The role of a Loss Prevention Agent entails identifying, observing and apprehending shoplifters. A Loss Prevention Agent may work in the retail sector or any other sector of industry. He/she is well trained and works for the benefit of a retailer, restaurant or business owner.
The primary function of a Loss Prevention Agent is a task that takes a special skill that is honed over years and results in catching shoplifters. The Loss Prevention Agent spends countless hours on the sales floor observing customers, mingling with the every day shoppers who visit your store, pushing shopping carts around continuously observing and watching one’s surroundings.
I remember doing just this job focusing my efforts on the “hard hit” areas of the store with the highest losses or more hidden parts of the store. I was going to show the business owners that shoplifters visited the store and I was going to keep them from peddling their trade.
Sooner or later a shoplifter would arrive. I could feel the adrenaline kick in and try to remain calm. He selects 2 bottles of liquor and stuffs them into a backpack he has placed on the floor. Wow, I thought to myself, right in front of me. He stands up, as I read the label of the liquor bottle I’m holding, and heads down the aisle to the front of the store. I keep my distance, trying not to lose sight of him. He passes the opened and manned register and makes no attempt to pay for the merchandise. I gain on him. He exits, I follow. “Excuse me sir”, I say. I have succeeded in catching another thief!
It is said that roughly 30% of losses can be directly related to shoplifting activity. If it goes unchecked it can ruin a business leading to employee layoffs and business closures. Business closure sounds like a dire step but if you don’t keep shoplifting in check, it may be the final step that is available to a business owner.
And that is where I enter the picture. I am hired to detect and catch shoplifters – my job: Loss Prevention Agent.
For more information contact us at loss prevention agent or call 1.770.426.0547
As a Loss Prevention professional and a former Director of LP for several major businesses I found out pretty fast that if my only solution to shoplifting was apprehension that I would not be employed for long.
Why is this? Go back to the old saying: “Once the horse is out of the barn…” Prevention is always the solution in any anti shoplifting program. To get there we have to look at what is the most cost effective approach. Training, training and still more training. By training you and your employees you will deter shoplifting no mater which way you take in any anti shoplifting effort.
Retail theft as in the form of shoplifting will always be dependent on your ability to convince the shoplifter to go elsewhere. Training your employees in the art of using customer service as an anti shoplifting weapon is a cost effective approach. Shoplifters despise attention so let’s give them more than they can handle. Once an employee is trained to actually spot a shoplifter they can go into the customer service attack mode. Customer service them to death!
Of course people who are shoplifting are all different and come in many types. Training will help even the newest employee to become your retail theft weapon very quickly. Then once you have a core of people trained they can then train others.
What should make up a top shelf anti shoplifting training program? There should be amongst other topics training on: Identifying a person who is trying shoplifting in your store. How shoplifters steal, how to shut down the shoplifter and actually drive them crazy (that way they go some where else, maybe even your competitor) and apprehension (if it becomes necessary).
Train your staff and reinforce the training in a positive manner and you will see retail theft drop like a stone.
For more information: anti shoplifting training in Atlanta or call 1.770.426.0547
If you are looking for an immediate impact for retail theft shoplifting problems attack it by using anti theft devices in an aggressive manner. To do this you must understand the difference between active and passive systems.
For an example of a passive system lets look at Closed Circuit TV (CCTV). Retailers will install a CCTV camera system throughout the store. But because of the cost it is nearly impossible to cover the entire sales floor. Cameras record on a DVR. The manager could even have a monitor screen in their office. However, unless the cameras are being watched at all times the system is “passive”. It is for looking at an event after the fact.
Some one who is shoplifting in your store will know this. They will even test it by concealing an item, going to another location in the store and dumping the item to see if anyone reacts. If not, the next time they come in then let the shoplifting begin!
Popular types of active anti theft devices are Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems such as Checkpoint security systems. Store staff place Checkpoint tags on merchandise and when a person that is shoplifting tries to steal the tagged merchandise the Checkpoint security systems located at the customer doors alarm. The other benefit of this is that when someone who thinks about shoplifting in your store sees an EAS system they most likely will go elsewhere like your unprotected competition.
Why? It is because an EAS system is active and “watching” all the time. Checkpoint security tags attached to merchandise are always working 24/7. They cannot be taken off without staff intervention. As long as the retailer maintains their Checkpoint security systems they are always guarding the merchandise that is tagged.
Different anti theft devices could include cabinets or other devices to lock down merchandise. This is not as desirable from a customer perspective as it does not allow customers to handle the merchandise and make decisions on their own. Another problem with this is that customers can become frustrated rather quickly when store staff is not right there to unlock merchandise.
The retail theft problem is tough enough to control without having the correct tools to fight it. Your merchandise tagged with Checkpoint tags keeps your profits on your bottom line.
For more information contact us: retail theft you can also call us at 1.770.426.0547
