Protect Fragrance-4 WC blog 298
Alpha Keepers-4
Prevent Shoplifting-4
Perfume Sampling Stinks When It Causes Shortage; Protect Fragrance Bottles From Fraud And Theft With Alpha Keepers
Do you know what stinks? Fragrances, perfumes and body sprays, when they are all mixed together around a perfume counter or a fragrance aisle of a store. Whatever you want to call it, there are few odors worse than this to give someone (me) a headache or nauseated feeling. Sometimes it can be so overwhelming I can almost taste it! If you have ever seen the movie “Elf”, there is a scene where a sales clerk wants the main character Buddy to smell a sample of a perfume. He doesn’t realize what it is and he sprays it in his mouth and makes a horrible face and screams…that’s kinda like me walking through a perfume cloud in a store. Aside from the odors though, there is another problem that retailers cope with in a perfume department. The tester bottles run out and so the customers take the initiative to open a new bottle to bathe in. Where is the problem in this? Well, aside from the nasal nightmare that results from these perfume parties, retailers experience shortage. Opening a new bottle and spraying the contents means that a buyer won’t purchase it (who wants to buy a used bottle of perfume?). That bottle has to be marked out of stock and could result in lost profit. There is an easy fix to the problem, using Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance in your shop.
If you have ever paid particular attention, perfume bottles tend to come in a large assortment of designs and shapes, all geared to draw consumer attention. You don’t want to do anything that will hinder the attraction of the customer to the bottle design and that is one of the benefits of using Alpha Keepers. They are clear, hard plastic containers that prevent shoplifting but still allow a customer to see the bottle and be drawn to it. The keeper boxes lock so there is no concern over someone taking the merchandise out and sampling the product. The boxes also prevent shoplifting because they are secure and have radio frequency coils built into them. If a shoplifter takes a Keeper that is protecting a fragrance bottle into the area of electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas, the antennas alert nearby employees to the attempted theft. LED lights flash and a loud alert signal sounds providing staff an opportunity to conduct a receipt check to retrieve the merchandise. Frequently the alarm startles a thief and results in them dropping merchandise and running rather than risking being caught with stolen goods.
There were many times I would do theft audits and come across partial bottles of perfume (and empty packages too). I pulled the partial bottles and had them marked out of stock and labeled them with a “tester” label and put them back on display. The hope was to minimize additional markdowns due to customers opening more bottles of the same product to sniff. Each time a bottle had to be marked out, the store was impacted by shortage. The only other options to protect fragrance at the time was placing EAS labels on the packages, locking them up in a display case or if the product was in a clamshell package we put them on locking peg hooks. Lock up cases and locking peg hooks required someone with a key to be available to open or unlock the case or hook when a customer wanted to look at an item. This was a poor option because customers had to wait for assistance. If it took too long for an associate to get to the patron, they would leave and a potential sale was lost. Using Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance is a solution I wish I had available to me. I could have used it to prevent shoplifting AND to stop the sampling of merchandise. They are also a sales driver, giving customers the ability to pick up an item, carry it around the store and take it to checkout at their convenience.
Use vendor supplied testers to give customers a sniff of the perfume they are interested in. Use Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance profit and prevent shoplifting at the same time. Get a whiff of more green in your cash registers!
Get more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Do you know what stinks? Fragrances, perfumes and body sprays, when they are all mixed together around a perfume counter or a fragrance aisle of a store. Whatever you want to call it, there are few odors worse than this to give someone (me) a headache or nauseated feeling. Sometimes it can be so overwhelming I can almost taste it! If you have ever seen the movie “Elf”, there is a scene where a sales clerk wants the main character Buddy to smell a sample of a perfume. He doesn’t realize what it is and he sprays it in his mouth and makes a horrible face and screams…that’s kinda like me walking through a perfume cloud in a store. Aside from the odors though, there is another problem that retailers cope with in a perfume department. The tester bottles run out and so the customers take the initiative to open a new bottle to bathe in. Where is the problem in this? Well, aside from the nasal nightmare that results from these perfume parties, retailers experience shortage. Opening a new bottle and spraying the contents means that a buyer won’t purchase it (who wants to buy a used bottle of perfume?). That bottle has to be marked out of stock and could result in lost profit. There is an easy fix to the problem, using Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance in your shop.
If you have ever paid particular attention, perfume bottles tend to come in a large assortment of designs and shapes, all geared to draw consumer attention. You don’t want to do anything that will hinder the attraction of the customer to the bottle design and that is one of the benefits of using Alpha Keepers. They are clear, hard plastic containers that prevent shoplifting but still allow a customer to see the bottle and be drawn to it. The keeper boxes lock so there is no concern over someone taking the merchandise out and sampling the product. The boxes also prevent shoplifting because they are secure and have radio frequency coils built into them. If a shoplifter takes a Keeper that is protecting a fragrance bottle into the area of electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas, the antennas alert nearby employees to the attempted theft. LED lights flash and a loud alert signal sounds providing staff an opportunity to conduct a receipt check to retrieve the merchandise. Frequently the alarm startles a thief and results in them dropping merchandise and running rather than risking being caught with stolen goods.
There were many times I would do theft audits and come across partial bottles of perfume (and empty packages too). I pulled the partial bottles and had them marked out of stock and labeled them with a “tester” label and put them back on display. The hope was to minimize additional markdowns due to customers opening more bottles of the same product to sniff. Each time a bottle had to be marked out, the store was impacted by shortage. The only other options to protect fragrance at the time was placing EAS labels on the packages, locking them up in a display case or if the product was in a clamshell package we put them on locking peg hooks. Lock up cases and locking peg hooks required someone with a key to be available to open or unlock the case or hook when a customer wanted to look at an item. This was a poor option because customers had to wait for assistance. If it took too long for an associate to get to the patron, they would leave and a potential sale was lost. Using Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance is a solution I wish I had available to me. I could have used it to prevent shoplifting AND to stop the sampling of merchandise. They are also a sales driver, giving customers the ability to pick up an item, carry it around the store and take it to checkout at their convenience.
Use vendor supplied testers to give customers a sniff of the perfume they are interested in. Use Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance profit and prevent shoplifting at the same time. Get a whiff of more green in your cash registers!
Get more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Alpha Ink Tag-3 WC Blog 353
Retail Anti-Theft Devices – 3
An Odd Encounter With A shoplifter That Could Have Been Avoided By Using Alpha Ink Tags On Clothing
Most of the time shoplifters dress, act and look like you and me. There is nothing that necessarily stands out about them except the behaviors they are exhibiting. They may be looking at the ceiling for cameras, they shoot glances at employees who walk nearby or they seem to be overly friendly with staff. There are also shoplifters who dress unseasonably for the weather, they wear multiple layers of clothes or coats and jackets when it is far too warm. Some will wear ball caps and sunglasses into the store to keep from being recognized or to prevent Loss Prevention from catching their face on cameras. In my early days as a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store chain I had two different shoplifting incidents when the perpetrators went in the opposite direction. In the first instance the suspect was ‘shopping’ in our misses department and looking closely at the tags. It was obvious she was trying to locate retail anti-theft devices that would prevent shoplifting. It so happened our store used some soft tags but the only hard tags we used were similar to the Alpha Ink Tags on the market now. At the time this was a brand new protection item on the market. When my thief did not find a tag she would ball an item up and put it in her purse. If she was suspicious that an electronic article surveillance (EAS) soft tag was present she would generally leave the item alone.
To clarify for those who may not be familiar with them. EAS tags come in hard and soft versions and both work with EAS towers, usually located near entrances/exits of stores. Tags operate using a radio frequency signal that transmits from the tag and is detected by the tower. When a tag is carried too close to a tower an alarm in the tower sounds and employees are alerted and respond to conduct receipt checks and recover merchandise. Some tags, like the Alpha Ink Tag have the EAS capability AND dye packs in them. If a shoplifter attempts to pry a dye tag off, the packets of dye break and stain the merchandise rendering it useless. This was one of the retail anti-theft devices our store had started to use on some high theft clothing like ball caps, swimwear and blue jeans.
Back to my story. So the shoplifter was being selective, looking for any retail anti-theft devices and filling her purse with items that were not protected. My supervisor maintained camera surveillance and I went to the salesfloor to be closer and to observe. When the would-be thief was done she walked towards the exit doors. I stopped her and identified who I was and asked a female area supervisor to meet me at the security office where I was taking the suspect. We arrived at the room and entered and I told the woman to take the stolen merchandise out of her purse. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes and trying to deny she had anything she said she had to go to the bathroom. Often shoplifters will try to use this ploy as an excuse to run or dump merchandise in the restroom. When I told her she would have to wait for the police she started to squat over a trash can and threatened to use it. The supervisor I had with me and I were both shocked but I told her I would add additional charges if she did (I’m not sure what I would charge her with but I was flabbergasted at that point). She stood back up (thank goodness) and I finally got her to give me the clothes out of her purse. It was at that point my boss, still in the camera room called over my radio and said he thought she had also put merchandise under her clothes and to make sure I had the police check when they arrived. Well, that set the shoplifter off and she lifted her dress all the way over her head and yelled, “I don’t got nothing else!” Well, she wasn’t lying about that. I told her to put the dress down and sit in a chair. The police did arrive and took her to jail without further incident. She was a known crack addict and had multiple shoplifting charges on her record. Needless to say this was one of the strangest shoplifting incidents I have ever dealt with.
To store managers and owners today, I recommend you use Alpha ink tags on ALL of your clothing items to stop shoplifting. You’ll deter thieves and you will avoid strange and awkward encounters like mine.
Alpha Ink Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Most of the time shoplifters dress, act and look like you and me. There is nothing that necessarily stands out about them except the behaviors they are exhibiting. They may be looking at the ceiling for cameras, they shoot glances at employees who walk nearby or they seem to be overly friendly with staff. There are also shoplifters who dress unseasonably for the weather, they wear multiple layers of clothes or coats and jackets when it is far too warm. Some will wear ball caps and sunglasses into the store to keep from being recognized or to prevent Loss Prevention from catching their face on cameras. In my early days as a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store chain I had two different shoplifting incidents when the perpetrators went in the opposite direction. In the first instance the suspect was ‘shopping’ in our misses department and looking closely at the tags. It was obvious she was trying to locate retail anti-theft devices that would prevent shoplifting. It so happened our store used some soft tags but the only hard tags we used were similar to the Alpha Ink Tags on the market now. At the time this was a brand new protection item on the market. When my thief did not find a tag she would ball an item up and put it in her purse. If she was suspicious that an electronic article surveillance (EAS) soft tag was present she would generally leave the item alone.
To clarify for those who may not be familiar with them. EAS tags come in hard and soft versions and both work with EAS towers, usually located near entrances/exits of stores. Tags operate using a radio frequency signal that transmits from the tag and is detected by the tower. When a tag is carried too close to a tower an alarm in the tower sounds and employees are alerted and respond to conduct receipt checks and recover merchandise. Some tags, like the Alpha Ink Tag have the EAS capability AND dye packs in them. If a shoplifter attempts to pry a dye tag off, the packets of dye break and stain the merchandise rendering it useless. This was one of the retail anti-theft devices our store had started to use on some high theft clothing like ball caps, swimwear and blue jeans.
Back to my story. So the shoplifter was being selective, looking for any retail anti-theft devices and filling her purse with items that were not protected. My supervisor maintained camera surveillance and I went to the salesfloor to be closer and to observe. When the would-be thief was done she walked towards the exit doors. I stopped her and identified who I was and asked a female area supervisor to meet me at the security office where I was taking the suspect. We arrived at the room and entered and I told the woman to take the stolen merchandise out of her purse. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes and trying to deny she had anything she said she had to go to the bathroom. Often shoplifters will try to use this ploy as an excuse to run or dump merchandise in the restroom. When I told her she would have to wait for the police she started to squat over a trash can and threatened to use it. The supervisor I had with me and I were both shocked but I told her I would add additional charges if she did (I’m not sure what I would charge her with but I was flabbergasted at that point). She stood back up (thank goodness) and I finally got her to give me the clothes out of her purse. It was at that point my boss, still in the camera room, called over my radio and said he thought she had also put merchandise under her clothes and to make sure I had the police check when they arrived. Well, that set the shoplifter off and she lifted her dress all the way over her head and yelled, “I don’t got nothing else!” Well, she wasn’t lying about that. I told her to put the dress down and sit in a chair. The police did arrive and took her to jail without further incident. She was a known crack addict and had multiple shoplifting charges on her record. Needless to say this was one of the strangest shoplifting incidents I have ever dealt with.
To store managers and owners today, I recommend you use Alpha ink tags on ALL of your clothing items to stop shoplifting. You’ll deter thieves and you will avoid strange and awkward encounters like mine.
Alpha Ink Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Door counting sensor-4 WC blog 295
Retail Traffic Counting system-3
Customer Counting Systems-3
Special Events And Helping Charitable Causes Can Create Increases In Customers; Customer Counting Systems Aid In Future Planning
Have you ever held a special event in your store to support a charity or perhaps to try to increase your sales or even to do a little of both? I can think of several instances when I worked for a big box retailer that we did some of these things. One time our store manager permitted a local radio station to hold a radio-a-thon in the store to raise money for a great cause. Normally charities were not permitted to hold such events but our store manager had a big heart for children and especially the great work by this organization. To be honest, I can’t recall if only pledges were accepted or if monetary donations were received as well, but I do recall it was a success by the money raised for the organization. Did new people visit our store who had never been there before? We had no idea, we had no way to track foot traffic since we had no door counting sensor. An event that I helped sponsor in the store for several years was a “Santa’s Helpers” program. Working with our local police and fire department we would provide additional staff and cashiers to help underprivileged children and the public safety officials to shop for clothing, toys and necessities. Our store also donated lunch in our food court to feed everyone before they left. It was a very satisfying experience to see these kids getting new items they might not have had an opportunity to purchase otherwise. How many people came during these events, including visitors who were curious about what was going on? I wish I knew, a retail traffic counting system could have provided that information.
A retail traffic counting system keeps a retailer informed about how many customers are walking through their doors. A door counting sensor at the entrances detects the patrons walking in and out and can break down that information to the time of day. Stores that have installed a Checkpoint security system with electronic article surveillance antennas at the front doors in order to prevent shoplifting can have door sensors attached to the antennas. In these cases stores an also receive reports of EAS alarm activations and analyze that data to detect patterns of theft attempts. They use the information to create theft prevention plans and reduce shoplifting. By knowing how many people are actually entering the store at given times, retail managers can create improved staffing and payroll models based on historical data. This could include day of the week information or holiday staffing by hours of the day. If your Wednesday mornings show a minimal amount of foot traffic, it might be the time you shift some of your payroll spending elsewhere.
This historical data provided by the customer counting systems can also be used to determine if an event or sales promotion had an impact on pulling in additional customers. Let’s say for example you own a book store and you bring in an author for a book signing. The author is there to sell his/her book and you want to be the store to sell those books. You may be able to use sales information to determine if you sold a quantity of a certain book, but how many people showed up to the store that day? Sales receipts don’t tell you that information, a customer counting system will. Did you have an increase in the number of customers this year over the same day last year? If not, maybe this was an event you will not want to hold again in the future, especially if you brought in extra staff to help out. A door counting sensor gives you the ability to make intelligent decisions about how to spend payroll. Perhaps you choose to hold another book signing but this time you don’t spend the extra money on additional staff.
Retail traffic counting systems can make your business more profitable using measurable results of special events or marketing activities. By making sure you have enough staff on hand for your next event based on prior data and sales will certainly be increased. Don’t delay in getting a door counting sensor installed, the sooner you do, the sooner you will start collecting information for the future!
Need information on door counting sensors? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Have you ever held a special event in your store to support a charity or perhaps to try to increase your sales or even to do a little of both? I can think of several instances when I worked for a big box retailer that we did some of these things. One time our store manager permitted a local radio station to hold a radio-a-thon in the store to raise money for a great cause. Normally charities were not permitted to hold such events but our store manager had a big heart for children and especially the great work by this organization. To be honest, I can’t recall if only pledges were accepted or if monetary donations were received as well, but I do recall it was a success by the money raised for the organization. Did new people visit our store who had never been there before? We had no idea, we had no way to track foot traffic since we had no door counting sensor. An event that I helped sponsor in the store for several years was a “Santa’s Helpers” program. Working with our local police and fire department we would provide additional staff and cashiers to help underprivileged children and the public safety officials to shop for clothing, toys and necessities. Our store also donated lunch in our food court to feed everyone before they left. It was a very satisfying experience to see these kids getting new items they might not have had an opportunity to purchase otherwise. How many people came during these events, including visitors who were curious about what was going on? I wish I knew, a retail traffic counting system could have provided that information.
A retail traffic counting system keeps a retailer informed about how many customers are walking through their doors. A door counting sensor at the entrances detects the patrons walking in and out and can break down that information to the time of day. Stores that have installed a Checkpoint security system with electronic article surveillance antennas at the front doors in order to prevent shoplifting can have door sensors attached to the antennas. In these cases stores an also receive reports of EAS alarm activations and analyze that data to detect patterns of theft attempts. They use the information to create theft prevention plans and reduce shoplifting. By knowing how many people are actually entering the store at given times, retail managers can create improved staffing and payroll models based on historical data. This could include day of the week information or holiday staffing by hours of the day. If your Wednesday mornings show a minimal amount of foot traffic, it might be the time you shift some of your payroll spending elsewhere.
This historical data provided by the customer counting systems can also be used to determine if an event or sales promotion had an impact on pulling in additional customers. Let’s say for example you own a book store and you bring in an author for a book signing. The author is there to sell his/her book and you want to be the store to sell those books. You may be able to use sales information to determine if you sold a quantity of a certain book, but how many people showed up to the store that day? Sales receipts don’t tell you that information, a customer counting system will. Did you have an increase in the number of customers this year over the same day last year? If not, maybe this was an event you will not want to hold again in the future, especially if you brought in extra staff to help out. A door counting sensor gives you the ability to make intelligent decisions about how to spend payroll. Perhaps you choose to hold another book signing but this time you don’t spend the extra money on additional staff.
Retail traffic counting systems can make your business more profitable using measurable results of special events or marketing activities. By making sure you have enough staff on hand for your next event based on prior data and sales will certainly be increased. Don’t delay in getting a door counting sensor installed, the sooner you do, the sooner you will start collecting information for the future!
Need information on door counting sensors? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Manger training to stop employee theft-3 WC Blog 327
Stop Shoplifting-5
Disgruntled Employees May Be Stealing And Disrupting Efforts To Stop Shoplifting; Manager Training To Stop Employee Theft Can Help You Prevent Both Problems
How happy are your employees? Sure they may seem like they are smiling when you are around but what about when you aren’t there. Are things as they seem? You may think this is an odd question for an article on theft prevention but there is more to this than you may realize. Employees who are not happy can grouse to other employees and even to customers but managers may not always be aware of it if they aren’t engaged with their staffs. Obviously this can lead to morale issues, but were you aware it could be something to look for as an indicator of employee theft? I also read an article recently that made me consider that if an employer is going to stop shoplifting they may want to focus on employee satisfaction. I’ll discuss this point a little later but the bigger picture here is that there may be activities in your store that could be indicators that theft could be or is occurring. Manager training to stop employee theft is available to store owners and leaders from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc.
By training your managers they can learn what behaviors employees may display that could tip them off that dishonest activity is taking place. You can also learn just how devastating theft can be on a business. Losses take place in the form of return fraud, credit fraud, passing, under ringing, gift card fraud, merchandise theft and of course there is shoplifting. Underestimate the impact of customer theft and you could be in for a nasty surprise when your next inventory results come in. Thieves learn where the easy targets are and when they find one they will exploit it so it is important to get the training that will teach managers how to stop shoplifting. You can also learn who the shoplifters are, how they are ripping your store off and how you should approach them. Manager training to stop employee theft and to stop shoplifting can pay off big dividends in the future.
I mentioned previously about the article I read and how it associated shoplifters with unhappy employees. In UFNews, a University of Florida web page, in an article titled, “The science of stealing”, by Allison Clark, February 16, 2016, the author has interviewed Read Hayes, co-director of the Loss Prevention Research Team at the University of Florida. Their department hosted a conference during which former shoplifters told the Loss Prevention officials in the audience their stories. One of the points made by the speakers according to the article was, “They also avoid stealing from stores where employees seem happy. Disgruntled or disengaged employees are less likely to notice theft – and more likely to look the other way if they do, they said.” (Emphasis mine). http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2016/02/the-science-of-stealing.php . Admittedly I was taken aback by this. While I always thought of happy employees being more service oriented and more likely to be productive, I had not thought that it could hinder a management team’s efforts to stop shoplifting.
One final word from the article and this did confirm what many of us in Loss Prevention already believed, but not necessarily for the reasons we thought. Customer service is a strong deterrent to stop shoplifting. I would say most of us would have pointed out that customer service removes the opportunity for the thief to get away with their crime. However, according to the article, “…when an employee looks you in the eye and starts a conversation, it’s often game over for thieves said the sole female shoplifter on the stage. “Partly it’s the customer service. It’s also that if someone has looked at me and talked to me, they can pick me out of a lineup.””. Think about that, engaging customers in conversation, saying hello, offering assistance and making eye contact can discourage criminals who understand the potential consequences if they are caught stealing!
Manager training to stop employee theft and prevent shoplifting are important tools to help you improve your stock shortage results and thereby improve profitability. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can teach you and your staff the signals that you may have disgruntled employees and how to prevent it. They can also teach you how to approach shoplifters so they leave your store alone. Customer service drives sales but, as the woman in the article said it also prevented her from shoplifting. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. professional staff help educate your team.
Get more information on manager training to stop employee theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
How happy are your employees? Sure they may seem like they are smiling when you are around but what about when you aren’t there. Are things as they seem? You may think this is an odd question for an article on theft prevention but there is more to this than you may realize. Employees who are not happy can grouse to other employees and even to customers but managers may not always be aware of it if they aren’t engaged with their staffs. Obviously this can lead to morale issues, but were you aware it could be something to look for as an indicator of employee theft? I also read an article recently that made me consider that if an employer is going to stop shoplifting they may want to focus on employee satisfaction. I’ll discuss this point a little later but the bigger picture here is that there may be activities in your store that could be indicators that theft could be or is occurring. Manager training to stop employee theft is available to store owners and leaders from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc.
By training your managers they can learn what behaviors employees may display that could tip them off that dishonest activity is taking place. You can also learn just how devastating theft can be on a business. Losses take place in the form of return fraud, credit fraud, passing, under ringing, gift card fraud, merchandise theft and of course there is shoplifting. Underestimate the impact of customer theft and you could be in for a nasty surprise when your next inventory results come in. Thieves learn where the easy targets are and when they find one they will exploit it so it is important to get the training that will teach managers how to stop shoplifting. You can also learn who the shoplifters are, how they are ripping your store off and how you should approach them. Manager training to stop employee theft and to stop shoplifting can pay off big dividends in the future.
I mentioned previously about the article I read and how it associated shoplifters with unhappy employees. In UFNews, a University of Florida web page, in an article titled, “The science of stealing”, by Allison Clark, February 16, 2016, the author has interviewed Read Hayes, co-director of the Loss Prevention Research Team at the University of Florida. Their department hosted a conference during which former shoplifters told the Loss Prevention officials in the audience their stories. One of the points made by the speakers according to the article was, “They also avoid stealing from stores where employees seem happy. Disgruntled or disengaged employees are less likely to notice theft – and more likely to look the other way if they do, they said.” (Emphasis mine). http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2016/02/the-science-of-stealing.php . Admittedly I was taken aback by this. While I always thought of happy employees being more service oriented and more likely to be productive, I had not thought that it could hinder a management team’s efforts to stop shoplifting.
One final word from the article and this did confirm what many of us in Loss Prevention already believed, but not necessarily for the reasons we thought. Customer service is a strong deterrent to stop shoplifting. I would say most of us would have pointed out that customer service removes the opportunity for the thief to get away with their crime. However, according to the article, “…when an employee looks you in the eye and starts a conversation, it’s often game over for thieves said the sole female shoplifter on the stage. “Partly it’s the customer service. It’s also that if someone has looked at me and talked to me, they can pick me out of a lineup.””. Think about that, engaging customers in conversation, saying hello, offering assistance and making eye contact can discourage criminals who understand the potential consequences if they are caught stealing!
Manager training to stop employee theft and prevent shoplifting are important tools to help you improve your stock shortage results and thereby improve profitability. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can teach you and your staff the signals that you may have disgruntled employees and how to prevent it. They can also teach you how to approach shoplifters so they leave your store alone. Customer service drives sales but, as the woman in the article said it also prevented her from shoplifting. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. professional staff help educate your team.
Get more information on manager training to stop employee theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
Protect Health and Beauty Products-3 WC Blog 294
Alpha Keepers-5
Prevent Shoplifting-3
Retail Anti-Theft Devices-3
Perplexed By Plexi-glass Panels, A Retail Loss Prevention Manager Offers Alpha Keepers As Better Retail Anti-Theft Devices
I will admit it I can be curious especially when it comes to retail anti-theft devices but my wife says I’m nosey. If I’m out shopping and I see something that looks like it is supposed to deter theft in some way I’m probably going to check it out. Not long ago I was visiting a chain store with my wife and we wandered through the household supplies section. I observed merchandise on the shelf and the front of the shelf had a clear, plexi-glass cover over it that appeared to be protecting the merchandise. I didn’t see a lock and there wasn’t enough space to remove a single item at a time so then I wondered if it was designed to prevent shoplifting or just keep items from falling off the shelf. When we got to the other end of the store we found more of these plexi-glass shields in use to protect health and beauty products and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had to know what they would do so I tried to lift one up. Yikes! A chiming noise sounded all the way to the front of the store. Hmmm, would it do it again? It sure did and before I could test it once more my wife made me stop. Then it dawned on me, these were retail anti-theft devices to stop shoplifting and the chime was to alert employees to come to the area and offer assistance. We continued looking around this area for several minutes but no one came to see if I needed help. Since I have extensive experience in Retail Loss Prevention I was annoyed, what is the purpose of having any type of device to prevent shoplifting if it isn’t going to be used as intended? This is one of the reasons I like Alpha Keepers so much. They protect merchandise and still allow customers to take the product off the shelf and walk around with it or take it to the checkout counter.
Alpha Keepers are superior to lock up display cases, show cases and even plexi-glass shields. Alpha Keepers are made of a clear, polycarbonate material making them super-strong and difficult to break. They have a hinged, locking door that requires a special detachment tool to open them, keeping thieves from gaining access to the item in the box. Keepers also come in a variety sizes to cover a wide variety of merchandise. They can protect health and beauty products to electronics items such as SD cards. Since the Alpha boxes are clear, customers can pick up the box, view the packaging and read information to help them make an informed purchasing decision. Show cases only permit limited viewing and if a patron wants a closer look they have to find an employee to open the case and hover over them while the patron examines the product. Think about how uncomfortable this can be if the merchandise is some type of personal hygiene product! The employee also has to stay with the patron as long as that person wants to continue to browse products for example in a videogame display case. A Keeper requires no hovering and your employees can be productive with other customer service issues or tasks.
In the experience I referenced above, I have to assume the purpose of a chiming noise was to get an associate to check on me to ensure I wasn’t cleaning off the shelf of all the products. The lack of response did not impress me and I can only assume this was not an isolated incident. Had I been a thief there was nothing the system was doing to protect health and beauty products or the air fresheners at the other end of the store (not that I knew there was a high demand on the black market for air fresheners or scented candles). Alpha Keepers would be a better alternative for this store to prevent shoplifting. The only time an associate would need to respond to any noise would be to the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm if a criminal attempted to exit the building with merchandise protected in a Keeper box.
Rather than use retail anti-theft devices such as display cases that hinder customer access to products and require significant employee payroll hours over the course of a year to maintain, why not use Alpha Keepers? You will increase sales through increased customer access and you will decrease shortage through real product protection.
Alpha Keepers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547and let’s talk.
I will admit it I can be curious especially when it comes to retail anti-theft devices but my wife says I’m nosey. If I’m out shopping and I see something that looks like it is supposed to deter theft in some way I’m probably going to check it out. Not long ago I was visiting a chain store with my wife and we wandered through the household supplies section. I observed merchandise on the shelf and the front of the shelf had a clear, plexi-glass cover over it that appeared to be protecting the merchandise. I didn’t see a lock and there wasn’t enough space to remove a single item at a time so then I wondered if it was designed to prevent shoplifting or just keep items from falling off the shelf. When we got to the other end of the store we found more of these plexi-glass shields in use to protect health and beauty products and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had to know what they would do so I tried to lift one up. Yikes! A chiming noise sounded all the way to the front of the store. Hmmm, would it do it again? It sure did and before I could test it once more my wife made me stop. Then it dawned on me, these were retail anti-theft devices to stop shoplifting and the chime was to alert employees to come to the area and offer assistance. We continued looking around this area for several minutes but no one came to see if I needed help. Since I have extensive experience in Retail Loss Prevention I was annoyed, what is the purpose of having any type of device to prevent shoplifting if it isn’t going to be used as intended? This is one of the reasons I like Alpha Keepers so much. They protect merchandise and still allow customers to take the product off the shelf and walk around with it or take it to the checkout counter.
Alpha Keepers are superior to lock up display cases, show cases and even plexi-glass shields. Alpha Keepers are made of a clear, polycarbonate material making them super-strong and difficult to break. They have a hinged, locking door that requires a special detachment tool to open them, keeping thieves from gaining access to the item in the box. Keepers also come in a variety sizes to cover a wide variety of merchandise. They can protect health and beauty products to electronics items such as SD cards. Since the Alpha boxes are clear, customers can pick up the box, view the packaging and read information to help them make an informed purchasing decision. Show cases only permit limited viewing and if a patron wants a closer look they have to find an employee to open the case and hover over them while the patron examines the product. Think about how uncomfortable this can be if the merchandise is some type of personal hygiene product! The employee also has to stay with the patron as long as that person wants to continue to browse products for example in a videogame display case. A Keeper requires no hovering and your employees can be productive with other customer service issues or tasks.
In the experience I referenced above, I have to assume the purpose of a chiming noise was to get an associate to check on me to ensure I wasn’t cleaning off the shelf of all the products. The lack of response did not impress me and I can only assume this was not an isolated incident. Had I been a thief there was nothing the system was doing to protect health and beauty products or the air fresheners at the other end of the store (not that I knew there was a high demand on the black market for air fresheners or scented candles). Alpha Keepers would be a better alternative for this store to prevent shoplifting. The only time an associate would need to respond to any noise would be to the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm if a criminal attempted to exit the building with merchandise protected in a Keeper box.
Rather than use retail anti-theft devices such as display cases that hinder customer access to products and require significant employee payroll hours over the course of a year to maintain, why not use Alpha Keepers? You will increase sales through increased customer access and you will decrease shortage through real product protection.
Alpha Keepers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547and let’s talk.
