It was Friday evening and I was leaving my office. It had been a long week to say the least. I had closed on 3 employee theft cases, began an investigation into a $25k cash loss at one store, and played host to a Regional Vice President for some market visits. Knowing I didn’t have a ton of food at home, I stopped at the grocery store after leaving work. It was the first of the month, after 5 on a Friday. The place was packed! I shop at a local grocer for just about everything. I stay away from the big box retailers since I like my money to stay in my community. My family also owns a small business, so I love giving back to the “little guy” so to speak. Of course this wasn’t an ordinary trip to the store. I would come face to face with a thief as he tried his hand at shoplifting steaks.
I head in, fighting the crowds and grab a buggy. I start with the essentials and then make my way to the meats. I’m in the middle of a debate inside my head on whether I should go with the turkey breast or ground turkey, when two guys catch my eye. A few feet down, they begin filling a shopping cart with as many cuts of steak as they can. At first I thought, “Hey, someone’s grilling tonight”, but then I quickly realized that they were going to shoplift steaks!
After the buggy was loaded with what was later determined to be 42 cuts of meat, valued at about a thousand dollars, they walked pretty quickly to a corner of the store. I knew what was going on so I made a phone call to the store (smart phones are great!) and asked for a manager. As I was on the phone, I watched as the pair started placing the steaks into a vacuum cleaner box. At first the manager thought I was playing a phone prank, but after some convincing, we met on an aisle just as the pair was heading to the checkout line. He made a quick call to the local police, who were surprised that someone was shoplifting steaks…
These guys got caught and the manager was able to retain his profits for another day. That’s not always the case, as your employees can’t see everything at every minute of the day. This particular store didn’t have the most basic control measures in place to deter this type of activity and it will undoubtedly continue until some programs and technology are put into place. Chances are, if you are reading this, you have the same problem, and are fed up with it. Well, here’s your chance to turn the tide on shoplifters and stop meat theft in your store. With the wide range to tools out there, you’re sure to find a solution that fits your business and your budget.
For more information, contact us: Grocery Store Meat Theft, or call 1.770.426.0547
