I have been working in retail loss prevention for several years now. I have stopped people from shoplifting clothing, jewelry, fragrances, tools, TV’s, and all sorts of items. Unfortunately, I have never worked in a location that sells beer, wine, or spirits. Due to this, I have never stopped anyone from shoplifting alcohol, but I was very curious. I decided to do an online video search of “shoplifting liquor,” to see what types of liquor theft are caught on video. You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy videos that came up! There was one thing that all videos had in common. Whether or not the shoplifters were caught by loss prevention or asset protection, in all cases, the shoplifters were stealing bottles of liquor that were not protected with bottle locks.
There was a video of one woman concealing a whole thirty-two ounce bottle of liquor in the front of her pants and under her shirt, a video of two men (one distracting the employee) who stole three bottles of liquor all concealed in one man’s pants, and even a video of a uniformed fire-fighter taking a bottle of liquor from behind the convenient store counter when the clerk walked away! Not one of these bottles was protected with bottle security. They made easy targets for those shoplifters who wanted the “buzz” without the “buy.” In the videos I mentioned above, there was another commonality. All of these thieves made it past the door without being caught. Sure, they were caught on camera but even having their faces on video isn’t enough to get the money or merchandise back.
There were another couple of videos that I saw, that had slightly different outcomes. There were two different videos of shoplifters who got caught trying to steal their liquor. The first one occurred at a grocery store, where the woman concealed the bottle of liquor into a shopping bag. When confronted by security at the door, a huge commotion ensued. The female committing the shoplifting threw tomatoes, avocados, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables at security when they confiscated the liquor, not to mention the many foul words that were said, and heard by the customers and their families.
Another video involved a man stealing liquor bottles from another store with retail loss prevention employees. This man was caught trying to leave with the bottles, and a huge fight ensued between the employee and the shoplifter. They are seen tussling over a charity donation box in the entryway, with bottles of liquor flying through the air, and customers trying to avoid the scary and awkward situation. I can’t imagine that seeing a sight like that would seem inviting to good customers who would like to return for business.
Even these last two videos that I mentioned had the commonality that the bottles of liquor were not protected by any sort of security device. The investment of the bottle locks is well worth saving the many bottles of liquor that could be stolen. One bottle security device, the EASy bottle, is a great way to secure liquor bottles without preventing customers from assessing the merchandise for purchase.
If you want to avoid having surveillance video of liquor thefts from your store on the internet, I would recommend putting locks on bottles that will keep most shoplifters out of your store.
For more information contact us: Bottle Locks or call 1.770.426.0547
I have been working in retail loss prevention for several years now. I have stopped people from shoplifting clothing, jewelry, fragrances, tools, TV’s, and all sorts of items. Unfortunately, I have never worked in a location that sells beer, wine, or spirits. Due to this, I have never stopped anyone from shoplifting alcohol, but I was very curious. I decided to do an online video search of “shoplifting liquor,” to see what types of liquor theft are caught on video. You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy videos that came up! There was one thing that all videos had in common. Whether or not the shoplifters were caught by loss prevention or asset protection, in all cases, the shoplifters were stealing bottles of liquor that were not protected with bottle locks.
There was a video of one woman concealing a whole thirty-two ounce bottle of liquor in the front of her pants and under her shirt, a video of two men (one distracting the employee) who stole three bottles of liquor all concealed in one man’s pants, and even a video of a uniformed fire-fighter taking a bottle of liquor from behind the convenient store counter when the clerk walked away! Not one of these bottles was protected with bottle security. They made easy targets for those shoplifters who wanted the “buzz” without the “buy.” In the videos I mentioned above, there was another commonality. All of these thieves made it past the door without being caught. Sure, they were caught on camera but even having their faces on video isn’t enough to get the money or merchandise back.
There were another couple of videos that I saw, that had slightly different outcomes. There were two different videos of shoplifters who got caught trying to steal their liquor. The first one occurred at a grocery store, where the woman concealed the bottle of liquor into a shopping bag. When confronted by security at the door, a huge commotion ensued. The female committing the shoplifting threw tomatoes, avocados, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables at security when they confiscated the liquor, not to mention the many foul words that were said, and heard by the customers and their families.
Another video involved a man stealing liquor bottles from another store with retail loss prevention employees. This man was caught trying to leave with the bottles, and a huge fight ensued between the employee and the shoplifter. They are seen tussling over a charity donation box in the entryway, with bottles of liquor flying through the air, and customers trying to avoid the scary and awkward situation. I can’t imagine that seeing a sight like that would seem inviting to good customers who would like to return for business.
Even these last two videos that I mentioned had the commonality that the bottles of liquor were not protected by any sort of security device. The investment of the bottle locks is well worth saving the many bottles of liquor that could be stolen. One bottle security device, the EASy bottle, is a great way to secure liquor bottles without preventing customers from assessing the merchandise for purchase.
If you want to avoid having surveillance video of liquor thefts from your store on the internet, I would recommend putting locks on bottles that will keep most shoplifters out of your store.
For more information contact us: Bottle Locks or call 1.770.426.0547
