JL04
Alpha Jewel Lok-4
Take a peek at Alpha Jewel Loks
When you’ve been in the loss prevention business long enough, you tend to develop a sixth sense about the people around you. Of course, despite that sixth sense, nothing can be done without solid proof that there is actually a problem. For me, the Alpha Jewel Lok was that solid proof when nothing else could be found.
I once had an associate in my handbag department. She was, really, a great associate. She was personable, professional, productive and extremely knowledgeable about the merchandise she was selling. She moved up from a part time sales associate to a full time specialist very quickly. She was a manager’s dream. I can’t really explain what it was about her that put me on edge and, for the longest time, I had convinced myself that I was wrong about her and that she really was just as great as she seemed.
Eventually we began having excessive shortages in costume jewelry. We used Alpha Jewel Loks (small Alpha tags made specifically for small items such as jewelry and watches that activate an alarm when tampered with or taken through a checkpoint) on anything over $50 but, despite that, merchandise just kept disappearing. I spent hours upon days, upon weeks, sitting at the cameras, watching the customer activity in the department, never once seeing anything concerning. I decided to make the department my spring focus. I wrote out an extensive internal game plan and began investigating the only other venue I could think of. Part of that game plan was to conduct “fact finding” interviews with the associates in that department. The interviews were fairly basic and non-accusatory. The tone of the conversation was simply “you’re trending very high on the shortage spectrum. Do you know why?” No one in that particular department seemed to know. Many answered external theft but I had already ruled that out. A few pointed to shipping/receiving errors. I had ruled that out as well. One associate pointed out that, being the holiday season, a lot of departments were working short and had to have associates from other departments cover lunches. This made the overall business difficult to control. “Too many hands in the pot.” So, I moved my investigation to the next department over and the first name on my list was that of the handbag associate I had been unsure of. Her interview went well. She did not give any indication that she was being dishonest. She, also, seemed to genuinely not know where the merchandise was disappearing to.
Feeling defeated, I wondered back to my office, shut the door, and stared at the cameras. What had I missed? I focused on the costume jewelry and watched a lady try on a couple of different necklaces. She seemed to be searching for something to match a pair of earrings that she had brought in with her. Apparently there was no one in the department to help her so she wandered over to the handbag register and approached the associate I had just interviewed not ten minutes earlier. I zoomed in to watch the interaction and that’s when it caught my eye. It was an Alpha Jewel Lok, peeking out from under the associate’s hair. The small, hard, white tag was in obvious contrast to her dark, auburn hair. It was attached to a crystal necklace wrapped around the associate’s neck. I continued to observe the associate throughout her shift. She went on through the rest of the evening acting like nothing was going on and, at quitting time, she clocked out, grabbed her purse and her coat and headed straight towards the associate exit. The associate exit did not have a checkpoint. There would be no alarms activated upon exit. My heart began to race as she walked down the dark hallway that, luckily, my office was right at the end of. She could turn left to visit me or she could turn right to leave the building. She turned right and put her hand on the door. I stopped her from leaving, of course, and conducted a second, on the spot, interview. She admitted to taking multiple items over a one month period. Each time she wore the jewelry out as it was and removed the anti-theft device when she got home. Alpha Jewel Loks are great external theft deterrents, but who would have thought they would be so great at deterring internal theft as well?
For more information about Alpha Jewel Loks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
When you’ve been in the loss prevention business long enough, you tend to develop a sixth sense about the people around you. Of course, despite that sixth sense, nothing can be done without solid proof that there is actually a problem. For me, the Alpha Jewel Lok was that solid proof when nothing else could be found.
I once had an associate in my handbag department. She was, really, a great associate. She was personable, professional, productive and extremely knowledgeable about the merchandise she was selling. She moved up from a part time sales associate to a full time specialist very quickly. She was a manager’s dream. I can’t really explain what it was about her that put me on edge and, for the longest time, I had convinced myself that I was wrong about her and that she really was just as great as she seemed.
Eventually we began having excessive shortages in costume jewelry. We used Alpha Jewel Loks (small Alpha tags made specifically for small items such as jewelry and watches that activate an alarm when tampered with or taken through a checkpoint) on anything over $50 but, despite that, merchandise just kept disappearing. I spent hours upon days, upon weeks, sitting at the cameras, watching the customer activity in the department, never once seeing anything concerning. I decided to make the department my spring focus. I wrote out an extensive internal game plan and began investigating the only other venue I could think of. Part of that game plan was to conduct “fact finding” interviews with the associates in that department. The interviews were fairly basic and non-accusatory. The tone of the conversation was simply “you’re trending very high on the shortage spectrum. Do you know why?” No one in that particular department seemed to know. Many answered external theft but I had already ruled that out. A few pointed to shipping/receiving errors. I had ruled that out as well. One associate pointed out that, being the holiday season, a lot of departments were working short and had to have associates from other departments cover lunches. This made the overall business difficult to control. “Too many hands in the pot.” So, I moved my investigation to the next department over and the first name on my list was that of the handbag associate I had been unsure of. Her interview went well. She did not give any indication that she was being dishonest. She, also, seemed to genuinely not know where the merchandise was disappearing to.
Feeling defeated, I wondered back to my office, shut the door, and stared at the cameras. What had I missed? I focused on the costume jewelry and watched a lady try on a couple of different necklaces. She seemed to be searching for something to match a pair of earrings that she had brought in with her. Apparently there was no one in the department to help her so she wandered over to the handbag register and approached the associate I had just interviewed not ten minutes earlier. I zoomed in to watch the interaction and that’s when it caught my eye. It was an Alpha Jewel Lok, peeking out from under the associate’s hair. The small, hard, white tag was in obvious contrast to her dark, auburn hair. It was attached to a crystal necklace wrapped around the associate’s neck. I continued to observe the associate throughout her shift. She went on through the rest of the evening acting like nothing was going on and, at quitting time, she clocked out, grabbed her purse and her coat and headed straight towards the associate exit. The associate exit did not have a checkpoint. There would be no alarms activated upon exit. My heart began to race as she walked down the dark hallway that, luckily, my office was right at the end of. She could turn left to visit me or she could turn right to leave the building. She turned right and put her hand on the door. I stopped her from leaving, of course, and conducted a second, on the spot, interview. She admitted to taking multiple items over a one month period. Each time she wore the jewelry out as it was and removed the anti-theft device when she got home. Alpha Jewel Loks are great external theft deterrents, but who would have thought they would be so great at deterring internal theft as well?
For more information about Alpha Jewel Loks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Flea market are big business. Many people have taken the plunge and tried their luck at owning their own business, starting with a simple booth at one of these giant yard sales. Flea markets can also be a major pain for many retailers. In my company’s particular case, they were the driving force behind our initial investment in Alpha Keepers. These clear display boxes that secure almost any package we can find a reason to protect are a fantastic solution and they absolutely help Prevent Shoplifting. Big 500 count boxes of pain relievers, razor cartridges, fragrances, and even those new popular deodorant sprays… in my store, you can bet you will find all of those safely encased in Alpha Keepers at this very moment.
When I was first hired into the retail pharmacy I work for, as an assistant manager, I had no idea of what kind of rampant theft I was up against. The occasional empty package was nothing in comparison to the losses we experienced from boosters. Boosters are the ones that actually come into the stores, load up bags, baskets, and even specially made clothing and wipe out entire sections. They are sent in with shopping lists by the “fence” operation. The “fence” is the seller or operator of the booth or stand that sells the stolen products. The boosters are paid for the items they bring back to the fence, depending on the condition of the packaging. If there are EAS tags on the items, or if they are encased in Alpha Keepers, the booster receives less money. If they ripped of the tags and left marks on the packaging they also lose money. The “fence” needs the items to appear as new and undamaged as possible or they may face doubt by the customers of the quality of the merchandise, or they may face questioning by the flea market owners. (At the one closest to our location, the sellers must have receipts for the purchase of the items they are selling. Unfortunately, this can be as simple as a hand written sales ticket for the booster.) The “fence” will also have to have a cleaning operation. They have to have tools to remove the products from Alpha Keepers, and they also have to employ people to remove any store identifier tags from the packages. They usually store all of the stolen goods, and conduct the cleaning operations at a remote small warehouse.
Trends have come and gone, as far as what has been targeted by boosters. The “fence” sends them in based on what people are asking for at the flea market, as well as the time of year or season. First of the year, they send the boosters in for the diet pills. Next comes spring, so all the name brand allergy medications are put on the shopping list. Throughout the year, they also like to get big packs of batteries, any name brand body wash, and they have an affinity for our salon hair care products. For some odd reason, toothpaste for sensitive teeth is a hot item. We’ve had one group hit our stores multiple times in the last month or so, and they have wiped out entire sections of this stuff. That was also the same group that got all my deodorant sprays. Generally, once we have identified a new target and lock it up, the boosters leave it alone. They are too bulky to try and take multiples, and they make a lot of noise clacking against one another. Plus they will cause the Checkpoint System to alarm if they are taken too close to the pedestals.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a bargain, and when I was a kid I looked forward to visiting the very same flea market that drives me crazy today. (More for the pony ride guy than the shopping, but whatever…)
If you think your store is getting hit by boosters, take a look at what Alpha Keepers can do to help.
For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Preventshopliftingloss.net
Flea markets are big business. Many people have taken the plunge and tried their luck at owning their own business, starting with a simple booth at one of these giant yard sales. Flea markets can also be a major pain for many retailers. In my company’s particular case, they were the driving force behind our initial investment in Alpha Keepers. These clear display boxes that secure almost any package we can find a reason to protect are a fantastic solution and they absolutely help Prevent Shoplifting. Big 500 count boxes of pain relievers, razor cartridges, fragrances, and even those new popular deodorant sprays… in my store, you can bet you will find all of those safely encased in Alpha Keepers at this very moment.
When I was first hired into the retail pharmacy I work for, as an assistant manager, I had no idea of what kind of rampant theft I was up against. The occasional empty package was nothing in comparison to the losses we experienced from boosters. Boosters are the ones that actually come into the stores, load up bags, baskets, and even specially made clothing and wipe out entire sections. They are sent in with shopping lists by the “fence” operation. The “fence” is the seller or operator of the booth or stand that sells the stolen products. The boosters are paid for the items they bring back to the fence, depending on the condition of the packaging. If there are EAS tags on the items, or if they are encased in Alpha Keepers, the booster receives less money. If they ripped of the tags and left marks on the packaging they also lose money. The “fence” needs the items to appear as new and undamaged as possible or they may face doubt by the customers of the quality of the merchandise, or they may face questioning by the flea market owners. (At the one closest to our location, the sellers must have receipts for the purchase of the items they are selling. Unfortunately, this can be as simple as a hand written sales ticket for the booster.) The “fence” will also have to have a cleaning operation. They have to have tools to remove the products from Alpha Keepers, and they also have to employ people to remove any store identifier tags from the packages. They usually store all of the stolen goods, and conduct the cleaning operations at a remote small warehouse.
Trends have come and gone, as far as what has been targeted by boosters. The “fence” sends them in based on what people are asking for at the flea market, as well as the time of year or season. First of the year, they send the boosters in for the diet pills. Next comes spring, so all the name brand allergy medications are put on the shopping list. Throughout the year, they also like to get big packs of batteries, any name brand body wash, and they have an affinity for our salon hair care products. For some odd reason, toothpaste for sensitive teeth is a hot item. We’ve had one group hit our stores multiple times in the last month or so, and they have wiped out entire sections of this stuff. That was also the same group that got all my deodorant sprays. Generally, once we have identified a new target and lock it up, the boosters leave it alone. They are too bulky to try and take multiples, and they make a lot of noise clacking against one another. Plus they will cause the Checkpoint System to alarm if they are taken too close to the pedestals.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a bargain, and when I was a kid I looked forward to visiting the very same flea market that drives me crazy today. (More for the pony ride guy than the shopping, but whatever…)If you think your store is getting hit by boosters, take a look at what Alpha Keepers can do to help.
For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Preventshopliftingloss.net
EAS Labels-4
EAS Labels Will Stop A Shoplifter
When the average shopper walks in a store, and walks past the pedestals, they don’t really think about the electronic article surveillance that is being utilized. When a professional shoplifter, or booster as we usually call them, walks in that is the first thing they scope out. Even a petty thief takes note whether there is a system present in most cases. Websites have been developed to promote shoplifting and they usually warn their members to avoid stores that have this type of security.
EAS labels are very versatile, and can be placed almost anywhere on an item. First of all, they can be put right in plain sight on the front of the package, or on the back side of the hanging price label of a clothing item. The labels are available in different colors, shapes and sizes. They can even be clear, or have the store’s name and address printed on them. Even grocery stores can get in the fun, and label their steaks and other expensive meats. New advances with those labels have even made most of those microwave safe.
Many manufacturers now participate in source tagging, meaning they adhere the EAS label inside the sealed package, so you don’t have to worry about it. The items arrive in your store already protected. Inquire with your suppliers to see whether that is an option for your purchases. That is a perk, but it is not the end of the world if they can’t do it for you. Once you and your staff have a plan developed on what items you need to add product protection to, the task of adhering those is well worth the incentive you get to help stop shoplifting. Whether you decide to place your EAS labels on the outside of the packages or hide them down inside, the benefits are the same. The Checkpoint System will sound the alarm if a person brings merchandise too close that has not yet been purchased and had the labels deactivated.
We had a guy in one of our stores, walking around and acting really suspicious. He was looking up constantly to see where we were, and he had put a magazine against the side of the shopping basket he was carrying. (For those that don’t know already, this is a tell tale sign of a booster. They will “line” the basket with either a magazine or sales ad so you can’t see all the items they are stuffing in there.) I walked right up to him and offered to help him, and he said he was fine and just looking. Of course, I was “just looking” at a bunch of name brand pain relievers in his basket, knowing they all had EAS labels placed down inside the boxes. He could tell that I had seen all the stuff in his basket, and he appeared to have a sudden epiphany. I stood down toward the end of the aisle, concealed behind a display, and watched this brainiac start stuffing the boxes down his pants. He actually pulled rubber bands out of his pockets and secured them around the bottom of his pant legs! I just silently shook my head, and called the police on my cell phone. The guy got all he could down his pants and made a run for it. The police were not even a block away, caught him red-handed, and escorted him right back to the store. Even better, when they searched his car, they found two garbage bags full of other similar and obviously stolen items. Some of the products had the EAS labels I mentioned earlier- the kind with store identifier information printed on them. Those stores got their stuff back too. Who knows what happened to the rest of it? It’s all probably sitting in some evidence room.
For more information on EAS labels, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
When the average shopper walks in a store, and walks past the pedestals, they don’t really think about the electronic article surveillance that is being utilized. When a professional shoplifter, or booster as we usually call them, walks in that is the first thing they scope out. Even a petty thief takes note whether there is a system present in most cases. Websites have been developed to promote shoplifting and they usually warn their members to avoid stores that have this type of security.
EAS labels are very versatile, and can be placed almost anywhere on an item. First of all, they can be put right in plain sight on the front of the package, or on the back side of the hanging price label of a clothing item. The labels are available in different colors, shapes and sizes. They can even be clear, or have the store’s name and address printed on them. Even grocery stores can get in the fun, and label their steaks and other expensive meats. New advances with those labels have even made most of those microwave safe.
Many manufacturers now participate in source tagging, meaning they adhere the EAS label inside the sealed package, so you don’t have to worry about it. The items arrive in your store already protected. Inquire with your suppliers to see whether that is an option for your purchases. That is a perk, but it is not the end of the world if they can’t do it for you. Once you and your staff have a plan developed on what items you need to add product protection to, the task of adhering those is well worth the incentive you get to help stop shoplifting. Whether you decide to place your EAS labels on the outside of the packages or hide them down inside, the benefits are the same. The Checkpoint System will sound the alarm if a person brings merchandise too close that has not yet been purchased and had the labels deactivated.
We had a guy in one of our stores, walking around and acting really suspicious. He was looking up constantly to see where we were, and he had put a magazine against the side of the shopping basket he was carrying. (For those that don’t know already, this is a tell tale sign of a booster. They will “line” the basket with either a magazine or sales ad so you can’t see all the items they are stuffing in there.) I walked right up to him and offered to help him, and he said he was fine and just looking. Of course, I was “just looking” at a bunch of name brand pain relievers in his basket, knowing they all had EAS labels placed down inside the boxes. He could tell that I had seen all the stuff in his basket, and he appeared to have a sudden epiphany. I stood down toward the end of the aisle, concealed behind a display, and watched this brainiac start stuffing the boxes down his pants. He actually pulled rubber bands out of his pockets and secured them around the bottom of his pant legs! I just silently shook my head, and called the police on my cell phone. The guy got all he could down his pants and made a run for it. The police were not even a block away, caught him red-handed, and escorted him right back to the store. Even better, when they searched his car, they found two garbage bags full of other similar and obviously stolen items. Some of the products had the EAS labels I mentioned earlier- the kind with store identifier information printed on them. Those stores got their stuff back too. Who knows what happened to the rest of it? It’s all probably sitting in some evidence room.
For more information on EAS labels contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
