THE VERSATILE VERSALOK
I’m not a salesperson. That’s not what I do. By day, I’m a Regional Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retailer. At night, I try to provide you all with some tricks of the trade to, hopefully, make your work life a little easier. I like to tell you how certain products have had a financial impact on my stores and the occasional funny shoplifter story. I think today, I’m going to do something a bit different. I’m going to talk directly about a great product that I see so many retailers use incorrectly and in-effectively, including my own. I’m talking about the Alpha Versalok.
A few years ago, we purchased these tags as we were having some serious shrink issues with toner and ink. We tried a few different tags and nothing really fit well, so we went with these. The Versalok is easy to use. You simply slide a disposable trace through the main tag and stick it to whatever you don’t want stolen. Here was our problem, and it’s the same problem that I’ve seen at countless other stores.
The associate tagging the merchandise simply stuck the tag on top of the box, or on the side. Well it doesn’t take a criminal with half a brain to realize this. What we found was copious amounts of empty boxes where our toner and ink cartridges were once merchandise. The associates and managers who tagged these did absolutely nothing to prevent shoplifting. How ridiculous (and frustrating I may add) was it for me to see this? I know some of you are laughing a bit at this because you’ve been in the exact same boat. Well, there is a solution.
If you’re using the Versalok to secure a boxed item, here’s a novel idea. Place the trace over the seams of the box. This way, the box can’t simply be opened and the merchandise taken out. If someone attempts to open the packing, or cut the trace, the product will alarm. It’s so very simple, yet effective against a thief. I heard a lot of my peers say how ineffective these tags are, but I think they are just mis-understood. If used correctly and with just a bit of common sense, they’re as good as any other tag on the market.
Taking this a step further, since we’re talking about the uses of this particular tag, it’s also great on display product. How often do we fail to prevent shoplifting on single item displays? Probably more often than we are comfortable saying out loud. These are a great solution to various items that may be difficult to secure with more traditional tagging devices. Perfect for high end baseball bats displays, electronics and so much more.
There are hundreds of different products out there that all promise to prevent shoplifting. As a retailer, you can spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on EAS systems, cameras and state of the art technology. None of it is any good if the tools aren’t used as they are designed. You wouldn’t load ammo backwards into a firearm and expect it to take down a 10 point buck, would you? Why misfire when it comes to your product protection strategies either?
For more information about Alpha Technology, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I’m not a salesperson. That’s not what I do. By day, I’m a Regional Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retailer. At night, I try to provide you all with some tricks of the trade to, hopefully, make your work life a little easier. I like to tell you how certain products have had a financial impact on my stores and the occasional funny shoplifter story. I think today, I’m going to do something a bit different. I’m going to talk directly about a great product that I see so many retailers use incorrectly and in-effectively, including my own. I’m talking about the Alpha Versalok.
A few years ago, we purchased these tags as we were having some serious shrink issues with toner and ink. We tried a few different tags and nothing really fit well, so we went with these. The Versalok is easy to use. You simply slide a disposable trace through the main tag and stick it to whatever you don’t want stolen. Here was our problem, and it’s the same problem that I’ve seen at countless other stores.
The associate tagging the merchandise simply stuck the tag on top of the box, or on the side. Well it doesn’t take a criminal with half a brain to realize this. What we found was copious amounts of empty boxes where our toner and ink cartridges were once merchandise. The associates and managers who tagged these did absolutely nothing to prevent shoplifting. How ridiculous (and frustrating I may add) was it for me to see this? I know some of you are laughing a bit at this because you’ve been in the exact same boat. Well, there is a solution.
If you’re using the Versalok to secure a boxed item, here’s a novel idea. Place the trace over the seams of the box. This way, the box can’t simply be opened and the merchandise taken out. If someone attempts to open the packing, or cut the trace, the product will alarm. It’s so very simple, yet effective against a thief. I heard a lot of my peers say how ineffective these tags are, but I think they are just mis-understood. If used correctly and with just a bit of common sense, they’re as good as any other tag on the market.
Taking this a step further, since we’re talking about the uses of this particular tag, it’s also great on display product. How often do we fail to prevent shoplifting on single item displays? Probably more often than we are comfortable saying out loud. These are a great solution to various items that may be difficult to secure with more traditional tagging devices. Perfect for high end baseball bats displays, electronics and so much more.
There are hundreds of different products out there that all promise to prevent shoplifting. As a retailer, you can spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on EAS systems, cameras and state of the art technology. None of it is any good if the tools aren’t used as they are designed. You wouldn’t load ammo backwards into a firearm and expect it to take down a 10 point buck, would you? Why misfire when it comes to your product protection strategies either?
For more information about Alpha Technology, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
