Clothing security-3 WC Blog 579
Checkpoint Tags-3
Shrinking Clothing Shortage With Checkpoint Tags
Sometimes we need facts and statistics to help us understand why something needs to be treated with importance and clothing security is no different. If you are a retail owner selling any type of clothing lines you should find the following statistics from the 2017 National Retail Federation’s National Retail Security Survey interesting and disturbing:
• Inventory shrink for the apparel sector grew from 1.2% in 2016 to 1.36% in 2017 (pg.8)
• 15 of 26 apparel respondents to the survey said shrink had grown in their stores (pg.8)
• In apparel, both shoplifting (41%) and employee theft (35.5%) were higher than the overall average for retailers (pg. 8)
• In apparel only 4 of 22 respondents expect to have a higher LP budget in 2017 while 9 expect flat budgets and 2 expect lower budgets (pg. 9)
• Apparel had an average loss of $1,132 per dishonest employee (pg. 14)
• The average shoplifting incident in apparel was $974.37 (pg. 15)
• In apparel the average cost of return fraud was $968.81 (pg. 16)
Apparel retailers appear to be getting hammered from all sides when the numbers are examined. Inventory shrink is growing, shoplifting and employee theft are both increasing and it appears Loss Prevention budgets are staying flat or decreasing. The survey was taken using retail LP professionals, which means these were stores that are large enough to have an LP department of some type. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. founder and CEO Bill Bregar is concerned by theft in all retail locations but his company especially focuses on providing services to the small retail businesses. The national apparel chain stores are struggling with clothing security. How much more is the little guy which cannot afford a security staff? Bill suggests ALL retailers use Checkpoint tags on the clothes they sell, including the little guy.
Checkpoint tags and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) pedestals are part of a larger system designed to discourage shoplifting and employee theft. The tags pin to the garment and can only be removed with a special detachment tool controlled by the store. Tags have integrated coils that continuously send out radio frequency (rf) waves. Merchandise that is tagged is picked up by the pedestals acting as rf receivers. Walk out with goods protected by a tag and the pedestal alarm blasts out an alert that can be heard throughout the largest stores. Shoplifters enter a store with a pedestal and they become much more cautious knowing they may set off an alarm if they steal. The thief looks at merchandise and sees everything has a Checkpoint tag and they usually make the choice to leave the store alone. For the foolhardy criminal who chooses to test the system, they set off the alarm when they walk up with tagged products. Often the result is dropped merchandise but when it isn’t, a quick response from trained employees is enough to conduct receipt checks and merchandise is retrieved. Though I have referenced shoplifters, employees who may consider stealing face the same obstacles if they make a decision to take something without paying. EAS makes no distinction between a crooked employee and a crooked customer.
So you may be wondering if a store that has an EAS system must also have security staff to answer alarms. The answer is no. I was a Loss Prevention Manager for a company that had numerous changes to our security teams. Sometimes I had a budget that allowed me ample people to staff the front of the store and to walk the floor seeking out shoplifters. At other times, I had little or no budget for a person to staff the front end. I always had to train store employees, usually cashiers and front-end supervisors to be prepared to respond to alarms. They were not apprehending anyone they were just trained to conduct thorough receipt and package checks. They resolved alarm activations caused by clothing security tags or other retail anti-theft devices. With training, employees who are not Loss Prevention Specialists are quite capable of handling an alarm and recovering unpaid merchandise. You don’t have to have an Loss Prevention staff to have an effective Checkpoint System.
Shoplifting and employee theft do not seem to be going away. Retail shrink, especially in the apparel sector continues to climb at a higher rate than that of other retail markets. If national chain stores continue to experience such losses then you can be sure your business will be impacted as well. Use Checkpoint tags on your clothing goods and add Checkpoint towers at your entry and exit doors and you will dramatically reduce theft in your store. The result will be declining shortage and that means more profit for your business.
Clothing security is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Sometimes we need facts and statistics to help us understand why something needs to be treated with importance and clothing security is no different. If you are a retail owner selling any type of clothing lines you should find the following statistics from the 2017 National Retail Federation’s National Retail Security Survey interesting and disturbing:
• Inventory shrink for the apparel sector grew from 1.2% in 2016 to 1.36% in 2017 (pg.8)
• 15 of 26 apparel respondents to the survey said shrink had grown in their stores (pg.8)
• In apparel, both shoplifting (41%) and employee theft (35.5%) were higher than the overall average for retailers (pg. 8)
• In apparel only 4 of 22 respondents expect to have a higher LP budget in 2017 while 9 expect flat budgets and 2 expect lower budgets (pg. 9)
• Apparel had an average loss of $1,132 per dishonest employee (pg. 14)
• The average shoplifting incident in apparel was $974.37 (pg. 15)
• In apparel the average cost of return fraud was $968.81 (pg. 16)
Apparel retailers appear to be getting hammered from all sides when the numbers are examined. Inventory shrink is growing, shoplifting and employee theft are both increasing and it appears Loss Prevention budgets are staying flat or decreasing. The survey was taken using retail LP professionals, which means these were stores that are large enough to have an LP department of some type. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. founder and CEO Bill Bregar is concerned by theft in all retail locations but his company especially focuses on providing services to the small retail businesses. The national apparel chain stores are struggling with clothing security. How much more is the little guy which cannot afford a security staff? Bill suggests ALL retailers use clothing tags on the clothes they sell, including the little guy.
Clothing tags and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) pedestals are part of a larger system designed to discourage shoplifting and employee theft. The tags pin to the garment and can only be removed with a special detachment tool controlled by the store. Tags have integrated coils that continuously send out radio frequency (rf) waves. Merchandise that is tagged is picked up by the pedestals acting as rf receivers. Walk out with goods protected by a tag and the pedestal alarm blasts out an alert that can be heard throughout the largest stores. Shoplifters enter a store with a pedestal and they become much more cautious knowing they may set off an alarm if they steal. The thief looks at merchandise and sees everything has a hard tag and they usually make the choice to leave the store alone. For the foolhardy criminal who chooses to test the system, they set off the alarm when they walk up with tagged products. Often the result is dropped merchandise but when it isn’t, a quick response from trained employees is enough to conduct receipt checks and merchandise is retrieved. Though I have referenced shoplifters, employees who may consider stealing face the same obstacles if they make a decision to take something without paying. EAS makes no distinction between a crooked employee and a crooked customer.
So you may be wondering if a store that has an EAS system must also have security staff to answer alarms. The answer is no. I was a Loss Prevention Manager for a company that had numerous changes to our security teams. Sometimes I had a budget that allowed me ample people to staff the front of the store and to walk the floor seeking out shoplifters. At other times, I had little or no budget for a person to staff the front end. I always had to train store employees, usually cashiers and front-end supervisors to be prepared to respond to alarms. They were not apprehending anyone they were just trained to conduct thorough receipt and package checks. They resolved alarm activations caused by clothing security tags or other retail anti-theft devices. With training, employees who are not Loss Prevention Specialists are quite capable of handling an alarm and recovering unpaid merchandise. You don’t have to have an Loss Prevention staff to have an effective EAS System.
Shoplifting and employee theft do not seem to be going away. Retail shrink, especially in the apparel sector continues to climb at a higher rate than that of other retail markets. If national chain stores continue to experience such losses then you can be sure your business will be impacted as well. Use clothing tags on your clothing goods and add EAS towers at your entry and exit doors and you will dramatically reduce theft in your store. The result will be declining shortage and that means more profit for your business.
Clothing security is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Loss Prevention Calculator-3 WC Blog 573
Can Loss Prevention Be Free?-3
Rethinking Loss Prevention With The Loss Prevention Calculator
In the Retail Loss Prevention field we are constantly looking at return on investment. We look at equipment costs, the investment of time to do certain tasks and investment in people. We analyze information and I think how convenient it would be to have a Loss Prevention Calculator that could do all the number crunching for us. While we look at the information with the thought, “What will this investment save us in the long term?” rarely do we think in terms of can Loss Prevention Be Free? We just aren’t trained to think like that. We talk about shortage reduction but it is almost unheard of to speak in absolutes in Loss Prevention like talking about shortage elimination. Sometimes the problem is not with what we are discussing it is how we are asking the questions. We have to rethink how we are problem solving. I will give you a perfect example. Bill Bregar, the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. comes from an extensive background in the Retail Loss Prevention field. He has dealt with the same issues the rest of us have dealt with and many of us have years and years of Loss Prevention experience like Bill does. What Bill has done is rephrased a question we all ask but the answer reveals a better way of thinking about a problem. That problem is the cost of a Loss Prevention System for a store.
Before I go on it is a good time to remember that there are some readers who are not as familiar with what a Loss Prevention System is. A system is an electronic article surveillance package consisting of towers, tags, specialty detachment keys and/or deactivation pads. The system works by deterrence and recovery of merchandise through receipt checks initiated due to alarm activations. Tags are constantly transmitting radio frequency waves and when a crook tries to leave with a tagged item the towers sense that wave and alarms are triggered in the towers. Store associates quickly respond, check the “customer’s” receipt and recover the unpaid goods. Frequently those persons who intend to shoplift have a change of heart when they see the towers at the doors to the store or when they find they cannot get a tag off of an item. The value of the system is clear to store owners when they see the shelves remaining full and the number of count adjustments greatly reduced.
Returning to my original point about how the rephrasing of a question changes the way we evaluate something. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if I asked for an additional closed circuit camera I might get a question in response. Like, “How many internals will you get with it?” Of course there really was no real answer I could give. I couldn’t guarantee how many people I would catch with the new camera. In hindsight it might have been better if we would have changed the nature of the questions. Like turning the idea of a Loss Prevention System from a liability and asking, “How much will it cost and will it really reduce theft?” to asking, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” The question implies there will be a tangible payoff. I should have said I could promise a new camera would give a return of investment in less merchandise shrinkage.
The Loss Prevention Calculator is a tool that Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has developed to help managers see in real numbers how much a Checkpoint System can save them in reduced theft. After a few numbers are plugged in a result give the estimated number of months it will take for the system to pay for itself through the reduced amount of shortage it will save. The question, “How much will a retail anti-theft system cost me?” now becomes, “How many months will a new Checkpoint System take to pay for itself” What if we looked at ALL Loss Prevention purchases in this manner? It is certainly a new spin on things.
“Can Loss Prevention be free?” it absolutely can be. Certainly a purchase will have to be made and tagging will have to be done but after that it is a matter of maintenance and an ongoing tagging program. Keep in mind that once a Checkpoint system has paid for itself the continued savings are able to be reinvested or added to the bottom line. No matter how you slice it a system can be free and the Loss Prevention Calculator is the vehicle to show you how.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
You’ve heard the term “you should invest in your people” but have you ever considered that there can be a
In the Retail Loss Prevention field we are constantly looking at return on investment. We look at equipment costs, the investment of time to do certain tasks and investment in people. We analyze information and I think how convenient it would be to have a Loss Prevention Calculator that could do all the number crunching for us. While we look at the information with the thought, “What will this investment save us in the long term?” rarely do we think in terms of can Loss Prevention Be Free? We just aren’t trained to think like that. We talk about shortage reduction but it is almost unheard of to speak in absolutes in Loss Prevention like talking about shortage elimination. Sometimes the problem is not with what we are discussing it is how we are asking the questions. We have to rethink how we are problem solving. I will give you a perfect example. Bill Bregar, the CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. comes from an extensive background in the Retail Loss Prevention field. He has dealt with the same issues the rest of us have dealt with and many of us have years and years of Loss Prevention experience like Bill does. What Bill has done is rephrased a question we all ask but the answer reveals a better way of thinking about a problem. That problem is the cost of a Loss Prevention System for a store.
Before I go on it is a good time to remember that there are some readers who are not as familiar with what a Loss Prevention System is. A system is an electronic article surveillance package consisting of towers, tags, specialty detachment keys and/or deactivation pads. The system works by deterrence and recovery of merchandise through receipt checks initiated due to alarm activations. Tags are constantly transmitting radio frequency waves and when a crook tries to leave with a tagged item the towers sense that wave and alarms are triggered in the towers. Store associates quickly respond, check the “customer’s” receipt and recover the unpaid goods. Frequently those persons who intend to shoplift have a change of heart when they see the towers at the doors to the store or when they find they cannot get a tag off of an item. The value of the system is clear to store owners when they see the shelves remaining full and the number of count adjustments greatly reduced.
Returning to my original point about how the rephrasing of a question changes the way we evaluate something. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if I asked for an additional closed circuit camera I might get a question in response. Like, “How many internals will you get with it?” Of course there really was no real answer I could give. I couldn’t guarantee how many people I would catch with the new camera. In hindsight it might have been better if we would have changed the nature of the questions. Like turning the idea of a Loss Prevention System from a liability and asking, “How much will it cost and will it really reduce theft?” to asking, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” The question implies there will be a tangible payoff. I should have said I could promise a new camera would give a return of investment in less merchandise shrinkage.
The Loss Prevention Calculator is a tool that Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has developed to help managers see in real numbers how much an EAS System can save them in reduced theft. After a few numbers are plugged in a result give the estimated number of months it will take for the system to pay for itself through the reduced amount of shortage it will save. The question, “How much will a retail anti-theft system cost me?” now becomes, “How many months will a new EAS System take to pay for itself” What if we looked at ALL Loss Prevention purchases in this manner? It is certainly a new spin on things.
“Can Loss Prevention be free?” it absolutely can be. Certainly a purchase will have to be made and tagging will have to be done but after that it is a matter of maintenance and an ongoing tagging program. Keep in mind that once an EAS system has paid for itself the continued savings are able to be reinvested or added to the bottom line. No matter how you slice it a system can be free and the Loss Prevention Calculator is the vehicle to show you how.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I worked in Retail Loss Prevention for many years and during that time I had a lot of opportunities to stop shoplifting as the result of an electronic article surveillance alarm set off by a tagged piece of merchandise. Today I work in a library but still deal with alarms when patrons set them off as they exit or enter our building. The alarms are sometimes caused by items that are tagged but the tags have not been properly deactivated. In other cases it is the result of someone trying to sneak library materials out in order to steal them (sounds a lot like shoplifting doesn’t it?). It is necessary to investigate and resolve the source of any alarm until it is satisfactorily resolved. Just a few days ago a student was leaving the building and as she walked through our towers the alarm sounded. I used my Loss Prevention experience to stop the patron and talk to her about what may have caused the activation.
Whether it is a college library or a store, electronic article surveillance labels can prevent merchandise and property from being improperly removed from a building. In the case of a retail business those labels can make the difference between a profitable and successful enterprise and one that struggles. Sensormatic labels can prevent thieves from stealing but even with a system as good as Sensormatic’s a store must have employees available to respond to alarms. Those employees must also have the proper training to approach shoppers who set off alarms and the know how to resolve the alarms. It is not as easy as it may sound. I would like to offer some tips from my own experience so you can train your employees to identify what has set off an electronic article surveillance alarm system.
• An employee who approaches a customer that has set off an alarm should never begin the interaction assuming the customer was trying to steal something. The attitude exhibited by the employee influences the way the customer will respond. I have found that by making a statement that indicates a mistake happened rather than an attempted theft can calm a patron almost immediately. I will say something like, “Uh-oh, our system must not have deactivated a tag properly, I’m sorry.”
• I then begin the process of determining the cause of the alarm. In a store I will ask if the patron has made a purchase. If they say they did I ask if they could show me a receipt? If the patron said they bought something but they don’t have the receipt I ask if I can look in their bag. I follow up by asking what register they went through and after reviewing the transactions if I cannot locate the item I tell the customer we must have accidentally missed the item as we were scanning. No, I’m not throwing the cashier under the bus, I am giving the person an “out” so it does not appear I am accusing them of theft.
• If a look through a shopping bag does not reveal the cause of the alarm a bit if finesse will be required. You may have to try to get a peak in a purse, backpack or tote and that can be more difficult. People don’t like to have their personal belongings rummaged through. I like to say something that will make the person feel like I am helping them. If they have multiple bags I will suggest they walk one bag through the tower at a time. Through the process of elimination I find the bag that has the active tag in it. I then diffuse the situation further. I mention that I have had customers forget and put an item in a purse to see if it would fit (such as a wallet) and forget they put it in. Again, providing a ready-made excuse for the customer makes it easier to get an item back or the person to pay for it, I have encountered both. I also tell customers that sometimes people make purchases at other stores with electronic article surveillance systems and they fail to deactivate tags and it can set off our system.
A skilled employee who has been trained can stop shoplifting and even prevent unintentional missed merchandise from leaving the store.
If you don’t currently have a Sensormatic system in your store I strongly encourage you to get one. You will stop shoplifting and as you do you will see your instocks improve. THAT drives sales and profits. As evidence that my tips work, in the case of the library alarm, the student had two books in her backpack that she had forgotten about. I got them checked out and the student went on her way.
Need more information on electronic article surveillance, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
In part 1 of this series I discussed the use of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. security products and other retail anti-theft devices to prevent shoplifting during the current national opioid crisis. Certainly these tools can and do prevent all shoplifting crime but the focus of my concern for this piece is the increase in criminal activity law enforcement officials are seeing due to opioid use. In part 1 I shared several articles addressing shoplifting and opioid use but there is another factor retailers need to think about in all of this and that is the safety of their employees and customers. As opioid users become desperate for money to feed their habit, shoplifting is just one of the crimes to which they are resorting. They are also robbing and assaulting people and this can bleed into retail stores.
- From Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dec 18, 2017 by Torsten Ove, “Drug-driven armed robberies prompt FBI to create violent crime task force in Alleghany, Beaver counties” the writer reports, “…the task force is an effort to address an increase in some communities of violent crime, especially bank holdups and store robberies.”
- From WPTV Dec. 15, 2017 by Sam Smink, “Panhandlers’ drug dealing/deaths led to 29 drug dealer arrests in West Palm Beach” This story revolves around a police investigation that led to 29 arrests. “Some of those panhandlers were actually dealing in addition to just using, so dealers connect to dealers to connect to dealers.”
- From Fox 9, December 29, 2017 “Charges: Minneapolis man robbed same market 5 times in 5 weeks” In this report the robber was using stolen money to purchase drugs. “He told police he would take the bus from northeast to downtown Minneapolis to buy heroin after the robberies.”
The dangers posed by the users and sellers of opioids should be scary for store owners and managers. It is the best interest of store owners to do whatever they can to keep these people out of their stores. Using Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) security retail anti-theft devices will discourage shoplifters who are looking for a place to steal from in order to support their drug habits.
This is a good time for me to clue in those readers who are scratching their heads about what I am talking when I mention retail anti-theft devices. These are tags, labels, wraps or boxes that have electronic article surveillance technology built into them. The device sends out a radio wave that can be picked up by a receiving tower often located near the interior doors of a store. When someone gets too close to the tower with protected merchandise an alarm and flashing lights are set off. You may have heard an alarm activation while shopping in a store equipped with such a system. When these towers sound anyone within sight of the doors looks to see who caused the alarm. Store employees hurry over and conduct receipt checks and determine the cause for the alert. The result is usually recovered merchandise or an embarrassed criminal who pays for the item to try to make it seem like an honest mistake. Make no mistake about it, those who shoplift on a regular basis know what an LPSI Security device or other anti-theft tag looks like and they will avoid those pieces of merchandise that are protected. They can also be deterred from trying to steal simply by seeing the towers at the front doors.
The impact that LPSI Security devices has on safety is that when criminals who are stealing to support a drug habit are avoiding detection they leave stores alone when they know that they could very well set off alarms. This is one of the many reasons Loss Prevention Systems Inc. actively supports the use of retail anti-theft devices in stores. They want stores to keep merchandise on the shelves for legitimate customers and to reduce shortage but they also want stores to be safe. Along with merchandise protection strategies they stress the importance of building and property security. Chief Executive Officer Bill Bregar understands that when customers feel safe they will shop at a store but when a parking lot is dark, panhandlers approach customers or people just hang around the outside of a building shoppers stay away. When the incentive to steal is removed or the risk of being caught is too great undesirable elements will go elsewhere to commit crimes.
Don’t allow your business to be attractive to shoplifters and especially those who are prone to violence to support an opioid habit. Use LPSI Security devices to prevent shoplifting and visit LPSI’s website for more tips on creating a safe and attractive environment where customers will come to spend money.
Security is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Alpha Security
Pre-employment Screening-3 WC Blog 530
Drug Screening-4
Background Investigation-4
Don’t Feel Regret Over A Hiring Mistake – Use Pre-Employment Screening
As an employer, have you ever been in a position where you had an employee who you wished you could turn back the clock on and have them undergo a pre-employment screening? This was a situation I was faced with when I had a member of my team cause me continual headaches. I was a Loss Prevention Manager and had several staff members working for me at any given time. I had an opening to fill and I wanted to give a team member from another department a second chance. The backstory is this particular employee was considered a problem performer and the manager of the department always complained about his work and attendance but never addressed the problem. After several months of listening to the same griping but no corrective action I offered to take the worker onto my team. I said he would either perform and I would develop him or if need be I would follow the proper corrective action steps and fire him. The department manager was more than happy to be rid of his problem and the employee agreed to try something new in L.P. I was cautiously optimistic I could turn him around. This brings me back to the point where I wished I could be sure a thorough drug screening and background investigation had been done before this guy was hired.
Drug screening and background investigation may be terms some of you have heard about but are not completely educated on. Drug screening is a process normally done in the controlled environment of a lab to make sure that collected samples are not tampered with. Mouth swabs, urine tests or blood testing are the most common forms of measurement and can be used for looking for a variety of illegal drugs in a person’s system. Employers may use the results of these tests to disqualify an applicant from consideration for a job. A background investigation is a look into an applicant’s personal history. Investigations may be tailored to an employer’s specific search criteria and may include criminal history checks, education and work history, credit history and prior places of residence. The information obtained by a professional investigator can reveal if an applicant has lied on their application or attempted to cover up their past. Some people move frequently to avoid creditors or law enforcement officials. Other people will lie about the level of education they have obtained or where they attended school in order to try to get a job. The key to a successful pre-employment screening is having a company that has experience in the field to conduct those screenings.
The problem I faced with my new employee was that I suspected he was coming to work under the influence of something but I never had enough evidence to require him to take a random drug test. If he was not under the influence, he could possibly have been using substances the night before and had the residual effects in his system. This employee had been hired during our seasonal employment phase and the speed with which we rushed these candidates through I did not believe a proper screening of every person could be completed (Hint: give yourself plenty of time leading up to holidays for seasonal hiring). I had started documenting conversations about my employee’s attendance and performance. I had at least one corrective action form on file for him. Then over the course of two days my problem performer no-call/no showed and a third time would be an automatic termination of employment. On the third day I received a call from the employee’s girlfriend telling me he was in jail and couldn’t call in. I stood by our policy that the employee had to call in unless they were in the hospital or incapacitated. On day four the employee called and gave me a song and dance about how he had been a passenger in a friend’s car and the friend was stopped and marijuana was found so they both went to jail. Of course the employee was totally innocent and had no knowledge of the drugs. Regardless, three no call/no shows and I was rid of my problem. I believe in trying to give people a chance to improve but this guy blew it. Had a proper background check and drug screening been done before he was hired I don’t believe he would have been working for the store in the first place.
Employers, save a lot of time and effort use Loss Prevention Systems Inc. for pre-employment screening that includes testing for drugs and a background investigation. Screen out problem performers before they can get a foot in your door.
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
As an employer, have you ever been in a position where you had an employee who you wished you could turn back the clock on and have them undergo a pre-employment screening? This was a situation I was faced with when I had a member of my team cause me continual headaches. I was a Loss Prevention Manager and had several staff members working for me at any given time. I had an opening to fill and I wanted to give a team member from another department a second chance. The backstory is this particular employee was considered a problem performer and the manager of the department always complained about his work and attendance but never addressed the problem. After several months of listening to the same griping but no corrective action I offered to take the worker onto my team. I said he would either perform and I would develop him or if need be I would follow the proper corrective action steps and fire him. The department manager was more than happy to be rid of his problem and the employee agreed to try something new in L.P. I was cautiously optimistic I could turn him around. This brings me back to the point where I wished I could be sure a thorough drug screening and background investigation had been done before this guy was hired.
Drug screening and background investigation may be terms some of you have heard about but are not completely educated on. Drug screening is a process normally done in the controlled environment of a lab to make sure that collected samples are not tampered with. Mouth swabs, urine tests or blood testing are the most common forms of measurement and can be used for looking for a variety of illegal drugs in a person’s system. Employers may use the results of these tests to disqualify an applicant from consideration for a job. A background investigation is a look into an applicant’s personal history. Investigations may be tailored to an employer’s specific search criteria and may include criminal history checks, education and work history, credit history and prior places of residence. The information obtained by a professional investigator can reveal if an applicant has lied on their application or attempted to cover up their past. Some people move frequently to avoid creditors or law enforcement officials. Other people will lie about the level of education they have obtained or where they attended school in order to try to get a job. The key to a successful pre-employment screening is having a company that has experience in the field to conduct those screenings.
The problem I faced with my new employee was that I suspected he was coming to work under the influence of something but I never had enough evidence to require him to take a random drug test. If he was not under the influence, he could possibly have been using substances the night before and had the residual effects in his system. This employee had been hired during our seasonal employment phase and the speed with which we rushed these candidates through I did not believe a proper screening of every person could be completed (Hint: give yourself plenty of time leading up to holidays for seasonal hiring). I had started documenting conversations about my employee’s attendance and performance. I had at least one corrective action form on file for him. Then over the course of two days my problem performer no-call/no showed and a third time would be an automatic termination of employment. On the third day I received a call from the employee’s girlfriend telling me he was in jail and couldn’t call in. I stood by our policy that the employee had to call in unless they were in the hospital or incapacitated. On day four the employee called and gave me a song and dance about how he had been a passenger in a friend’s car and the friend was stopped and marijuana was found so they both went to jail. Of course the employee was totally innocent and had no knowledge of the drugs. Regardless, three no call/no shows and I was rid of my problem. I believe in trying to give people a chance to improve but this guy blew it. Had a proper background check and drug screening been done before he was hired I don’t believe he would have been working for the store in the first place.
Employers, save a lot of time and effort use Loss Prevention Systems Inc. for pre-employment screening that includes testing for drugs and a background investigation. Screen out problem performers before they can get a foot in your door.
Pre-employment screening is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Retail Theft Prevention – 3 WC Blog 548
Checkpoint Security System -5
Do Your Employees Have Time For Retail Theft Prevention Measures?
I just finished reading an article on lawsuits by employees suing over bag checks and it reminded me of similar questions of retail theft prevention when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. The article in LPM Insider, “Security Footage Sinks Employee Lawsuit Targeting Employee Bag Checks” by Garrett Seivold, Feb 7, 2018 discusses a lawsuit against Nike brought by some employees. The complaint was that employees felt they were required to wait too long after they clocked out for bag checks. Nike won in this case but there is no guarantee retailers will win in other lawsuits that have to do with unpaid wait time. In this instance the court seemed to rule that the length of wait times were trivial as Nike showed most were averaging 18.5 seconds. I remember employees complaining at the store where I was a Manager on Duty that waiting to leave after closing was unpaid work, regardless of the safety factor involved. They argued that they should be paid if they had to wait. The same argument follows for bag checks. The question for store owners is whether there is a way to balance retail theft prevention and the potential that an upset worker could file a lawsuit against your business? It also begs the question if an employee is off the clock and activates a Checkpoint Security System can they be stopped by a manager for a package inspection?
You may not know what a Checkpoint Security System is or how it could have an impact on employees being delayed leaving a store. When we talk about a Checkpoint Security System we are talking about all of the parts that make up a system from Checkpoint tags and detachment tools to Checkpoint pedestals. The tags send out radio frequency signals that are received by Checkpoint pedestals. If a shoplifter or employee tries to leave a store without paying for merchandise or if a tag isn’t removed a security alarm is activated. Employees resolve alarm issues through receipt checks or in some cases a bag/purse check. Tags can be detected even when the merchandise they are attached to is hidden or concealed under clothing or in backpacks, totes, purses etc. The detachment tool is used to remove a tag at the register during a purchase so there should be very few causes for alarms aside from theft attempts.
This brings us back to the question of whether a store can stop an employee and conduct a bag/purse check with or without an alarm. Employers can require an employee in the hiring process to agree to bag and package checks. As part of the hiring process a waiver form should be included that agrees to a package verification and a clause stating that failure to do so could lead to termination of employment. Employers, be sure you explain this and all forms before asking someone to sign them. New hires have to understand what they are agreeing to and not feel coerced. Checks also have to be conducted in one of two ways they are either totally random and everyone on any given day or shift is subject to an inspection OR receipt checks happen every day for every one managers included. Making exceptions hurts your credibility and may put you at risk for some type of discrimination lawsuit.
The second part to the package check equation is that of time. The lawsuit in the Nike case complained that employees were not being paid for their time. The key seems to be that the inspections should not take too long but stores do have a right to some retail theft protection in doing so. If there is an alarm from the Checkpoint Security System when an employee exits there is a reasonable cause for the employee to be stopped. These inspections may end up taking a little more time than the end of the shift, “open the bag and allow a manager to glance in or compare a purchase to a receipt” check. It is important that stores are being careful in taking steps to reduce false alarms due to failures to remove or deactivate tags. If false alarms are a problem and store managers are not able to show they are trying to address those issues it would be more difficult to detain anyone for alarm activations. If stores are not experiencing false Checkpoint Security System alarms then there should be no issue with package checks in these instances.
Respect for employee’s time should be something every manager considers. Employees should recognize that retail theft prevention is a real concern for retailers and can impact them too. Mutual respect and cooperation of store managers and employees ensures a profitable business for everyone.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I just finished reading an article on lawsuits by employees suing over bag checks and it reminded me of similar questions of retail theft prevention when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. The article in LPM Insider, “Security Footage Sinks Employee Lawsuit Targeting Employee Bag Checks” by Garrett Seivold, Feb 7, 2018 discusses a lawsuit against Nike brought by some employees. The complaint was that employees felt they were required to wait too long after they clocked out for bag checks. Nike won in this case but there is no guarantee retailers will win in other lawsuits that have to do with unpaid wait time. In this instance the court seemed to rule that the length of wait times were trivial as Nike showed most were averaging 18.5 seconds. I remember employees complaining at the store where I was a Manager on Duty that waiting to leave after closing was unpaid work, regardless of the safety factor involved. They argued that they should be paid if they had to wait. The same argument follows for bag checks. The question for store owners is whether there is a way to balance retail theft prevention and the potential that an upset worker could file a lawsuit against your business? It also begs the question if an employee is off the clock and activates an electronic article surveillance (EAS) security system can they be stopped by a manager for a package inspection?
You may not know what an EAS Security System is or how it could have an impact on employees being delayed leaving a store. When we talk about an EAS Security System we are talking about all of the parts that make up a system from hard tags/labels and detachment tools to EAS pedestals. The tags send out radio frequency signals that are received by EAS pedestals. If a shoplifter or employee tries to leave a store without paying for merchandise or if a tag isn’t removed a security alarm is activated. Employees resolve alarm issues through receipt checks or in some cases a bag/purse check. Tags can be detected even when the merchandise they are attached to is hidden or concealed under clothing or in backpacks, totes, purses etc. The detachment tool is used to remove a tag at the register during a purchase so there should be very few causes for alarms aside from theft attempts.
This brings us back to the question of whether a store can stop an employee and conduct a bag/purse check with or without an alarm. Employers can require an employee in the hiring process to agree to bag and package checks. As part of the hiring process a waiver form should be included that agrees to a package verification and a clause stating that failure to do so could lead to termination of employment. Employers, be sure you explain this and all forms before asking someone to sign them. New hires have to understand what they are agreeing to and not feel coerced. Checks also have to be conducted in one of two ways they are either totally random and everyone on any given day or shift is subject to an inspection OR receipt checks happen every day for every one managers included. Making exceptions hurts your credibility and may put you at risk for some type of discrimination lawsuit.
The second part to the package check equation is that of time. The lawsuit in the Nike case complained that employees were not being paid for their time. The key seems to be that the inspections should not take too long but stores do have a right to some retail theft protection in doing so. If there is an alarm from the EAS Security System when an employee exits there is a reasonable cause for the employee to be stopped. These inspections may end up taking a little more time than the end of the shift, “open the bag and allow a manager to glance in or compare a purchase to a receipt” check. It is important that stores are being careful in taking steps to reduce false alarms due to failures to remove or deactivate tags. If false alarms are a problem and store managers are not able to show they are trying to address those issues it would be more difficult to detain anyone for alarm activations. If stores are not experiencing false EAS security system alarms then there should be no issue with package checks in these instances.
Respect for employee’s time should be something every manager considers. Employees should recognize that retail theft prevention is a real concern for retailers and can impact them too. Mutual respect and cooperation of store managers and employees ensures a profitable business for everyone.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
