JD-Blog-009 Keyword: Bottle Service- 5 (Secondary: Bottle lock-4)
Reducing the Risk of Bottle Service
Bottle service is an increasing trend that can bring higher profits to bars and nightclubs. It’s essentially selling a patron a full bottle of liquor at a significant markup. Some establishments provide mixers to go with the bottle and maybe even a VIP seating area or secluded table for the patron and their guests. This allows the patron to have a private party atmosphere and a VIP experience. For this, the patron is willing to pay a significantly higher price. For many in the nightclub scene, bottle service is the best way to highlight their status. As a bar or nightclub owner, this is a way to significantly increase revenue and great source of loyal repeat business.
With this added revenue and increased profit comes an increased risk. When someone uses bottle service, they own the bottle and there can be a tendency to over-serve themselves or their guests at their semi-private party. This leads to an increased risk of litigation for the nightclub for failing to cut off over-indulgence. There is also an increased risk in general liability claims from customer accidents as over-served customers fall down or otherwise get injured. Another risk is someone over-serving themselves (or a friend) and then getting behind the wheel of a car. These risks can do significant harm to a business.
There are ways to mitigate and manage this risk. The first is through the use of a designated server for the bottle service. This server can observe customers and make decisions on who to serve based upon their observation. The second, and most effective way to mitigate risk, is to use the dedicated server in conjunction with a bottle lock. A bottle lock is a device placed over the mouth of a bottle, preventing anyone who does not have the proper key from pouring a drink from the bottle. The dedicated server retains the key to the lock. The server can unlock the bottle to serve guests or decide not to, based upon their observations. A trained server can monitor consumption and make a risk-based decision to serve or not to serve a particular guest. While the customer paid for the whole bottle, the server retains the key and the ability to serve responsibly. An added side-benefit is that this eliminates the risk of those who would use the service as a way of allowing their under-age friends to have drinks in the bar. With the lock, before any drink could be poured, the server can determine the true age of potential underage drinkers. The server also retains the ability to head off those who might drink and drive. The server could make the polite suggestion that a member of the party switch to a soft drink and even if they refuse, the server has the key and the bottle lock cannot be opened without it. It’s a safe and non-confrontational way to reduce liability while being socially responsible at the same time. Some might see this as infringing on the benefits of the service, but in practice it actually enhances the patron’s experience. Having a way to control who consumes out of the bottle and how much, as well as having a dedicated server plays very nicely into the atmosphere of the service and it’s use as a status symbol.
Bottle service, when used with a dedicated, trained server, and a bottle lock is a great way to increase revenue and protect profits for a bar or nightclub.
For more information about Bottle Service contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Bottle service is an increasing trend that can bring higher profits to bars and nightclubs. It’s essentially selling a patron a full bottle of liquor at a significant markup. Some establishments provide mixers to go with the bottle and maybe even a VIP seating area or secluded table for the patron and their guests. This allows the patron to have a private party atmosphere and a VIP experience. For this, the patron is willing to pay a significantly higher price. For many in the nightclub scene, bottle service is the best way to highlight their status. As a bar or nightclub owner, this is a way to significantly increase revenue and great source of loyal repeat business.
With this added revenue and increased profit comes an increased risk. When someone uses bottle service, they own the bottle and there can be a tendency to over-serve themselves or their guests at their semi-private party. This leads to an increased risk of litigation for the nightclub for failing to cut off over-indulgence. There is also an increased risk in general liability claims from customer accidents as over-served customers fall down or otherwise get injured. Another risk is someone over-serving themselves (or a friend) and then getting behind the wheel of a car. These risks can do significant harm to a business.
There are ways to mitigate and manage this risk. The first is through the use of a designated server for the bottle service. This server can observe customers and make decisions on who to serve based upon their observation. The second, and most effective way to mitigate risk, is to use the dedicated server in conjunction with a bottle lock. A bottle lock is a device placed over the mouth of a bottle, preventing anyone who does not have the proper key from pouring a drink from the bottle. The dedicated server retains the key to the lock. The server can unlock the bottle to serve guests or decide not to, based upon their observations. A trained server can monitor consumption and make a risk-based decision to serve or not to serve a particular guest. While the customer paid for the whole bottle, the server retains the key and the ability to serve responsibly. An added side-benefit is that this eliminates the risk of those who would use the service as a way of allowing their under-age friends to have drinks in the bar. With the lock, before any drink could be poured, the server can determine the true age of potential underage drinkers. The server also retains the ability to head off those who might drink and drive. The server could make the polite suggestion that a member of the party switch to a soft drink and even if they refuse, the server has the key and the bottle lock cannot be opened without it. It’s a safe and non-confrontational way to reduce liability while being socially responsible at the same time. Some might see this as infringing on the benefits of the service, but in practice it actually enhances the patron’s experience. Having a way to control who consumes out of the bottle and how much, as well as having a dedicated server plays very nicely into the atmosphere of the service and it’s use as a status symbol.
Bottle service, when used with a dedicated, trained server, and a bottle lock is a great way to increase revenue and protect profits for a bar or nightclub.
For more information about Bottle Service contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
RWHBLOG14
Clothing Security Tags Invade the “Safe Haven” of the Fitting Room
Anyone who is in the retail clothing business knows that the highest risk for shoplifting occurs in the changing room. This is the location where the shoplifter feels free to attack the anti-shoplifting features of the merchandise. They know that closed-circuit television can’t watch them inside the changing room and there is no electronic article surveillance antennae located at the changing room or customers could not take merchandise into the changing room if there were clothing security tags located on the merchandise.
In order to be successful at defeating a shoplifter intent on stealing your apparel merchandise, you need to have good strategies in place enforced by strong policy. Monitored fitting rooms are of course the best and strongest option with your staff counting and tagging merchandise going into the fitting room and checking items coming out as well as immediately searching the fitting room as the customer departs the room; however, this is not always practical to the small retailer.
The next best thing is conducting regular checks of your fitting rooms regularly throughout the day while utilizing clothing security tags and hard tags such as the 2 alarm or 3 alarm Checkpoint tags by Checkpoint Systems. These clothing security tags provide multiple defenses against attempts to steal clothing merchandise. The tags will alarm when they enter the field of an electronic article surveillance (EAS) antenna but they will also alarm if an attempt is made to remove the pin that secures the tag to the garment. It will also alarm if the pin is cut to remove it. In addition, the 2 alarm and 3 alarm Alpha tags by Checkpoint have a flashing LED light that basically tells the shoplifter, “Don’t tread on me.” The only way to remove the tag is with the magnetic key used by your cashiers to do so once the merchandise is purchased.
Checkpoint has a variety of Checkpoint tags enabling you to place a variety of security tags on clothes. There are tags that are very low-profile that house clothing security tags that will set off the EAS alarms at the door as well as tags designed to make the merchandise worthless to the shoplifter should they get the merchandise out of the store and try to remove the tag as it will release an ink that will permanently stain the garment, making it worthless.
In addition if you want to really add to your clothing security, all you have to do is hide soft Checkpoint tags inside the pockets of the garment and should the shoplifter be able to defeat one of the low profile hard tags they won’t think about multiple layers of clothing security and be caught by the soft Checkpoint tags when they try to leave the store.
I have seen all of the strategies work inside real store operations with customers trying to wear merchandise out of the store that they changed into in the fitting room and being apprehended at the door when the EAS alarms were activated. I have seen the shoplifter look at me dumfounded when I was waiting for them to come outside the fitting room when they activated a 95 dB alarm on a Checkpoint tag when they tried to remove the tag inside the fitting room, not knowing what to say except confess. Fortunately, removal of an anti-theft device was a crime in the state in which we were operating, and unfortunately for them, that wasn’t their first time at shoplifting so they became long-term guests of the state. I have been called to the customer service desk when someone brought in a garment that had a distinctive ink stain on the garment and was trying to return it – yes, they really tried to return it. It didn’t take more than 30 minutes of interviewing to get the truth out of them that they had stolen the merchandise and tried to remove the Checkpoint tag only to spray ink all over the garment.
Although fitting rooms are “safe haven” in the eyes of shoplifters, you don’t have to allow them to be. If you employ strong policies, routine fitting room checks, and clothing security tags, you will make the thief feel as they entered a “danger zone” rather than a “safe haven.”
For more information on Checkpoint tags contact us at www.clothingsecurity.net or call 1.770.426.0547.
Anyone who is in the retail clothing business knows that the highest risk for shoplifting occurs in the changing room. This is the location where the shoplifter feels free to attack the anti-shoplifting features of the merchandise. They know that closed-circuit television can’t watch them inside the changing room and there is no electronic article surveillance antennae located at the changing room or customers could not take merchandise into the changing room if there were clothing security tags located on the merchandise.
In order to be successful at defeating a shoplifter intent on stealing your apparel merchandise, you need to have good strategies in place enforced by strong policy. Monitored fitting rooms are of course the best and strongest option with your staff counting and tagging merchandise going into the fitting room and checking items coming out as well as immediately searching the fitting room as the customer departs the room; however, this is not always practical to the small retailer.
The next best thing is conducting regular checks of your fitting rooms regularly throughout the day while utilizing clothing security tags and hard tags such as the 2 alarm or 3 alarm Checkpoint tags by Checkpoint Systems. These clothing security tags provide multiple defenses against attempts to steal clothing merchandise. The tags will alarm when they enter the field of an electronic article surveillance (EAS) antenna but they will also alarm if an attempt is made to remove the pin that secures the tag to the garment. It will also alarm if the pin is cut to remove it. In addition, the 2 alarm and 3 alarm Alpha tags by Checkpoint have a flashing LED light that basically tells the shoplifter, “Don’t tread on me.” The only way to remove the tag is with the magnetic key used by your cashiers to do so once the merchandise is purchased.
Checkpoint has a variety of Checkpoint tags enabling you to place a variety of security tags on clothes. There are tags that are very low-profile that house clothing security tags that will set off the EAS alarms at the door as well as tags designed to make the merchandise worthless to the shoplifter should they get the merchandise out of the store and try to remove the tag as it will release an ink that will permanently stain the garment, making it worthless.
In addition if you want to really add to your clothing security, all you have to do is hide soft Checkpoint tags inside the pockets of the garment and should the shoplifter be able to defeat one of the low profile hard tags they won’t think about multiple layers of clothing security and be caught by the soft Checkpoint tags when they try to leave the store.
I have seen all of the strategies work inside real store operations with customers trying to wear merchandise out of the store that they changed into in the fitting room and being apprehended at the door when the EAS alarms were activated. I have seen the shoplifter look at me dumfounded when I was waiting for them to come outside the fitting room when they activated a 95 dB alarm on a Checkpoint tag when they tried to remove the tag inside the fitting room, not knowing what to say except confess. Fortunately, removal of an anti-theft device was a crime in the state in which we were operating, and unfortunately for them, that wasn’t their first time at shoplifting so they became long-term guests of the state. I have been called to the customer service desk when someone brought in a garment that had a distinctive ink stain on the garment and was trying to return it – yes, they really tried to return it. It didn’t take more than 30 minutes of interviewing to get the truth out of them that they had stolen the merchandise and tried to remove the Checkpoint tag only to spray ink all over the garment.
Although fitting rooms are “safe haven” in the eyes of shoplifters, you don’t have to allow them to be. If you employ strong policies, routine fitting room checks, and clothing security tags, you will make the thief feel as they entered a “danger zone” rather than a “safe haven.”
For more information on Checkpoint tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
JD Blog-002 Pre-Employment Screening-3 (Secondary: Background Check Company-3)
Pre-Employment Screening Saves Profits
The most effective way to predict future behavior is to look at previous behavior; that’s where pre-employment screening comes in. Employee background checks are a low-cost way to protect profits and, more importantly, a company’s image. There is a lot of fear about conducting background checks, so a lot of companies don’t do it. The best way to avoid all of the legal pitfalls is to use a company that specializes in employee background checks. They know the laws and most importantly, all of the best sources of information.
When a person is involved in stealing from their employer, it’s usually not the first time they’ve done it. After nearly 20 years of conducting internal theft investigations, I’ve found that most cases involve people who’ve been caught before. Effective screening can remove these risks from the applicant pool. As a person becomes more experienced at stealing from their employer, they become bolder and less fearful of the consequences, causing them to steal more in a shorter time frame. The employee with a history of theft is a greater loss risk and using a background check company can weed them out during the application process.
Address verification is a key component of employee background checks. A long time ago, I noticed that an applicant had addresses mostly in the local area, but suddenly moved hundreds of miles away into a very rural area with the same address for several years, then recently moved right back to his previous address. The rural address hundreds of miles away………when address verification was ran, it was found to be a State Prison where the person was incarcerated for credit card fraud. Had we not found this out through pre-employment screening and the person subsequently began stealing customer credit card numbers, we would have faced not only liability and losses, but also a lot of negative publicity.
An often over-looked area in employee background checks is the company image. I once worked for a company that began to receive phone calls that they had a known sex offender working behind the counter in a store that served families with children. Our concern was that in these particular locations, the employees worked alone or with one other person. A review of our screening showed that no criminal background was found in the county he lived in. We quickly decided to ask a background check company to take a look and found that he was on the Sex Offender Registry in another state, and had moved without notifying them. Can you imagine the liability for a company if something happened at the store? We immediately made the decision to begin using a background check company on 100% of our employees.
The cost of an effective pre-employment screening program is far less than the cost of employee theft, fraud losses, liability costs, and lost revenue through negative publicity that can occur without it. Think about the return on investment by investing a little up front versus the cost of the loss incurred, the time and money invested in investigation (cameras and personnel), and the fact that the odds of recovering money after a loss from the suspect are incredibly low; employee background checks are the better route.
For more information about pre-employment screening contact us or call at 1.770.426.0547.
The most effective way to predict future behavior is to look at previous behavior; that’s where pre-employment screening comes in. Employee background checks are a low-cost way to protect profits and, more importantly, a company’s image. There is a lot of fear about conducting background checks, so a lot of companies don’t do it. The best way to avoid all of the legal pitfalls is to use a company that specializes in employee background checks. They know the laws and most importantly, all of the best sources of information.
When a person is involved in stealing from their employer, it’s usually not the first time they’ve done it. After nearly 20 years of conducting internal theft investigations, I’ve found that most cases involve people who’ve been caught before. Effective screening can remove these risks from the applicant pool. As a person becomes more experienced at stealing from their employer, they become bolder and less fearful of the consequences, causing them to steal more in a shorter time frame. The employee with a history of theft is a greater loss risk and using a background check company can weed them out during the application process.
Address verification is a key component of employee background checks. A long time ago, I noticed that an applicant had addresses mostly in the local area, but suddenly moved hundreds of miles away into a very rural area with the same address for several years, then recently moved right back to his previous address. The rural address hundreds of miles away………when address verification was ran, it was found to be a State Prison where the person was incarcerated for credit card fraud. Had we not found this out through pre-employment screening and the person subsequently began stealing customer credit card numbers, we would have faced not only liability and losses, but also a lot of negative publicity.
An often over-looked area in employee background checks is the company image. I once worked for a company that began to receive phone calls that they had a known sex offender working behind the counter in a store that served families with children. Our concern was that in these particular locations, the employees worked alone or with one other person. A review of our screening showed that no criminal background was found in the county he lived in. We quickly decided to ask a background check company to take a look and found that he was on the Sex Offender Registry in another state, and had moved without notifying them. Can you imagine the liability for a company if something happened at the store? We immediately made the decision to begin using a background check company on 100% of our employees.
The cost of an effective pre-employment screening program is far less than the cost of employee theft, fraud losses, liability costs, and lost revenue through negative publicity that can occur without it. Think about the return on investment by investing a little up front versus the cost of the loss incurred. The time and money invested in investigation (cameras and personnel), and the fact that the odds of recovering money after a loss from the suspect are incredibly low; employee background checks are the better route.
For more information about pre-employment screening contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
