While working in retail loss prevention, you see a side of society that not many people have the pleasure to experience. You come across what seems to be an infinite amount of unsavory characters that come into the stores, and the stories that come out of these encounters are sometimes unbelievable to those not experiencing them first hand. No matter the size of your business, if it doesn’t at least have a basic retail theft prevention plan in place to stop shoplifting from happening, you are just making it easier for the thieves, and making your store a favorite destination for your not so friendly neighborhood shoplifters.
I remember hearing stories about one shoplifter in particular that would just not give up stealing, no matter how many times he was caught. This guy had a serious problem, which was a drug addiction that caused him to steal large amounts of high dollar products to support his habit. His method of operation was usually to load up a shopping cart full of electronic gadgets and just push the cart out the door. Other times, he would actually cut a hole in the lawn and garden department’s fence before coming into the store, and bring the merchandise out there to push it right through the fence. He would then climb through the fence himself and get into a car that was already waiting for him to make his getaway.
This shoplifter had been apprehended several times for committing the same types of thefts. If that wasn’t enough, each time he was stopped for shoplifting he would struggle with the employees and then warn them that he would be back by saying, “see you next time”. Even more bizarre, is the fact that he wasn’t lying. He would actually go back to some of the exact same stores where he had been previously apprehended for theft, and steal again with the same method of operation. You would think that he would go somewhere else after getting caught a couple of times and going to jail, but no, he just couldn’t get it together and stop shoplifting.
The only thing that was slowing this guy down was the fact that he had to defeat the anti-shoplifting devices that were attached to the merchandise, because he didn’t want the alarm sounding at the door when he pushed out the stolen goods. If it wasn’t for that, he would have been in and out of the store much faster. Most of the merchandise he was after had devices like Checkpoint security tags attached to them, which meant he would have to stop and remove all of the tags before he exited the store if he didn’t want to attract any extra attention. Some of the times he was caught, it was because the staff saw him pulling the tags off of the items that were in his shopping cart.
Do yourself a favor and have a good retail theft prevention strategy that works for your business, because if you don’t, you are basically advertising that your store is an easy target for shoplifters. Having a strong plan in place is the only way you will have even the slightest chance to stop shoplifting from happing in your store, or at least reduce the chances. The shoplifters aren’t going to make it easy to protect your merchandise, so you should do everything you can to make it as tough as possible for the ones that are stealing from your store.
While working in retail loss prevention, you see a side of society that not many people have the pleasure to experience. You come across what seems to be an infinite amount of unsavory characters that come into the stores, and the stories that come out of these encounters are sometimes unbelievable to those not experiencing them first hand. No matter the size of your business, if it doesn’t at least have a basic retail theft prevention plan in place to stop shoplifting from happening, you are just making it easier for the thieves, and making your store a favorite destination for your not so friendly neighborhood shoplifters.
I remember hearing stories about one shoplifter in particular that would just not give up stealing, no matter how many times he was caught. This guy had a serious problem, which was a drug addiction that caused him to steal large amounts of high dollar products to support his habit. His method of operation was usually to load up a shopping cart full of electronic gadgets and just push the cart out the door. Other times, he would actually cut a hole in the lawn and garden department’s fence before coming into the store, and bring the merchandise out there to push it right through the fence. He would then climb through the fence himself and get into a car that was already waiting for him to make his getaway.
This shoplifter had been apprehended several times for committing the same types of thefts. If that wasn’t enough, each time he was stopped for shoplifting he would struggle with the employees and then warn them that he would be back by saying, “see you next time”. Even more bizarre, is the fact that he wasn’t lying. He would actually go back to some of the exact same stores where he had been previously apprehended for theft, and steal again with the same method of operation. You would think that he would go somewhere else after getting caught a couple of times and going to jail, but no, he just couldn’t get it together and stop shoplifting.
The only thing that was slowing this guy down was the fact that he had to defeat the anti-shoplifting devices that were attached to the merchandise, because he didn’t want the alarm sounding at the door when he pushed out the stolen goods. If it wasn’t for that, he would have been in and out of the store much faster. Most of the merchandise he was after had devices like Checkpoint Security tags attached to them, which meant he would have to stop and remove all of the tags before he exited the store if he didn’t want to attract any extra attention. Some of the times he was caught, it was because the staff saw him pulling the tags off of the items that were in his shopping cart.
Do yourself a favor and have a good retail theft prevention strategy that works for your business, because if you don’t, you are basically advertising that your store is an easy target for shoplifters. Having a strong plan in place is the only way you will have even the slightest chance to stop shoplifting from happening in your store, or at least reduce the chances. The shoplifters aren’t going to make it easy to protect your merchandise, so you should do everything you can to make it as tough as possible for the ones that are stealing from your store.
For more information contact us: Anti Shoplifting 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
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
Ah, summertime. Just thinking about warmer weather and beaches make me wish this early winter would come to an end already! Just like those Black Friday deals, it seems as if the colder weather starts earlier and earlier every year. I look forward to the summer time, though. Spending weekends on the lake, warmer weather and of course, shark season. If your store sells those high end bikinis, you’ll want to make sure you are utilizing something like the Alpha Shark Tag to prevent refund fraud on those high end bikinis.
Every year around late February/early March, my stores being the seasonal transition. Out with the coats and outerwear and in with board shorts, swim trunks and lately, some very expensive bikinis. These sets have sold really well for us, but they also presented their own set of challenges in finding a clothing alarm that tackled both problems we were having with them. We found wardrobing to be very common with these items, in addition to your standard, everyday theft.
Two years ago, the company I worked for began testing different clothing security tags to combat the growing shrink in the high end brands we carried. Some of these bikinis were upwards of two hundred dollars! Due to our open sell concept, we didn’t want a security device that would interfere with a customer trying the product on, but we needed something that was, at the very least, a great physical deterrent.
We had a group of about 5 female shoplifters who were targeting our coastal stores for quite a few months that summer. They would come into the stores and within minutes, would quite literally, empty entire displays of these bikini sets. Each of my 10 stores were targeted by this group and at the end of their spree, had cost my company upwards of $25,000. The product they were taking was very easily concealed and by using a small clutch, they were able to get out, undetected, each time. It wasn’t until inventory that the losses were uncovered, and by that time it was too late. We knew that for the next summer season we had to take pro-active measures to protect our inventory.
A year went by and it was summer once again. My stores began setting their swimsuit displays, only this year, we invested in Alpha Shark tags on those high end sets. We also made sure our stores were aware of the group of thieves that were targeting the stores last year. Thieves are creatures of habit, and it didn’t take long for that same group to begin targeting our stores. Only this time, they were greeted with some bright red tags that made it impossible for them to quickly conduct their fraudulent activities. We saw a significant reduction in shrink in this category this past year because of those tags.
Additionally, we altered our return policy on those swimsuits over certain price point. Since they are considered intimate apparel, once they are worn, we began refusing to accept them back. By using the tag, our customers could purchase the item and try it on at home. If it didn’t fit, we would take it back, only if the Shark Tag was still attached. This prevented those dishonest customers from wearing the swimsuit for a season then returning it.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Ah, summertime. Just thinking about warmer weather and beaches make me wish this early winter would come to an end already! Just like those Black Friday deals, it seems as if the colder weather starts earlier and earlier every year. I look forward to the summer time, though. Spending weekends on the lake, warmer weather and of course, shark season. If your store sells swimwear, you’ll want to make sure you are utilizing something like the Alpha Shark Tag to prevent refund fraud on those swimsuits.
Every year around late February/early March, my stores begin the seasonal transition. Out with the coats and outerwear and in with board shorts, swim trunks and lately, some very expensive swimwear. These sets have sold really well for us, but they also present their own set of challenges in finding a clothing alarm that tackled both problems we were having with them. We found wardrobing to be very common with these items, in addition to your standard, everyday theft.
Two years ago, the company I worked for began testing different clothing security tags to combat the growing shrink in the high end brands we carried. Some of these swimsuits were upwards of two hundred dollars! Due to our open sell concept, we didn’t want a security device that would interfere with a customer trying the product on, but we needed something that was, at the very least, a great physical deterrent.
We had a group of about 5 female shoplifters who were targeting our coastal stores for quite a few months that summer. They would come into the stores and within minutes, would quite literally, empty entire displays of bikini sets. Each of my 10 stores were targeted by this group and at the end of their spree, had cost my company upwards of $25,000. The product they were taking was very easily concealed and by using a small clutch, they were able to get out, undetected, each time. It wasn’t until inventory that the losses were uncovered, and by that time it was too late. We knew that for the next summer season we had to take pro-active measures to protect our inventory.
A year went by and it was summer once again. My stores began setting their swimsuit displays, only this year, we invested in Alpha Shark Tags on those high end sets. We also made sure our stores were aware of the group of thieves that were targeting the stores last year. Thieves are creatures of habit, and it didn’t take long for that same group to begin targeting our stores. Only this time, they were greeted with some bright red tags that made it impossible for them to quickly conduct their fraudulent activities. We saw a significant reduction in shrink in this category this past year because of the Alpah Shark Tags.
Additionally, we altered our return policy on the swimsuits over certain price point. Since they are considered intimate apparel, once they are worn, we began refusing to accept them back. By using the Alpha Shark Tag, our customers could purchase the item and try it on at home. If it didn’t fit, we would take it back, only if the Alpha Shark Tag was still attached. This prevented those dishonest customers from wearing the swimsuit for a season then returning it.
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Do you think your business would benefit from using Bottle Locks? Wine and spirits theft is on the rise all around the country. There are several reasons, but one can definitely be attributed to the sheer availability. So many new and different businesses now merchandise alcohol right on the sales floor. From package stores that specialize in these products, and now to just about all grocery stores, department stores, and even drug stores, the bottles are everywhere you look. It just depends on the market and state laws as to which items are carried. There are those that will steal to support their own substance abuse, some will steal for no reason other than just not wanting to pay, and then there are teens and young adults that will take a bottle on a dare or just want to try drinking.
No matter the person committing the crime, or the reason, concealing a bottle of wine or liquor really is not that difficult. Unless you have someone posted in that section at all times, in most stores, the opportunity is there to hide the items and walk out the door many times a day. I know I find myself watching a shopper in my simple 12 foot wine section, then a customer stops to ask a question, or some other random distraction, and before I can return and offer help to the original person, they have disappeared. I feel a little better knowing that we have the Checkpoint System installed, and that Bottle Locks will cause an alarm if there is a shoplifter attempting to leave with a bottle that has not had it’s lock removed.
Bottle Locks are great for a number of reasons. They are easy to use. Just pop them on as the inventory arrives. You can choose which items you feel there is a need to protect. They come off easily and quickly at the checkout, and do not require anything other than the provided magnet key. They fit right over the caps and corks of the bottles, so they cannot be opened without their removal. They have the word “alarm” printed clearly on them. When a customer walks down the aisle to make their selections, they can still read the labels clearly, pick up the bottles, and decide what they want without having to ask you to open a case or hand them bottles from behind a counter. Most importantly they can also clearly see that the Bottle Locks are in place, so there is no question that the items are protected. It’s not like you are hiding a checkpoint label inside the packaging. These are for clear deterrence. They say to the potential shoplifter that your business is serious about inventory control.
Other than customer service, there is no better way to stop a shoplifter than through deterrence. It’s okay to be obvious about it, and the person will most likely decide to buy the item instead of try to steal it, or they will choose to try another store instead, like your competitor.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Do you think your business would benefit from using Bottle Locks? Wine and spirits theft is on the rise all around the country. There are several reasons, but one can definitely be attributed to the sheer availability. So many new and different businesses now merchandise alcohol right on the sales floor. From package stores that specialize in these products, and now to just about all grocery stores, department stores, and even drug stores, the bottles are everywhere you look. It just depends on the market and state laws as to which items are carried. There are those that will steal to support their own substance abuse, some will steal for no reason other than just not wanting to pay, and then there are teens and young adults that will take a bottle on a dare or just want to try drinking.
No matter the person committing the crime, or the reason, concealing a bottle of wine or liquor really is not that difficult. Unless you have someone posted in that section at all times, in most stores, the opportunity is there to hide the items and walk out the door many times a day. I know I find myself watching a shopper in my simple 12 foot wine section, then a customer stops to ask a question, or some other random distraction, and before I can return and offer help to the original person, they have disappeared. I feel a little better knowing that we have the Checkpoint System installed, and that Bottle Locks will cause an alarm if there is a shoplifter attempting to leave with a bottle that has not had it’s lock removed.
Bottle Locks are great for a number of reasons. They are easy to use. Just pop them on as the inventory arrives. You can choose which items you feel there is a need to protect. They come off easily and quickly at the checkout, and do not require anything other than the provided magnet key. They fit right over the caps and corks of the bottles, so they cannot be opened without their removal. They have the word “alarm” printed clearly on them. When a customer walks down the aisle to make their selections, they can still read the labels clearly, pick up the bottles, and decide what they want without having to ask you to open a case or hand them bottles from behind a counter. Most importantly they can also clearly see that the Bottle Locks are in place, so there is no question that the items are protected. It’s not like you are hiding a Checkpoint Label inside the packaging. These are for clear deterrence. They say to the potential shoplifter that your business is serious about inventory control.
Other than customer service, there is no better way to stop a shoplifter than through deterrence. It’s okay to be obvious about it, and the person will most likely decide to buy the item instead of try to steal it, or they will choose to try another store instead, like your competitor.
For more information contact us at Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
