Stop Shoplifting-3 WC Blog 157
Checkpoint labels-3
“Witless” Protection Program; Trying To Stop Shoplifting And Dumb Criminals, True Loss Prevention Stories Part I
Looking back on my U.S. Air Force experiences and my Loss Prevention experiences, I have to
wonder what some people were thinking (or not thinking as the case may be) when they
committed their crimes. Some people commit criminal acts, and in return for testifying against
others, they are exonerated or given plea deals, they may even be placed in a Witness
Protection Program. In my efforts to stop shoplifting, I have never dealt with those people. I, on the other hand, have dealt with some who should have been placed in a “Witless Protection Program” because they just…well, let my examples speak for themselves.
In one store which I worked, our team frequently focused efforts to stop shoplifting in the jewelry department where we saw a high stock shortage percentage. One day I watched a teenage girl as she stopped at a jewelry counter and began looking at earrings on countertop displays. I observed her select and place a pair of earrings in her pants pocket and head for the doors. Our earrings did not have any Checkpoint labels on the backers so unfortunately, no alarm sounded when people would exit with stolen earrings. Well, that turned out to be the case this time. The young lady exited, no alarm sounded, but I knew she had the merchandise so I stopped her and returned with her to go to the security office. As we arrived in the office, my shoplifter had a sudden “asthma attack”. I might have taken it seriously had I not observed her sliding the earrings from her pocket and trying to hide them underneath her posterior as she slid down the wall to the floor. She was very dramatic, wheezing, breathing hard and holding her chest with her free hand. I informed my suspect that if she got a break during her asthma attack I would appreciate it if she could hand me the earrings she had taken out of her pocket and was sitting on. It didn’t take too long before the “asthma attack” was over. Earrings recovered and teenager turned over to mom.
It isn’t always easy to stop shoplifting of some merchandise because it is so small it can be hard to detect. Then there are situations when it is apparent someone has stolen merchandise, but the suspect is clueless. In another store where I was the Loss Prevention Manager, I encountered a “Nitwit” thief who decided to steal a Maglite flashlight. If you aren’t familiar with these items they are the large, aluminum flashlights often carried by police officers. This particular flashlight is nearly one foot in length. I watched from the end of the aisle as the perpetrator removed the flashlight from the peghook and placed it down the front of his pants. It was so long it stuck out of the top of his waistband. These items were protected with Checkpoint labels and when I followed him to the front of the store, as he started through the Checkpoint antennas, the alarm did sound and I stopped him. Once we were back in the security office he tried to deny he had anything despite the alarm activation AND until I pointed out the part of the flashlight that I could see! Yes, another candidate for the “Witless Protection Program”.
During my time in the U.S. Air Force, I was a Law Enforcement Specialist. On one occasion when I was on patrol I received a call to respond to a location for an attempted suicide. When I arrived I pulled in front of a red, fastback Ford Mustang and noticed a young man was sitting on the curb in front of this unique, classic car looking rather sheepish. The driver who was standing beside the suspect told me the young man had decided to try to kill himself by jumping in front of his car. The driver turned the Airman over to my custody and left. As I took the slightly inebriated Airman into custody I explained to him that the next time he decided to try to commit suicide, it would be best not to do it in front of the Base Commander’s car! My prisoner would have been a perfect fit for the “Witless Protection Program”.
There are plenty of thieves and just plain dumb criminals out there. Some are shoplifters. For those who shoplift Checkpoint labels work and can stop shoplifting. Keep your “wits” about you and protect the merchandise in your store and keep profits up.
Need information on Checkpoint labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Looking back on my U.S. Air Force experiences and my Loss Prevention experiences, I have towonder what some people were thinking (or not thinking as the case may be) when theycommitted their crimes. Some people commit criminal acts, and in return for testifying againstothers, they are exonerated or given plea deals, they may even be placed in a WitnessProtection Program. In my efforts to stop shoplifting, I have never dealt with those people. I, on the other hand, have dealt with some who should have been placed in a “Witless Protection Program” because they just…well, let my examples speak for themselves.
In one store which I worked, our team frequently focused efforts to stop shoplifting in the jewelry department where we saw a high stock shortage percentage. One day I watched a teenage girl as she stopped at a jewelry counter and began looking at earrings on countertop displays. I observed her select and place a pair of earrings in her pants pocket and head for the doors. Our earrings did not have any Checkpoint labels on the backers so unfortunately, no alarm sounded when people would exit with stolen earrings. Well, that turned out to be the case this time. The young lady exited, no alarm sounded, but I knew she had the merchandise so I stopped her and returned with her to go to the security office. As we arrived in the office, my shoplifter had a sudden “asthma attack”. I might have taken it seriously had I not observed her sliding the earrings from her pocket and trying to hide them underneath her posterior as she slid down the wall to the floor. She was very dramatic, wheezing, breathing hard and holding her chest with her free hand. I informed my suspect that if she got a break during her asthma attack I would appreciate it if she could hand me the earrings she had taken out of her pocket and was sitting on. It didn’t take too long before the “asthma attack” was over. Earrings recovered and teenager turned over to mom.
It isn’t always easy to stop shoplifting of some merchandise because it is so small it can be hard to detect. Then there are situations when it is apparent someone has stolen merchandise, but the suspect is clueless. In another store where I was the Loss Prevention Manager, I encountered a “Nitwit” thief who decided to steal a Maglite flashlight. If you aren’t familiar with these items they are the large, aluminum flashlights often carried by police officers. This particular flashlight is nearly one foot in length. I watched from the end of the aisle as the perpetrator removed the flashlight from the peghook and placed it down the front of his pants. It was so long it stuck out of the top of his waistband. These items were protected with Checkpoint labels and when I followed him to the front of the store, as he started through the Checkpoint antennas, the alarm did sound and I stopped him. Once we were back in the security office he tried to deny he had anything despite the alarm activation AND until I pointed out the part of the flashlight that I could see! Yes, another candidate for the “Witless Protection Program”.
During my time in the U.S. Air Force, I was a Law Enforcement Specialist. On one occasion when I was on patrol I received a call to respond to a location for an attempted suicide. When I arrived I pulled in front of a red, fastback Ford Mustang and noticed a young man was sitting on the curb in front of this unique, classic car looking rather sheepish. The driver who was standing beside the suspect told me the young man had decided to try to kill himself by jumping in front of his car. The driver turned the Airman over to my custody and left. As I took the slightly inebriated Airman into custody I explained to him that the next time he decided to try to commit suicide, it would be best not to do it in front of the Base Commander’s car! My prisoner would have been a perfect fit for the “Witless Protection Program”.
There are plenty of thieves and just plain dumb criminals out there. Some are shoplifters. For those who shoplift Checkpoint labels work and can stop shoplifting. Keep your “wits” about you and protect the merchandise in your store and keep profits up.
Need information on Checkpoint labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Clothing Security Tags-5 WC blog 223
Clothing Security-4
Checkpoint Tags-5
Small Businesses Can Afford To Deter Clothing Theft And Improve Profits With Checkpoint Tags
Not every retailer can afford a Loss Prevention department to monitor their store. I have walked into clothing stores to shop and have witnessed people in the act of shoplifting. Because I have an extensive background as a Loss Prevention Officer and a Loss Prevention Manager, I try to help a store by deterring a thief and alerting store staff to what is happening. There have been instances where I have been successful in getting a shoplifter to put merchandise down and leave the area just by being obnoxious and hanging around them. Other times, I have had a thief steal right in front of me, almost daring me to stop them. Of course there isn’t much I can do since I don’t work at the store. I’ve had some employees who will listen to me and provide customer service to suspects and I have had others ignore me. To me, clothing security is a big deal and while I understand that many small retailers can’t invest in a Loss Prevention Officer, I do know they can afford to invest in Checkpoint tags for clothing.
Checkpoint tags are available for every type of clothing item. Whether it is a durable denim material or a soft silk, there is a tag that can work for that item without damaging the product. For merchandise that is more expensive, dresses, suits, purses, and so on, Gen 3 Checkpoint tags provide a sophisticated appearance that is appealing to the eye while providing a strong anti-theft deterrent to the merchandise. These clothing security tags are radio frequency (rf) ready and will be picked up by electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas if someone tries to walk out a door with merchandise protected with the tags. That is contingent upon whether the door has EAS antennas set up at the entry/exit point. Gen 2 Checkpoint tags are great for heavy materials like denims, corduroys and flannel materials. While they are small and lightweight, these clothing security tags are durable and hard to remove without the proper detachment key. If a criminal tries to force a Gen 2 or Gen 3 tag off of a garment, there is a strong likelihood the merchandise will be damaged and unusable.
As I mentioned, I recognize it is not feasible for a small store to hire a Loss Prevention Officer to provide clothing security and prevent theft. It may not even be in the budget to afford a closed circuit camera system. What IS in your budget is the purchase of clothing security tags and an electronic article surveillance system (EAS). Antennas, the initial cost of deactivation equipment and a purchase of Checkpoint tags are the biggest expense. Since the Gen 2 and Gen 3 clothing security tags are reusable you won’t have a need to replace them very often. They are removed at the register and stored for use on the next clothing shipment coming in to the store.
I can’t emphasize enough that while clothing security will be enhanced when you put security tags on clothes and install an EAS system, it is just as important to train employees on how to respond to EAS alarms. Too many stores ignore the very systems they spent money on in order to prevent theft. Shoplifters continue to steal from these stores because they are aware they will be ignored as they exit those retailers. I have trained both Loss Prevention Associates and front end employees on how to conduct proper receipt checks when a customer causes an EAS alarm. I have seen merchandise recovered when a proper response is executed. A focus on customer service and response to alarm activations caused by attempts to steal garments protected by clothing security tags will improve store profits and decrease shortage.
Clothing security is affordable for all retailers. You may not have the budget for a Loss Prevention Officer but you can afford to place security tags on clothes. Why delay when you can call today and get started on a path to greater profitability?
Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Not every retailer can afford a Loss Prevention department to monitor their store. I have walked into clothing stores to shop and have witnessed people in the act of shoplifting. Because I have an extensive background as a Loss Prevention Officer and a Loss Prevention Manager, I try to help a store by deterring a thief and alerting store staff to what is happening. There have been instances where I have been successful in getting a shoplifter to put merchandise down and leave the area just by being obnoxious and hanging around them. Other times, I have had a thief steal right in front of me, almost daring me to stop them. Of course there isn’t much I can do since I don’t work at the store. I’ve had some employees who will listen to me and provide customer service to suspects and I have had others ignore me. To me, clothing security is a big deal and while I understand that many small retailers can’t invest in a Loss Prevention Officer, I do know they can afford to invest in Checkpoint tags for clothing.
Checkpoint tags are available for every type of clothing item. Whether it is a durable denim material or a soft silk, there is a tag that can work for that item without damaging the product. For merchandise that is more expensive, dresses, suits, purses, and so on, Gen 3 Checkpoint tags provide a sophisticated appearance that is appealing to the eye while providing a strong anti-theft deterrent to the merchandise. These clothing security tags are radio frequency (rf) ready and will be picked up by electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas if someone tries to walk out a door with merchandise protected with the tags. That is contingent upon whether the door has EAS antennas set up at the entry/exit point. Gen 2 Checkpoint tags are great for heavy materials like denims, corduroys and flannel materials. While they are small and lightweight, these clothing security tags are durable and hard to remove without the proper detachment key. If a criminal tries to force a Gen 2 or Gen 3 tag off of a garment, there is a strong likelihood the merchandise will be damaged and unusable.
As I mentioned, I recognize it is not feasible for a small store to hire a Loss Prevention Officer to provide clothing security and prevent theft. It may not even be in the budget to afford a closed circuit camera system. What IS in your budget is the purchase of clothing security tags and an electronic article surveillance system (EAS). Antennas, the initial cost of deactivation equipment and a purchase of Checkpoint tags are the biggest expense. Since the Gen 2 and Gen 3 clothing security tags are reusable you won’t have a need to replace them very often. They are removed at the register and stored for use on the next clothing shipment coming in to the store.
I can’t emphasize enough that while clothing security will be enhanced when you put security tags on clothes and install an EAS system, it is just as important to train employees on how to respond to EAS alarms. Too many stores ignore the very systems they spent money on in order to prevent theft. Shoplifters continue to steal from these stores because they are aware they will be ignored as they exit those retailers. I have trained both Loss Prevention Associates and front end employees on how to conduct proper receipt checks when a customer causes an EAS alarm. I have seen merchandise recovered when a proper response is executed. A focus on customer service and response to alarm activations caused by attempts to steal garments protected by clothing security tags will improve store profits and decrease shortage.
Clothing security is affordable for all retailers. You may not have the budget for a Loss Prevention Officer but you can afford to place security tags on clothes. Why delay when you can call today and get started on a path to greater profitability?
Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
VISIPLUS – KNOW YOUR FOOT TRAFFIC
Have you ever given any thought to your store hours? When you started your business, what was the driving force behind the hours that you set? Was it something that just sounded good? Was it consistent with merchants in the same area as you? Was it just more convenient for personal reasons? Whatever the case, it probably was not based on any type of customer analytics or on data from a VisiPlus customer counting system.
If you’ve never given thought to customer analytics, now may be the best time to change your mind. Brick and mortar retail business are facing their biggest challenges ever. Online behemoths are making eComm shopping more convenient, affordable and all around pleasant for the shopper. Therefore, that makes getting customers into your store more important than ever. This is where a customer counting device can help you to maximize your business strategies.
As a loss prevention professional, most people assume that my main focus is on
busting shoplifters and dishonest employees. While that holds true for a small portion of my day to day role within my organization, my primary focus is to improve overall profitability for my company. I accomplish that in a variety of different ways. Some include recommending EAS device placement on certain products, improving polices to reduce our exposure to risk and finding any other ways to squeeze that last drop of profit out of our stores. With a VisiPlus customer counting system, I was able to help sell the idea of extending our store hours in order to maximize sales.
Without a customer counting device, it’s incredibly difficult to argue for extending operating hours since hard data is difficult to come by. You almost have to test the hours, compare sales data to historical sales, factor in any anomalies that may have caused a spike, or dip in traffic and then try to reason around that to make, or break your point.
With a VisiPlus customer counting system, you simply install the small overhead sensor to get a highly accurate count of foot traffic in your store. You can then use this data to determine if your operating hours actually make sense or not. Chances are, you’re leaving money on the table by not being in stock, open, or staffed during certain times.
Once we installed our customer counting device, we made several changes to store hours. We started opening a little later and staying open much, much later. The other eye opener was our staffing model. We would base staffing on sales data, not foot traffic. After reacting to the data from our VisiPlus customer counting system, we added sales associates to peak traffic hours. This obviously led to a slight increase in sales, which more than covered the added operating costs of our extended hours.
While they are dozens of uses for the VisiPlus customer counting system, using it to determine that most profitable business hours is one of the most effective uses. Within weeks of using this data, our company saw increases in sales and overall customer satisfaction. Without the hard data to visualize our foot traffic, those increases would have been harder to come by. If you are looking for a way to measure customer traffic in your store, the VisiPlus system is probably your best option.
For more information about VisiPlus contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Have you ever given any thought to your store hours? When you started your business, what was the driving force behind the hours that you set? Was it something that just sounded good? Was it consistent with merchants in the same area as you? Was it just more convenient for personal reasons? Whatever the case, it probably was not based on any type of customer analytics or on data from a VisiPlus customer counting system.
If you’ve never given thought to customer analytics, now may be the best time to change your mind. Brick and mortar retail business are facing their biggest challenges ever. Online behemoths are making eComm shopping more convenient, affordable and all around pleasant for the shopper. Therefore, that makes getting customers into your store more important than ever. This is where a customer counting device can help you to maximize your business strategies.
As a loss prevention professional, most people assume that my main focus is onbusting shoplifters and dishonest employees. While that holds true for a small portion of my day to day role within my organization, my primary focus is to improve overall profitability for my company. I accomplish that in a variety of different ways. Some include recommending EAS device placement on certain products, improving polices to reduce our exposure to risk and finding any other ways to squeeze that last drop of profit out of our stores. With a VisiPlus customer counting system, I was able to help sell the idea of extending our store hours in order to maximize sales.
Without a customer counting device, it’s incredibly difficult to argue for extending operating hours since hard data is difficult to come by. You almost have to test the hours, compare sales data to historical sales, factor in any anomalies that may have caused a spike, or dip in traffic and then try to reason around that to make, or break your point.
With a VisiPlus customer counting system, you simply install the small overhead sensor to get a highly accurate count of foot traffic in your store. You can then use this data to determine if your operating hours actually make sense or not. Chances are, you’re leaving money on the table by not being in stock, open, or staffed during certain times.
Once we installed our customer counting device, we made several changes to store hours. We started opening a little later and staying open much, much later. The other eye opener was our staffing model. We would base staffing on sales data, not foot traffic. After reacting to the data from our VisiPlus customer counting system, we added sales associates to peak traffic hours. This obviously led to a slight increase in sales, which more than covered the added operating costs of our extended hours.
While they are dozens of uses for the VisiPlus customer counting system, using it to determine that most profitable business hours is one of the most effective uses. Within weeks of using this data, our company saw increases in sales and overall customer satisfaction. Without the hard data to visualize our foot traffic, those increases would have been harder to come by. If you are looking for a way to measure customer traffic in your store, the VisiPlus system is probably your best option.
For more information about VisiPlus contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
