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Urgent! Checkpoint Tags Increase Profits But Lead To Reduction Of Funny Shoplifting Stories
I remember one of my favorite funny shoplifting stories was from my days working as a department store Loss Prevention Officer. It was a time when silk jackets were very popular and we were experiencing some theft of these items in our men’s department. The jackets cost around $90 each, but they were not one of the categories we had any type of security tags on. Due to the theft trend, my boss and I were closely monitoring the area on closed circuit television. This one particular day, a young man and his girlfriend were in the area and the guy started looking at the silk jackets while his girlfriend acted as his lookout. He selected a jacket, wrapped it around the hanger and stuffed it down his pants. I met him at the door as he started to exit and identified myself. He asked me why I had stopped him and I couldn’t help but start laughing and pointed to his side. The end of the hanger was pushing through his shirt making it obvious he had something underneath. I told the young man he either needed some serious medical attention for a broken rib and we needed to call an ambulance, or he had one of our silk jackets concealed under his clothes. He admitted to the theft and the jacket was recovered, no ambulance was necessary for the extraction. He did get a ride, but it was not to the hospital. The incident was humorous, but if we had been using Checkpoint tags it may not have ever taken place.
What difference would Checkpoint tags have made? Checkpoint clothing security tags act first as a visual deterrent to a shoplifter. Most shoplifters will see security tags on clothes and leave that merchandise alone. The everyday shoplifter doesn’t want to try to remove a security device. The second reason Checkpoints tags would have worked is because the store had electronic article surveillance antennas and we used tags on a very limited number of items at the time. If the jackets had been protected with clothing security tags and the young man tried to exit, the alarm would have activated. In many cases, shoplifters will drop merchandise if they set off an alarm. Or if trained store personnel can tactfully recover merchandise because the customer “did not realize an item in their possession had not been paid for”. There are many excuses you can help a potential shoplifter use to return merchandise and leave a store without accusing them of theft.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute I thought you said the jackets were made of silk, wouldn’t the Checkpoint Tags have damaged the fabric?” My response is, not necessarily. The Checkpoint Gen 3 Hard Tag series is designed to be used on merchandise without damaging fabric. Security tags on clothes used to be a concern some time ago, especially on delicate fabrics, but pins are not necessarily as thick as they used to be and the clothing security tags close much better today, making them almost impossible to defeat and pry apart.
There are two other benefits I would like to point out about using Checkpoint tags. First, they are reusable. The hard tags are removed at the point of sale and then re-applied to new merchandise when it is received at the store. There is no need to constantly be replenishing your supply of tags. Second, you can have the tags applied at the source. In other words, you don’t have to use your payroll to have employees tag merchandise. Checkpoint can work with you to have the vendors place tags on from their locations, which ensures consistency in the placement of tags. This makes it easier for cashiers to know exactly where to look for clothing security tags on different products.
Funny shoplifter stories will always be out there, but using security tags on clothes can reduce these stories and improve stock shortage results. This, in turn, increases profit. So, if you prefer dollars over stories, look into using Checkpoint Tags on ALL of your clothes and laugh all the way to the bank!
For more information on Checkpoint Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I remember one of my favorite funny shoplifting stories was from my days working as a department store Loss Prevention Officer. It was a time when silk jackets were very popular and we were experiencing some theft of these items in our men’s department. The jackets cost around $90 each, but they were not one of the categories we had any type of security tags on. Due to the theft trend, my boss and I were closely monitoring the area on closed circuit television. This one particular day, a young man and his girlfriend were in the area and the guy started looking at the silk jackets while his girlfriend acted as his lookout. He selected a jacket, wrapped it around the hanger and stuffed it down his pants. I met him at the door as he started to exit and identified myself. He asked me why I had stopped him and I couldn’t help but start laughing and pointed to his side. The end of the hanger was pushing through his shirt making it obvious he had something underneath. I told the young man he either needed some serious medical attention for a broken rib and we needed to call an ambulance, or he had one of our silk jackets concealed under his clothes. He admitted to the theft and the jacket was recovered, no ambulance was necessary for the extraction. He did get a ride, but it was not to the hospital. The incident was humorous, but if we had been using Checkpoint tags it may not have ever taken place.
What difference would Checkpoint tags have made? Checkpoint clothing security tags act first as a visual deterrent to a shoplifter. Most shoplifters will see security tags on clothes and leave that merchandise alone. The everyday shoplifter doesn’t want to try to remove a security device. The second reason Checkpoints tags would have worked is because the store had electronic article surveillance antennas and we used tags on a very limited number of items at the time. If the jackets had been protected with clothing security tags and the young man tried to exit, the alarm would have activated. In many cases, shoplifters will drop merchandise if they set off an alarm. Or if trained store personnel can tactfully recover merchandise because the customer “did not realize an item in their possession had not been paid for”. There are many excuses you can help a potential shoplifter use to return merchandise and leave a store without accusing them of theft.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute I thought you said the jackets were made of silk, wouldn’t the Checkpoint Tags have damaged the fabric?” My response is, not necessarily. The Checkpoint Gen 3 Hard Tag series is designed to be used on merchandise without damaging fabric. Security tags on clothes used to be a concern some time ago, especially on delicate fabrics, but pins are not necessarily as thick as they used to be and the clothing security tags close much better today, making them almost impossible to defeat and pry apart.
There are two other benefits I would like to point out about using Checkpoint tags. First, they are reusable. The hard tags are removed at the point of sale and then re-applied to new merchandise when it is received at the store. There is no need to constantly be replenishing your supply of tags. Second, you can have the tags applied at the source. In other words, you don’t have to use your payroll to have employees tag merchandise. Checkpoint can work with you to have the vendors place tags on from their locations, which ensures consistency in the placement of tags. This makes it easier for cashiers to know exactly where to look for clothing security tags on different products.
Funny shoplifter stories will always be out there, but using security tags on clothes can reduce these stories and improve stock shortage results. This, in turn, increases profit. So, if you prefer dollars over stories, look into using Checkpoint Tags on ALL of your clothes and laugh all the way to the bank!
For more information on Checkpoint Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
