The best way to stop shoplifting amateurs in your business today is to catch them with an element of surprise! I remember this one case I was working a while back where we used simple EAS labels to not only apprehend but essentially embarrass a well-known shoplifter. More on that here in a minute though.
EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) is a fundamental component of any successful loss prevention effort. It uses a bevy of physical checks and balances to ensure your product is not leaving through the front door unnoticed. The basic premise of EAS is that specific items are tagged with passive small labels (such as Checkpoint labels) that activate loud alarm systems at the front of the store. If a shoplifter tries to exit with tagged merchandise, they are exposed to staff by an exceptionally loud alarm.
Anyhow, we had this one shoplifter that kept ‘hitting’ our store. It would be an understatement to say that he was the most brazen thief I have ever come across. He was known throughout our city, across many retailer brands and most law enforcement officers had prior dealings with him. This guy was so daring (or careless) that he would literally look us dead in the eyes and dare us to do anything about him stealing. Once, he looked at me and said “I’ll (expletive) kill you”. Assuming that this shoplifter was armed with some sort of weapon, no one ever found justification enough to attempt apprehension. He would come into the store at least three times per week and virtually take anything he wanted. That is, until we waged war against him with tiny Checkpoint labels.
As it turned out, we had some external intelligence on him that led us to understand that he was selling our merchandise to an undercover police officer. Yes! It turned out that our favorite crook was the subject of a multicounty theft ring involving several stores. We didn’t know anything about it until our informant let us in on the operation. At that point, some of the detectives met with us and asked us for assistance in building a criminal case against him (and ultimately the theft ring). Since law enforcement can’t be in our stores 24/7 with us, they couldn’t find direct probable cause to indict this professional shoplifter without building more of a case. They needed for us to obtain video surveillance of him exiting the store with merchandise. Since it was ‘hit or miss’ as to whether or not he would conceal the merchandise before exiting, we decided to implement the use of EAS labels to help identify instances of theft.
Since we knew that this particular shoplifter always boosted the same products (DVD’s and music CD’s) we decided to affix Checkpoint labels inconspicuously onto each package. Additionally, we decided that over the course of a couple of weeks, we would go ahead and disable the audible alarm feature of the EAS towers at the front of the store but leave the visual flashing lights enabled. This way, the alarm would alert us visually through the flashing lights on top of the EAS pedestal but no alarm would be heard while being triggered. This essentially allowed us to build a video tapped record of this shoplifter entering and exiting the store while causing the EAS tower to visually alert. The subject would enter the store without triggering the pedestal but open exit, the lights would flash indicating that he had something concealed. Not once, did he ever notice that the lights were flashing! It’s hard to say whether or not we missed out on a lot of other shoplifter cases by disabling the audible alarm on the EAS system but in order to stop shoplifting incidents caused directly by this individual, we felt it was justified.
Altogether, we recorded a video log of this guy triggering the EAS system upon exit, a total of twelve separate occasions. The police were able to use the accumulated footage we provided to them in conjunction with purchases of the product bought by the undercover detective. It was enough to convict him and get him locked away for ten years. Somehow, the prosecutor was able to escalate the charges (by working with the US District Attorney) into a Federal case, most likely because the shoplifter was also selling our stolen merchandise across state lines. This was all credited to the use of our EAS labels placed in conspicuously onto the stolen merchandise!
For more information on how to stop shoplifting, contact us or call 1-770-426-0547.
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EAS Labels: Shoplifters Can Just Remove Them. Let Them Try With Layered Protection!
“What stops them from just removing it?” That is a question I get all the time from associates and customers alike in regard to the effectiveness of electronic article surveillance or EAS labels. After all the labels are only placed on the product with a strong adhesive. The EAS label can be removed with a little effort very quickly and the product is then defenseless against the shoplifter leaving undetected with the product concealed on his or her person. In some cases, if that is the only retail anti-theft devices that you are using in your store to prevent shoplifting the answer might be that nothing stops them from removing the EAS label and walking out of your store with the product.
However, based on the value of the product, using just one EAS label is not the best way to prevent shoplifting of your merchandise. Maybe a couple of examples from my experiences will help illustrate this a little better. In one case, a shoplifter brought in his own cable-cutters into the store to cut the cables on the leather jackets and cut off the EAS hard tag. It was a great plan and he had some quality side-cutters to do the job; however, he did not count on us just placing some inexpensive EAS labels inside the pockets and inside the lining of the jacket. When he went to leave with a nice smug look on his face (that was quickly replaced with wide-eyes and open-mouthed surprise) he was stopped at the door, detained and turned over to the police for shoplifting. Those inexpensive hidden Checkpoint labels activated by door alarms saved the loss of a very expensive garment.
In a second example, a professional shoplifter had figured out how to remove our laptops from our heavily secured and alarmed display brackets without activating the alarm. He had stolen 4 laptops previously undetected except through CCTV (closed-circuit television) tape reviews. His undoing the next time he tried his very-thought out criminal endeavor was Checkpoint labels had been placed inside the battery compartments of the laptops. His combined endeavors earned him a felony arrest and conviction. You have probably figured out the key to protecting high-dollar merchandise by now: layered protection.
The layered protection I have discussed so far has actually only consisted of multiple EAS labels to be detected by your electronic article surveillance. There are many more options in ways to stop shoplifting through EAS. Checkpoint Security Systems also offers hard tags, specialty tags and then products from the Alpha Division as well. The high-risk product protection devices include spider wraps, which are alarmed wired cables and that surround the merchandise making it impossible to break into the box or packaging and remove the package without setting off the alarm on the spider wrap or should the shoplifter decide to try to leave with the spider wrap intact they will be detected by the electronic article surveillance anyway. There is also Alpha keepers that add to the Checkpoint label by placing the entire product inside a hardened polycarbonate box that is alarmed and requires a special magnetic key to open.
Defense-in-layers is a key axiom in physical security and applies to efforts to stop shoplifting as well. Should one layer of your system be compromised another layer will activate to detect a breach of your system. When you plan out your retail theft prevention strategies you need to think in term of layers. Your first layer in mind should be your merchandise inventorying and display policies, ensuring that you have strong policies and compliance as to what merchandise is to be protected by EAS labels and how they are protected, be it by multiple layers of Checkpoint labels, spider-wraps, or Alpha cases. Your next layer is your sales associates, making sure that they are providing good customer service that makes the would-be shoplifter feel very uncomfortable and your final layer is the electronic article surveillance antennae at the door. If you think in terms of layers, the next time someone asks that question about removing the tag, you can say “Let them try; layered protection has them covered.”
For more information on Checkpoint Systems contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or www.antishoplifting.net.
“What stops them from just removing it?” That is a question I get all the time from associates and customers alike in regard to the effectiveness of electronic article surveillance or EAS labels. After all the labels are only placed on the product with a strong adhesive. The EAS label can be removed with a little effort very quickly and the product is then defenseless against the shoplifter leaving undetected with the product concealed on his or her person. In some cases, if that is the only retail anti-theft devices that you are using in your store to prevent shoplifting the answer might be that nothing stops them from removing the EAS label and walking out of your store with the product.
However, based on the value of the product, using just one EAS label is not the best way to prevent shoplifting of your merchandise. Maybe a couple of examples from my experiences will help illustrate this a little better. In one case, a shoplifter brought in his own cable-cutters into the store to cut the cables on the leather jackets and cut off the EAS hard tag. It was a great plan and he had some quality side-cutters to do the job; however, he did not count on us just placing some inexpensive EAS labels inside the pockets and inside the lining of the jacket. When he went to leave with a nice smug look on his face (that was quickly replaced with wide-eyes and open-mouthed surprise) he was stopped at the door, detained and turned over to the police for shoplifting. Those inexpensive hidden Checkpoint labels activated by door alarms saved the loss of a very expensive garment.
In a second example, a professional shoplifter had figured out how to remove our laptops from our heavily secured and alarmed display brackets without activating the alarm. He had stolen 4 laptops previously undetected except through CCTV (closed-circuit television) tape reviews. His undoing the next time he tried his very-thought out criminal endeavor was Checkpoint labels had been placed inside the battery compartments of the laptops. His combined endeavors earned him a felony arrest and conviction. You have probably figured out the key to protecting high-dollar merchandise by now: layered protection.
The layered protection I have discussed so far has actually only consisted of multiple EAS labels to be detected by your electronic article surveillance. There are many more options in ways to stop shoplifting through EAS. Checkpoint Security Systems also offers hard tags, specialty tags and then products from the Alpha Division as well. The high-risk product protection devices include spider wraps, which are alarmed wired cables and that surround the merchandise making it impossible to break into the box or packaging and remove the package without setting off the alarm on the spider wrap or should the shoplifter decide to try to leave with the spider wrap intact they will be detected by the electronic article surveillance anyway. There is also Alpha keepers that add to the Checkpoint label by placing the entire product inside a hardened polycarbonate box that is alarmed and requires a special magnetic key to open.
Defense-in-layers is a key axiom in physical security and applies to efforts to stop shoplifting as well. Should one layer of your system be compromised another layer will activate to detect a breach of your system. When you plan out your retail theft prevention strategies you need to think in term of layers. Your first layer in mind should be your merchandise inventorying and display policies, ensuring that you have strong policies and compliance as to what merchandise is to be protected by EAS labels and how they are protected, be it by multiple layers of Checkpoint labels, spider-wraps, or Alpha cases. Your next layer is your sales associates, making sure that they are providing good customer service that makes the would-be shoplifter feel very uncomfortable and your final layer is the electronic article surveillance antennae at the door. If you think in terms of layers, the next time someone asks that question about removing the tag, you can say “Let them try; layered protection has them covered.”
For more information on Checkpoint Systems contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or www.antishoplifting.net.
S.A.Q – CHECKPOINT LABELS
I was browsing the web a few nights ago and came across an article titled, “S.A.Q”. I had no idea what it meant, so I read a bit. The acronym stands for Should Ask Questions. Questions that should be asked, but are seldom brought up. I thought, this would be a great way to tackle some of the challenges small retailers face in regards to product protection strategies. Smaller companies don’t have a large LP department that can test new products and do cost/benefit analyses on security devices. They are focused on running their businesses, while trying to balance ways to limit shrink. So I’ve put together 5 questions that retailers should ask about Checkpoint Labels, but don’t.
1. What can I use checkpoint labels to secure?
Usually this is posed as, “I have a problem with item x, how can I fix the problem and stop shoplifting?” When looking at EAS labels, you really have an endless amount of possibilities to contend with. If you are a grocer, labels can be applied to high theft items like steak and cheese, but can also see use on thousands of other products that you may be having shrink issues with. For other stores, they can be applied to apparel, footwear and virtually any hardline item.
2. How do I apply checkpoint labels to my product?
I wish more retailers would ask this question. I see, very often, a lack of understanding when it comes to security device. Whether they be a simple EAS label, or other more advanced systems, I find that often we are not thinking like a thief. Take for instance, a digital camera. Where would you apply the tag? If you said “on the box”, you’re wrong. If the box can simply be opened, you’ve defeated the purpose of the label altogether. If the thief’s end game is the product, they don’t really care about the box. A little common sense thinking can make your dollar go much further. So when you are applying your labels in the store, make sure to tag the physical product whenever possible and practical.
3. Can the checkpoint label be defeated?
I won’t lie to you. They can be defeated. If you simply tag the box and not the product, then a thief can take advantage of that. I’ve had shoplifters take a knife and cut away the part of the packaging that had the EAS label attached to it. You have to be smart about placement as previously stated. You won’t stop every thief, especially a determined one, but you can minimize those hundreds of opportunistic thieves that will take advantage of a situation should one present itself.
4. What is source tagging?
If you have a great relationship (or you buy a lot) from your manufacturer, you can most likely have them source tag certain products. What that means is that the product will come from the source with an EAS label or tag already attached. This means that you don’t have to spend the payroll cost to do it yourself.
5. Will these tags actually make a difference?
Nothing in life is a guarantee, right? I can tell you that if you use the labels properly and use them as a layer in your product protection strategy, they will absolutely make a difference. We tested whether EAS made a difference a few years back. At one store, we took all physical security measures out for 2 months. After comparing shrink in that time span to historical data for the store and to its sister stores, it was clear that tagging does make a difference. I can guarantee that those executives will never ask that question again.
For more information about Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I was browsing the web a few nights ago and came across an article titled, “S.A.Q”. I had no idea what it meant, so I read a bit. The acronym stands for Should Ask Questions. Questions that should be asked, but are seldom brought up. I thought, this would be a great way to tackle some of the challenges small retailers face in regards to product protection strategies. Smaller companies don’t have a large LP department that can test new products and do cost/benefit analyses on security devices. They are focused on running their businesses, while trying to balance ways to limit shrink. So I’ve put together 5 questions that retailers should ask about Checkpoint Labels, but don’t.
1. What can I use checkpoint labels to secure?
Usually this is posed as, “I have a problem with item x, how can I fix the problem and stop shoplifting?” When looking at EAS labels, you really have an endless amount of possibilities to contend with. If you are a grocer, labels can be applied to high theft items like steak and cheese, but can also see use on thousands of other products that you may be having shrink issues with. For other stores, they can be applied to apparel, footwear and virtually any hardline item.
2. How do I apply checkpoint labels to my product?
I wish more retailers would ask this question. I see, very often, a lack of understanding when it comes to security device. Whether they be a simple EAS label, or other more advanced systems, I find that often we are not thinking like a thief. Take for instance, a digital camera. Where would you apply the tag? If you said “on the box”, you’re wrong. If the box can simply be opened, you’ve defeated the purpose of the label altogether. If the thief’s end game is the product, they don’t really care about the box. A little common sense thinking can make your dollar go much further. So when you are applying your labels in the store, make sure to tag the physical product whenever possible and practical.
3. Can the checkpoint label be defeated?
I won’t lie to you. They can be defeated. If you simply tag the box and not the product, then a thief can take advantage of that. I’ve had shoplifters take a knife and cut away the part of the packaging that had the EAS label attached to it. You have to be smart about placement as previously stated. You won’t stop every thief, especially a determined one, but you can minimize those hundreds of opportunistic thieves that will take advantage of a situation should one present itself.
4. What is source tagging?
If you have a great relationship (or you buy a lot) from your manufacturer, you can most likely have them source tag certain products. What that means is that the product will come from the source with an EAS label or tag already attached. This means that you don’t have to spend the payroll cost to do it yourself.
5. Will these tags actually make a difference?
Nothing in life is a guarantee, right? I can tell you that if you use the labels properly and use them as a layer in your product protection strategy, they will absolutely make a difference. We tested whether EAS made a difference a few years back. At one store, we took all physical security measures out for 2 months. After comparing shrink in that time span to historical data for the store and to its sister stores, it was clear that tagging does make a difference. I can guarantee that those executives will never ask that question again.
For more information about Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Checkpoint Systems-3
Checkpoint Systems- Always On, Always Working
Long before I came to the retail side I worked for a completely different industry. I was a fast food general manager for four eternally long years. I had no need for Checkpoint Systems; I had no idea what that even was. I did not have to deal with external theft. I had the occasional issue with an employee taking food, mostly just hiding a couple sandwiches to take home. I did catch one guy trying to steal packs of breakfast ham, and a whole box of frozen hamburger patties. He stashed them at the back door with the trash, but he couldn’t get out until I came to unlock the door (and inspect the trash.) Manager-1, Dumb Employee-0. After that I went to work for a discount grocery chain. Although the store manager always swore we had lots of shoplifters, we didn’t have any type of anti-shoplifting devices. Even our one and only camera was fake.
When I came to work for a retail pharmacy business, that was my first introduction to Checkpoint Systems and the other types of anti-shoplifting tools. Of course, I had seen the pedestals at the doors of many businesses before, and I figured they were there to detect theft. During my training period, I assumed this was how shoplifters were caught. I learned what we had to have in order to detain someone, but I never seemed to see anything suspicious. But when those pedestals alarmed, I was like an Olympic sprinter coming from where ever I was working to stop the thief! To my dismay, it always turned out the cashier up front or in the pharmacy didn’t get the Checkpoint tag deactivated. I did eventually calm down and I’m ashamed to admit I almost became like the rest of the employees, hardly even paying attention to that announcement and alarm beeping.
After about 3 months, I started really getting into the business and noticing things that I had not seen before. For one, in the back of the store, in the couple of food sections, I kept finding Checkpoint tags stuck to the shelves or in the floor. I could tell they’d been peeled off of other items, and I knew we didn’t put them on food anyway, so it wasn’t like they were just falling off. I also noticed that when I was walking the floor, ordering or straightening, that the shelves of OTC medications would have product one day and the next day the whole section would be empty. Fast food never taught me about flea market thieves or “boosters.” Then one day I had my first experience with one, and I’ll never forget it.
I was in the back aisles stocking some food items and this guy comes around the corner into the aisle I’m working in. (The shelving fixture was six feet tall, so he had not seen me.) I see the basket in his hand is FULL of big boxes of pain medications. He is still walking forward but looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is following him. He stops and puts the basket down, still not seeing that I am less than five feet from him, and starts peeling off a Checkpoint tag. I think the light-bulb came on in my head at the exact moment he sensed I was standing there. I’m not sure which of us was the most surprised. I was terrified because suddenly I didn’t know what to do. He picks up the basket like he’s going to run, and that’s when I came to my senses and my instincts took over. I very loudly told him to drop the basket and come to the front with me. He looked at me like I had two heads, of course. He did drop the basket, but he took off running like he was on fire and he was out the front door and in the getaway car in no time.
The lesson here is don’t ever just let yourself and your staff just go through the motions. Sometimes there will be false alarms because the EAS labels did not get deactivated. Use those as opportunities to talk to your customers. Make a joke of it if you need to, and offer excellent customer service. Having Checkpoint Systems is like having a big scary security guard there to watch over the store for you. You don’t have to feed it, but pay attention to it and all it’s components. If you do find discarded Checkpoint tags, watch that section a little closer. You’ll get your thief just like I did.
For more information about Checkpoint Systems, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
Long before I came to the retail side I worked for a completely different industry. I was a fast food general manager for four eternally long years. I had no need for Checkpoint Systems; I had no idea what that even was. I did not have to deal with external theft. I had the occasional issue with an employee taking food, mostly just hiding a couple sandwiches to take home. I did catch one guy trying to steal packs of breakfast ham, and a whole box of frozen hamburger patties. He stashed them at the back door with the trash, but he couldn’t get out until I came to unlock the door (and inspect the trash.) Manager-1, Dumb Employee-0. After that I went to work for a discount grocery chain. Although the store manager always swore we had lots of shoplifters, we didn’t have any type of anti-shoplifting devices. Even our one and only camera was fake.
When I came to work for a retail pharmacy business, that was my first introduction to Checkpoint Systems and the other types of anti-shoplifting tools. Of course, I had seen the pedestals at the doors of many businesses before, and I figured they were there to detect theft. During my training period, I assumed this was how shoplifters were caught. I learned what we had to have in order to detain someone, but I never seemed to see anything suspicious. But when those pedestals alarmed, I was like an Olympic sprinter coming from where ever I was working to stop the thief! To my dismay, it always turned out the cashier up front or in the pharmacy didn’t get the Checkpoint tag deactivated. I did eventually calm down and I’m ashamed to admit I almost became like the rest of the employees, hardly even paying attention to that announcement and alarm beeping.
After about 3 months, I started really getting into the business and noticing things that I had not seen before. For one, in the back of the store, in the couple of food sections, I kept finding Checkpoint tags stuck to the shelves or in the floor. I could tell they’d been peeled off of other items, and I knew we didn’t put them on food anyway, so it wasn’t like they were just falling off. I also noticed that when I was walking the floor, ordering or straightening, that the shelves of OTC medications would have product one day and the next day the whole section would be empty. Fast food never taught me about flea market thieves or “boosters.” Then one day I had my first experience with one, and I’ll never forget it.
I was in the back aisles stocking some food items and this guy comes around the corner into the aisle I’m working in. (The shelving fixture was six feet tall, so he had not seen me.) I see the basket in his hand is FULL of big boxes of pain medications. He is still walking forward but looking over his shoulder to see if anyone is following him. He stops and puts the basket down, still not seeing that I am less than five feet from him, and starts peeling off a Checkpoint tag. I think the light-bulb came on in my head at the exact moment he sensed I was standing there. I’m not sure which of us was the most surprised. I was terrified because suddenly I didn’t know what to do. He picks up the basket like he’s going to run, and that’s when I came to my senses and my instincts took over. I very loudly told him to drop the basket and come to the front with me. He looked at me like I had two heads, of course. He did drop the basket, but he took off running like he was on fire and he was out the front door and in the getaway car in no time.
The lesson here is don’t ever just let yourself and your staff just go through the motions. Sometimes there will be false alarms because the EAS labels did not get deactivated. Use those as opportunities to talk to your customers. Make a joke of it if you need to, and offer excellent customer service. Having Checkpoint Systems is like having a big scary security guard there to watch over the store for you. You don’t have to feed it, but pay attention to it and all it’s components. If you do find discarded Checkpoint tags, watch that section a little closer. You’ll get your thief just like I did.
For more information about Checkpoint Systems contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
EAS Labels-4
EAS Labels Will Stop A Shoplifter
When the average shopper walks in a store, and walks past the pedestals, they don’t really think about the electronic article surveillance that is being utilized. When a professional shoplifter, or booster as we usually call them, walks in that is the first thing they scope out. Even a petty thief takes note whether there is a system present in most cases. Websites have been developed to promote shoplifting and they usually warn their members to avoid stores that have this type of security.
EAS labels are very versatile, and can be placed almost anywhere on an item. First of all, they can be put right in plain sight on the front of the package, or on the back side of the hanging price label of a clothing item. The labels are available in different colors, shapes and sizes. They can even be clear, or have the store’s name and address printed on them. Even grocery stores can get in the fun, and label their steaks and other expensive meats. New advances with those labels have even made most of those microwave safe.
Many manufacturers now participate in source tagging, meaning they adhere the EAS label inside the sealed package, so you don’t have to worry about it. The items arrive in your store already protected. Inquire with your suppliers to see whether that is an option for your purchases. That is a perk, but it is not the end of the world if they can’t do it for you. Once you and your staff have a plan developed on what items you need to add product protection to, the task of adhering those is well worth the incentive you get to help stop shoplifting. Whether you decide to place your EAS labels on the outside of the packages or hide them down inside, the benefits are the same. The Checkpoint System will sound the alarm if a person brings merchandise too close that has not yet been purchased and had the labels deactivated.
We had a guy in one of our stores, walking around and acting really suspicious. He was looking up constantly to see where we were, and he had put a magazine against the side of the shopping basket he was carrying. (For those that don’t know already, this is a tell tale sign of a booster. They will “line” the basket with either a magazine or sales ad so you can’t see all the items they are stuffing in there.) I walked right up to him and offered to help him, and he said he was fine and just looking. Of course, I was “just looking” at a bunch of name brand pain relievers in his basket, knowing they all had EAS labels placed down inside the boxes. He could tell that I had seen all the stuff in his basket, and he appeared to have a sudden epiphany. I stood down toward the end of the aisle, concealed behind a display, and watched this brainiac start stuffing the boxes down his pants. He actually pulled rubber bands out of his pockets and secured them around the bottom of his pant legs! I just silently shook my head, and called the police on my cell phone. The guy got all he could down his pants and made a run for it. The police were not even a block away, caught him red-handed, and escorted him right back to the store. Even better, when they searched his car, they found two garbage bags full of other similar and obviously stolen items. Some of the products had the EAS labels I mentioned earlier- the kind with store identifier information printed on them. Those stores got their stuff back too. Who knows what happened to the rest of it? It’s all probably sitting in some evidence room.
For more information on EAS labels, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
When the average shopper walks in a store, and walks past the pedestals, they don’t really think about the electronic article surveillance that is being utilized. When a professional shoplifter, or booster as we usually call them, walks in that is the first thing they scope out. Even a petty thief takes note whether there is a system present in most cases. Websites have been developed to promote shoplifting and they usually warn their members to avoid stores that have this type of security.
EAS labels are very versatile, and can be placed almost anywhere on an item. First of all, they can be put right in plain sight on the front of the package, or on the back side of the hanging price label of a clothing item. The labels are available in different colors, shapes and sizes. They can even be clear, or have the store’s name and address printed on them. Even grocery stores can get in the fun, and label their steaks and other expensive meats. New advances with those labels have even made most of those microwave safe.
Many manufacturers now participate in source tagging, meaning they adhere the EAS label inside the sealed package, so you don’t have to worry about it. The items arrive in your store already protected. Inquire with your suppliers to see whether that is an option for your purchases. That is a perk, but it is not the end of the world if they can’t do it for you. Once you and your staff have a plan developed on what items you need to add product protection to, the task of adhering those is well worth the incentive you get to help stop shoplifting. Whether you decide to place your EAS labels on the outside of the packages or hide them down inside, the benefits are the same. The Checkpoint System will sound the alarm if a person brings merchandise too close that has not yet been purchased and had the labels deactivated.
We had a guy in one of our stores, walking around and acting really suspicious. He was looking up constantly to see where we were, and he had put a magazine against the side of the shopping basket he was carrying. (For those that don’t know already, this is a tell tale sign of a booster. They will “line” the basket with either a magazine or sales ad so you can’t see all the items they are stuffing in there.) I walked right up to him and offered to help him, and he said he was fine and just looking. Of course, I was “just looking” at a bunch of name brand pain relievers in his basket, knowing they all had EAS labels placed down inside the boxes. He could tell that I had seen all the stuff in his basket, and he appeared to have a sudden epiphany. I stood down toward the end of the aisle, concealed behind a display, and watched this brainiac start stuffing the boxes down his pants. He actually pulled rubber bands out of his pockets and secured them around the bottom of his pant legs! I just silently shook my head, and called the police on my cell phone. The guy got all he could down his pants and made a run for it. The police were not even a block away, caught him red-handed, and escorted him right back to the store. Even better, when they searched his car, they found two garbage bags full of other similar and obviously stolen items. Some of the products had the EAS labels I mentioned earlier- the kind with store identifier information printed on them. Those stores got their stuff back too. Who knows what happened to the rest of it? It’s all probably sitting in some evidence room.
For more information on EAS labels contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
