EAS labels

Communication Overload Can Curtail Efforts To Stop Shoplifting

 

Stop Shoplifting – 3                                                                                                            WC Blog 833
EAS Labels – 3
Communication Overload Can Curtail Efforts To Stop Shoplifting
     From retail businesses that are trying to stop shoplifting to restaurants advertising for new employees there are some really odd communications and sometimes too much signage in retail. I get a charge out of stores that post signs outside a restroom saying “No Merchandise Beyond This Point”. I look down and expect to see an “X” or a red line I can’t cross. There are signs on entrance doors that say “No Concealed Weapons Allowed”. Now I am not going into the gun debate that is not what this is about. What tickles me is if it is concealed, who is going to see it to tell the customer that they can’t have it? A fast food restaurant near where I live posted on their electronic billboard, “Expanding Staff”. Now c’mon folks, you have to admit that is probably not the best choice of words for trying to hire for a fast food restaurant. Words mean things but they may mean less when they are not communicated well and can even cause confusion. I remember asking one of my Loss Prevention Associates to put electronic article surveillance (EAS labels) on boxes of medicine without further clarifying what I wanted. The Associate did what I asked and later when I happened to look at what he tagged for me the labels were covering up warning labels! This was a big deal and I learned from then on to be clear when I gave directions to my staff members.
     There was another instance when I was trying to stop shoplifting and I was following a suspect out of the store. A communication blunder occurred when I asked a member of my team to wait outside as I was getting ready to exit so I would have someone ready to assist. I stopped the suspect and got into a bit of a tussle and the shoplifter ran to her car and got away. As she drove off my assistant came up and I asked where he had gone? He said I told him to wait outside so he went to the far end of the building and waited!  I did not think I had to be so specific but clearly I was mistaken…we had a serious discussion when we returned to the office.
     Sometimes we can also experience information overload that detracts from our ability to communicate clearly. A good example of this is seen when we walk into a store and the doors are plastered with signage. Have you ever noticed doors plastered with signs that will include sales, store hours, warnings that shirts and shoes must be worn, this store under closed circuit television surveillance and EAS systems in use (they may even mention the specific company such as Sensormatic). Too many signs renders all of the signs ineffective in what they are intended to do. In order to better communicate with customers and improve efforts to reduce shortage I recommend that a door have hours of operation and signage that lets customers know EAS labels are in use. Other signs with holiday specials, holiday hours or sales events can be displayed immediately upon entering the store. Hint: if your store uses Sensormatic equipment some front door towers can be set up to display store signage and still sound the alarm if someone attempts to shoplift.
     Although they are not signs stores can impede efforts to stop shoplifting by overusing closed circuit television camera monitors on the salesfloor. I know of a chain store that has a LOT of monitors throughout the store in various aisles. The monitor has a little flashing light and words in red that let you know they are recording. The idea is to dissuade thieves from stealing but there are so many of these monitors that people become immune to and no longer care about them, shoplifters included.
     Just as overused signs and equipment can cause information overload and become ineffective, overused and careless placement of EAS labels can be ineffective too. Placing Sensormatic tags and labels on everything including candy and snacks or slapping labels on carelessly can also degrade the impact they have on shoplifters. Avoid misplacement and improper use of Sensormatic labels and tags contact Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. for training that will help reduce shoplifting and improve shortage results.
Need information on EAS labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
     

From retail businesses that are trying to stop shoplifting to restaurants advertising for new employees there are some really odd communications and sometimes too much signage in retail. I get a charge out of stores that post signs outside a restroom saying “No Merchandise Beyond This Point”. I look down and expect to see an “X” or a red line I can’t cross. There are signs on entrance doors that say “No Concealed Weapons Allowed”. Now I am not going into the gun debate that is not what this is about. What tickles me is if it is concealed, who is going to see it to tell the customer that they can’t have it? A fast food restaurant near where I live posted on their electronic billboard, “Expanding Staff”. Now c’mon folks, you have to admit that is probably not the best choice of words for trying to hire for a fast food restaurant. Words mean things but they may mean less when they are not communicated well and can even cause confusion. I remember asking one of my Loss Prevention Associates to put electronic article surveillance (EAS labels) on boxes of medicine without further clarifying what I wanted. The Associate did what I asked and later when I happened to look at what he tagged for me the labels were covering up warning labels! This was a big deal and I learned from then on to be clear when I gave directions to my staff members.

There was another instance when I was trying to stop shoplifting and I was following a suspect out of the store. A communication blunder occurred when I asked a member of my team to wait outside as I was getting ready to exit so I would have someone ready to assist. I stopped the suspect and got into a bit of a tussle and the shoplifter ran to her car and got away. As she drove off my assistant came up and I asked where he had gone? He said I told him to wait outside so he went to the far end of the building and waited!  I did not think I had to be so specific but clearly I was mistaken…we had a serious discussion when we returned to the office.

Sometimes we can also experience information overload that detracts from our ability to communicate clearly. A good example of this is seen when we walk into a store and the doors are plastered with signage. Have you ever noticed doors plastered with signs that will include sales, store hours, warnings that shirts and shoes must be worn, this store under closed circuit television surveillance and EAS systems in use (they may even mention the specific company such as Sensormatic). Too many signs renders all of the signs ineffective in what they are intended to do. In order to better communicate with customers and improve efforts to reduce shortage I recommend that a door have hours of operation and signage that lets customers know EAS labels are in use. Other signs with holiday specials, holiday hours or sales events can be displayed immediately upon entering the store. Hint: if your store uses Sensormatic equipment some front door towers can be set up to display store signage and still sound the alarm if someone attempts to shoplift.

Although they are not signs stores can impede efforts to stop shoplifting by overusing closed circuit television camera monitors on the salesfloor. I know of a chain store that has a LOT of monitors throughout the store in various aisles. The monitor has a little flashing light and words in red that let you know they are recording. The idea is to dissuade thieves from stealing but there are so many of these monitors that people become immune to and no longer care about them, shoplifters included.

Just as overused signs and equipment can cause information overload and become ineffective, overused and careless placement of EAS labels can be ineffective too. Placing Sensormatic tags and labels on everything including candy and snacks or slapping labels on carelessly can also degrade the impact they have on shoplifters. Avoid misplacement and improper use of Sensormatic labels and tags contact Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. for training that will help reduce shoplifting and improve shortage results.

 

Need information on EAS labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.

     

 

 

in General

Utlra-Slim Sensormatic Labels – A Big Solution For Little Products

 

Sensormatic Labels – 3                                                                                                           WC Blog 787
Stop Shoplifting – 3
Utlra-Slim Sensormatic Labels – A Big Solution For Little Products  
     When I was a Loss Prevention Officer I hated trying to stop shoplifting when it involved small merchandise. If it could fit in the pocket of a shoplifter it was a risky decision to make if I chose to stop the crook. Small merchandise like cosmetics, bottles of medicine, batteries and even hand tools or accessories could be easily concealed in a pocket and just as easily removed from a pocket. Whether I was watching someone on closed circuit television cameras or doing a live floor observation I found it could be a pain in the neck to keep a close eye on the suspect’s hands. What compounded the problem was there was often no method of protecting these little objects from shoplifters. Sensormatic understands that these small products could present a big problem for retailers. There are now Sensormatic labels created specifically to address this concern. 
     Sensormatic ultra-slim EAS (electronic article surveillance) acousto-magnetic labels are small enough to fit on most of the merchandise that shoplifters tend to pocket. This is especially true for cosmetics some of which can be as slim as a pencil. When I was actively involved in Loss Prevention we did not have any tags or labels that could be used to stop shoplifting in our cosmetics department. We were forced to depend on closed circuit television and public view monitors as well as customer service to deter thieves in this area. That was just in our cosmetics department and did not include the other departments where merchandise was small enough to pocket but hard to protect as I mentioned earlier.
     Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) recognizes the problem pocketable merchandise poses and the difficulty in finding adequate anti-theft devices for those items. When they learned that Sensormatic labels came in the ultra-slim size they made it a point to ensure sure their clients were made aware of it. They know the risks a Loss Prevention Officer or even a Store Manager takes when they try to stop someone they suspect of shoplifting small merchandise. Even if concealment is observed the items are so small that a suspect can discretely dump the item without being seen. Stop that person and they don’t have merchandise on their person and you open a HUGE can of worms. In fact the risk of making a bad stop on small merchandise is so great that when I was a Loss Prevention Manager our Regional Loss Prevention Manager directed that apprehensions could not be made if the suspected theft only involved cosmetics. Bad stops had become a regular issue and it was determined that the losses were not worth the time in court and the expenses involved in settling those bad cases. I should make one clarification, if a suspect was grabbing and pocketing a large quantity of cosmetics we were permitted to stop shoplifting in those situations. 
     While we are talking about preventing the theft of any small item I am focusing on cosmetics for two reasons. First, I have had my own share of close calls when it comes to nearly making a bad stop when I suspected someone had stolen cosmetics. Fortunately I usually thought better of it or I found dropped merchandise when I briefly lost sight of the suspect. Second, according to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer within health and beauty departments makeup products ranked second in most stolen items (fragrances came in first) (pg. 55). 
     There is no reason to rack up losses in small merchandise any longer. Sensormatic labels can take care of a big chunk of the theft you may be experiencing. I am not minimizing the importance of customer service in deterring criminals from shoplifting but your employees can’t be everywhere at once. Sensormatic ultra-slim EAS labels will give you the advantage you need to make an impulse shoplifter think twice before pocketing that beauty product. Don’t let little things continue to be a big problem let LPSI help you with a Sensormatic system and labels.
For more information on Sensormatic labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

When I was a Loss Prevention Officer I hated trying to stop shoplifting when it involved small merchandise. If it could fit in the pocket of a shoplifter it was a risky decision to make if I chose to stop the crook. Small merchandise like cosmetics, bottles of medicine, batteries and even hand tools or accessories could be easily concealed in a pocket and just as easily removed from a pocket. Whether I was watching someone on closed circuit television cameras or doing a live floor observation I found it could be a pain in the neck to keep a close eye on the suspect’s hands. What compounded the problem was there was often no method of protecting these little objects from shoplifters. Sensormatic understands that these small products could present a big problem for retailers. There are now Sensormatic labels created specifically to address this concern. 

Sensormatic ultra-slim EAS (electronic article surveillance) acousto-magnetic labels are small enough to fit on most of the merchandise that shoplifters tend to pocket. This is especially true for cosmetics some of which can be as slim as a pencil. When I was actively involved in Loss Prevention we did not have any tags or labels that could be used to stop shoplifting in our cosmetics department. We were forced to depend on closed circuit television and public view monitors as well as customer service to deter thieves in this area. That was just in our cosmetics department and did not include the other departments where merchandise was small enough to pocket but hard to protect as I mentioned earlier.

Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) recognizes the problem pocketable merchandise poses and the difficulty in finding adequate anti-theft devices for those items. When they learned that Sensormatic labels came in the ultra-slim size they made it a point to ensure sure their clients were made aware of it. They know the risks a Loss Prevention Officer or even a Store Manager takes when they try to stop someone they suspect of shoplifting small merchandise. Even if concealment is observed the items are so small that a suspect can discretely dump the item without being seen. Stop that person and they don’t have merchandise on their person and you open a HUGE can of worms. In fact the risk of making a bad stop on small merchandise is so great that when I was a Loss Prevention Manager our Regional Loss Prevention Manager directed that apprehensions could not be made if the suspected theft only involved cosmetics. Bad stops had become a regular issue and it was determined that the losses were not worth the time in court and the expenses involved in settling those bad cases. I should make one clarification, if a suspect was grabbing and pocketing a large quantity of cosmetics we were permitted to stop shoplifting in those situations. 

While we are talking about preventing the theft of any small item I am focusing on cosmetics for two reasons. First, I have had my own share of close calls when it comes to nearly making a bad stop when I suspected someone had stolen cosmetics. Fortunately I usually thought better of it or I found dropped merchandise when I briefly lost sight of the suspect. Second, according to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer within health and beauty departments makeup products ranked second in most stolen items (fragrances came in first) (pg. 55). 

There is no reason to rack up losses in small merchandise any longer. Sensormatic labels can take care of a big chunk of the theft you may be experiencing. I am not minimizing the importance of customer service in deterring criminals from shoplifting but your employees can’t be everywhere at once. Sensormatic ultra-slim EAS labels will give you the advantage you need to make an impulse shoplifter think twice before pocketing that beauty product. Don’t let little things continue to be a big problem let LPSI help you with a Sensormatic system and labels.

 

For more information on Sensormatic labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

 

 

in General

Advantages Of Using Sensormatic Security Labels Over Other Brands Part 1

 

Sensormatic security label – 4                                                                                   WC Blog 755
Electronic Article Surveillance – 5
Advantages Of Using Sensormatic Security Labels Over Other Brands Part 1
     Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
     Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
     One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers  to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
     Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
     I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.
For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
     

Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
     

One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers  to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
     

Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
     

I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.

 

For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

 

 

in General