Clothing Security Tags Can Help Or Hinder Customer Service; Tips To Ensure You Are Keeping Customers Happy – Part 2

Checkpoint Tags-4                                                                                                                          WC Blog 343
Clothing Security Tags -3 
Clothing Security Tags Can Help Or Hinder Customer Service; Tips To Ensure You Are Keeping Customers Happy – Part 2
In Part 1 of this article I talked about the frustrations customers have expressed on websites about getting clothing home and finding clothing security tags left on them. I also touched on what a security tag is and how it can improve merchandise shortage and therefore keep prices lower creating a positive customer experience. In Part 2 I want to discuss the issues that lead up to the customer service problem of Checkpoint tags being left on clothing and how it can negate the positive shopping experience your customers had while visiting the store.
     To refresh some who may have missed the first part of the series, Checkpoint tags are built with electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology that allow them to protect clothing. Soft versions of the tags have an adhesive backing that makes it easy to stick the devices to hang tags, plastics, even to the cloth inside a handbag, wallet, slacks pockets, etc. Checkpoint Hard Tags are reusable anti-theft devices that are pinned to garments and require a special removal tool to take them off.  Hard tags and soft tags placed in visible locations are deterrents to potential shoplifters. Thieves prefer not to risk setting off alarms or damaging merchandise in an attempt to pry or force tags off of clothing. The EAS technology in the tags makes them effective in stopping shoplifting by activating EAS pedestal alarms set at building entrances.
     So the question becomes, “How does  missing clothing security tags hamper customer experience levels and isn’t it a matter of just following up with a cashier?”  The fact is it is easy to automatically point the finger at the cashier and say it is a training issue. I would argue there may be a other underlying issues that lead up to the problem.
1. Tagging consistency – When merchandise comes in to the store there needs to be specific guidelines for where tags will be placed. For example, you may direct whoever tags your merchandise to place a tag on the right sleeve of every shirt. Slacks may be tagged in the right leg seam at hip level. Consistent placement of tags and communication to employees will mean cashiers will always look in the same location for tags. This minimizes the opportunity for errors at the register. 
2. Complete Tagging – Many stores set price points on what will or won’t be tagged or they decide only certain brands of merchandise will be tagged. Imagine you are the cashier that has to remember which items are and are not tagged! By tagging everything you eliminate the shoplifters looking for alternative items to take and you make it easier for cashiers to know they have to remove all tags from everything.
3. Measuring cashier speed times – Is your store the one that tracks cashier productivity and “ability” by how fast they can complete transactions? YOU may be contributing to your own problem. When cashiers feel pressured to rush through transactions so they don’t get penalized, they tend to make errors. Guess what frequently gets overlooked because the employee is trying to keep their score “green”? That’s right, clothing security tags not deactivated or missed removals. I understand you can’t have lines building up because a cashier wants to chit chat, but pressuring them to hurry can lead to all kinds of errors including cash shortages…did I get your attention on that one?
4. EAS alarm activation complacency – Are your employees immediately responding to alarms or are they waving at a customer and telling them they are “OK”? Perhaps your supervisors or employees are ignoring the alarms all together. I mentioned this in Part 1, the question arising, “If Checkpoint tags work and set off alarms, how could a customer get merchandise home with the tags still on them?” Here is my answer. Management is responsible for allowing complacency to set in and not addressing the problem. Prompt alarm follow-up can catch errors and show the paying customers you are concerned. It can keep them from feeling embarrassed or upset by the alarm. It is also your opportunity to coach the cashier that missed the tag or find out if there was a tagging problem on the floor. By the way, your shoplifters see how your teams respond to alarms. If they ignore them, the shoplifters know it and you’ve lost the deterrent effect of tagging. 
Checkpoint Tags are effective in deterring theft. Shoplifters tend to go elsewhere to steal when confronted with security tags on clothes and this leads to improved shortage. Customers benefit with lower prices and better instocks. Keep your customers happy with a strong tagging program.
Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

In Part 1 of this article I talked about the frustrations customers have expressed on websites about getting clothing home and finding clothing security tags left on them. I also touched on what a security tag is and how it can improve merchandise shortage and therefore keep prices lower creating a positive customer experience. In Part 2 I want to discuss the issues that lead up to the customer service problem of Checkpoint tags being left on clothing and how it can negate the positive shopping experience your customers had while visiting the store.
     

To refresh some who may have missed the first part of the series, Checkpoint tags are built with electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology that allow them to protect clothing. Soft versions of the tags have an adhesive backing that makes it easy to stick the devices to hang tags, plastics, even to the cloth inside a handbag, wallet, slacks pockets, etc. Checkpoint Hard Tags are reusable anti-theft devices that are pinned to garments and require a special removal tool to take them off.  Hard tags and soft tags placed in visible locations are deterrents to potential shoplifters. Thieves prefer not to risk setting off alarms or damaging merchandise in an attempt to pry or force tags off of clothing. The EAS technology in the tags makes them effective in stopping shoplifting by activating EAS pedestal alarms set at building entrances.
     

So the question becomes, “How does  missing clothing security tags hamper customer experience levels and isn’t it a matter of just following up with a cashier?”  The fact is it is easy to automatically point the finger at the cashier and say it is a training issue. I would argue there may be a other underlying issues that lead up to the problem.

1. Tagging consistency – When merchandise comes in to the store there needs to be specific guidelines for where tags will be placed. For example, you may direct whoever tags your merchandise to place a tag on the right sleeve of every shirt. Slacks may be tagged in the right leg seam at hip level. Consistent placement of tags and communication to employees will mean cashiers will always look in the same location for tags. This minimizes the opportunity for errors at the register. 

2. Complete Tagging – Many stores set price points on what will or won’t be tagged or they decide only certain brands of merchandise will be tagged. Imagine you are the cashier that has to remember which items are and are not tagged! By tagging everything you eliminate the shoplifters looking for alternative items to take and you make it easier for cashiers to know they have to remove all tags from everything.

3. Measuring cashier speed times – Is your store the one that tracks cashier productivity and “ability” by how fast they can complete transactions? YOU may be contributing to your own problem. When cashiers feel pressured to rush through transactions so they don’t get penalized, they tend to make errors. Guess what frequently gets overlooked because the employee is trying to keep their score “green”? That’s right, clothing security tags not deactivated or missed removals. I understand you can’t have lines building up because a cashier wants to chit chat, but pressuring them to hurry can lead to all kinds of errors including cash shortages…did I get your attention on that one?

4. EAS alarm activation complacency – Are your employees immediately responding to alarms or are they waving at a customer and telling them they are “OK”? Perhaps your supervisors or employees are ignoring the alarms all together. I mentioned this in Part 1, the question arising, “If Checkpoint tags work and set off alarms, how could a customer get merchandise home with the tags still on them?” Here is my answer. Management is responsible for allowing complacency to set in and not addressing the problem. Prompt alarm follow-up can catch errors and show the paying customers you are concerned. It can keep them from feeling embarrassed or upset by the alarm. It is also your opportunity to coach the cashier that missed the tag or find out if there was a tagging problem on the floor. By the way, your shoplifters see how your teams respond to alarms. If they ignore them, the shoplifters know it and you’ve lost the deterrent effect of tagging. 

 

Checkpoint Tags are effective in deterring theft. Shoplifters tend to go elsewhere to steal when confronted with security tags on clothes and this leads to improved shortage. Customers benefit with lower prices and better instocks. Keep your customers happy with a strong tagging program.

 

Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.