One Size Doesn’t Fit All, Prevent Shoplifting In Your Store With The Alpha Tag That Works Best For Your Business

Prevent Shoplifting-4                                                                                                                  WC Blog 385
Alpha 2 Alarm-5
One Size Doesn’t Fit All, Prevent Shoplifting In Your Store With The Alpha Tag That Works Best For Your Business
     In my part-time employment I am a customer service associate in a store that sells computers, office supplies, printers and so forth. This past week I assisted a couple who were in the market for a printer. I asked if they had any specific brand in mind or features that they were looking for in their printer. The wife was very specific and told me she wanted a printer from a specific company that could print, copy and scan. I asked her about the types of documents she prints and whether she needed to print on both sides of a page very frequently. After learning her needs, I began to show her several models that would meet her requirements. She found two models that were similar but she had questions about why they were approximately $20 different in price. I explained the features of the upgraded model including a top feed tray for automatic two-sided printing, something she did not necessarily need although it would have provided some convenience to her. It also had a slightly larger display screen, again not a game changer for her but what did make a difference to my customer was the fact there was a USB port for a jump drive and a memory card slot. THOSE were features she could find a use for. She decided to purchase the slightly more expensive model because it would suit her purposes, not because it was just added bells and whistles. The same thing can be true for retailers in the market for retail anti-theft devices. If a store owner is going to invest in a system to prevent shoplifting do they need to purchase Alpha 2 Alarm tags or should they choose the Alpha 3 Alarm tag? That may depend on what the needs of their store(s) are.
     Alpha electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags are hard tags that can be pinned directly to an item, including clothing, bedding, towels, sheets, purses and so on. I have even seen them pinned through the plastic blister packaging of some hardlines merchandise. Tags are best used in stores that also have Checkpoint EAS towers at the doors. The EAS circuitry designed in the tags sends a signal to the towers if a protected piece of merchandise is brought into the area of the door where the tower is located. When the signal is picked up alarms in the tower activate and sound a loud noise and lights built in the towers flash. The alarm catches the attention of employees and they respond to recover merchandise being carried out the door. The Alpha 2 Alarm tag is the basic version of the device, having a built in alarm that sounds when someone decides to tamper with it or try to pry a tag off. It also sets off the alarm in the tower. The 3 Alarm tag has the addition of a built in alarm that activates if a crook gets outside the building. 
     This brings us back to the question of why someone might choose an Alpha 2 Alarm tag instead of the 3 Alarm.  A small retail store may have a very limited staff at any given time, perhaps even a manager working alone in the place. In the vast majority of cases retail anti-theft devices will prevent shoplifting but on occasion a shoplifter will take a risk and try to get past the doors with concealed goods. If a shoplifter scoots past the EAS towers and sets off the alarms in the towers, a manager or even a staff of two can’t risk stepping outside to see the thief’s direction of travel. It may be that there is little point in having the tags with the third alarm in that case. The Alpha 2 Alarm tag can meet the needs of these stores. For a larger store with enough staff to cover the front end and salesfloor, a manager could step outside the doors and using the third alarm to identify the thief, watch the direction he or she runs while calling the police. Please understand, you should NOT chase the shoplifter, simply watch from the front doors while on the phone with police if you know what was stolen.
     Prevent shoplifting with the right tools for your business. Decide if Alpha 2 Alarm tags will provide the protection you need or if you could use a step up to a 3 alarm tag. In either case just remember, some protection to prevent shoplifting is better than none at all.
Get more information on Alpha 2 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
  
       
     

In my part-time employment I am a customer service associate in a store that sells computers, office supplies, printers and so forth. This past week I assisted a couple who were in the market for a printer. I asked if they had any specific brand in mind or features that they were looking for in their printer. The wife was very specific and told me she wanted a printer from a specific company that could print, copy and scan. I asked her about the types of documents she prints and whether she needed to print on both sides of a page very frequently. After learning her needs, I began to show her several models that would meet her requirements. She found two models that were similar but she had questions about why they were approximately $20 different in price. I explained the features of the upgraded model including a top feed tray for automatic two-sided printing, something she did not necessarily need although it would have provided some convenience to her. It also had a slightly larger display screen, again not a game changer for her but what did make a difference to my customer was the fact there was a USB port for a jump drive and a memory card slot. THOSE were features she could find a use for. She decided to purchase the slightly more expensive model because it would suit her purposes, not because it was just added bells and whistles. The same thing can be true for retailers in the market for retail anti-theft devices. If a store owner is going to invest in a system to prevent shoplifting do they need to purchase Alpha 2 Alarm tags or should they choose the Alpha 3 Alarm tag? That may depend on what the needs of their store(s) are.

 

 Alpha electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags are hard tags that can be pinned directly to an item, including clothing, bedding, towels, sheets, purses and so on. I have even seen them pinned through the plastic blister packaging of some hardlines merchandise. Tags are best used in stores that also have Checkpoint EAS towers at the doors. The EAS circuitry designed in the tags sends a signal to the towers if a protected piece of merchandise is brought into the area of the door where the tower is located. When the signal is picked up alarms in the tower activate and sound a loud noise and lights built in the towers flash. The alarm catches the attention of employees and they respond to recover merchandise being carried out the door. The Alpha 2 Alarm tag is the basic version of the device, having a built in alarm that sounds when someone decides to tamper with it or try to pry a tag off. It also sets off the alarm in the tower. The 3 Alarm tag has the addition of a built in alarm that activates if a crook gets outside the building. 

     

This brings us back to the question of why someone might choose an Alpha 2 Alarm tag instead of the 3 Alarm.  A small retail store may have a very limited staff at any given time, perhaps even a manager working alone in the place. In the vast majority of cases retail anti-theft devices will prevent shoplifting but on occasion a shoplifter will take a risk and try to get past the doors with concealed goods. If a shoplifter scoots past the EAS towers and sets off the alarms in the towers, a manager or even a staff of two can’t risk stepping outside to see the thief’s direction of travel. It may be that there is little point in having the tags with the third alarm in that case. The Alpha 2 Alarm tag can meet the needs of these stores. For a larger store with enough staff to cover the front end and salesfloor, a manager could step outside the doors and using the third alarm to identify the thief, watch the direction he or she runs while calling the police. Please understand, you should NOT chase the shoplifter, simply watch from the front doors while on the phone with police if you know what was stolen.
     

Prevent shoplifting with the right tools for your business. Decide if Alpha 2 Alarm tags will provide the protection you need or if you could use a step up to a 3 alarm tag. In either case just remember, some protection to prevent shoplifting is better than none at all.

 

Get more information on Alpha 2 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.