I’ve been in the investigations field for about 9 years now. I came from store management and loss prevention has truly been my calling. What I find the most interesting is how many people steal from their employers. Whether you run a multi-billion dollar corporation, or just a small hardware store you have been, without a doubt, a victim of a dishonest employee. How do you stop employee theft while preserving the trust and respect that your employees deserve?
The most common type of theft that I see is cash theft. It’s very easy for a cashier to skim cash right off the top. There are also several (if not hundreds) of more complex ways to steal cash from a register. If you are set up for refunds, a cashier can do what is called a “ghost refund”. In this case, a refund is processed and cash is given back to the customer… only there is no customer! Cashiers can also void transactions and short bank deposit. If you work for a large corporation, you probably have a computer program that, at the push of a button, shows you all of these potential shortages. If you are that small hardware store, it may not be that easy. Even if you had the budget for a sophisticated computer program, it’s still no match for a well-trained manager that knows how to spot, and prevent potential losses.
One thing to consider when you have a cash theft issue is that 90% of the time, the cashier will keep the excess funds in the register until the end of their shift. A simple, random audit can reveal discrepancies and help you to stop employee theft. A few months back I had this same situation present itself in one of my stores. It seemed like every shift this cashier worked, she was always a few dollars off. Not enough to be alarmed about, but enough to make me wonder. After some digging, I couldn’t find anything solid on video and decided to do a few random till audits during the next week. I didn’t announce what I was doing, or even give an explanation. Right after peak time on a Friday evening, I walked over to the cashier and asked her to accompany me to the cash office for a routine cash audit. I could see that she was visibly nervous. After counting the till, I found that she was $250 over what was expected. I sent her back to work and began frantically running through the receipts for the day. I found a $250 cash refund. When I went to the video, I saw the refund but there was no product, nor was there even a customer in front of the register. I had found my problem.
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, newer and more sophisticated methods of detecting employee theft will hit the market. I’m a firm believer in not spending more than needed to prevent unnecessary losses. By implementing a simple random audit, you can stop employee theft in your store. Furthermore, you can make sure that your hard earned money is going where it belongs, and not just lining the pockets of a dishonest worker.
For more information, contact us: Stop Employee Theft, or call 1.770.426.0547
I’ve been in the investigations field for about 9 years now. I came from store management and loss prevention has truly been my calling. What I find the most interesting is how many people steal from their employers. Whether you run a multi-billion dollar corporation, or just a small hardware store you have been, without a doubt, a victim of a dishonest employee. How do you stop employee theft while preserving the trust and respect that your employees deserve?
The most common type of theft that I see is cash theft. It’s very easy for a cashier to skim cash right off the top. There are also several (if not hundreds) of more complex ways to steal cash from a register. If you are set up for refunds, a cashier can do what is called a “ghost refund”. In this case, a refund is processed and cash is given back to the customer… only there is no customer! Cashiers can also void transactions and short bank deposits. If you work for a large corporation, you probably have a computer program that, at the push of a button, shows you all of these potential shortages. If you are that small hardware store, it may not be that easy. Even if you had the budget for a sophisticated computer program, it’s still no match for a well-trained manager that knows how to spot, and prevent potential losses.
One thing to consider when you have a cash theft issue is that 90% of the time, the cashier will keep the excess funds in the register until the end of their shift. A simple, random audit can reveal discrepancies and help you to stop employee theft. A few months back I had this same situation present itself in one of my stores. It seemed like every shift this cashier worked, she was always a few dollars off. Not enough to be alarmed about, but enough to make me wonder. After some digging, I couldn’t find anything solid on video and decided to do a few random till audits during the next week. I didn’t announce what I was doing, or even give an explanation. Right after peak time on a Friday evening, I walked over to the cashier and asked her to accompany me to the cash office for a routine cash audit. I could see that she was visibly nervous. After counting the till, I found that she was $250 over what was expected. I sent her back to work and began frantically running through the receipts for the day. I found a $250 cash refund. When I went to the video, I saw the refund but there was no product, nor was there even a customer in front of the register. I had found my problem.
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, newer and more sophisticated methods of detecting employee theft will hit the market. I’m a firm believer in not spending more than needed to prevent unnecessary losses. By implementing a simple random audit, you can stop employee theft in your store. Furthermore, you can make sure that your hard earned money is going where it belongs, and not just lining the pockets of a dishonest worker.
For more information, contact us at Stop Employee Theft, or call 1.770.426.0547
There are hundreds, if not thousands of gadgets designed to prevent shoplifting. Some can be relatively inexpensive, while other systems can cost thousands of dollars to implement. In today’s retail climate, you, the business owner, or manager needs to maximize your profits, provide an enjoyable experience to your customer and at the same time keep your costs in line to stay out of the red. Your employees are an investment you make into your business, so why not introduce them to Lisa and Bob?
Lisa (Look InSide Always) and Bob (Bottom Of Basket) are two of my oldest friends, and they should be a part of your store training if they are not already. In my experience throughout my own career, I can assure you that anywhere between 40-65% of fraud and theft will happen at the point of sale. I can remember a few years back I was visiting one of my stores. I walked past the registers and noticed a customer purchasing a large ice chest. I watched as the cashier scanned the barcode on the cooler and the customer tendered payment and began to exit store. Upon the customer’s exit, the door alarm rang and it raised my suspicion since, the ice chest did not have any type of security device. The first thing I did was open the cooler. Much to my surprise, I discovered about $3,000 worth of assorted apparel merchandise. Would could this cashier have done to better prevent shoplifting through her register?
I can also recall a case recently where a suspect grabbed a 5hp boat motor and placed it under a shopping basket. He placed a bag of corn in the basket and checked out. Can you believe that the cashier failed to check the bottom of the basket (BOB) and allowed the individual to walk out of the store, causing an almost $2,000 loss? In speaking with that employee, they stated that this was their first job and no one had ever told them look under the basket! Again, we see how proper training can lead to increased sales and higher profits!
It’s always difficult to train new behaviors into your employees. I found that especially true in stores where loss prevention was never a focal point. You have to engage your employees and really get them to buy into your training. I used a simple game that really got my team involved in this. I took about 20 ‘sticky notes’ and wrote “Bring this to the Manager When Found” on them. I placed these in large items such as coolers, duffle bags, buckets and whatever other items I thought could be used to conceal other items in the store. I then told my team about these and offered a contest. Whichever one of my cashiers had the most “finds” at the end of the month would get lunch on the store. That month, we probably had $5,000 worth of recoveries from this simple training tool.
You don’t always have to spend thousands of dollars on security measures to prevent shoplifting. Taking just a few minutes a day to train your employees on simple tactics to thwart a theft will ultimately make your store much more profitable. Remember, your employees are an investment that you make in your business, why not maximize that investment to its full potential?
For more information, contact us: Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
There are hundreds, if not thousands of gadgets designed to prevent shoplifting. Some can be relatively inexpensive, while other systems can cost thousands of dollars to implement. In today’s retail climate, you, the business owner, or manager needs to maximize your profits, provide an enjoyable experience to your customer and at the same time keep your costs in line to stay out of the red. Your employees are an investment you make into your business, so why not introduce them to Lisa and Bob?
Lisa (Look InSide Always) and Bob (Bottom Of Basket) are two of my oldest friends, and they should be a part of your store training if they are not already. In my experience throughout my own career, I can assure you that anywhere between 40-65% of fraud and theft will happen at the point of sale. I can remember a few years back I was visiting one of my stores. I walked past the registers and noticed a customer purchasing a large ice chest. I watched as the cashier scanned the barcode on the cooler and the customer tendered payment and began to exit store. Upon the customer’s exit, the door alarm rang and it raised my suspicion since, the ice chest did not have any type of security device. The first thing I did was open the cooler. Much to my surprise, I discovered about $3,000 worth of assorted apparel merchandise. Would could this cashier have done to better prevent shoplifting through her register?
I can also recall a case recently where a suspect grabbed a 5hp boat motor and placed it under a shopping basket. He placed a bag of corn in the basket and checked out. Can you believe that the cashier failed to check the bottom of the basket (BOB) and allowed the individual to walk out of the store, causing an almost $2,000 loss? In speaking with that employee, they stated that this was their first job and no one had ever told them look under the basket! Again, we see how proper training can lead to increased sales and higher profits!
It’s always difficult to train new behaviors into your employees. I found that especially true in stores where loss prevention was never a focal point. You have to engage your employees and really get them to buy into your training. I used a simple game that really got my team involved in this. I took about 20 ‘sticky notes’ and wrote “Bring this to the Manager When Found” on them. I placed these in large items such as coolers, duffle bags, buckets and whatever other items I thought could be used to conceal other items in the store. I then told my team about these and offered a contest. Whichever one of my cashiers had the most “finds” at the end of the month would get lunch on the store. That month, we probably had $5,000 worth of recoveries from this simple training tool.
You don’t always have to spend thousands of dollars on security measures to prevent shoplifting. Taking just a few minutes a day to train your employees on simple tactics to thwart a theft will ultimately make your store much more profitable. Remember, your employees are an investment that you make in your business, why not maximize that investment to its full potential?
For more information, contact us at Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
Retailer Barnes and Noble is no stranger to the business of books. They are not a stranger to finding a need for Checkpoint Systems in their stores. They understand that people will steal from them for a variety of reasons, and a variety of merchandise.
As more Barnes and Noble stores are getting into college campus settings, they are replacing many of the bookstores that used to be run by the college or university. As such, they bring with them the wealth of knowledge to operate with financial efficiency, and their Checkpoint Systems.
Now, Text books are extremely pricey, and are one of the biggest out of pocket expenses for many students. Some students, who cannot afford their class textbooks, have turned to the campus library as a resource. The problem is that libraries don’t typically loan out a textbook for an entire semester.
So what option do these students have? Many of them turn to theft. Since libraries are not always equipped with Checkpoint systems or another library theft detection system, they make an easy target for a student in need of a specific text. Just as the books are expensive for a student to purchase, some can be as much as six or seven hundred dollars for one, libraries cannot afford to replace these textbooks.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Library Theft Detection System devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop inventory losses.
For more information on a Library Theft Detection System, Library Theft Prevention, or a Checkpoint System and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to stop inventory losses in your library or call 1.770.426.0547
Before February of this year, I had no idea what a bottle service was. I live in New Orleans, but surprisingly enough, I’ve been to 2 bars in my entire life. I’ve never seen the inside of a nightclub and I really don’t have the desire to do so. One of my good friends is a manager at a nightclub down in the French Quarter. She always liked to hear my stories of shoplifters and employee theft cases and we were swapping stories on my birthday after grabbing a late dinner. A thought came to mind so I asked how employee theft in a nightclub was. I was sure that there was a way to steal liquor, or cash but never being inside a club, I was curious.
She told me a story of a bartender who was making extra cash by selling alcohol from the bottle service area to normal patrons. That service, if you don’t know, is where you can buy alcohol by the bottle at a club and they serve it to you with mixers and usually you also get some special treatment, since the markup on the bottle is some unforgivable number. Her bartender would be catering to a VIP table that had their own (or several) bottles of their favorite sprits. As the night progressed and drinks kept flowing, she would begin to sell shots from those bottles to other patrons in the bar and pocket the cash. The VIP guests wouldn’t notice 4-5 missing shots and the bar’s inventory at the end of the night wasn’t impacted. It was a clever scheme and the bartender pocketed a few extra dollar each night. The manager then watched this happen over the next few shifts before she was eventually confronted.
Seemed like a very simple, yet effective way for a dishonest employee to steal sales from the club. I wanted to know more, as this, for whatever reason, piqued my interest. It was an area of investigations I had zero experience in. I had to know how she was eventually caught, especially since there was no impact on the club’s inventory at the end of the night. Well, to my disappointment there was no crafty investigation involved. Her dishonesty was caught by accident. The manager just happened to be watching the bar for a minute and witnessed her take a shot from the bottle service area and bring it to a customer at the end of the bar. Had it not been for that, her actions would have probably never been caught. My theft stories were always better, anyway.
I left dinner feeling like a learned something new. I almost wanted to go to a few nightclubs and order a bottle of my favorite beverage, just to see if I could catch a dishonest bartender. That didn’t happen, but I did walk away with a new perspective on losses I had no idea occurred. I also learned that some people will pay $200 for the same drink I can pay $30 for at the gas station. To each their own, right? It’s all about the VIP experience.
For more information, contact us: Bottle Services, or call 1.770.426.0547
Before February of this year, I had no idea what a bottle service was. I live in New Orleans, but surprisingly enough, I’ve been to 2 bars in my entire life. I’ve never seen the inside of a nightclub and I really don’t have the desire to do so. One of my good friends is a manager at a nightclub down in the French Quarter. She always liked to hear my stories of shoplifters and employee theft cases and we were swapping stories on my birthday after grabbing a late dinner. A thought came to mind so I asked how employee theft in a nightclub was. I was sure that there was a way to steal liquor, or cash but never being inside a club, I was curious.
She told me a story of a bartender who was making extra cash by selling alcohol from the bottle service area to normal patrons. That service, if you don’t know, is where you can buy alcohol by the bottle at a club and they serve it to you with mixers and usually you also get some special treatment, since the markup on the bottle is some unforgivable number. Her bartender would be catering to a VIP table that had their own (or several) bottles of their favorite sprits. As the night progressed and drinks kept flowing, she would begin to sell shots from those bottles to other patrons in the bar and pocket the cash. The VIP guests wouldn’t notice 4-5 missing shots and the bar’s inventory at the end of the night wasn’t impacted. It was a clever scheme and the bartender pocketed a few extra dollar each night. The manager then watched this happen over the next few shifts before she was eventually confronted.
Seemed like a very simple, yet effective way for a dishonest employee to steal sales from the club. I wanted to know more, as this, for whatever reason, piqued my interest. It was an area of investigations I had zero experience in. I had to know how she was eventually caught, especially since there was no impact on the club’s inventory at the end of the night. Well, to my disappointment there was no crafty investigation involved. Her dishonesty was caught by accident. The manager just happened to be watching the bar for a minute and witnessed her take a shot from the bottle service area and bring it to a customer at the end of the bar. Had it not been for that, her actions would have probably never been caught. My theft stories were always better, anyway.
I left dinner feeling like a learned something new. I almost wanted to go to a few nightclubs and order a bottle of my favorite beverage, just to see if I could catch a dishonest bartender. That didn’t happen, but I did walk away with a new perspective on losses I had no idea occurred. I also learned that some people will pay $200 for the same drink I can pay $30 for at the gas station. To each their own, right? It’s all about the VIP experience.
For more information, contact us at Bottle Services, or call 1.770.426.0547
Effective retail theft prevention is comprised of two parts the human connection and the bells and whistles. For a store to really be protected, both parts need to be in tiptop working order, but they also need to work in tandem with each other- picking up where the other leaves off.
The bells and whistles are the literal alarms, tools and anti theft devices used in a retail setting. EAS devices, CCTV, and alarm pedestals are all effective shoplifting counter measures, in their own right. The inherent flaw to all of these tools is that they alone cannot stop or prevent shoplifting.
EAS devices cannot magically affix themselves onto garments or wrap themselves around boxes. An employee must physically complete the task. The same goes for an activated alarm tower. The tower does not transform itself into some shoplifting cage, catching the thief in the act. An employee needs to respond to the alarm, specifically the person who set the alarm off. Without the interaction, the shoplifter gets away free and clear.
The flip side is that an employee can’t be everywhere at once. Having EAS tags deters shoplifters from stealing clothing in a fitting room. Public view cameras can catch and record a facial image of a shoplifter entering a store, which can be used later on as evidence in a court.
So the question is, how do you get both sides working together like a well-oiled machine?
The answer comes down to training- specifically loss prevention training. Hosting or hiring out for loss prevention seminars is the best way to ensure your employees are getting a thorough education. It is an opportunity for your employees to understand not only what they are supposed to be doing, but also understanding why they are doing it.
Employees who are entrusted with more information, such as how and why a process or policy works, will be more likely to complete such tasks with a greater accuracy of completion and compliance.
Loss prevention seminars are therefore an ideal way to help answer those questions. It is one thing to tell an employee that all denim over $50 dollars needs an EAS tag on the bottom left pant leg.
It is a completely different outcome when you explain to this same employee that denim over $50 dollars is one on the highest shrink items in the store. Shoplifter’s who target these items tend to sell them for a profit, so they don’t care about which size they steal. That means a shoplifter will search an entire table for jeans that do not have the tags on them.
Placing the tag in the same spot makes it easier for our cashiers to find the tag to remove them for our actual shoppers, providing better customer service (and increased sales). It is also an obvious spot that we would notice if someone tried to wear a pair of our denim out the door without paying for it.
This more detailed approach is easy to obtain through loss prevention seminars. The outcome will make a very significant impact for your theft reduction processes.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
Effective retail theft prevention is comprised of two parts the human connection and the bells and whistles. For a store to really be protected, both parts need to be in tiptop working order, but they also need to work in tandem with each other- picking up where the other leaves off.
The bells and whistles are the literal alarms, tools and anti theft devices used in a retail setting. EAS devices, CCTV, and alarm pedestals are all effective shoplifting counter measures, in their own right. The inherent flaw to all of these tools is that they alone cannot stop or prevent shoplifting.
EAS devices cannot magically affix themselves onto garments or wrap themselves around boxes. An employee must physically complete the task. The same goes for an activated alarm tower. The tower does not transform itself into some shoplifting cage, catching the thief in the act. An employee needs to respond to the alarm, specifically the person who set the alarm off. Without the interaction, the shoplifter gets away free and clear.
The flip side is that an employee can’t be everywhere at once. Having EAS tags deters shoplifters from stealing clothing in a fitting room. Public view cameras can catch and record a facial image of a shoplifter entering a store, which can be used later on as evidence in a court.
So the question is, how do you get both sides working together like a well-oiled machine?
The answer comes down to training- specifically loss prevention training. Hosting or hiring out for loss prevention seminars is the best way to ensure your employees are getting a thorough education. It is an opportunity for your employees to understand not only what they are supposed to be doing, but also understanding why they are doing it.
Employees who are entrusted with more information, such as how and why a process or policy works, will be more likely to complete such tasks with a greater accuracy of completion and compliance.
Loss prevention seminars are therefore an ideal way to help answer those questions. It is one thing to tell an employee that all denim over $50 dollars needs an EAS tag on the bottom left pant leg.
It is a completely different outcome when you explain to this same employee that denim over $50 dollars is one on the highest shrink items in the store. Shoplifter’s who target these items tend to sell them for a profit, so they don’t care about which size they steal. That means a shoplifter will search an entire table for jeans that do not have the tags on them.
Placing the tag in the same spot makes it easier for our cashiers to find the tag to remove them for our actual shoppers, providing better customer service (and increased sales). It is also an obvious spot that we would notice if someone tried to wear a pair of our denim out the door without paying for it.
This more detailed approach is easy to obtain through loss prevention seminars. The outcome will make a very significant impact for your theft reduction processes.
For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.
