Retail Theft Prevention-4 WC Blog 280
Checkpoint security systems-4
Checkpoint Tags-3
Stop shoplifting-3
Complacency Can Carry Consequences; Emphasize Theft Daily And Use Retail Anti-Theft Devices On All Merchandise
How secure is your merchandise? Do you feel like you have strong controls in place to prevent and deter theft? It can be easy for store employees, including managers and supervisors to become complacent when it comes to retail theft prevention. Whether it is merchandise theft, cash theft or fraud of various types, we can all fall victim to complacency. I bring this up because recently at the store I work for a cashier had two computer tablets stolen from him. Were the tablets secured? While they were locked up in the stockroom they were. The theft took place when the employee took the tablets to the register to ring up. The tablets were left on the counter in front of the customer. A credit card was presented as payment but when the card was declined the thief grabbed his credit card and the two tablets and ran out the door.
Retail theft prevention requires a multi-faceted approach to stop shoplifting and other retail crimes. It should start with installing Checkpoint security systems and all the components necessary to operate the system effectively. Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) antennas should be set up at entrances and exits and deactivation units for each checkout stand. Detachment tools secured to the register stands will ensure hard Checkpoint tags can be removed upon customer checkout. Protecting every piece of merchandise with hard or soft Checkpoint tags will stop shoplifting through deterrence and/or EAS antenna alarm activations. Theft prevention also includes controlling keys to registers and doors, employee awareness of possible signs of credit card fraud, counterfeit money schemes, short change artists and methods of shoplifting and return fraud. A Checkpoint security system can prevent the majority of shoplifting but it still requires employee education and training for proper deactivation and alarm response. It also does not prevent all the theft related crimes retailers contend with daily.
So, what could have the employee done differently with the tablet theft? He had to take the merchandise out of a locked stockroom in order to even get it for the customer. In this case, the tablets should have been kept out of reach of the customer until the transaction had completely gone through. He should have also been suspicious when the customer wanted two of the same tablets, valued around $500 a piece. Transactions that are not common should be viewed with a suspicion.
I am not trying to play Monday morning quarterback, I had a recent incident in which I was a little suspicious of a transaction and even got another employee with supervisor responsibilities to double check me. A customer was making a purchase of $3 and some change total and paying with a $100 bill. I marked the bill with a counterfeit pen and it marked properly. I had the second employee look at the bill and he agreed it felt odd but agreed with the marking pen. I completed the transaction and the customer left. I should have called for the Manager on Duty but did not until it was all done and I later learned the bill was actually counterfeit. Lesson learned. By the way, my background? About 15 years of Loss Prevention Management, 20 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience total and 26 years of total retail background.
One more example, our store uses EAS retail theft prevention devices to stop shoplifting. Recently the company Loss Prevention department revised a company theft protection strategy which gives stores direction on items to be protected with anti-shoplifting tags. Within a week of the change, a high ticket piece of merchandise (over a hundred dollars) that used to be secured with an anti-shoplifting device was stolen. Prior to the removal of the protective device there had not been a theft issue with the item in question. A Checkpoint Security System is generally as effective as the amount of merchandise protected with Checkpoint tags or other EAS anti-shoplifting devices. The removal of tags and protective devices puts products at risk.
If you don’t have one, invest in a Checkpoint Security System to prevent merchandise theft. If you DO have a system, don’t allow complacency to set in. Protect as much merchandise as you possibly can and make sure theft and fraud are regular topics of discussion with your employees. Employees make the difference in how effective your retail theft prevention strategies truly are.
Need information on Checkpoint Security Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
How secure is your merchandise? Do you feel like you have strong controls in place to prevent and deter theft? It can be easy for store employees, including managers and supervisors to become complacent when it comes to retail theft prevention. Whether it is merchandise theft, cash theft or fraud of various types, we can all fall victim to complacency. I bring this up because recently at the store I work for a cashier had two computer tablets stolen from him. Were the tablets secured? While they were locked up in the stockroom they were. The theft took place when the employee took the tablets to the register to ring up. The tablets were left on the counter in front of the customer. A credit card was presented as payment but when the card was declined the thief grabbed his credit card and the two tablets and ran out the door.
Retail theft prevention requires a multi-faceted approach to stop shoplifting and other retail crimes. It should start with installing Checkpoint security systems and all the components necessary to operate the system effectively. Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) antennas should be set up at entrances and exits and deactivation units for each checkout stand. Detachment tools secured to the register stands will ensure hard Checkpoint tags can be removed upon customer checkout. Protecting every piece of merchandise with hard or soft Checkpoint tags will stop shoplifting through deterrence and/or EAS antenna alarm activations. Theft prevention also includes controlling keys to registers and doors, employee awareness of possible signs of credit card fraud, counterfeit money schemes, short change artists and methods of shoplifting and return fraud. A Checkpoint security system can prevent the majority of shoplifting but it still requires employee education and training for proper deactivation and alarm response. It also does not prevent all the theft related crimes retailers contend with daily.
So, what could have the employee done differently with the tablet theft? He had to take the merchandise out of a locked stockroom in order to even get it for the customer. In this case, the tablets should have been kept out of reach of the customer until the transaction had completely gone through. He should have also been suspicious when the customer wanted two of the same tablets, valued around $500 a piece. Transactions that are not common should be viewed with a suspicion.
I am not trying to play Monday morning quarterback, I had a recent incident in which I was a little suspicious of a transaction and even got another employee with supervisor responsibilities to double check me. A customer was making a purchase of $3 and some change total and paying with a $100 bill. I marked the bill with a counterfeit pen and it marked properly. I had the second employee look at the bill and he agreed it felt odd but agreed with the marking pen. I completed the transaction and the customer left. I should have called for the Manager on Duty but did not until it was all done and I later learned the bill was actually counterfeit. Lesson learned. By the way, my background? About 15 years of Loss Prevention Management, 20 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience total and 26 years of total retail background.
One more example, our store uses EAS retail theft prevention devices to stop shoplifting. Recently the company Loss Prevention department revised a company theft protection strategy which gives stores direction on items to be protected with anti-shoplifting tags. Within a week of the change, a high ticket piece of merchandise (over a hundred dollars) that used to be secured with an anti-shoplifting device was stolen. Prior to the removal of the protective device there had not been a theft issue with the item in question. A Checkpoint Security System is generally as effective as the amount of merchandise protected with Checkpoint tags or other EAS anti-shoplifting devices. The removal of tags and protective devices puts products at risk.
If you don’t have one, invest in a Checkpoint Security System to prevent merchandise theft. If you DO have a system, don’t allow complacency to set in. Protect as much merchandise as you possibly can and make sure theft and fraud are regular topics of discussion with your employees. Employees make the difference in how effective your retail theft prevention strategies truly are.
Need information on Checkpoint Security Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
