Pre-employment screening-3 WC Blog 655
Applicant Management Center-4
Let An Applicant Management Center Uncover Hidden Problems For You.
Pre-employment screening can assist store owners in identifying hidden problems that could cause major problems for a business down the road. I thought about this today as I am getting a used car my son purchased fixed up for him. My mechanic had located this car, gave it a test drive and told me that for the $900 we would pay for it we would be getting a great deal. There were a few concerns with how it was idling but he believed for another $500 he could get it running smoothly. $1400 for a car that would get my son to his new job for a couple of years is a bargain, no car payments to make. I purchased parts the mechanic said would be needed and delivered them to him. Later in the afternoon I got a call that there may be a different issue to fix. As he had dug into the engine he found that someone had done some home-made repairs that were possibly the cause of the symptoms he had thought were causing the rough idling. I had to spend another $170 on additional parts (I am waiting to see if these parts fix the issue and I can return the other parts I bought). The thing about this is hidden problems were masked until the mechanic dug into the motor to identify where the true fix needed to be made. I may be paying a few hundred additional dollars and I should have a reliable vehicle. Store owners that hire someone with a checkered past may pay a much higher price for those underlying issues. An applicant management center can help prevent hiring mistakes.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) can be your car mechanic so to speak. They can conduct pre-employment screening for employers that truly look past the surface information of an applicant to uncover information that could be hidden from you. Is an applicant lying about a criminal past or a job history? Maybe the job you need filled requires a certain level of educational there are applicants who will falsify applications for a shot at that job. LPSI can verify whether a candidate has the degree or education they claim. What would the potential ramifications be if you hired a person who is on the national sex offender registry and you were not aware of it? Yes, it is possible the employee would behave while working around other employees and your customers. But what is going to happen to YOUR business and YOUR reputation if you don’t bother with a background check and YOUR employee does assault someone? Even if they don’t do the offense while on the clock there is a strong possibility social media will get the word out on where that person works and lives. What will your other employees think? An applicant management center can help keep your business and reputation safe.
Lest you think the only service provided by an applicant management center is conducting background checks store owners should also be aware that there is much more available to them. Want to make sure you run a drug-free workplace? LPSI also offers drug screening for business owners. Have you ever wished you could organize your hiring process including files into one central location without dealing with mounds of paperwork? They can do that for you as well. Bill Bregar who is the Chief Executive Officer of LPSI has drawn from his background as a Loss Prevention Director for national chain stores and his experiences of running his own business to help other business owners. He knows the risks associated with hiring the wrong people and he is in tune with how to run profitable stores. That is why his company offers the applicant management center to ensure retailers can be profitable through better hiring.
Pre-employment screening won’t help you get your car up and running or fix an engine with a rough idle but it can help you run a smooth business operation. Get to know more about the people you are considering hiring by hiring a company that can uncover problems BEFORE they become your problem!
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Pre-employment screening can assist store owners in identifying hidden problems that could cause major problems for a business down the road. I thought about this today as I am getting a used car my son purchased fixed up for him. My mechanic had located this car, gave it a test drive and told me that for the $900 we would pay for it we would be getting a great deal. There were a few concerns with how it was idling but he believed for another $500 he could get it running smoothly. $1400 for a car that would get my son to his new job for a couple of years is a bargain, no car payments to make. I purchased parts the mechanic said would be needed and delivered them to him. Later in the afternoon I got a call that there may be a different issue to fix. As he had dug into the engine he found that someone had done some home-made repairs that were possibly the cause of the symptoms he had thought were causing the rough idling. I had to spend another $170 on additional parts (I am waiting to see if these parts fix the issue and I can return the other parts I bought). The thing about this is hidden problems were masked until the mechanic dug into the motor to identify where the true fix needed to be made. I may be paying a few hundred additional dollars and I should have a reliable vehicle. Store owners that hire someone with a checkered past may pay a much higher price for those underlying issues. An applicant management center can help prevent hiring mistakes.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) can be your car mechanic so to speak. They can conduct pre-employment screening for employers that truly look past the surface information of an applicant to uncover information that could be hidden from you. Is an applicant lying about a criminal past or a job history? Maybe the job you need filled requires a certain level of educationa. There are applicants who will falsify applications for a shot at that job. LPSI can verify whether a candidate has the degree or education they claim. What would the potential ramifications be if you hired a person who is on the national sex offender registry and you were not aware of it? Yes, it is possible the employee would behave while working around other employees and your customers. But what is going to happen to YOUR business and YOUR reputation if you don’t bother with a background check and YOUR employee does assault someone? Even if they don’t do the offense while on the clock there is a strong possibility social media will get the word out on where that person works and lives. What will your other employees think? An applicant management center can help keep your business and reputation safe.
Lest you think the only service provided by an applicant management center is conducting background checks store owners should also be aware that there is much more available to them. Want to make sure you run a drug-free workplace? LPSI also offers drug screening for business owners. Have you ever wished you could organize your hiring process including files into one central location without dealing with mounds of paperwork? They can do that for you as well. Bill Bregar who is the Chief Executive Officer of LPSI has drawn from his background as a Loss Prevention Director for national chain stores and his experiences of running his own business to help other business owners. He knows the risks associated with hiring the wrong people and he is in tune with how to run profitable stores. That is why his company offers the applicant management center to ensure retailers can be profitable through better hiring.
Pre-employment screening won’t help you get your car up and running or fix an engine with a rough idle but it can help you run a smooth business operation. Get to know more about the people you are considering hiring by hiring a company that can uncover problems BEFORE they become your problem!
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Electronic Article Surveillance – 4 WC Blog 768
Sensormatic hard tags – 3
Great Power Comes With The Use Of Sensormatic Hard Tags
Electronic article surveillance is an extremely popular form of retail security but if it is not implemented properly it can become problematic. I do not say this to discourage owners and managers from purchasing a Sensormatic security system or Sensormatic tags but to make sure that people understand there are responsibilities that come with owning and using a system. To steal a quote from the “Spiderman” movie, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Anti-theft systems are powerful and can stop shoplifting but they can hurt customer service too.
I have long believed that the failure to remove Sensormatic hard tags when a customer makes a purchase does cause a problem for the retailer. Shoppers get irritated and embarrassed by false alarms. The alarm itself causes a distraction to other shoppers (which is okay if the alarm is legitimate but not because of a cashier error). False alarms take up unnecessary time from the responding supervisor. To add to all of these I have noticed that some websites that claim to tell people how to remove electronic article surveillance tags (not related to Sensormatic or any anti-theft system dealer or manufacturer) allegedly do so in response to finding tags still on merchandise after a customer gets home. I do know that tags are sometimes left on merchandise and it does create a headache for the patron. It has happened to me and I have had to go back to the store and have the tag removed. Did the alarm sound when I left the store? Yes, I think so, other people were walking out and in at the same time. After waiting for someone to respond to the alarm I got irritated and left. As you would expect when I returned the alarm went off again and people looked at me and I was further annoyed. Then there is the look from the return desk employee that lets you know they don’t quite believe your story with or without a receipt. Customer distractions can lead to customer dissatisfaction and THAT can hurt future sales from that shopper and those friends of theirs they talk to about their experience.
I want to digress for a moment and talk about those websites that allege to “show” or “tell” someone how to remove Sensormatic hard tags without the proper removal tool only a store should possess. After reading through several of these sites I just shook my head in disgust. First, if I take them at their word that they are “helping” those who have made purchases and found a tag left on their merchandise, I can still say they are not helping. The methods that I was reading about would very likely lead to damaged product completely defeating the purpose for not returning to the store. The methods could also result in injury to the person following the ill-advised instructions. I do not wish to see people get injured especially when they are following stupid advice. Second, I don’t buy that the writers or videographer wannabe’s are really trying to help hapless shoppers. I happen to believe the intention of these people is to encourage theft. Why would they do that? I can’t speak to their reasoning, of course I can’t explain why people want to shoplift either all I know is I have dedicated many years to catching and stopping criminals.
Retail owners and managers please heed my recommendation, use electronic article surveillance in your store. If you have an older system, consider upgrading to a newer, more energy-efficient Sensormatic system. Use genuine Sensormatic hard tags to protect against theft and increase the profit for your store through reduced shortage and increased sales (resulting from the decreased theft). I can hear it now, “But you just told me that there can be customer service issues if cashiers don’t remove tags”. What I said was there can be problems if a system is not implemented properly. That is where Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) comes in to play. With the purchase of a new Sensormatic security system from LPSI you receive the training you and your team need to properly operate a system. From tagging of products to system testing and alarm response LPSI will ensure your store will operate an effective anti-theft program.
Faulty loss prevention equipment, lack of training and poor tag removal processes can hurt a store’s reputation. Sensormatic has a reputation as a leader in retail theft prevention and is used by retailers world-wide to help fight shortage and improve profits. LPSI will show you how you can have great responsibility as you as add the great power of a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system.
For more information on Sensormatic hard tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Electronic article surveillance is an extremely popular form of retail security but if it is not implemented properly it can become problematic. I do not say this to discourage owners and managers from purchasing a Sensormatic security system or Sensormatic tags but to make sure that people understand there are responsibilities that come with owning and using a system. To steal a quote from the “Spiderman” movie, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Anti-theft systems are powerful and can stop shoplifting but they can hurt customer service too.
I have long believed that the failure to remove Sensormatic hard tags when a customer makes a purchase does cause a problem for the retailer. Shoppers get irritated and embarrassed by false alarms. The alarm itself causes a distraction to other shoppers (which is okay if the alarm is legitimate but not because of a cashier error). False alarms take up unnecessary time from the responding supervisor. To add to all of these I have noticed that some websites that claim to tell people how to remove electronic article surveillance tags (not related to Sensormatic or any anti-theft system dealer or manufacturer) allegedly do so in response to finding tags still on merchandise after a customer gets home. I do know that tags are sometimes left on merchandise and it does create a headache for the patron. It has happened to me and I have had to go back to the store and have the tag removed. Did the alarm sound when I left the store? Yes, I think so, other people were walking out and in at the same time. After waiting for someone to respond to the alarm I got irritated and left. As you would expect when I returned the alarm went off again and people looked at me and I was further annoyed. Then there is the look from the return desk employee that lets you know they don’t quite believe your story with or without a receipt. Customer distractions can lead to customer dissatisfaction and THAT can hurt future sales from that shopper and those friends of theirs they talk to about their experience.
I want to digress for a moment and talk about those websites that allege to “show” or “tell” someone how to remove Sensormatic hard tags without the proper removal tool only a store should possess. After reading through several of these sites I just shook my head in disgust. First, if I take them at their word that they are “helping” those who have made purchases and found a tag left on their merchandise, I can still say they are not helping. The methods that I was reading about would very likely lead to damaged product completely defeating the purpose for not returning to the store. The methods could also result in injury to the person following the ill-advised instructions. I do not wish to see people get injured especially when they are following stupid advice. Second, I don’t buy that the writers or videographer wannabe’s are really trying to help hapless shoppers. I happen to believe the intention of these people is to encourage theft. Why would they do that? I can’t speak to their reasoning, of course I can’t explain why people want to shoplift either all I know is I have dedicated many years to catching and stopping criminals.
Retail owners and managers please heed my recommendation, use electronic article surveillance in your store. If you have an older system, consider upgrading to a newer, more energy-efficient Sensormatic system. Use genuine Sensormatic hard tags to protect against theft and increase the profit for your store through reduced shortage and increased sales (resulting from the decreased theft). I can hear it now, “But you just told me that there can be customer service issues if cashiers don’t remove tags”. What I said was there can be problems if a system is not implemented properly. That is where Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) comes in to play. With the purchase of a new Sensormatic security system from LPSI you receive the training you and your team need to properly operate a system. From tagging of products to system testing and alarm response LPSI will ensure your store will operate an effective anti-theft program.
Faulty loss prevention equipment, lack of training and poor tag removal processes can hurt a store’s reputation. Sensormatic has a reputation as a leader in retail theft prevention and is used by retailers world-wide to help fight shortage and improve profits. LPSI will show you how you can have great responsibility as you as add the great power of a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system.
For more information on Sensormatic hard tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Loss Prevention ROI Calculator -3 wc blog 767
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-3
Tabulating The Cost Of Not Using The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator
As I was checking out calculators in the college library where I work I started thinking about a correlation with the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 TI 83 and TI 84 graphing calculators and another 30 – 40 various other calculators to check out to students. We have different points in the semester when we check out almost every one of these calculators. Frequently we run out of the Texas Instruments graphing calculators because they can be an expensive investment for a college student. The thing about it is while we offer this service and checkouts are FREE there are a lot of students who don’t take advantage of the technology available to them. It is a FREE offering and yet students fail to use what is within their grasp and could help them in their classes. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is kind of the same thing, it is free to everyone and yet many don’t take advantage of it.
My thinking on this then went to retail store owners. No, you don’t have an exam to pass but you do have a much greater test in your store when you conduct inventory. You have the financial health of your business to consider at least once a year when you count what is in your store and determine how much thieves took from you (along with the operational shortage factors you had during that year). There are tools available to help you stop the bleeding from criminal activity and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has created the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator to assist in seeing that it can be affordable to do so. The issue is owners either don’t know about it OR they have chosen to ignore it, much like the students at our college who don’t use our calculators.
The Free Loss Prevention calculator is available to anyone simply by going to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and clicking on the ROI calc tab. Once you are in the calculator you enter a couple of pieces of information; the amount you are willing to pay for a Sensormatic security system and how much your annual store sales are and the calculator tabulates an approximation of how much you are losing to shortage each year and how much a new system could save you. It also gives an estimate of how long it would take for a new system to pay for itself. Think about it, a Free Loss Prevention Calculator can tell you how a Loss Prevention System can be FREE!
The funny thing about the calculators at the library is we also sell these at the store where I work. When I know a college student is in looking to purchase one and they attend our school I ask if they know our library has them to check out. Often I get the reply that they didn’t know but when I suggest they could save money by just checking them out they will tell me they just want to go ahead and get their own. They choose to not save money. Sometimes store owners are the same way. They hear about how they can save money but decide not to make an initial investment even though a system can pay for itself. They may use the excuse they can’t afford it but that probably isn’t true when Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. also offers financing for a Sensormatic system. Whether it is the college student or the shop owner I scratch my head in wonder.
So now you know about the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator and you know how it can help you save money due to shortage. There is no excuse not to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and give the calculator a try. You will find out just how much you could have been saving but it isn’t too late to install a system now and begin to reap the benefits of a Sensormatic security system. Remember the Calculator is free and ultimately a system can be too.
Need information on the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
As I was checking out calculators in the college library where I work I started thinking about a correlation with the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 TI 83 and TI 84 graphing calculators and another 30 – 40 various other calculators to check out to students. We have different points in the semester when we check out almost every one of these calculators. Frequently we run out of the Texas Instruments graphing calculators because they can be an expensive investment for a college student. The thing about it is while we offer this service and checkouts are FREE there are a lot of students who don’t take advantage of the technology available to them. It is a FREE offering and yet students fail to use what is within their grasp and could help them in their classes. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is kind of the same thing, it is free to everyone and yet many don’t take advantage of it.
My thinking on this then went to retail store owners. No, you don’t have an exam to pass but you do have a much greater test in your store when you conduct inventory. You have the financial health of your business to consider at least once a year when you count what is in your store and determine how much thieves took from you (along with the operational shortage factors you had during that year). There are tools available to help you stop the bleeding from criminal activity and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has created the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator to assist in seeing that it can be affordable to do so. The issue is owners either don’t know about it OR they have chosen to ignore it, much like the students at our college who don’t use our calculators.
The Free Loss Prevention calculator is available to anyone simply by going to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and clicking on the ROI calc tab. Once you are in the calculator you enter a couple of pieces of information; the amount you are willing to pay for a Sensormatic security system and how much your annual store sales are and the calculator tabulates an approximation of how much you are losing to shortage each year and how much a new system could save you. It also gives an estimate of how long it would take for a new system to pay for itself. Think about it, a Free Loss Prevention Calculator can tell you how a Loss Prevention System can be FREE!
The funny thing about the calculators at the library is we also sell these at the store where I work. When I know a college student is in looking to purchase one and they attend our school I ask if they know our library has them to check out. Often I get the reply that they didn’t know but when I suggest they could save money by just checking them out they will tell me they just want to go ahead and get their own. They choose to not save money. Sometimes store owners are the same way. They hear about how they can save money but decide not to make an initial investment even though a system can pay for itself. They may use the excuse they can’t afford it but that probably isn’t true when Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. also offers financing for a Sensormatic system. Whether it is the college student or the shop owner I scratch my head in wonder.
So now you know about the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator and you know how it can help you save money due to shortage. There is no excuse not to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and give the calculator a try. You will find out just how much you could have been saving but it isn’t too late to install a system now and begin to reap the benefits of a Sensormatic security system. Remember the Calculator is free and ultimately a system can be too.
Need information on the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Sensormatic security label – 4 WC Blog 755
Electronic Article Surveillance – 5
Advantages Of Using Sensormatic Security Labels Over Other Brands Part 1
Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.
For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.
For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Retail Traffic Counting – 3 WC Blog 742
Customer Counting Systems -3
Using Customer Counting Systems To Improve Customer Service – Part 1
Writing about the importance of retail traffic counting to improve sales and also writing about how it can help reduce shortage seem to be incongruent at first glance. How does keeping track of the number of people entering your store have anything to do with efforts to prevent shoplifting or any other criminal activity, i.e. purse snatching, property theft, sexual misconduct and so on? The questions came to my mind as I was preparing to write an article on recent customer service experiences I encountered in recent visits to two different fast food chains. One visit was exceptional and one was the polar opposite. Then I had to consider that I was not only going to explain the tie in between customer counting systems, customer service and the impact on theft deterrence I was also going to toss in the fast food business to retail store owners and operators. I started to question my own sanity. As I considered the mess I was trying to create it dawned on me, it all DOES relate and it makes the fact that I am comparing restaurants to stores makes no difference. Both are service industries and who is being served? Customers are being served, that is who.
The two experiences that led me to this topic started when I had gone to a famous burger restaurant. Someone may be arching their brow in curiosity about which chain I am talking about but I am going to refrain. I like the food and this is not my experience at all of their restaurants. This day was busy and the parking lot was full and the line of cars for the drive though was lengthy. I chose to go inside rather than sit idling for too long. I was able to order in just a few minutes but as I stood waiting I watched the activity behind the counter and the customers waiting with me. Cashiers were chatting with customers who had already placed orders while the people trying to bag orders and get the food were harried and looked anxious. The manager was yelling at cooks and employees asking where orders were and trying to give directions but she seemed to be barely in control, bagging orders herself and barking at staff. On top of this some customers who, like me, were waiting for their food were frazzled. Some customers who ordered after us received their food before us. When I did get to the car with my food I checked the bag before driving off and found I had been shorted a burger. This was a very unpleasant customer service experience. It was clear to me that no planning went into staffing for the day and perhaps retail traffic counting COULD have been a useful tool for this business. I also saw that management as being a part of the problem not managing but rather reacting to situations and not in control.
Now this was the poor example of customer service and I don’t like to dwell on negatives. I would prefer to help a business correct a problem and improve the customer service. As customer service improves sales grow. Bill Bregar, the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. would agree with me on this point. His background is in investigations and retail Loss Prevention but he knows the value of a great customer service culture. Bill recognizes how it serves to improve sales and will also reduce store theft and that is the reason he supports the use of customer counting systems to track foot traffic. Using that information retailers can plan and schedule much more effectively for future store activity. Sensormatic offers a retail traffic counting sensor that can be added to many existing Sensormatic electronic article surveillance towers. Those retailers that already use Sensormatic security systems will have the added benefit of tracking alarm activity which can aid in theft prevention plans and evaluating alarm response.
I love a good cliff hanger and so I am going to leave one of my own here. If you would like to read about the great customer service experience I had and what was so different about it from the first restaurant you will need to look for Part 2 to this series. This will be particularly important if you want to see how customer counting systems and customer service can be used in your business and grow your sales.
Get more information on retail traffic counting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
Writing about the importance of retail traffic counting to improve sales and also writing about how it can help reduce shortage seem to be incongruent at first glance. How does keeping track of the number of people entering your store have anything to do with efforts to prevent shoplifting or any other criminal activity, i.e. purse snatching, property theft, sexual misconduct and so on? The questions came to my mind as I was preparing to write an article on recent customer service experiences I encountered in recent visits to two different fast food chains. One visit was exceptional and one was the polar opposite. Then I had to consider that I was not only going to explain the tie in between customer counting systems, customer service and the impact on theft deterrence I was also going to toss in the fast food business to retail store owners and operators. I started to question my own sanity. As I considered the mess I was trying to create it dawned on me, it all DOES relate and it makes the fact that I am comparing restaurants to stores makes no difference. Both are service industries and who is being served? Customers are being served, that is who.
The two experiences that led me to this topic started when I had gone to a famous burger restaurant. Someone may be arching their brow in curiosity about which chain I am talking about but I am going to refrain. I like the food and this is not my experience at all of their restaurants. This day was busy and the parking lot was full and the line of cars for the drive though was lengthy. I chose to go inside rather than sit idling for too long. I was able to order in just a few minutes but as I stood waiting I watched the activity behind the counter and the customers waiting with me. Cashiers were chatting with customers who had already placed orders while the people trying to bag orders and get the food were harried and looked anxious. The manager was yelling at cooks and employees asking where orders were and trying to give directions but she seemed to be barely in control, bagging orders herself and barking at staff. On top of this some customers who, like me, were waiting for their food were frazzled. Some customers who ordered after us received their food before us. When I did get to the car with my food I checked the bag before driving off and found I had been shorted a burger. This was a very unpleasant customer service experience. It was clear to me that no planning went into staffing for the day and perhaps retail traffic counting COULD have been a useful tool for this business. I also saw that management as being a part of the problem not managing but rather reacting to situations and not in control.
Now this was the poor example of customer service and I don’t like to dwell on negatives. I would prefer to help a business correct a problem and improve the customer service. As customer service improves sales grow. Bill Bregar, the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. would agree with me on this point. His background is in investigations and retail Loss Prevention but he knows the value of a great customer service culture. Bill recognizes how it serves to improve sales and will also reduce store theft and that is the reason he supports the use of customer counting systems to track foot traffic. Using that information retailers can plan and schedule much more effectively for future store activity. Sensormatic offers a retail traffic counting sensor that can be added to many existing Sensormatic electronic article surveillance towers. Those retailers that already use Sensormatic security systems will have the added benefit of tracking alarm activity which can aid in theft prevention plans and evaluating alarm response.
I love a good cliff hanger and so I am going to leave one of my own here. If you would like to read about the great customer service experience I had and what was so different about it from the first restaurant you will need to look for Part 2 to this series. This will be particularly important if you want to see how customer counting systems and customer service can be used in your business and grow your sales.
Get more information on retail traffic counting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
WAB 09 Blog
We Can Guarantee To Stop All Shoplifting In Your Store-Sensormatic Systems
Yep, Loss Prevention Systems has a Sensormatic Systems solution to stop every bit of shoplifting in your store going forward. We will even put it in writing. The problem is that you will not have any customers because you will not be able to let anyone in. If that is a bit extreme for you, then you may want to try our other more popular plan to prevent shoplifting. It is a two part plan including LPSI helping you to train your staff and a Sensormatic system.
The reality is that the only way to shut down all shoplifting will cut into your profit margin. What we need to do is focus on the bulk of the shoplifting that is costing you the most money. If your goal is to prevent shoplifting completely then you will spend more in expenses than the losses are worth. However, we need to make sure we are on the same page in how we calculate losses. If a shoplifter steals $100 in merchandise is that what you have lost – $100?
Actually, no, you have lost much more than that. To replace that $100 at retail you need to figure in your costs. You had to purchase it, ship and receive it, handle and stock it, carry the cost in inventory, etc. On top of that you have rent, payroll, taxes, utilities and other expenses.
The easiest way to figure this is to take the retail price of the item and divide it by your profit margin. So let’s say for this explanation that your margin after all expenses is 2%. So the calculation is 100/.02=5000. Yes that is a five with three zeros. To break even, not make money but to break even you will need to sell an ADDITIONAL $5000 in merchandise.
Well, that’s not really a good business plan. So we have to fix this problem once and for all by doing what you do for any business problem you encounter, you attack it head on! Our goal has to be something more than “catching” shoplifters. You have already lost money at that point. You may have caught them but now you have to deal with them. It is kind of like when my dog chases a car. Exactly what is she going to do when she catches it???
There are only two economical ways to prevent shoplifting, not counting the whole never let anyone in your store thing. Training your staff and putting in an electronic article system such as a Sensormatic system. Okay let’s get something out of the way right now. YES, this is what Loss Prevention Systems does. We train our customers and we provide one of the best systems in the retail world, Sensormatic.
Our solutions that prevent shoplifting work. The reason I know that is that I have been in the loss prevention world for most of my life. I started in the trenches apprehending shoplifters all the way through Director of Loss Prevention at several major companies to the Board Room.
So let’s fix the shoplifting problem once and for all. Our training does not focus on chasing shoplifters in the parking lot. We want them to go away and take their theft elsewhere. Consider this, if you are doing a better job sending the shoplifter on their way and getting the reputation in the shoplifting community that you are not an easy mark then the shoplifters will go elsewhere. No one wishes trouble on anyone else. But, if your neighbors are doing a better job of shoplifting prevention than you then guess where they will go? Yeah, right to you!
Even with the best of training you still need a back-up. A Sensormatic system is protecting your merchandise 24/7. No vacations, sick days or my Grandfather has died for the ninth time. So when your staff is slammed and the customer to employee ratio is out of sync, the Sensormatic system is on guard. Kind of like a Doberman ready to start barking and baring its teeth.
The combination of the two, training and Sensormatic, are the problem solver. Oh, and by the way, both solutions are VERY AFFORDABLE for any size company from one store to, well you get the picture. So now you do not have any excuse. Contact us today or call 1-770-426-0547 for Sensormatic systems, retail theft prevention and stop shoplifting training.
Yep, Loss Prevention Systems has a Sensormatic Systems solution to stop every bit of shoplifting in your store going forward. We will even put it in writing. The problem is that you will not have any customers because you will not be able to let anyone in. If that is a bit extreme for you, then you may want to try our other more popular plan to prevent shoplifting. It is a two part plan including LPSI helping you to train your staff and a Sensormatic system.
The reality is that the only way to shut down all shoplifting will cut into your profit margin. What we need to do is focus on the bulk of the shoplifting that is costing you the most money. If your goal is to prevent shoplifting completely then you will spend more in expenses than the losses are worth. However, we need to make sure we are on the same page in how we calculate losses. If a shoplifter steals $100 in merchandise is that what you have lost – $100?
Actually, no, you have lost much more than that. To replace that $100 at retail you need to figure in your costs. You had to purchase it, ship and receive it, handle and stock it, carry the cost in inventory, etc. On top of that you have rent, payroll, taxes, utilities and other expenses.
The easiest way to figure this is to take the retail price of the item and divide it by your profit margin. So let’s say for this explanation that your margin after all expenses is 2%. So the calculation is 100/.02=5000. Yes that is a five with three zeros. To break even, not make money but to break even you will need to sell an ADDITIONAL $5000 in merchandise.
Well, that’s not really a good business plan. So we have to fix this problem once and for all by doing what you do for any business problem you encounter, you attack it head on! Our goal has to be something more than “catching” shoplifters. You have already lost money at that point. You may have caught them but now you have to deal with them. It is kind of like when my dog chases a car. Exactly what is she going to do when she catches it???
There are only two economical ways to prevent shoplifting, not counting the whole never let anyone in your store thing. Training your staff and putting in an electronic article system such as a Sensormatic system. Okay let’s get something out of the way right now. YES, this is what Loss Prevention Systems does. We train our customers and we provide one of the best systems in the retail world, Sensormatic.
Our solutions that prevent shoplifting work. The reason I know that is that I have been in the loss prevention world for most of my life. I started in the trenches apprehending shoplifters all the way through Director of Loss Prevention at several major companies to the Board Room.
So let’s fix the shoplifting problem once and for all. Our training does not focus on chasing shoplifters in the parking lot. We want them to go away and take their theft elsewhere. Consider this, if you are doing a better job sending the shoplifter on their way and getting the reputation in the shoplifting community that you are not an easy mark then the shoplifters will go elsewhere. No one wishes trouble on anyone else. But, if your neighbors are doing a better job of shoplifting prevention than you then guess where they will go? Yeah, right to you!
Even with the best of training you still need a back-up. A Sensormatic system is protecting your merchandise 24/7. No vacations, sick days or my Grandfather has died for the ninth time. So when your staff is slammed and the customer to employee ratio is out of sync, the Sensormatic system is on guard. Kind of like a Doberman ready to start barking and baring its teeth.
The combination of the two, training and Sensormatic, are the problem solver. Oh, and by the way, both solutions are VERY AFFORDABLE for any size company from one store to, well you get the picture. So now you do not have any excuse.
Contact us today or call 1-770-426-0547 for Sensormatic systems, retail theft prevention and stop shoplifting training.
