If you own or manage a pharmacy, like me, then you should take a look at RX Caps by Alpha Solutions. Whether you are a single independent or part of a small chain, we all have the same regulations and issues regarding theft of controlled medications. Not all controlled drugs are required to be locked up, so there are some out on the shelves and accessible to all staff in the pharmacy. If you have ever had some of these pills go missing, you have faced the dread of all the reporting that goes along with it. You have also had to deal with investigating the loss, and trying to figure out how and why it happened.
When it comes to selling pain pills on the street, ethics can get put aside for the potential money to be made selling pain pills on the street. RX Caps add back a certain necessary deterrence needed to keep some staff members honest. These devices fit right over the cap of almost any size medication bottle. They provide a clear warning to a technician thinking about stealing from their employer.
Frankly, I have seen a lot of video files of pharmacy technicians (and even pharmacists) stealing pills. They may just take a few tablets or whole bottles at a time. They may self medicate, just taking a couple out of the bottle, and justify it to themselves for various reasons. Many times, however, they are taking them to sell. I have seen them go around a corner, open a bottle, and dump the contents into their lab coat pockets, into another stock bottle, or just stuff the whole bottle down their pants. They have put pills in the trash to retrieve later from the dumpster. They may just skim some from a patient’s bottle. One reason we had to outlaw cellphones in our pharmacies was because we had one technician that would text a friend to come by the drive thru window when the pharmacist went on his lunch break, so he could hand out a bag full of 500 count bottles. Then he would just go into the inventory system and adjust the balance in there to reflect the lesser amount. We have had a few get caught because they would order several extra bottles of certain medications from the supplier, steal them, and order more the next week. This would continue until someone finally caught on. Luckily, adjustments made in computers can be tracked, and usually provide a nice evidence file.
The fact is, most of those thefts were caught on hidden cameras that were installed after a problem was suspected. RX Caps could have stopped a lot of those issues before they ever happened. The bottles are secured shut, and depending on their alarm level, may sound if removal is attempted or if tampering occurs. When your staff is aware that your business is serious about protecting its assets, they will be less inclined to try to steal. Cameras, inventory logs, bag checks and other security measures you have in place will go hand in hand with the use of RX Caps.
For more information contact us at: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
If you own or manage a pharmacy, like me, then you should take a look at Rx Caps by Alpha Solutions. Whether you are a single independent or part of a small chain, we all have the same regulations and issues regarding theft of controlled medications. Not all controlled drugs are required to be locked up, so there are some out on the shelves and accessible to all staff in the pharmacy. If you have ever had some of these pills go missing, you have faced the dread of all the reporting that goes along with it. You have also had to deal with investigating the loss, and trying to figure out how and why it happened.
When it comes to selling pain pills on the street, ethics can get put aside for the potential money to be made selling pain pills on the street. Rx Caps add back a certain necessary deterrence needed to keep some staff members honest. These devices fit right over the cap of almost any size medication bottle. They provide a clear warning to a technician thinking about stealing from their employer.
Frankly, I have seen a lot of video files of pharmacy technicians (and even pharmacists) stealing pills. They may just take a few tablets or whole bottles at a time. They may self medicate, just taking a couple out of the bottle, and justify it to themselves for various reasons. Many times, however, they are taking them to sell. I have seen them go around a corner, open a bottle, and dump the contents into their lab coat pockets, into another stock bottle, or just stuff the whole bottle down their pants. They have put pills in the trash to retrieve later from the dumpster. They may just skim some from a patient’s bottle. One reason we had to outlaw cellphones in our pharmacies was because we had one technician that would text a friend to come by the drive thru window when the pharmacist went on his lunch break, so he could hand out a bag full of 500 count bottles. Then he would just go into the inventory system and adjust the balance in there to reflect the lesser amount. We have had a few get caught because they would order several extra bottles of certain medications from the supplier, steal them, and order more the next week. This would continue until someone finally caught on. Luckily, adjustments made in computers can be tracked, and usually provide a nice evidence file.
The fact is, most of those thefts were caught on hidden cameras that were installed after a problem was suspected. Rx Caps could have stopped a lot of those issues before they ever happened. The bottles are secured shut, and depending on their alarm level, may sound if removal is attempted or if tampering occurs. When your staff is aware that your business is serious about protecting its assets, they will be less inclined to try to steal. Cameras, inventory logs, bag checks and other security measures you have in place will go hand in hand with the use of Rx Caps.
For more information contact us at: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Of all seasons, I really look forward to the spring time. Not only can we feel our fingers and toes finally, it’s the time of year where everyone gets outside and starts being active again. The snow is melted, the plants and flowers are in bloom and baseball season is getting under way. I love baseball. Probably more than any other sport I’ve ever played. I even coached little league for a few years… back when I had the spare time. For kids, there’s nothing like going down to their local sporting goods store and getting your very own set of equipment. Now that I’m in charge of protecting the product at that store, I want to make sure those kids get what they need, and aren’t shorted by a thief.
Currently I’m an LP manager for a regional sporting goods retailer. About two years ago, around the start of baseball season I began receiving reports from several stores that they were short on thousands of dollars’ worth of baseball bats. I began reviewing the shipping manifests and delivery dates and all corresponding CCTV and was certain the product had arrived at the store. I knew I had a thief, but how was someone stealing bats? They are quite difficult to steal and pretty obvious to just walk out with.
Through the course of our investigation, we were able to identify a ring of shoplifters that were targeting our high end bats. These items were prominently displayed and had no sort of security measure applied to prevent theft. We never had this problem before so we had not invested in any protective merchandising. These thieves were taking advantage of that and we were losing thousands of dollars in product as well as missed sales. Eventually, we discovered how the items were leaving the store. The shoplifters were taking the label from very inexpensive bats, and placing them on the higher end product. The cashiers were not catching the switch and they were paying next to nothing for the product.
We searched for something that could protect the merchandise, identify it as a high value to the cashier, while still keeping the bat merchandised in an open fashion. We came across the O-Tag by Checkpoint. Within a few days, we had these deployed in our stores. So we just sat back and waited. Sort of like a baited mouse trap. It didn’t take long for one of these boosters to take the bait.
I just happened to be in one of my stores when I got called to a register. I never get called to a register, so I figured either something broke, or someone had stolen some cash. When I got to the front of the store, I saw one of the bat bandits standing at the register, along with a supervisor. I asked what I could do to help and the supervisor explained that the bat had rang up for $7.99. She said that during their meeting this morning, the managers talked about the new O-Tags and how they wouldn’t be on any product less than $200.
Due to just a little training and a very simple tool, I was able to close out a case relatively quickly on some folks who were stealing a lot of money from me. That was 4 years ago. To this day, we don’t put our high end bats on display without an O-Tag. Since our use of these tags, we have not had the significant losses like we did before their use.
Of all seasons, I really look forward to the spring time. Not only can we feel our fingers and toes finally, it’s the time of year where everyone gets outside and starts being active again. The snow is melted, the plants and flowers are in bloom and baseball season is getting under way. I love baseball. Probably more than any other sport I’ve ever played. I even coached little league for a few years… back when I had the spare time. For kids, there’s nothing like going down to their local sporting goods store and getting your very own set of equipment. Now that I’m in charge of protecting the product at that store, I want to make sure those kids get what they need, and aren’t shorted by a thief.
Currently I’m an LP manager for a regional sporting goods retailer. About two years ago, around the start of baseball season I began receiving reports from several stores that they were short on thousands of dollars’ worth of baseball bats. I began reviewing the shipping manifests and delivery dates and all corresponding CCTV and was certain the product had arrived at the store. I knew I had a thief, but how was someone stealing bats? They are quite difficult to steal and pretty obvious to just walk out with.
Through the course of our investigation, we were able to identify a ring of shoplifters that were targeting our high end bats. These items were prominently displayed and had no sort of security measure applied to prevent theft. We never had this problem before so we had not invested in any protective merchandising. These thieves were taking advantage of that and we were losing thousands of dollars in product as well as missed sales. Eventually, we discovered how the items were leaving the store. The shoplifters were taking the label from very inexpensive bats, and placing them on the higher end product. The cashiers were not catching the switch and they were paying next to nothing for the product.
We searched for something that could protect the merchandise, identify it as a high value to the cashier, while still keeping the bat merchandised in an open fashion. We came across the O-Tag by Checkpoint. Within a few days, we had these deployed in our stores. So we just sat back and waited. Sort of like a baited mouse trap. It didn’t take long for one of these boosters to take the bait.
I just happened to be in one of my stores when I got called to a register. I never get called to a register, so I figured either something broke, or someone had stolen some cash. When I got to the front of the store, I saw one of the bat bandits standing at the register, along with a supervisor. I asked what I could do to help and the supervisor explained that the bat had rang up for $7.99. She said that during their meeting this morning, the managers talked about the new O-Tags and how they wouldn’t be on any product less than $200.
Due to just a little training and a very simple tool, I was able to close out a case relatively quickly on some folks who were stealing a lot of money from me. That was 4 years ago. To this day, we don’t put our high end bats on display without an O-Tag. Since our use of these tags, we have not had the significant losses like we did before their use.
For more information contact us at losspreventionsystems.com or call 1.770.426.0547
Are you ready for Black Friday? It’s coming up soon, and the crowds will be out. Whether you’re a small business or a big box giant, the masses will be looking for deals and you have to be ready to get your piece of that sales pie. You also have to be ready to defend your merchandise from shoplifters. The professionals are making their plans now for what they want, which routes they’ll take, and how they’ll get away.
You can Prevent Shoplifting by following some merchandising rules. First of all, tag this year’s hot items with Checkpoint Labels if you have the system. If you can open the package without damaging it, put a tag on the inside as well. If you have Alpha Keepers, utilize them where possible. They are versatile, and keep the item visible to your customer. Don’t put this year’s popular items near the door either. You think that’s the way to get people to notice your store as they walk or drive by, but you’re also possibly getting unwanted attention. If you do choose to put them at the front entrance, at least limit the number of items you make available, and keep those on display secured.
A couple years ago my store had some 13” televisions for $88 on Black Friday. We had a lot of them from a special purchase. The owner said to make a big stack of them on the front shelving unit. So we did it, and we did it big and flashy. We even took one out of the box, ran some electricity, and played a movie on it for the day. We really wanted to catch the shopper’s eye and convince them they needed one of those televisions. We were concentrating on sell, sell, sell. There were a lot of people wondering around the store, shopping, and asking questions. We had two registers available at the front, and we were just basking in the glow of the day. That was about the time we looked up to see a man running out the door with four of those televisions, two in each hand. It was so convenient for him since the packages had handles! It turned out a group of these guys were going around all morning to our different locations grabbing these things off the big displays we built. It seemed we had put all our knowledge of how to Prevent Shoplifting out of our minds for that day’s big sale event. No one ever questioned the sanity of putting those items where we did, or why we were putting so many out at once.
Thankfully, we did learn our lesson. The following year, we had a similar deal with some various electronics. We used our bad experience to do this one right though. We kept the bulk of the items either in the back stock area or simply behind the counter. We tagged the ones we put out and stayed much more attentive. Oh, and we had large clear zip ties, and secured those handles on this year’s television boxes to the backs of the shelves.
Think about how you can feature this year’s biggest deals for Black Friday, and think about what you can do to Prevent Shoplifters from stealing your joy this season.
For more information contact us:Preventshopliftingloss.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Are you ready for Black Friday? It’s coming up soon, and the crowds will be out. Whether you’re a small business or a big box giant, the masses will be looking for deals and you have to be ready to get your piece of that sales pie. You also have to be ready to defend your merchandise from shoplifters. The professionals are making their plans now for what they want, which routes they’ll take, and how they’ll get away.
You can Prevent Shoplifting by following some merchandising rules. First of all, tag this year’s hot items with Checkpoint Labels if you have the system. If you can open the package without damaging it, put a tag on the inside as well. If you have Alpha Keepers, utilize them where possible. They are versatile, and keep the item visible to your customer. Don’t put this year’s popular items near the door either. You think that’s the way to get people to notice your store as they walk or drive by, but you’re also possibly getting unwanted attention. If you do choose to put them at the front entrance, at least limit the number of items you make available, and keep those on display secured.
A couple years ago my store had some 13” televisions for $88 on Black Friday. We had a lot of them from a special purchase. The owner said to make a big stack of them on the front shelving unit. So we did it, and we did it big and flashy. We even took one out of the box, ran some electricity, and played a movie on it for the day. We really wanted to catch the shopper’s eye and convince them they needed one of those televisions. We were concentrating on sell, sell, sell. There were a lot of people wondering around the store, shopping, and asking questions. We had two registers available at the front, and we were just basking in the glow of the day. That was about the time we looked up to see a man running out the door with four of those televisions, two in each hand. It was so convenient for him since the packages had handles! It turned out a group of these guys were going around all morning to our different locations grabbing these things off the big displays we built. It seemed we had put all our knowledge of how to Prevent Shoplifting out of our minds for that day’s big sale event. No one ever questioned the sanity of putting those items where we did, or why we were putting so many out at once.
Thankfully, we did learn our lesson. The following year, we had a similar deal with some various electronics. We used our bad experience to do this one right though. We kept the bulk of the items either in the back stock area or simply behind the counter. We tagged the ones we put out and stayed much more attentive. Oh, and we had large clear zip ties, and secured those handles on this year’s television boxes to the backs of the shelves.
Think about how you can feature this year’s biggest deals for Black Friday, and think about what you can do to Prevent Shoplifters from stealing your joy this season.
For more information contact us:Preventshopliftingloss.net or call 1.770.426.0547
