha Shark Tags on those high end sets. We also made sure our stores were aware of the group of thieves that were targeting the stores last year. Thieves are creatures of habit, and it didn’t take long for that same group to begin targeting our stores. Only this time, they were greeted with some bright red tags that made it impossible for them to quickly conduct their fraudulent activities. We saw a significant reduction in shrink in this category this past year because of the Alpah Shark Tags.
Additionally, we altered our return policy on the swimsuits over certain price point. Since they are considered intimate apparel, once they are worn, we began refusing to accept them back. By using the Alpha Shark Tag, our customers could purchase the item and try it on at home. If it didn’t fit, we would take it back, only if the Alpha Shark Tag was still attached. This prevented those dishonest customers from wearing the swimsuit for a season then returning it.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Do you think your business would benefit from using Bottle Locks? Wine and spirits theft is on the rise all around the country. There are several reasons, but one can definitely be attributed to the sheer availability. So many new and different businesses now merchandise alcohol right on the sales floor. From package stores that specialize in these products, and now to just about all grocery stores, department stores, and even drug stores, the bottles are everywhere you look. It just depends on the market and state laws as to which items are carried. There are those that will steal to support their own substance abuse, some will steal for no reason other than just not wanting to pay, and then there are teens and young adults that will take a bottle on a dare or just want to try drinking.
No matter the person committing the crime, or the reason, concealing a bottle of wine or liquor really is not that difficult. Unless you have someone posted in that section at all times, in most stores, the opportunity is there to hide the items and walk out the door many times a day. I know I find myself watching a shopper in my simple 12 foot wine section, then a customer stops to ask a question, or some other random distraction, and before I can return and offer help to the original person, they have disappeared. I feel a little better knowing that we have the Checkpoint System installed, and that Bottle Locks will cause an alarm if there is a shoplifter attempting to leave with a bottle that has not had it’s lock removed.
Bottle Locks are great for a number of reasons. They are easy to use. Just pop them on as the inventory arrives. You can choose which items you feel there is a need to protect. They come off easily and quickly at the checkout, and do not require anything other than the provided magnet key. They fit right over the caps and corks of the bottles, so they cannot be opened without their removal. They have the word “alarm” printed clearly on them. When a customer walks down the aisle to make their selections, they can still read the labels clearly, pick up the bottles, and decide what they want without having to ask you to open a case or hand them bottles from behind a counter. Most importantly they can also clearly see that the Bottle Locks are in place, so there is no question that the items are protected. It’s not like you are hiding a checkpoint label inside the packaging. These are for clear deterrence. They say to the potential shoplifter that your business is serious about inventory control.
Other than customer service, there is no better way to stop a shoplifter than through deterrence. It’s okay to be obvious about it, and the person will most likely decide to buy the item instead of try to steal it, or they will choose to try another store instead, like your competitor.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Do you think your business would benefit from using Bottle Locks? Wine and spirits theft is on the rise all around the country. There are several reasons, but one can definitely be attributed to the sheer availability. So many new and different businesses now merchandise alcohol right on the sales floor. From package stores that specialize in these products, and now to just about all grocery stores, department stores, and even drug stores, the bottles are everywhere you look. It just depends on the market and state laws as to which items are carried. There are those that will steal to support their own substance abuse, some will steal for no reason other than just not wanting to pay, and then there are teens and young adults that will take a bottle on a dare or just want to try drinking.
No matter the person committing the crime, or the reason, concealing a bottle of wine or liquor really is not that difficult. Unless you have someone posted in that section at all times, in most stores, the opportunity is there to hide the items and walk out the door many times a day. I know I find myself watching a shopper in my simple 12 foot wine section, then a customer stops to ask a question, or some other random distraction, and before I can return and offer help to the original person, they have disappeared. I feel a little better knowing that we have the Checkpoint System installed, and that Bottle Locks will cause an alarm if there is a shoplifter attempting to leave with a bottle that has not had it’s lock removed.
Bottle Locks are great for a number of reasons. They are easy to use. Just pop them on as the inventory arrives. You can choose which items you feel there is a need to protect. They come off easily and quickly at the checkout, and do not require anything other than the provided magnet key. They fit right over the caps and corks of the bottles, so they cannot be opened without their removal. They have the word “alarm” printed clearly on them. When a customer walks down the aisle to make their selections, they can still read the labels clearly, pick up the bottles, and decide what they want without having to ask you to open a case or hand them bottles from behind a counter. Most importantly they can also clearly see that the Bottle Locks are in place, so there is no question that the items are protected. It’s not like you are hiding a Checkpoint Label inside the packaging. These are for clear deterrence. They say to the potential shoplifter that your business is serious about inventory control.
Other than customer service, there is no better way to stop a shoplifter than through deterrence. It’s okay to be obvious about it, and the person will most likely decide to buy the item instead of try to steal it, or they will choose to try another store instead, like your competitor.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
I’ve been a retail manager for many years, and I’ve added to my tool chest of Anti-Shoplifting powers. Shoplifting is rampant in our stores and it’s enough to frustrate even the most calm employees, and make them start to become bitter and take it more personally each time. I’ve seen once mild mannered people run out the door after a thief (even though that is very much a policy violation!). I’ve seen managers turn off the front door and stand there waiting for the guy to come up and try to leave with the merchandise. Okay, that time it was actually me. That man literally begged me to let him leave after he handed me back all the name brand pain medicines he had stuffed in his pants. I refused to move from in front of the door and he turned and bolted out the emergency exit. The police got there too late to catch him, but hey, I got my stuff back and I never saw the man again. Those, of course, are the bad examples of Anti-Shoplifting tactics. Even my own stupid antics were years ago, and I’ve definitely learned more efficient and safer ways to keep the bad guys out, or let them know I’m aware of their presence.
I have found that for real results, communication is the key. Make friends in the area. If you’re a small chain, have a plan to contact the others close by and let them know all the details you can about what happened and give a good description of the suspect. If you’re a single specialty business, get to know your competition. If a shoplifter hits you, he or she will likely hit a similar business for similar items. You already keep up with the other store’s prices and selection, so get to know the owners and staff too. You aren’t going to share sales information, but you can certainly help one another stop potential theft. Get to know the big box store’s managers and LP staff in your area as well. These guys have lots of awesome camera equipment and they likely have a huge database of known thieves. You may or may not compete with them for sales and customers, but they can give you names and pictures of people to watch out for in the community. If you are a specialty jewelry shop, and they have a jewelry theft from their counters, they are more apt to call and warn you if you’ve reached out to them already. You need a deep Anti-Shoplifting arsenal. Prevent the theft from happening in the first place, and you save yourself a lot more trouble than if you catch them. If you recognize the thief when they come in the door, you are prepared to give them excellent customer service immediately and make it near impossible to steal from you. It saves you from trying to apprehend them, trying to get your merchandise back without damage, piles of paperwork, and the endless days in court.
On top of all that, you need to have a good relationship with your local police. Know the detectives that normally deal with property crimes. Get their email, and contact them occasionally for any new trends in the area, and new people to watch out for.
You can be well rewarded if you expand your base of business and community friends.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
I’ve been a retail manager for many years, and I’ve added to my tool chest of Anti-Shoplifting powers. Shoplifting is rampant in our stores and it’s enough to frustrate even the most calm employees, and make them start to become bitter and take it more personally each time. I’ve seen once mild mannered people run out the door after a thief (even though that is very much a policy violation!). I’ve seen managers turn off the front door and stand there waiting for the guy to come up and try to leave with the merchandise. Okay, that time it was actually me. That man literally begged me to let him leave after he handed me back all the name brand pain medicines he had stuffed in his pants. I refused to move from in front of the door and he turned and bolted out the emergency exit. The police got there too late to catch him, but hey, I got my stuff back and I never saw the man again. Those, of course, are the bad examples of Anti-Shoplifting tactics. Even my own stupid antics were years ago, and I’ve definitely learned more efficient and safer ways to keep the bad guys out, or let them know I’m aware of their presence.
I have found that for real results, communication is the key. Make friends in the area. If you’re a small chain, have a plan to contact the others close by and let them know all the details you can about what happened and give a good description of the suspect. If you’re a single specialty business, get to know your competition. If a shoplifter hits you, he or she will likely hit a similar business for similar items. You already keep up with the other store’s prices and selection, so get to know the owners and staff too. You aren’t going to share sales information, but you can certainly help one another stop potential theft. Get to know the big box store’s managers and LP staff in your area as well. These guys have lots of awesome camera equipment and they likely have a huge database of known thieves. You may or may not compete with them for sales and customers, but they can give you names and pictures of people to watch out for in the community. If you are a specialty jewelry shop, and they have a jewelry theft from their counters, they are more apt to call and warn you if you’ve reached out to them already. You need a deep Anti-Shoplifting arsenal. Prevent the theft from happening in the first place, and you save yourself a lot more trouble than if you catch them. If you recognize the thief when they come in the door, you are prepared to give them excellent customer service immediately and make it near impossible to steal from you. It saves you from trying to apprehend them, trying to get your merchandise back without damage, piles of paperwork, and the endless days in court.
On top of all that, you need to have a good relationship with your local police. Know the detectives that normally deal with property crimes. Get their email, and contact them occasionally for any new trends in the area, and new people to watch out for.
You can be well rewarded if you expand your base of business and community friends.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
