Customer Counting Systems Archives - Loss Prevention Systems

Using Customer Counting Systems To Improve Customer Service – Part 2

Retail Traffic Counting – 3 WC Blog 743

Customer Counting Systems -3

Using Customer Counting Systems To Improve Customer Service – Part 2

This series is about how retail traffic counting, customer service and theft prevention all relate to each other. It is also a discussion on how leadership impacts the environment in a business and can build success or damage morale. As my examples for this article I referenced visits I recently made to two different fast food restaurants. I used Part 1 to illustrate the poor example of service and how it appeared management had failed to plan for a particularly busy shift or a busy day based on my observations. Had that business been a retail store I have no doubt that customers would have abandoned shopping carts and shoplifters would have been able to steal to their hearts content. I also noted that employees were not friendly and it may well have been the result of the way the manager was reacting to the situation and barking orders and questioning employees.

In Part 2 I am sharing a much more positive experience at another restaurant and the lessons that can be applied to a retail store. It was another busy day and I will go out on a limb and say the second restaurant was even busier than the first had been. Cars were lined up completely around the building at the drive through and the parking lot was full. I parked and went in expecting to have to wait a considerable amount of time. That turned out not to be the case, I was able to go up to the counter and order my food. The cashier was pleasant and took my order then began to fill it. I stepped back and watched the team. The manager was giving directions but was also encouraging the team. He wasn’t stressed though he had every right to be based on the number of patrons. Every employee I could see was smiling and appeared to be in good spirits. There seemed to be an adequate number of workers to meet the needs of the day. I don’t know what the business used for staffing or planning but if they were a retail business I would have guessed they used customer counting systems to help plan for the day or the week. To top off this trip as I walked out to my car I saw that not only were cars going through the drive through, the manager had two employees going to those cars to take orders by hand and deliver them to the window to speed up service. I was impressed.

Using these two restaurants in comparison I would ask how your stores stack up in terms of leadership and customer service. If you were to use a retail traffic counting device you would be able to use hard numbers to know when traffic flow is taking place. Use that information to make effective schedules, having the right number of workers in place at the right time. That alone will go a long way in keeping your workers happy. It also makes life easier on managers who aren’t feeling under pressure to do the work rather than being able to take a step back and provide directions. Stressed managers stress the teams working for them.

How easy is it to set up customer counting systems? If you have a Sensormatic security system it may be just a matter of incorporating it in an existing security tower. If you don’t have a Sensormatic system to prevent shoplifting I can tell you that they are affordable even for the smallest of stores. Even better, if you were to purchase it through Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. you receive free anti-shoplifting training that will help you effectively reduce theft and learn how to respond to Sensormatic system alarms. If cost is a concern they also offer financing options. As someone who has been in retail for over 28 years I strongly recommend that you visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website for more information on customer counting systems and anti-theft devices.

It should be noted that improving customer service by having an adequate number of people working affects more than just employee happiness. I will tell you that having enough workers available when your store is busy improves sales as more attention can be given to assisting shoppers on the salesfloor. It is also an effective means of combating shoplifting, especially when used with a Sensormatic security system. To staff properly don’t take a guess at how you should schedule. Use a retail traffic counting device and start to reap the benefits immediately. You can count on it!

Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

This series is about how retail traffic counting, customer service and theft prevention all relate to each other. It is also a discussion on how leadership impacts the environment in a business and can build success or damage morale. As my examples for this article I referenced visits I recently made to two different fast food restaurants. I used Part 1 to illustrate the poor example of service and how it appeared management had failed to plan for a particularly busy shift or a busy day based on my observations. Had that business been a retail store I have no doubt that customers would have abandoned shopping carts and shoplifters would have been able to steal to their hearts content. I also noted that employees were not friendly and it may well have been the result of the way the manager was reacting to the situation and barking orders and questioning employees.

In Part 2 I am sharing a much more positive experience at another restaurant and the lessons that can be applied to a retail store. It was another busy day and I will go out on a limb and say the second restaurant was even busier than the first had been. Cars were lined up completely around the building at the drive through and the parking lot was full. I parked and went in expecting to have to wait a considerable amount of time. That turned out not to be the case, I was able to go up to the counter and order my food. The cashier was pleasant and took my order then began to fill it. I stepped back and watched the team. The manager was giving directions but was also encouraging the team. He wasn’t stressed though he had every right to be based on the number of patrons. Every employee I could see was smiling and appeared to be in good spirits. There seemed to be an adequate number of workers to meet the needs of the day. I don’t know what the business used for staffing or planning but if they were a retail business I would have guessed they used customer counting systems to help plan for the day or the week. To top off this trip as I walked out to my car I saw that not only were cars going through the drive through, the manager had two employees going to those cars to take orders by hand and deliver them to the window to speed up service. I was impressed.

Using these two restaurants in comparison I would ask how your stores stack up in terms of leadership and customer service. If you were to use a retail traffic counting device you would be able to use hard numbers to know when traffic flow is taking place. Use that information to make effective schedules, having the right number of workers in place at the right time. That alone will go a long way in keeping your workers happy. It also makes life easier on managers who aren’t feeling under pressure to do the work rather than being able to take a step back and provide directions. Stressed managers stress the teams working for them.

How easy is it to set up customer counting systems? If you have a Sensormatic security system it may be just a matter of incorporating it in an existing security tower. If you don’t have a Sensormatic system to prevent shoplifting I can tell you that they are affordable even for the smallest of stores. Even better, if you were to purchase it through Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. you receive free anti-shoplifting training that will help you effectively reduce theft and learn how to respond to Sensormatic system alarms. If cost is a concern they also offer financing options. As someone who has been in retail for over 28 years I strongly recommend that you visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website for more information on customer counting systems and anti-theft devices.

It should be noted that improving customer service by having an adequate number of people working affects more than just employee happiness. I will tell you that having enough workers available when your store is busy improves sales as more attention can be given to assisting shoppers on the salesfloor. It is also an effective means of combating shoplifting, especially when used with a Sensormatic security system. To staff properly don’t take a guess at how you should schedule. Use a retail traffic counting device and start to reap the benefits immediately. You can count on it!

Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

in General

Using Customer Counting Systems To Improve Customer Service – Part 1

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.

in General

Sensormatic Customer Counting Systems

Have you ever wanted effective customer counting systems in your retail? How about incorporating retail traffic counting into a Sensormatic security system? We can do it. In fact, given the low cost it is simply not smart to leave it out of a Sensormatic system.

But, what will it do for you? We have a long time customer with eight stores that incorporated retail traffic counting into the systems we installed. Besides the obvious like counting traffic by time of day, day of the week, etc., a number of other surprise benefits arose. Our customer told me that in the first year the people counting portion of the system saved them in excess of $100K!

They found that there were stores that were opening too early/late and some that were closing to early/late. They combined our people counting systems data with their sales data and these revelations jumped out at them. They made adjustments to the hours in individual stores and their sales climbed significantly.

They also found that they were better able to adjust staffing needs to accommodate customer traffic. It makes sense. Why have staff on the floor when the customer traffic is low? On the other hand if you know there is a spike every Wednesday between 2:00 PM and 3:45 PM, you would want to make sure you have enough folks on the floor to accommodate.

But you may be saying to yourself now “I have my sales data to tell me that”. Sales data is only a piece of the puzzle. Sales data tells you how many customers made a purchase. It does not tell you how many lost opportunities there were because customers could not get assistance, make a decision or find something. On top of that, we know that properly trained staff will have add-on sales. “I think this scarf would look lovely with the blouse you picked out”. So we have more opportunities to increase the sales with the customers we have already attracted to the store. That is the benefit of having the right people on the sales floor at the right time.

All of this leads us to the big elephant in the room, payroll! We know that our largest expense tends to be labor. A retail traffic counting system will help you to reduce or use your payroll dollars much more efficiently as I have demonstrated above.

Sensormatic systems have retail traffic counting built in on many models. You will receive automated reports and can access the system dashboard at any time. Most Sensormatic systems have a built in network card to attach to your high speed router. The software monitoring is called SMaaS which stands for Shrink Management as a Service. This cloud based loss prevention service is designed to help enhance your stores productivity, increase reliability and boost system performance.

Additional features of SMaaS include the ability for you to have the systems power themselves up/down to a lower rate of energy consumption. Over a year’s period of time that will add up. You can also access real time data involving Sensormatic systems alarms, maintenance issues and much more. Here is the full list of features:

• Will help ensure reliability and optimal Sensormatic system performance with 24/7/365 remote monitoring and management of connected EAS equipment health statuses. This monitoring is provided by Sensormatic.

• Correct equipment issues in a proactive way with notification of service required to rectify problems

• Gather insights to help make effective data-driven decisions that will impact your shrink and bottom line results

• You are emailed notifications when your systems activity exceed a predetermined threshold so you know when an exception has occurred

• Minimize your Sensormatic systems downtime to help you spend less time managing

• Highly scalable and customizable cloud infrastructure and EAS event reporting

Contact Loss Prevention Systems today or call 1-770-426-0547 to learn more about Sensormatic Security Systems, retail traffic counting, people counting systems and customer counting systems.