Networking and Loss Prevention Seminars

I’ve been in the Loss Prevention Industry for quite a while now, and it seems like at least once per year, my bosses send me a loss prevention seminar hosted somewhere around the country. My first couple of years on the job, I really thought these trips were a waste of my time. While I didn’t mind the idea of traveling to a new city, or having a little fun on the company’s dime, I really didn’t see the benefit in my rookie years. 

It seemed like most seminars were focused on all the new security systems and anti-theft devices. Every booth I stopped into, I was trying to be sold a product. I didn’t make purchasing decisions, nor did I even have a small part in that process. Why was I there? I thought there were 500 other things, more productive things, I could be doing with my time. I look back at my first years and think of the opportunities I probably missed out on because I was so focused on the sales part of the seminar. I learned, as time went on, that there were so much more I could get out of them. 

 In the Loss Prevention field, I found that networking was incredibly useful in performing my job effectively. Every time I was in charge of a large external investigation, I always saw my suspect targeting the same merchandise at various other retailers. Knowing who your LP contacts are other retailers can make a big impact when you’re trying to close a case… or even just finding the identity of an unknown shoplifter. While out on these trips, I began talking with, and getting to know my industry peers. Even some of my company’s competitors were, and still are some of my best friends that I also constantly work with and collaborate ideas with.

Later on I also discovered that during most of these Loss Prevention seminars, I could sign up to hear experts, or law enforcement agencies talk about different crime gangs, or new theft trends they were seeing. One of the first times I sat in one on of these discussions, I listened to a Secret Service Agent give a presentation on counterfeit traveler’s checks. He passed around some literature and really went into detail about a married couple who had been traveling across the country passing counterfeit $500 checks to any retailer who would accept them. During his presentation, he stated that they had yet to be caught. This caught my attention because I had just recently been involved in a case where two suspects were apprehended at one of my stores for trying to pass the same counterfeit bills as this agent was describing. He closed by passing around some still images taken off a CCTV at a store and wouldn’t you know it… it was the same couple. After the presentation was over, I introduced myself and told the agent I had the identities of his suspects. For the next 2 days, I don’t think I bought my own drink. Next time you have the option to check out a seminar, even if you have to put in a little travel, I would highly recommend doing so; your next case may depend on it. 

 For more information, contact us at Loss Prevention Seminar, or call 1.770.426.0547

Score Bigger Profits this Holiday Season Using Anti-Shoplifting Devices

It’s that time of year again. The temperatures are getting cooler (or so my friends up North tell me), the days are getting shorter and there’s that clock ticking down to the start of the holiday shopping season. For most people, it’s a joyous time. Friends and family gatherings are on the horizon, shopping for the perfect gifts for loved ones and doing what you can to spread a little cheer to your fellow man. If you run a retail store, it’s really about how you make the most sales in a very short time, with minimal loss, to end the year in the black. It probably also means using anti-shoplifting tools to secure the new, coolest products you are selling this year. 

 Every year it seems like my company invests more and more into the electronics category this time of year. These are not items we normally carry during the year, so item placement is scarce and our buying teams never really give any consideration to how easy they can be stolen. The store would be loaded with digital music players, GPS units, wireless speakers…etc, and they would be positioned throughout the store in a haphazard way, with no anti-shoplifting device installed. It was basically open season and thieves new it. This will be my 9th holiday season in retail and I can tell you that more of your “average Joes” steal during this time of year. These are people who would never consider stealing at any other time of the year, but with crowded stores and long lines (and in some cases, screaming little kids), you can see how one can quickly resort to shoplifting. This is also a time of year when parents feel they need to give their children an amazing experience, buy maybe financially, it would be impossible. 

 Every year for the past 9, I have worked on Christmas Eve. We close at 6pm, so I never really had a problem with it. 8 of those 9 years I have caught a shoplifter on this day. One that sticks out happened about two years ago. A lady came into the store and quickly began filling a basket with what, anyone would assume was her shopping list. When I walked past her full buggy of toys, I noticed that the anti-shoplifting device on a pair of speakers had been removed. I let my team know and they began surveillance. It wasn’t long before she walked right out of the front door with her full buggy, never once stopping to pay for the toys. It was Christmas Eve, but I still had a job to do. When we got her to the security office she told us why she had did it. Her husband had just been killed overseas and she was without an income. The government was dragging its feet with her benefits and she had three children to look after. I couldn’t send this woman to jail, she wasn’t a bad person. Just a parent, lost and trying to make her children a little happier. When the police arrived, we declined to pursue any charges and explained to the officer why. He didn’t seem to care and our store actually donated some toys to her family.  

For more information, contact us at Anti Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547

Bring Background Checks to the Front Line

Do you normally make impulse decisions that could cost your business thousands of dollars, or do you look at all of the available data to ensure you make an informed decision? If you don’t like taking risks with the future of your business, why would you take a chance on hiring someone without first running background checks to review their past.  Not many people would expect the well dressed and well-spoken interviewee to be a thief, but sometimes that’s just how things turn out.

In a perfect world, job candidates would walk in and give you an honest and full disclosure of their past.  This is not even close to reality.  There are not many people out there that are going to tell you something that could potentially hinder their chances of getting the job. They are secretly hoping that you don’t have a pre-employment screening process in place.

No matter what size your company is, you don’t want to judge a book by its cover when hiring your employees.  It’s sometimes easy to be fooled by appearances. In some cases, it is the person who you would least suspect that will wind up robbing you blind.  Whether you have five employees or 5,000 working for you, it’s never a good idea to trust only in your instincts when hiring your staff.  A good background check is the best way to assure that you don’t hire criminals to represent your business. 

You may not realize it, but some people seek jobs specifically to steal from their future employer.  They will not only have the chance to lighten your wallet by stealing from you, but you will be paying them to do it.  Some of them work by themselves, and others are a part of a much larger network.  I have worked cases in the past in which the employee was just a small piece of the puzzle in regard to the role they played in their group.  For example, I worked on an employee theft investigation that involved a single cashier that was not only taking cash from the register, but was having their friends come in and fill out fraudulent credit applications using false identities as well.  It was later shown that she was also accepting counterfeit cash.

Some small business owners may think that this kind of activity would only happen at a massive store, which is not the case.  Once these groups have a single person on the inside, the possibilities of what damage they can cause to a business are endless.  We were lucky in this situation, because were able to work with multiple branches of law enforcement to identify others involved and close the case.  Not every case has a good outcome though, sometimes they are gone before you even realize anything is happening.

While not all cases are that large in scope, for a small business a large loss could be crippling.  I’m not trying to give you nightmares.  I am trying to arm you with information that could help save you a lot of time and money by doing it right in the first place.

You can’t just assume that everyone you want to hire will be a good decision.  Take the guesswork out of the process and run thorough background checks by using a reputable company that is known for pre-employment screening.  These steps are necessary to avoid all of the headaches you could face if you don’t get them done for everyone you hire.  Skipping the process is gambling with the success of your business, and the small costs involved are a tiny fraction of what you may wind up losing in the long run.

For more information contact us: Background Checks or call 1.770.426.0547

Touchdown with Clothing Security

Would you believe that one single shoplifter caused over $15,000 in loss between just 3 of my stores? It’s true. Two years ago I was running some audits of inventory data for a group of stores all located in the same metropolitan area. I noticed that all 3 were reporting heavy losses on a particular NFL jersey. These retail for $150 each, so I immediately suspected we had a theft problem. I paid a visit to those stores the next week and realized that we had these jerseys in a secluded section of the store. Furthermore, they were unprotected for such a high dollar item. We needed to make some changes and that included utilizing different types of clothing security products. 

 I had a budget, like most people do. I knew exactly how much profit each jersey gave the store, so I had to find a product that was inexpensive, but was also effective. Spending too much would start to erode my profits, spending too little would not give me the security I felt we needed. At the time, I figured that anyone who wanted one of these jerseys were just helping themselves. Boy, was I way off. I quickly learned that there were hundreds of products out there and each one promised to stop my losses. I went with a simple, inexpensive ink tag. This particular brand matched the de-activation equipment already in use in my stores and the ink wouldn’t really explode… it was a deterrent. I wanted to get the most for my budget dollars and only purchased enough to cover the stock at store that reported the highest loss. I thought this would also give me a better idea of where the loss was stemming from. 

 A month went by after the tags were installed and I asked for an inventory to be conducted on the jerseys. As I expected, the store with the clothing security devices installed reported $0 loss on those jerseys. I was elated. Elated until I saw the other two store’s inventory data. It seemed like I just pushed the loss to the two unprotected stores. I immediately had tags shipped to those other two locations. At least I knew my investment was effective. I also began to investigate the losses. I knew I was in those stores on a certain date, and I knew when the losses had occurred by (the inventory date). I went back and reviewed the store’s camera system and after a couple of hours of review, I saw the same shoplifter come into the store anywhere between 2 and 3 times a day. Everyday. Each time, he would take one jersey into the fitting room. I assume he concealed in on his person in the stall, since he would exit the fitting room and head straight to the front door. I looked at the store that had the tags deployed and again saw the same shoplifter. The difference? He was deterred by the clothing security device. 

We were able to make a case and found that this one individual was responsible for over $15,000 in loss. What could my stores have done with those extra sales? What could your stores do with that much in extra sales? Shoplifters will take advantage of any business, no matter the size. Don’t fall victim to someone who doesn’t want to work for a living. 

For more information, contact us at Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547

Monthly Alarm Testing- Bottle Locks

One of the most basic security features your liquor store needs is an alarm system. It should be one monitored bay a reputable company to ensure that you are getting the most for your money. Did you know that even if your system is being monitored that a malfunction with an alarm or motion detector would not register with the alarm company?

A loose wire or a broken component does not have any way to be detected by your monitoring company. They only receive notice if a contact point or motion sensor is activated. That means it is up to you to physically perform a test to ensure that all points are working properly, and detect and repair any points that are malfunctioning.

The test is very easy to do, should take no more than maybe five or ten minutes depending upon the size of your store. All you have to do is call your monitoring company and have them put your system into test mode. This prevents the alarms from triggering a police dispatch-, which is what you would want in the case of an actual break in.

From there, you simply set your alarm, as you would normally do at closing time. You then walk past each motion detector, and open each door that has an alarm contact point on it. You then turn your alarm back off and call the monitoring company to let them know the test is completed. It is important that they take your system out of test mode. If they leave it on test and an actual break in occurs, the police will not be notified to respond.

Now, you should look at the alarm report. You should have each point and detector register on this report. If for some reason one does not show up, set up a service call to have the point repaired.

In addition to having a working security alarm, you should also invest in additional security like bottle locks. Just as a security alarm is a preventative measure against break ins and robberies, EASy Bottle locks give an added incentive to not steal liquor from your stores.

Picture this from a thief’s perspective. If they were to attempt to rob your store, first they have to contend with setting off the security alarm. If they decide to go ahead and break in, they would then be faced with what to do with the liquor. Since your liquor bottles would be protected with bottle locks, it would be extremely difficult to remove each lock from every bottle stolen. 

A thief, who is looking for a larger scale score, such as through a robbery, would have an infinitely more difficult time reselling liquor with locks on it. That puts a crimp in their resell efforts making it hugely unprofitable for them to steal from your store. Even during open business hours, a thief looking to shoplift a bottle or two will be greatly deterred when faced with the prospect of defeating additional bottle security. It’s not as easy to steal protected bottles, as it is to steal the ones without locks on them.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

Ink Tags as an Anti-Shoplifting Device

A company I once worked for specialized, among other things, in footwear. The footwear section of the store was huge. So were the losses. We stocked anything from a cheap pair of flip-flops to the newest name brand running shoe. The area I covered as a Loss Prevention Manager was south Texas, to include stores along the US/Mexico border. Saying we had a shoplifting problem was an understatement. Even with the different anti-shoplifting devices we had throughout the store, we still found ourselves taking anywhere between 20-30 pairs of shoes out of inventory each night. 

Our best guess was that we were dealing with gangs, and there wasn’t one single person responsible for our losses. As time went by, we discovered a plethora of ways that these boosters were stealing our shoes. Some techniques they used were pretty simple; walk in, grab as many boxes as one could hold and run out of the nearest emergency exit to a waiting vehicle. Others were a little more complex. I remember one shoplifter in particular that had targeted about a dozen of my stores. He would come in alone, and spend nearly 3-4 hours in the store, all without ever being detected by the store employees. One at a time, he would systematically remove entire runs of shoes, costing the store thousands of dollars. After grabbing a pair, he would walk around the store where he would remove the anti-shoplifting device, and place the shoes, minus the box, in a large trash bag he had hidden in a secluded area of the store. After his trash bag (or bags) were full, he would simply walk out of the front door. 

 The losses were so significant, I started trying different methods to securing the shoes with different tags. I remember we tested some ink tags on a newer shoe that had just arrived at the stores. We took the ink tag and ran it through the tongue of the shoe. It was clear when you opened the box, but it didn’t get in the way of the honest customer. The part my bosses liked the most was they were relatively inexpensive. I just hoped they would work. It took a few months for my booster to return to the area, and when he did I put a dent in his profits for a change. 

 One of my stores reported to me that they had witnessed him exiting the store, but without any product. Thinking they were most likely mistaken in their identification, I looked at the surveillance footage. Sure enough, it was my booster and he was leaving the store without any shoes. I ran back the cameras and saw him working in our shoe department. He was after the shoes that we had used the ink tags on. Each time he would open the box, he saw the tag and put the box back on the shelf. It was clear to me that he didn’t want to risk damaging his goods with ink. After that, we tagged all of our shoes in this manner and our losses have dropped significantly. While we still have shoplifters that are determined to steal, the use of that simple anti-shoplifting device was definitely a great investment. 

For more information, contact us at Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547