Checkpoint Security Tags-3 WC blog 224
Stop Shoplifting-3
Electronic Article Surveillance-4
Checkpoint tags-3
Tips To Identify Potential Shoplifters And How The Use Of Checkpoint Tags And Customer Service Can Prevent Theft Part 1
When you work in Retail Loss Prevention long enough you are bound to come across some people who insist they know how to tell if someone is a shoplifter. When pressed on how they have this “skill”, it is my experience that I will hear something along the lines of, “I can just tell.” or “They have that look.” I would like to put that notion to rest. There is no way to look at a person and be able to say he or she is a shoplifter. I have been involved in Loss Prevention or retail in general for over 26 years and I have dealt with shoplifters (who knew what they were doing) as young as 8 years old and as old as 75 years of age. I have apprehended people who were down on their luck and those who had wallets full of cash. In this series what I would like to do is help retailers stop shoplifting by giving tips on signals that may indicate someone intends to shoplift and how Checkpoint security tags can deter those thieves.
Before going any further I would like to mention that while it is good to know the signs to look for in order to stop shoplifting, it is best if you can deter them from even coming into your store. How do you do this? You do it by having an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system in your building. This includes Checkpoint antennas installed at your doors, detachment keys at the registers to remove Checkpoint security tags and finally, Checkpoint hard tags attached to clothing and other merchandise. Whether they are opportunistic shoplifters or professionals, they all know what an electronic article surveillance system is and will try to avoid them if they know employees respond to alarms when the antennas are set off. Checkpoint hard tags are available for softline and hardline merchandise and all have EAS radio frequency technology built in. When a tagged item is carried in range of an electronic article surveillance antenna, alarms in the antenna are activated and employees respond to conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise.
When a stubborn shoplifter decides to try to steal from a store despite the use of Checkpoint tags, there are signals owners/managers or staff can look for that may indicate the person needs “extra special” customer service.
• Look at how a customer dresses. I am not talking about the condition of their clothing I am speaking about whether they are wearing seasonable clothing. Is it warm and sunny outside and the shopper is wearing a coat? They may intend to keep the coat zipped and stuff it with merchandise. They may also have pockets inside the jacket they intend to fill up.
• When the customer enters the store do they have a ball cap or hat pulled low over their face or are they wearing a “hoodie” with the hood pulled up? They may also be wearing their sunglasses or a combination of these items. All are methods used to prevent possible security cameras from capturing their face.
• When they are in the store, does the customer quickly refuse offers of customer assistance? Many people want to just shop, but how they react to the offer can be an indicator they may be up to something.
• Watch for shoppers with large shopping bags from other stores, especially when those stores are not located near yours. When that bag is nearly empty, be even more alert to that person, it may start to fill up quickly.
• Look for the shopper who looks around at the ceiling. No, they aren’t admiring your lighting they are looking for security cameras.
• Is the customer looking at labels and inspecting for Checkpoint security tags rather than examining the merchandise? This is a good indicator they are trying to decide if they might risk setting off an electronic article surveillance alarm antenna or if they want to try to remove Checkpoint tags.
These are not all of the indicators of a possible thief but they are signals I have successfully used to stop shoplifting.
In part 2 of this series I will discuss how Checkpoint tags can deter even the hard core thief. I will also discuss methods you and your staff can use to prevent these die hard thieves from stealing from you without being confrontational or making accusations
Need information on Checkpoint security tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
When you work in Retail Loss Prevention long enough you are bound to come across some people who insist they know how to tell if someone is a shoplifter. When pressed on how they have this “skill”, it is my experience that I will hear something along the lines of, “I can just tell.” or “They have that look.” I would like to put that notion to rest. There is no way to look at a person and be able to say he or she is a shoplifter. I have been involved in Loss Prevention or retail in general for over 26 years and I have dealt with shoplifters (who knew what they were doing) as young as 8 years old and as old as 75 years of age. I have apprehended people who were down on their luck and those who had wallets full of cash. In this series what I would like to do is help retailers stop shoplifting by giving tips on signals that may indicate someone intends to shoplift and how Checkpoint security tags can deter those thieves.
Before going any further I would like to mention that while it is good to know the signs to look for in order to stop shoplifting, it is best if you can deter them from even coming into your store. How do you do this? You do it by having an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system in your building. This includes Checkpoint antennas installed at your doors, detachment keys at the registers to remove Checkpoint security tags and finally, Checkpoint hard tags attached to clothing and other merchandise. Whether they are opportunistic shoplifters or professionals, they all know what an electronic article surveillance system is and will try to avoid them if they know employees respond to alarms when the antennas are set off. Checkpoint hard tags are available for softline and hardline merchandise and all have EAS radio frequency technology built in. When a tagged item is carried in range of an electronic article surveillance antenna, alarms in the antenna are activated and employees respond to conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise.
When a stubborn shoplifter decides to try to steal from a store despite the use of Checkpoint tags, there are signals owners/managers or staff can look for that may indicate the person needs “extra special” customer service.
• Look at how a customer dresses. I am not talking about the condition of their clothing I am speaking about whether they are wearing seasonable clothing. Is it warm and sunny outside and the shopper is wearing a coat? They may intend to keep the coat zipped and stuff it with merchandise. They may also have pockets inside the jacket they intend to fill up.
• When the customer enters the store do they have a ball cap or hat pulled low over their face or are they wearing a “hoodie” with the hood pulled up? They may also be wearing their sunglasses or a combination of these items. All are methods used to prevent possible security cameras from capturing their face.
• When they are in the store, does the customer quickly refuse offers of customer assistance? Many people want to just shop, but how they react to the offer can be an indicator they may be up to something.
• Watch for shoppers with large shopping bags from other stores, especially when those stores are not located near yours. When that bag is nearly empty, be even more alert to that person, it may start to fill up quickly.
• Look for the shopper who looks around at the ceiling. No, they aren’t admiring your lighting they are looking for security cameras.
• Is the customer looking at labels and inspecting for Checkpoint security tags rather than examining the merchandise? This is a good indicator they are trying to decide if they might risk setting off an electronic article surveillance alarm antenna or if they want to try to remove Checkpoint tags.
These are not all of the indicators of a possible thief but they are signals I have successfully used to stop shoplifting.
In part 2 of this series I will discuss how Checkpoint tags can deter even the hard core thief. I will also discuss methods you and your staff can use to prevent these die hard thieves from stealing from you without being confrontational or making accusations.
Need information on Checkpoint security tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
