Security tags on clothes-4 WC blog 183
Checkpoint tags-5
Clothing security tags-3
Clothing Security Tags Aren’t Simply For Clothing Retailers: Part 1
I have a question for you and it may be a little more difficult than you might think at first glance. What kind of stores should use be using clothing security tags? The obvious answer is clothing stores right? Well, the answer is really yes AND no. Clothing retail stores should be using security tags on clothes, but so should other retail businesses you may not necessarily think about on a regular basis. I was in a grocery store the other day and noticed they were selling T-shirts for a local university which had recently won a very big college sports championship. Loss Prevention folks are always thinking about shortage and theft and tend to think about what they might do differently if it was their store. I noticed the store already had a Checkpoint electronic article surveillance antenna at the doors, so why not use Checkpoint tags on the clothes as well as the foods?
For those readers who may not be familiar with Checkpoint tags, these are both soft tags and hard tags that can be attached to clothes or stuck on hang tags. The soft tags have adhesive backings, and can be stuck to any number of surfaces, but for clothes they are best applied to manufacturer hang tags. Because Checkpoint clothing security tags are designed to be radio frequency sensitive, they are tuned to be picked up by the EAS antennas if they come into the range of the antennas. Hard tags differ from the soft tags because they are applied directly to the article of clothing. They are two-part devices that are pinned to the garment and clamp together. They are extremely strong and difficult to tamper with and remove without a detachment tool available from Checkpoint.
Checkpoint tags can be applied to any article of clothing. If there is concern about delicate fabrics like silk or satin, soft tags may be used. Hard tags can be applied to all materials including leather and denim. Inserting the pin in the seam of a garment protects from concerns about pin holes, while providing proven protection of the merchandise. Hard tags are large enough to be visible to customers and simply the sight of them on clothing is often a deterrent to potential shoplifters.
So what other stores may carry clothing that we may not traditionally think about for clothing security? I will discuss several types of retail businesses in this article and continue the discussion in part two of this series. As you read, think about any retail stores I may have missed that could also benefit from using security tags on clothes.
Sporting Goods stores may come to you fairly quickly as you think about the items they carry, baseball caps, running shoes, warm-up attire, sweat shirts, t-shirts and socks. Even merchandise such as baseball gloves can be protected with Checkpoint tags. Pin one end through the hand strap that goes across the back of the hand and the second piece secures it inside the strap.
Lingerie stores can decrease theft by using security tags on clothes. As mentioned previously, some people may be concerned about delicate materials being pinned but if that is the case, soft tags can be placed on the manufacture labels fastened by the plastic hang tag attachment.
One retail business you may not have thought of was an automotive parts store. Some of these stores sell t-shirts and ball caps advertising parts companies or their own business. Some are sponsors of race car teams and therefore carry team gear.
Clothing security tags used with EAS antennas are a strong deterrent to theft and increase profits through reduced shortage. Any number of businesses, including clothing stores can improve profits by investing in Checkpoint tags. Consider whether you might be overlooking the benefits of using security tags on clothes in your business.
Need information on Checkpoint tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
have a question for you and it may be a little more difficult than you might think at first glance. What kind of stores should use be using clothing security tags? The obvious answer is clothing stores right? Well, the answer is really yes AND no. Clothing retail stores should be using security tags on clothes, but so should other retail businesses you may not necessarily think about on a regular basis. I was in a grocery store the other day and noticed they were selling T-shirts for a local university which had recently won a very big college sports championship. Loss Prevention folks are always thinking about shortage and theft and tend to think about what they might do differently if it was their store. I noticed the store already had a Checkpoint electronic article surveillance antenna at the doors, so why not use Checkpoint tags on the clothes as well as the foods?
For those readers who may not be familiar with Checkpoint tags, these are both soft tags and hard tags that can be attached to clothes or stuck on hang tags. The soft tags have adhesive backings, and can be stuck to any number of surfaces, but for clothes they are best applied to manufacturer hang tags. Because Checkpoint clothing security tags are designed to be radio frequency sensitive, they are tuned to be picked up by the EAS antennas if they come into the range of the antennas. Hard tags differ from the soft tags because they are applied directly to the article of clothing. They are two-part devices that are pinned to the garment and clamp together. They are extremely strong and difficult to tamper with and remove with a detachment tool available from Checkpoint.
Checkpoint tags can be applied to any article of clothing. If there is concern about delicate fabrics like silk or satin, soft tags may be used. Hard tags can be applied to all materials including leather and denim. Inserting the pin in the seam of a garment protects from concerns about pin holes, while providing proven protection of the merchandise. Hard tags are large enough to be visible to customers and simply the sight of them on clothing is often a deterrent to potential shoplifters.
So what other stores may carry clothing that we may not traditionally think about for clothing security? I will discuss several types of retail businesses in this article and continue the discussion in part two of this series. As you read, think about any retail stores I may have missed that could also benefit from using security tags on clothes.
Sporting Goods stores may come to you fairly quickly as you think about the items they carry, baseball caps, running shoes, warm-up attire, sweat shirts, t-shirts and socks. Even merchandise such as baseball gloves can be protected with Checkpoint tags. Pin one end through the hand strap that goes across the back of the hand and the second piece secures it inside the strap.
Lingerie stores can decrease theft by using security tags on clothes. As mentioned previously, some people may be concerned about delicate materials being pinned but if that is the case, soft tags can be placed on the manufacture labels fastened by the plastic hang tag attachment.
One retail business you may not have thought of was an automotive parts store. Some of these stores sell t-shirts and ball caps advertising parts companies or their own business. Some are sponsors of race car teams and therefore carry team gear.
Clothing security tags used with EAS antennas are a strong deterrent to theft and increase profits through reduced shortage. Any number of businesses, including clothing stores can improve profits by investing in Checkpoint tags. Consider whether you might be overlooking the benefits of using security tags on clothes in your business.
Need information on Checkpoint tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
THE RISE OF CREDIT CARD FRAUD
Every month, our Treasury department emails us a list of all credit card chargebacks for the previous month. I used to ignore this report as I didn’t understand the implications of each chargeback. Once I realized that my company was essentially paying for criminals to go on shopping sprees, it forced me to change my tactics when it came to investigating credit card fraud.
Historically, the only times I would investigate credit card fraud would be when a customer would contact one of my stores to report a bogus charge. I would find the transaction, save the video and turn it over to law enforcement. My job would be done. Not very proactive and I’d go back to my normal routine. It wasn’t until our VP of Treasury held a conference call on this subject that I fully understood the financial impacts of these transactions. I always assumed that the banks absorbed the losses, but I was dead wrong. These were passed directly on to our company and it was impacting our bottom line significantly.
We (the investigative arm of our company) began changing our approach about 2 years ago. We now fully investigate credit card fraud and try to bring the culprits to justice as much as possible. That has led us to develop key relationships with members of local and federal law enforcement agencies. In fact, we recently helped bust a significant ring that had stolen the identities of thousands of hard working Americans and swindled my company out of nearly 5 million dollars.
It started by us reviewing a rash of high dollar chargebacks around a certain area of the country. From there, we drilled down further, to the transaction level and saw that all the purchases were for the same items, pre-paid Visa gift cards. If you ever want to launder money… that’s the way to do it. Once funds are placed on those gift cards, they are pretty much untraceable and unstoppable. Visa also doesn’t help much with tracking the cards once they are used either… A little more investigating and we see the same group of about 20 making these purchases. Very organized and very disciplined. They would target a dozen or so stores all at once, almost in unison. It’s very different from one or two boosters traveling down the interstate.
This went on for months, without a lead. We would have no warning and we were not able to track their movements. Out of nowhere, on seemingly random days, we would get hit and they would disappear into the wind just as quickly as they appeared. It was equally frustrating when we’d turn it over to local police; they really lacked the resources to fully investigate, so we were stuck. Until the group began to get greedy.
They changed their tactics after a few close calls and simply began withdrawing money from the ATM’s outside of our store. Easy cash, which they would then use to purchase the prepaid gift cards. What they didn’t realize is that those ATMs are secured by the FDIC, making their crimes a federal offense. This caught the attention of the local FBI field office, which was more than happy to take what we had on this group, which eventually led to their takedown.
Need information on Credit Card Fraud? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Every month, our Treasury department emails us a list of all credit card chargebacks for the previous month. I used to ignore this report as I didn’t understand the implications of each chargeback. Once I realized that my company was essentially paying for criminals to go on shopping sprees, it forced me to change my tactics when it came to investigating credit card fraud.
Historically, the only times I would investigate credit card fraud would be when a customer would contact one of my stores to report a bogus charge. I would find the transaction, save the video and turn it over to law enforcement. My job would be done. Not very proactive and I’d go back to my normal routine. It wasn’t until our VP of Treasury held a conference call on this subject that I fully understood the financial impacts of these transactions. I always assumed that the banks absorbed the losses, but I was dead wrong. These were passed directly on to our company and it was impacting our bottom line significantly.
We (the investigative arm of our company) began changing our approach about 2 years ago. We now fully investigate credit card fraud and try to bring the culprits to justice as much as possible. That has led us to develop key relationships with members of local and federal law enforcement agencies. In fact, we recently helped bust a significant ring that had stolen the identities of thousands of hard working Americans and swindled my company out of nearly 5 million dollars.
It started by us reviewing a rash of high dollar chargebacks around a certain area of the country. From there, we drilled down further, to the transaction level and saw that all the purchases were for the same items, pre-paid Visa gift cards. If you ever want to launder money… that’s the way to do it. Once funds are placed on those gift cards, they are pretty much untraceable and unstoppable. Visa also doesn’t help much with tracking the cards once they are used either… A little more investigating and we see the same group of about 20 making these purchases. Very organized and very disciplined. They would target a dozen or so stores all at once, almost in unison. It’s very different from one or two boosters traveling down the interstate.
This went on for months, without a lead. We would have no warning and we were not able to track their movements. Out of nowhere, on seemingly random days, we would get hit and they would disappear into the wind just as quickly as they appeared. It was equally frustrating when we’d turn it over to local police; they really lacked the resources to fully investigate, so we were stuck. Until the group began to get greedy.
They changed their tactics after a few close calls and simply began withdrawing money from the ATM’s outside of our store. Easy cash, which they would then use to purchase the prepaid gift cards. What they didn’t realize is that those ATMs are secured by the FDIC, making their crimes a federal offense. This caught the attention of the local FBI field office, which was more than happy to take what we had on this group, which eventually led to their takedown.
Need information on Credit Card Fraud? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Retail Anti-Theft Devices-5 WC Blog 141
Prevent Shoplifting-3
Alpha Keepers – 5
Prevention Of Shoplifting Requires Retail Ant-Theft Devices And Customer Service
The first step a business owner or manager must take to prevent shoplifting in their stores is to use retail anti-theft devices to protect merchandise. These devices may include electronic article surveillance tags, cameras, showcases, and etc. The thing many business owners forget to address is the fact that retail anti-theft devices alone are not enough to stop theft. There has to be awareness, education and training of staff as well. Protection tools such as Alpha Keepers are great for deterring theft, but the truth of the matter is they don’t stop determined thieves, especially when employees are not nearby to respond to electronic article surveillance alarms.
For someone not aware of what Alpha Keepers are, they are solid, clear plastic boxes with a hinged top that locks in place after merchandise is placed in the box. The boxes are very durable and extremely difficult to break into without the proper detachment key. They are also electronic article surveillance (EAS) sensitive and will activate EAS antennas if they come into the proximity of the antennas. Keepers come in a variety of shapes and sizes giving options for protecting a wide range of products. Protective case designs are available for small health and beauty products to video game software and even round cases for baby formula.
This brings me to the point of this article, do Alpha Keepers prevent shoplifting? Yes and no is my answer. Retail anti-theft devices prevent theft by casual shoplifters who are looking for a quick thrill of stealing but are not interested in risk. The chance that an alarm could be set off at a door or prying off an anti-theft device could trip an alarm is enough to prevent theft by the “amateur” shoplifter. The professional shoplifter who makes their living stealing and reselling generally avoids items that will trigger alarms. Their goal is to leave a building undetected after stealing so they can return at a later time and steal again. So who does that leave since it sounds like most criminals are deterred by retail anti-theft devices? It leaves those who are risk takers and frequently these are the people who are stealing to support drug and alcohol habits.
A case in point is a recent incident at the store I work at as a sales associate. A customer came in one night and my instincts as a prior Loss Prevention Manager kicked in and I was immediately wary of him. The customer was looking around in a suspicious manner and seemed very jittery. I offered him assistance and he told me he was looking for ink cartridges. Our store keeps the cartridges in Alpha Keepers in a corralled area. I walked the customer to the ink cartridges and continued to assist him by trying to determine the cartridge style he needed. The patron said he had to call his mother to find out. Well, the store was busy and we have a limited staff so I took the chance that the ink cartridges would be okay since they were in keeper boxes. I hadn’t walked away very far to assist someone else when I heard the EAS alarm at the doors sound. The “customer” I had been assisting had selected two ink cartridges valued at about a hundred dollars or so combined and he ran out the door. The security boxes did what they were designed to do and set off the alarm, but in this case there was no one in the vicinity of the door to respond to the alarm and challenge him.
Retail anti-theft devices can and usually do prevent shoplifting, but to truly maximize their effectiveness, it is important to adequately staff a store with enough employees. Sometimes it can be as simple as having enough people that someone is in the area of the door to respond to alarms. If extra staffing is out of the question, it may be a matter of placing a cashier and a register at the exit making it difficult for a criminal to grab and run. Just remember, Alpha Keepers are not a cure-all for all theft but they will prevent a significant portion of it and keep your store profitable.
Get more information on Alpha Keepers. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
The first step a business owner or manager must take to prevent shoplifting in their stores is to use retail anti-theft devices to protect merchandise. These devices may include electronic article surveillance tags, cameras, showcases, and etc. The thing many business owners forget to address is the fact that retail anti-theft devices alone are not enough to stop theft. There has to be awareness, education and training of staff as well. Protection tools such as Alpha Keepers are great for deterring theft, but the truth of the matter is they don’t stop determined thieves, especially when employees are not nearby to respond to electronic article surveillance alarms.
For someone not aware of what Alpha Keepers are, they are solid, clear plastic boxes with a hinged top that locks in place after merchandise is placed in the box. The boxes are very durable and extremely difficult to break into without the proper detachment key. They are also electronic article surveillance (EAS) sensitive and will activate EAS antennas if they come into the proximity of the antennas. Keepers come in a variety of shapes and sizes giving options for protecting a wide range of products. Protective case designs are available for small health and beauty products to video game software and even round cases for baby formula.
This brings me to the point of this article, do Alpha Keepers prevent shoplifting? Yes and no is my answer. Retail anti-theft devices prevent theft by casual shoplifters who are looking for a quick thrill of stealing but are not interested in risk. The chance that an alarm could be set off at a door or prying off an anti-theft device could trip an alarm is enough to prevent theft by the “amateur” shoplifter. The professional shoplifter who makes their living stealing and reselling generally avoids items that will trigger alarms. Their goal is to leave a building undetected after stealing so they can return at a later time and steal again. So who does that leave since it sounds like most criminals are deterred by retail anti-theft devices? It leaves those who are risk takers and frequently these are the people who are stealing to support drug and alcohol habits.
A case in point is a recent incident at the store I work at as a sales associate. A customer came in one night and my instincts as a prior Loss Prevention Manager kicked in and I was immediately wary of him. The customer was looking around in a suspicious manner and seemed very jittery. I offered him assistance and he told me he was looking for ink cartridges. Our store keeps the cartridges in Alpha Keepers in a corralled area. I walked the customer to the ink cartridges and continued to assist him by trying to determine the cartridge style he needed. The patron said he had to call his mother to find out. Well, the store was busy and we have a limited staff so I took the chance that the ink cartridges would be okay since they were in keeper boxes. I hadn’t walked away very far to assist someone else when I heard the EAS alarm at the doors sound. The “customer” I had been assisting had selected two ink cartridges valued at about a hundred dollars or so combined and he ran out the door. The security boxes did what they were designed to do and set off the alarm, but in this case there was no one in the vicinity of the door to respond to the alarm and challenge him.
Retail anti-theft devices can and usually do prevent shoplifting, but to truly maximize their effectiveness, it is important to adequately staff a store with enough employees. Sometimes it can be as simple as having enough people that someone is in the area of the door to respond to alarms. If extra staffing is out of the question, it may be a matter of placing a cashier and a register at the exit making it difficult for a criminal to grab and run. Just remember, Alpha Keepers are not a cure-all for all theft but they will prevent a significant portion of it and keep your store profitable.
Get more information on Alpha Keepers. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Checkpoint label-4 WC blog 75
EAS labels-5
Stop Shoplifting-3
Electronic Article Surveillance-3
Make It Clear Thieves Are Not Welcome – Use 3210 Clear Checkpoint Labels
I recall the days when I worked as a Loss Prevention Manager and part of my job responsibilities included ensuring our merchandise protection strategies were properly employed. This included the training of a Merchandise Protection Team Member and my Loss Prevention Team Members who would assist in tagging and securing product. We had a lot of product we tagged, compact discs, video game software, computer software, digital video discs, health and beauty products, and so on. At the time we were using EAS labels (electronic article surveillance) that were solid white and had corporate information printed on them. I had to make sure that as my team tagged merchandise, as much as possible, product information and warnings were not covered up. Certainly you could never cover up a barcode that just caused havoc at the register (and an uncomfortable conversation with the store manager for me). In many cases this was a challenging task, especially if you consider the size of some health and beauty products and the lengthy warnings and usage directions on those products. There were even items I would like to have tagged, but the tags we had were too large and simply would not fit. Other items we would tag were rounded, such as large vitamin bottles. We did tag them but trying to get those tags to curve to fit the bottles was tricky. Checkpoint labels have evolved over the years. There are now options available that make it an effective tool to stop shoplifting of almost any product.
One Checkpoint label now available is the 3210 Clear EP Label. This label offers the protections afforded by larger, more traditional EAS labels but they have a clear, see through window that other EAS labels don’t have. These tags are also extremely small and can be placed on some of the smallest cosmetic products, such as lipsticks and mascara bottles. The window of the tag can be placed over a barcode and the barcode can still be scanned (no more uncomfortable conversations with a store manager!). Often cosmetics were a high shortage department for our store because we could not protect the products adequately to stop shoplifting. The items tend to be very small so concealment is easy, dropping them into purses or shopping bags or simply slipping them into pants pockets. Many Loss Prevention teams don’t make apprehensions for cosmetic theft alone because the merchandise is so small and there is a significant chance to make a bad stop. Now with the 3210 Clear EP label, should a shoplifter attempt to steal a piece of merchandise they are going to set off the electronic article surveillance antennas as they try to exit the store.
Being small does not make this Checkpoint label any less effective than other EAS labels. In fact, should a store use Checkpoint’s Evolve Electronic Article Surveillance platform, the performance of the 3210 Clear EP Label is increased up to 60%. As I consider the benefits of these labels, I know from experience that professional shoplifters depend on speed and stealth to be able to hit stores multiple times. They don’t want to risk an EAS alarm as they exit a store so they either try to avoid merchandise tagged with EAS labels or they try to remove labels. If they are stealing cosmetics, they are not counting on having to try to remove multiple little labels before concealing the products. The deterrence value of the 3210 label is going to stop shoplifting, or at least a large amount of it.
Your business may carry small products from medicines to cosmetics and until now you may not have been able to do much to prevent shortage due to theft. Today you can stop theft shrinkage by tagging your products with 3210 Clear Checkpoint label. Make it “clear” to thieves they aren’t welcome in your store.
For more information on Checkpoint labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I recall the days when I worked as a Loss Prevention Manager and part of my job responsibilities included ensuring our merchandise protection strategies were properly employed. This included the training of a Merchandise Protection Team Member and my Loss Prevention Team Members who would assist in tagging and securing product. We had a lot of product we tagged, compact discs, video game software, computer software, digital video discs, health and beauty products, and so on. At the time we were using EAS labels (electronic article surveillance) that were solid white and had corporate information printed on them. I had to make sure that as my team tagged merchandise, as much as possible, product information and warnings were not covered up. Certainly you could never cover up a barcode that just caused havoc at the register (and an uncomfortable conversation with the store manager for me). In many cases this was a challenging task, especially if you consider the size of some health and beauty products and the lengthy warnings and usage directions on those products. There were even items I would like to have tagged, but the tags we had were too large and simply would not fit. Other items we would tag were rounded, such as large vitamin bottles. We did tag them but trying to get those tags to curve to fit the bottles was tricky. Checkpoint labels have evolved over the years. There are now options available that make it an effective tool to stop shoplifting of almost any product.
One Checkpoint label now available is the 3210 Clear EP Label. This label offers the protections afforded by larger, more traditional EAS labels but they have a clear, see through window that other EAS labels don’t have. These tags are also extremely small and can be placed on some of the smallest cosmetic products, such as lipsticks and mascara bottles. The window of the tag can be placed over a barcode and the barcode can still be scanned (no more uncomfortable conversations with a store manager!). Often cosmetics were a high shortage department for our store because we could not protect the products adequately to stop shoplifting. The items tend to be very small so concealment is easy, dropping them into purses or shopping bags or simply slipping them into pants pockets. Many Loss Prevention teams don’t make apprehensions for cosmetic theft alone because the merchandise is so small and there is a significant chance to make a bad stop. Now with the 3210 Clear EP label, should a shoplifter attempt to steal a piece of merchandise they are going to set off the electronic article surveillance antennas as they try to exit the store.
Being small does not make this Checkpoint label any less effective than other EAS labels. In fact, should a store use Checkpoint’s Evolve Electronic Article Surveillance platform, the performance of the 3210 Clear EP Label is increased up to 60%. As I consider the benefits of these labels, I know from experience that professional shoplifters depend on speed and stealth to be able to hit stores multiple times. They don’t want to risk an EAS alarm as they exit a store so they either try to avoid merchandise tagged with EAS labels or they try to remove labels. If they are stealing cosmetics, they are not counting on having to try to remove multiple little labels before concealing the products. The deterrence value of the 3210 label is going to stop shoplifting, or at least a large amount of it.
Your business may carry small products from medicines to cosmetics and until now you may not have been able to do much to prevent shortage due to theft. Today you can stop theft shrinkage by tagging your products with 3210 Clear Checkpoint label. Make it “clear” to thieves they aren’t welcome in your store.
For more information on Checkpoint labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Bottle Service-4 , Nightclub-3 , Bottle Locks-3
What separates a successful nightclub from your average bar scene? You need a great location, of course. You don’t want to open a new place in a bad part of town, or you’ll never get the place filled to capacity. People want to have a good time without worrying about being mugged when they leave or having their car broken into. Next you need an awesome DJ. You can’t just hire any guy off the street to spin; it has to be someone that is well-known and talented. Live music is always a great option as well. Another thing you should consider is bottle service. Yes, this is a VIP service and yes, it can be expensive for the patrons, but is it worth it? I’ll let you decide for yourself.
Average bar or nightclub: Everybody pays the same price and waits in the same general admission line for the doors to open. The people that get there first will get tables with chairs and the rest have to just settle for what they can find. Some will get isolated tables around the perimeter that have no chairs, but at least they have somewhere to sit their drinks down. That is, of course, after they have waited at the bar, fighting to get the attention of the bartender so they could order those drinks. If it is a busy night, the drinks can vary greatly. When the bartender starts getting tired or stressed out, they may start under or over pouring the cocktails. Everybody is treated with the same level of mediocre service.
A nightclub that offers bottle service: Whether they arrive at the time the doors open or they roll up around midnight, the group that got reservations for bottle service gets to bypass the line and go right in. They go straight to their designated table that is in a prime spot near the dance floor and has a great view of the live entertainment as well. Their table serves as their home base, so they have somewhere to put their stuff and they have seats for when they want to take a break from the dance floor. Their designated hostess brings them their prepaid top shelf liquors, mixers, ice and clean glasses right to their table, so there is no need to fight the crowd at the bar. When someone in the group is ready for a drink or a refill, the hostess comes over and removes the bottle lock and pours the drinks for them. (The bottles cannot be left unattended and open on the tables, so the bottle locks are necessary. But that keeps everyone safe.)
Bottle service offers your patrons a chance to feel like celebrities. The group will usually be splitting the cost which includes the table, a minimum number of bottles, and usually the gratuity. So they can feel cool and look like big spenders without really having to be rich. Whether you’re there to just get out of the house or there for to celebrate a promotion: everybody just wants to have fun and feel special. You show them a good time, keep them safe, and they will become loyal to your nightclub and they won’t go to your competition. Bottle service also helps your establishment avoid serving a minor. The hostess knows who is supposed to be at the table, so if someone new joins the party, she can check their ID before she removes the bottle locks for the next round of drinks. A busy, overworked bartender is less likely to check for proof of age every time, especially if they are swamped with people on all sides of the bar.
Get more information on Bottle Service. Contact us or call. 1.770.426.0547
What separates a successful nightclub from your average bar scene? You need a great location, of course. You don’t want to open a new place in a bad part of town, or you’ll never get the place filled to capacity. People want to have a good time without worrying about being mugged when they leave or having their car broken into. Next you need an awesome DJ. You can’t just hire any guy off the street to spin; it has to be someone that is well-known and talented. Live music is always a great option as well. Another thing you should consider is bottle service. Yes, this is a VIP service and yes, it can be expensive for the patrons, but is it worth it? I’ll let you decide for yourself.
Average bar or nightclub: Everybody pays the same price and waits in the same general admission line for the doors to open. The people that get there first will get tables with chairs and the rest have to just settle for what they can find. Some will get isolated tables around the perimeter that have no chairs, but at least they have somewhere to sit their drinks down. That is, of course, after they have waited at the bar, fighting to get the attention of the bartender so they could order those drinks. If it is a busy night, the drinks can vary greatly. When the bartender starts getting tired or stressed out, they may start under or over pouring the cocktails. Everybody is treated with the same level of mediocre service.
A nightclub that offers bottle service: Whether they arrive at the time the doors open or they roll up around midnight, the group that got reservations for bottle service gets to bypass the line and go right in. They go straight to their designated table that is in a prime spot near the dance floor and has a great view of the live entertainment as well. Their table serves as their home base, so they have somewhere to put their stuff and they have seats for when they want to take a break from the dance floor. Their designated hostess brings them their prepaid top shelf liquors, mixers, ice and clean glasses right to their table, so there is no need to fight the crowd at the bar. When someone in the group is ready for a drink or a refill, the hostess comes over and removes the bottle lock and pours the drinks for them. (The bottles cannot be left unattended and open on the tables, so the bottle locks are necessary. But that keeps everyone safe.)
Bottle service offers your patrons a chance to feel like celebrities. The group will usually be splitting the cost which includes the table, a minimum number of bottles, and usually the gratuity. So they can feel cool and look like big spenders without really having to be rich. Whether you’re there to just get out of the house or there for to celebrate a promotion: everybody just wants to have fun and feel special. You show them a good time, keep them safe, and they will become loyal to your nightclub and they won’t go to your competition. Bottle service also helps your establishment avoid serving a minor. The hostess knows who is supposed to be at the table, so if someone new joins the party, she can check their ID before she removes the bottle locks for the next round of drinks. A busy, overworked bartender is less likely to check for proof of age every time, especially if they are swamped with people on all sides of the bar.
Get more information on Bottle Service. Contact us or call. 1.770.426.0547
AST-3 , Wardrobing-3 , Return Fraud-3
Knock Out Wardrobing With Alpha Shark Tags
I have a couple of customers that I dread seeing come through the door. One or two in particular are just habitual returners. Our store offers a rewards program that gives coupons based on the purchase of certain items you buy. So they buy those things just to get the coupons and then they come back later claiming they needed to return it for some ridiculous reason. And I’m not allowed to ask for the return of the coupon. They get away with this blatant return fraud and it drives me crazy. Although it is not really considered wardrobing because they are not using the item before bringing it back, there are times I have to take a markdown on the item. I can’t be sure they didn’t leave a cosmetic item like lipstick in a hot car all day, so I have had to just throw it out sometimes.
It’s bad enough to buy something with the intention of returning it for a full refund, but I just read about a much worse trend. Now there are people that go in and buy high end merchandise, then come back later and return a knock-off or counterfeit item that looks similar. For example, a lady went and bought a super high priced designer hand bag for about $500. She waited a couple of days and came back to return the purse claiming buyer’s remorse. Of course, she had her original receipt and the sales lady recognized her from the original purchase. What the clerk did not realize was that she was actually refunding a very well made fake that the lady had bought for around $20 at a local flea market. This takes return fraud to a whole new level, folks.
There is a solution though, and it is the same one that stores use to combat wardrobing. Alpha Shark Tags were introduced to the market many years ago to solve that problem and they can be used to stop this as well. Many clothing retailers have suffered losses from return fraud for years. The shopper comes in and purchases a party dress along with shoes and some other accessories. A couple days later they come back with the receipt and expect a full refund because that was all the store policy required. Take a moment and just imagine the sweat stains in the armpits, the cigarette smoke smell, the makeup ring around the collar, and even the scuffs on the shoes. And this clown is now standing in front of you claiming she just doesn’t want the stuff anymore and you are supposed to give a full refund with a smile. That’s wardrobing in a nutshell and that is exactly why Alpha Shark Tags were invented. Now store staff just clips the tag right on the front of the dress (sometimes with a copy of the store’s return policy) and if the tag is removed, the item is not eligible to be returned.
If your store is going to sell merchandise that is known for being copied and sold at deep discounts, you need to know how to identify the authentic stuff and weed out the knock-offs. It can be difficult. Sometimes the police that raid these flea market booths have trouble telling the difference. One way you can tell if the stuff is real or at least really sold by your store is use Alpha Shark Tags. Clip one inside all your designer hand bags and before a return can be processed, you open the bag and inspect it. If the tag is not intact and in the bag, then you send them back out the door and on their merry way.
Get more information on Alpha Shark Tags. Contact us or call today: 1.770.426.0547
I have a couple of customers that I dread seeing come through the door. One or two in particular are just habitual returners. Our store offers a rewards program that gives coupons based on the purchase of certain items you buy. So they buy those things just to get the coupons and then they come back later claiming they needed to return it for some ridiculous reason. And I’m not allowed to ask for the return of the coupon. They get away with this blatant return fraud and it drives me crazy. Although it is not really considered wardrobing because they are not using the item before bringing it back, there are times I have to take a markdown on the item. I can’t be sure they didn’t leave a cosmetic item like lipstick in a hot car all day, so I have had to just throw it out sometimes.
It’s bad enough to buy something with the intention of returning it for a full refund, but I just read about a much worse trend. Now there are people that go in and buy high end merchandise, then come back later and return a knock-off or counterfeit item that looks similar. For example, a lady went and bought a super high priced designer hand bag for about $500. She waited a couple of days and came back to return the purse claiming buyer’s remorse. Of course, she had her original receipt and the sales lady recognized her from the original purchase. What the clerk did not realize was that she was actually refunding a very well made fake that the lady had bought for around $20 at a local flea market. This takes return fraud to a whole new level, folks.
There is a solution though, and it is the same one that stores use to combat wardrobing. Alpha Shark Tags were introduced to the market many years ago to solve that problem and they can be used to stop this as well. Many clothing retailers have suffered losses from return fraud for years. The shopper comes in and purchases a party dress along with shoes and some other accessories. A couple days later they come back with the receipt and expect a full refund because that was all the store policy required. Take a moment and just imagine the sweat stains in the armpits, the cigarette smoke smell, the makeup ring around the collar, and even the scuffs on the shoes. And this clown is now standing in front of you claiming she just doesn’t want the stuff anymore and you are supposed to give a full refund with a smile. That’s wardrobing in a nutshell and that is exactly why Alpha Shark Tags were invented. Now store staff just clips the tag right on the front of the dress (sometimes with a copy of the store’s return policy) and if the tag is removed, the item is not eligible to be returned.
If your store is going to sell merchandise that is known for being copied and sold at deep discounts, you need to know how to identify the authentic stuff and weed out the knock-offs. It can be difficult. Sometimes the police that raid these flea market booths have trouble telling the difference. One way you can tell if the stuff is real or at least really sold by your store is use Alpha Shark Tags. Clip one inside all your designer hand bags and before a return can be processed, you open the bag and inspect it. If the tag is not intact and in the bag, then you send them back out the door and on their merry way.
Get more information on Alpha Shark Tags. Contact us or call today: 1.770.426.0547
