Checkpoint Systems-4 WC Blog 427
Checkpoint Tags-3
Stop Shoplifting-3
Checkpoint Systems And Other Theft Prevention Tools Are Only Effective When Employees Use Them Every Day
My daughter has been working for a clothing retailer for about three years now as a sales associate. She is trained to do some Manager on Duty functions and has made her interest known that she wants to move up in management. Recently she has been asked to help fill in as an opening and closing manager for two stores in her area. During one of her shifts one of the cashiers working with her took two counterfeit bills. She did not learn of it until closing time and then had to get the store recovered and get the team out of the building. When I picked her up she was telling me about the incident and how she came across the bills and they felt and looked fake. She said their stores have counterfeit bill readers and so she asked the cashier if he had used it before accepting the money. He acknowledged he had not and told her he rarely does use it. My daughter had taken pictures of the bills on her phone and showed them to me. There was no excuse for these to have been accepted under any circumstance, bill reader or not. Because I used to be a Loss Prevention Manager for quite a number of years I asked if she had contacted her District Loss Prevention Manager. I told her that he would probably want the employee written up at a minimum or possibly even fired. Being new to managing a store she said she had not contacted him. I urged her to text him and send the pictures. She did so and he did tell her to write up the employee. Often we have the tools at our disposal to stop shoplifting and theft in our stores but we fail to properly use those tools. For example we may have Checkpoint Systems installed but we don’t conduct receipt checks when the system alarms. Failing to use these systems leads to increased theft and shortage in the long run.
The Checkpoint Systems have several key components that make the system work properly. The Checkpoint pedestals are set up at entrance and exit points and have receivers in them that pick up radio frequency waves emitted by Checkpoint tags. Hard tags are supposed to be removed at the point of sale when an item is purchased and soft tags are to be de-tuned or de-activated by a de-activation pad installed at the point of sale. If people are being trained properly and equipment is functioning as it should the only alarms that sound will be when shoplifters attempt to steal merchandise. Portable scanners can be used to test de-activation pads to make sure they are working as they are supposed to. Test cards are used to ensure pedestals are detecting tagged merchandise properly. When one part of the system is not working correctly it can cause issues for customers and employees alike.
As I pointed out in my daughter’s situation the employee was not using equipment that was provided to them to prevent fraud. Several fraudulent bills were accepted and this caused a financial loss to the store. Similarly when Checkpoint Systems are being used in a store to stop shoplifting and they are not being used properly or maintained they are costing money in terms of unchecked theft. I have done observations in stores to monitor employee behaviors related to Loss Prevention training they have undergone. During some of those observations I have watched associates ignore alarms set off by Checkpoint tags that were not properly de-tuned at the register. I have seen associates fail to remove hard tags from clothing and customers get frustrated at having to walk back to a register to have a tag removed. I have done covert surveillances and watched supervisors who were supposed to test pedestals and deactivation pads in the absence of Loss Prevention fail to do so. Had the pedestals not been working and no Loss Prevention Personnel in the building, it would have taken additional time to determine there was a problem and a service call to be placed. It would have also hindered efforts to stop shoplifting.
Whatever tools your store has in place to prevent theft, whether they are counterfeit bill readers or Checkpoint tags, they have to be used in order to be effective. It also takes everyone to be on board with the program. One person not testing bills or failing to do regular system checks on Checkpoint Systems and the effectiveness of a theft prevention strategy is greatly impaired. Make sure your store remains profitable get ALL of your associates involved in your theft prevention program.
Need information on Checkpoint Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
My daughter has been working for a clothing retailer for about three years now as a sales associate. She is trained to do some Manager on Duty functions and has made her interest known that she wants to move up in management. Recently she has been asked to help fill in as an opening and closing manager for two stores in her area. During one of her shifts one of the cashiers working with her took two counterfeit bills. She did not learn of it until closing time and then had to get the store recovered and get the team out of the building. When I picked her up she was telling me about the incident and how she came across the bills and they felt and looked fake. She said their stores have counterfeit bill readers and so she asked the cashier if he had used it before accepting the money. He acknowledged he had not and told her he rarely does use it. My daughter had taken pictures of the bills on her phone and showed them to me. There was no excuse for these to have been accepted under any circumstance, bill reader or not. Because I used to be a Loss Prevention Manager for quite a number of years I asked if she had contacted her District Loss Prevention Manager. I told her that he would probably want the employee written up at a minimum or possibly even fired. Being new to managing a store she said she had not contacted him. I urged her to text him and send the pictures. She did so and he did tell her to write up the employee. Often we have the tools at our disposal to stop shoplifting and theft in our stores but we fail to properly use those tools. For example we may have Checkpoint Systems installed but we don’t conduct receipt checks when the system alarms. Failing to use these systems leads to increased theft and shortage in the long run.
The Checkpoint Systems have several key components that make the system work properly. The Checkpoint pedestals are set up at entrance and exit points and have receivers in them that pick up radio frequency waves emitted by Checkpoint tags. Hard tags are supposed to be removed at the point of sale when an item is purchased and soft tags are to be de-tuned or de-activated by a de-activation pad installed at the point of sale. If people are being trained properly and equipment is functioning as it should the only alarms that sound will be when shoplifters attempt to steal merchandise. Portable scanners can be used to test de-activation pads to make sure they are working as they are supposed to. Test cards are used to ensure pedestals are detecting tagged merchandise properly. When one part of the system is not working correctly it can cause issues for customers and employees alike.
As I pointed out in my daughter’s situation the employee was not using equipment that was provided to them to prevent fraud. Several fraudulent bills were accepted and this caused a financial loss to the store. Similarly when Checkpoint Systems are being used in a store to stop shoplifting and they are not being used properly or maintained they are costing money in terms of unchecked theft. I have done observations in stores to monitor employee behaviors related to Loss Prevention training they have undergone. During some of those observations I have watched associates ignore alarms set off by Checkpoint tags that were not properly de-tuned at the register. I have seen associates fail to remove hard tags from clothing and customers get frustrated at having to walk back to a register to have a tag removed. I have done covert surveillances and watched supervisors who were supposed to test pedestals and deactivation pads in the absence of Loss Prevention fail to do so. Had the pedestals not been working and no Loss Prevention Personnel in the building, it would have taken additional time to determine there was a problem and a service call to be placed. It would have also hindered efforts to stop shoplifting.
Whatever tools your store has in place to prevent theft, whether they are counterfeit bill readers or Checkpoint tags, they have to be used in order to be effective. It also takes everyone to be on board with the program. One person not testing bills or failing to do regular system checks on Checkpoint Systems and the effectiveness of a theft prevention strategy is greatly impaired. Make sure your store remains profitable get ALL of your associates involved in your theft prevention program.
Need information on Checkpoint Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Alpha Keepers- 4 WC Blog 395
Retail Anti-Theft Devices-4
Retail Anti-Theft Devices; The Decisions Stores Make That Drive Me Crazy! Part 2
In the first part of this series I talked about merchandise protection strategies I am seeing in some stores that make no sense to me. There are two extremes I am noticing lately. The first I covered in Part 1 is the removal of merchandise from lock-up cases which I approve of, but the stores are not taking steps to protect those items with Alpha Keepers or electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags. Some of these stores are also removing retail anti-theft devices apparently due to a perception that they are no longer needed. Not protecting product is what I take issue with in these stores. The other extreme I am seeing and I have first-hand knowledge of is locking up MORE merchandise and what amounts to selling out of the stockroom. The companies that are doing this are already using Alpha Keepers but are doing some odd things that nullify the way Keepers can help improve sales.
If you missed Part 1 let me quickly review what Alpha Keepers are. They are retail anti-theft devices that give store owners the ability to take merchandise out of locking display cases and out of stockrooms and display the goods for customers to look at without the assistance of a store associate. The Keepers are clear boxes, with lids that are locked when merchandise is placed in them. Stores are provided with special detachment keys that are used to unlock boxes and other Alpha devices and the keys are usually secured at the point of sale. The boxes allow customers to handle merchandise and they can carry an item with them around the store without requiring someone to open a display case. Since the customer can carry the item with them there is no requirement to make multiple purchases or wait at a register for their merchandise to be brought to them when they are ready to check out. They also free up store associates so they don’t have to retrieve merchandise from showcases or stockrooms and can focus on customer service.
The trend I am annoyed at is stores that use Alpha Keepers are not trusting in the technology. I am seeing more and more empty box displays for merchandise on store shelves. I am also seeing cardboard product placards hanging on peghooks that have a picture of the product but nothing there. These two things are irritating enough but to add fuel to the fire (well, my fiery indignation anyways) these stores are also placing these cardboard pictures or placards inside the Alpha boxes! Is the person making this decision afraid the cardboard is going to be stolen? Think about it, a customer picks up the box with the secured picture in it, walks it up to the cashier and asks for the item that is not inside the locked Keeper. Quoting comedian Bill Engvall’s stupid people routine, “Here’s Your Sign”.
I mentioned that part of the benefit of using retail anti-theft devices is that the customer can carry merchandise around the store and associates are freed up from unlocking showcases and retrieving merchandise from stockrooms. It drives sales up because customers tend to buy more when they don’t have to wait for help to get merchandise. Guess what associates have to do when empty display boxes and placards inside of boxes are used? That’s right! The associate has to go to a locked stockroom to retrieve merchandise and the customer has to wait.
Retail anti-theft devices are meant to protect merchandise, work in conjunction with electronic article surveillance towers and deter and detect attempts at shoplifting. They work, especially when associates are trained to properly respond to EAS tower alarms or built in device tamper alarms. Allow the technology to work for your store to drive up sales and reduce shortage.
Need information on Alpha Keepers? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
In the first part of this series I talked about merchandise protection strategies I am seeing in some stores that make no sense to me. There are two extremes I am noticing lately. The first I covered in Part 1 is the removal of merchandise from lock-up cases which I approve of, but the stores are not taking steps to protect those items with Alpha Keepers or electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags. Some of these stores are also removing retail anti-theft devices apparently due to a perception that they are no longer needed. Not protecting product is what I take issue with in these stores. The other extreme I am seeing and I have first-hand knowledge of is locking up MORE merchandise and what amounts to selling out of the stockroom. The companies that are doing this are already using Alpha Keepers but are doing some odd things that nullify the way Keepers can help improve sales.
If you missed Part 1 let me quickly review what Alpha Keepers are. They are retail anti-theft devices that give store owners the ability to take merchandise out of locking display cases and out of stockrooms and display the goods for customers to look at without the assistance of a store associate. The Keepers are clear boxes, with lids that are locked when merchandise is placed in them. Stores are provided with special detachment keys that are used to unlock boxes and other Alpha devices and the keys are usually secured at the point of sale. The boxes allow customers to handle merchandise and they can carry an item with them around the store without requiring someone to open a display case. Since the customer can carry the item with them there is no requirement to make multiple purchases or wait at a register for their merchandise to be brought to them when they are ready to check out. They also free up store associates so they don’t have to retrieve merchandise from showcases or stockrooms and can focus on customer service.
The trend I am annoyed at is stores that use Alpha Keepers are not trusting in the technology. I am seeing more and more empty box displays for merchandise on store shelves. I am also seeing cardboard product placards hanging on peghooks that have a picture of the product but nothing there. These two things are irritating enough but to add fuel to the fire (well, my fiery indignation anyways) these stores are also placing these cardboard pictures or placards inside the Alpha boxes! Is the person making this decision afraid the cardboard is going to be stolen? Think about it, a customer picks up the box with the secured picture in it, walks it up to the cashier and asks for the item that is not inside the locked Keeper. Quoting comedian Bill Engvall’s stupid people routine, “Here’s Your Sign”.
I mentioned that part of the benefit of using retail anti-theft devices is that the customer can carry merchandise around the store and associates are freed up from unlocking showcases and retrieving merchandise from stockrooms. It drives sales up because customers tend to buy more when they don’t have to wait for help to get merchandise. Guess what associates have to do when empty display boxes and placards inside of boxes are used? That’s right! The associate has to go to a locked stockroom to retrieve merchandise and the customer has to wait.
Retail anti-theft devices are meant to protect merchandise, work in conjunction with electronic article surveillance towers to deter and detect attempts at shoplifting. They work, especially when associates are trained to properly respond to EAS tower alarms or built in device tamper alarms. Allow the technology to work for your store to drive up sales and reduce shortage.
Need information on Alpha Keepers? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Training to reduce employee theft-4 WC blog 459
Stop Shoplifting-4
You Snooze You Lose; Make Training To Reduce Employee Theft A Session Your Employees Won’t Forget With LPSI Experts
Every business or institution has some form of training for their employees. Sometimes it is an onboarding type of training to do a familiarization with the company and meet the people in the office. Other training may be more intensive, delving into company culture, history and the company’s philosophy. Recently at one of the places where I work ALL of the staff have had to take a number of new online training modules in addition to completing our regular job duties. The funny thing about the trainings is a number of them dealt with computer/cyber security issues. That in and of itself is not what I found to be funny. The odd thing was every person I spoke with about the trainings said that they did the first module and after that just let the other videos play through then took the quizzes at the end of the module. It made me start thinking about the training that retailers have their employees take part in. As an example when I was a Loss Prevention Manager I was involved in training to reduce employee theft by participating in store orientations. As I reflect on it I think there were some parts the training new employees paid attention to and other parts that they just let go in one ear and out the other.
I want to touch a little more on something I mentioned above before I continue on. Theft is a problem for every retailer and if a store owner desires to run a profitable business he or she HAS to understand how devastating theft can be on a store, especially a small “mom and pop” shop. Without trying to eliminate employee theft and stop shoplifting those stores will become the place that criminals will focus their efforts. Often one type of crime leads to another and it spirals out of control. Owners and managers need to understand that training to reduce employee theft can make an impression on individuals. Sometimes employees steal because they get away with it and feel confident that co-workers will ignore it or may even be willing accomplices. Employees who are properly trained may be more willing to report another employee knowing their concerns will be addressed. Trained staff will also know how their ability to provide customer service deters criminals and can stop shoplifting. If the training is really good employees will be taught how to identify the signs that indicate someone may be a shoplifter and how to deter that activity. At issue is where can an employer go to get effective training for their employees and will they pay attention?
In most cases owners of a small retail store won’t have the knowledge or experience to adequately train their workers on theft related issues. I have found that when a training session is repetitive (like the training we just went through at the institution where I work) or conducted by someone who does not have experience, trainees lose interest. When a trainer has real-life experience and background in a subject and knows how to conduct in interactive session THAT is when people learn and retain the material. As a Loss Prevention Manager my first few solo orientations that were to train employees about employee theft and shoplifting had mediocre response. I was new in my role as a manager and I was not completely familiar with the materials. As I grew into my position, caught a few dishonest employees and became more confident I was able to judge a group’s attention and make adjustments to my presentation. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. understands the challenges for small and medium size store owners to try to conduct training to reduce employee theft and to stop shoplifting. The owner and President of LPSI, Bill Bregar has used his many years of Loss Prevention experience to develop effective training programs tailored to meet the needs of small business owners. Once trained, owners, managers and employees have the necessary tools to prevent theft in stores and make a significant impact on shortage reduction resulting from theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting don’t need to be boring or ineffective. Your best assets to eliminate shortage are already working for you, they just need a good training program to sharpen their skills. Find out more about what LPSI can offer you to make your stores more profitable.
For more information about training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Every business or institution has some form of training for their employees. Sometimes it is an onboarding type of training to do a familiarization with the company and meet the people in the office. Other training may be more intensive, delving into company culture, history and the company’s philosophy. Recently at one of the places where I work ALL of the staff have had to take a number of new online training modules in addition to completing our regular job duties. The funny thing about the trainings is a number of them dealt with computer/cyber security issues. That in and of itself is not what I found to be funny. The odd thing was every person I spoke with about the trainings said that they did the first module and after that just let the other videos play through then took the quizzes at the end of the module. It made me start thinking about the training that retailers have their employees take part in. As an example when I was a Loss Prevention Manager I was involved in training to reduce employee theft by participating in store orientations. As I reflect on it I think there were some parts the training new employees paid attention to and other parts that they just let go in one ear and out the other.
I want to touch a little more on something I mentioned above before I continue on. Theft is a problem for every retailer and if a store owner desires to run a profitable business he or she HAS to understand how devastating theft can be on a store, especially a small “mom and pop” shop. Without trying to eliminate employee theft and stop shoplifting those stores will become the place that criminals will focus their efforts. Often one type of crime leads to another and it spirals out of control. Owners and managers need to understand that training to reduce employee theft can make an impression on individuals. Sometimes employees steal because they get away with it and feel confident that co-workers will ignore it or may even be willing accomplices. Employees who are properly trained may be more willing to report another employee knowing their concerns will be addressed. Trained staff will also know how their ability to provide customer service deters criminals and can stop shoplifting. If the training is really good employees will be taught how to identify the signs that indicate someone may be a shoplifter and how to deter that activity. An issue is where can an employer go to get effective training for their employees and will they pay attention?
In most cases owners of a small retail store won’t have the knowledge or experience to adequately train their workers on theft related issues. I have found that when a training session is repetitive (like the training we just went through at the institution where I work) or conducted by someone who does not have experience, trainees lose interest. When a trainer has real-life experience and background in a subject and knows how to conduct in interactive session THAT is when people learn and retain the material. As a Loss Prevention Manager my first few solo orientations that were to train employees about employee theft and shoplifting had mediocre response. I was new in my role as a manager and I was not completely familiar with the materials. As I grew into my position, caught a few dishonest employees and became more confident I was able to judge a group’s attention and make adjustments to my presentation. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. understands the challenges for small and medium size store owners to try to conduct training to reduce employee theft and to stop shoplifting. The owner and President of LPSI, Bill Bregar has used his many years of Loss Prevention experience to develop effective training programs tailored to meet the needs of small business owners. Once trained, owners, managers and employees have the necessary tools to prevent theft in stores and make a significant impact on shortage reduction resulting from theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting don’t need to be boring or ineffective. Your best assets to eliminate shortage are already working for you, they just need a good training program to sharpen their skills. Find out more about what LPSI can offer you to make your stores more profitable.
For more information about training to reduce employee theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Return Fraud-5 WC Blog 376
Alpha Shark Tags-3
Scoundrels, Scams And Fraud; Prevent Return Fraud With Alpha Shark Tags
Scams, they are all over the place. I think every week I have some generous benefactor that wants to leave a million dollars to me deposited in my bank account. AWESOME! One day I’m going remember not to delete one of these emails and get back to them. A few weeks ago I got a call from the “IRS” telling me I was going to be in trouble if I didn’t pay some amount to them for taxes owed, unfortunately I accidentally hung up and we were disconnected. Hopefully they get back to me I don’t want to owe Uncle Sam any money! Someone every so often tries to call the library I work at and get information so they can bill us for “toner” orders for our printers…I guess they don’t know we have a list of vendors we make payments to for such purchases, they need to get with their supervisors on that. Recently one of the managers on duty at the store I work at received a call from someone who said he was from our company’s HQ. He gave his name and told the MOD he needed his name and employee number because we were going to be receiving a shipment of a new product and were going to start selling it but in a new twist we were only going to permit payments for the new product with gift cards. WOW! when the manager told me I was excited. We don’t even carry that manufacturer’s products because they happen to be very proprietary. Unfortunately when the manager told the caller he would call him back with the requested information and asked for a call back number our MOD was disconnected. I was so disappointed. We are very careful about protecting personal and business information to prevent fraud from affecting our personal lives and our businesses so why don’t we take the same precautions to prevent return fraud in stores? In many cases it could easily be done if stores would use Alpha Shark Tags on softlines products.
I get returns every day, how can I know return fraud from a legitimate return? How can Alpha Shark Tags help stop people trying to do fraudulent returns in my store? I will address the second question first. Shark Tags are brightly colored tags that once pinned to an item can only be removed when the tag is cut off. It prevents a customer from buying an item and wearing it then returning it with all the necessary documentation in order to get a full refund. Who wants to go out in public with a bright red tag hanging from a pant leg or from the cuff of a blouse? All the store manager has to do is require the tag to be attached and intact on the merchandise before taking it back with the proper documentation.
Back to the first question on how to identify return fraud. This can be difficult. One of the ways that dishonest people get fraudulent refunds is to switch the price tags from high priced clothing lines and place them on cheaper brands and return the clothes with a receipt that matches the products. For example, if someone took an Under Armor T-shirt price tag, attaches it to a Hanes t-shirt and then they return the Hanes T-shirt they receive the dollar value of the Under Armor shirt perhaps as a credit on their credit card or debit card OR it is returned on a gift card. This can be prevented but requires the cashier to be attentive to what they are doing but these shysters can be clever and will distract the employee with constant talking.
Another method of return fraud is done by the scoundrel who is wardrobing. This is the person who buys an outfit and wears it on a date or to a party. They return it a day or two later to the store where they bought it. This can be difficult to detect because often the tags are reattached with tagging guns. I saw several regular customers engage in this in the department store where I first worked as a Loss Prevention Associate. These customers were known to have money, but practiced this activity anyways (maybe this is why they had money). Unless a clear stain could be found, the majority of the time the manager would process the return. This is the situation where using the Alpha Shark Tag could be most effective.
Return Fraud can be a major source of profit loss. Reduce the chances of being taken advantage of by these characters. Use Alpha Shark Tags on your merchandise and improve your return process and your profits!
Return Fraud is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Scams, they are all over the place. I think every week I have some generous benefactor that wants to leave a million dollars to me deposited in my bank account. AWESOME! One day I’m going remember not to delete one of these emails and get back to them. A few weeks ago I got a call from the “IRS” telling me I was going to be in trouble if I didn’t pay some amount to them for taxes owed, unfortunately I accidentally hung up and we were disconnected. Hopefully they get back to me I don’t want to owe Uncle Sam any money! Someone every so often tries to call the library I work at and get information so they can bill us for “toner” orders for our printers…I guess they don’t know we have a list of vendors we make payments to for such purchases, they need to get with their supervisors on that. Recently one of the managers on duty at the store I work at received a call from someone who said he was from our company’s HQ. He gave his name and told the MOD he needed his name and employee number because we were going to be receiving a shipment of a new product and were going to start selling it but in a new twist we were only going to permit payments for the new product with gift cards. WOW! when the manager told me I was excited. We don’t even carry that manufacturer’s products because they happen to be very proprietary. Unfortunately when the manager told the caller he would call him back with the requested information and asked for a call back number our MOD was disconnected. I was so disappointed. We are very careful about protecting personal and business information to prevent fraud from affecting our personal lives and our businesses so why don’t we take the same precautions to prevent return fraud in stores? In many cases it could easily be done if stores would use Alpha Shark Tags on softlines products.
I get returns every day, how can I know return fraud from a legitimate return? How can Alpha Shark Tags help stop people trying to do fraudulent returns in my store? I will address the second question first. Shark Tags are brightly colored tags that once pinned to an item can only be removed when the tag is cut off. It prevents a customer from buying an item and wearing it then returning it with all the necessary documentation in order to get a full refund. Who wants to go out in public with a bright red tag hanging from a pant leg or from the cuff of a blouse? All the store manager has to do is require the tag to be attached and intact on the merchandise before taking it back with the proper documentation.
Back to the first question on how to identify return fraud. This can be difficult. One of the ways that dishonest people get fraudulent refunds is to switch the price tags from high priced clothing lines and place them on cheaper brands and return the clothes with a receipt that matches the products. For example, if someone took an Under Armor T-shirt price tag, attaches it to a Hanes t-shirt and then they return the Hanes T-shirt they receive the dollar value of the Under Armor shirt perhaps as a credit on their credit card or debit card OR it is returned on a gift card. This can be prevented but requires the cashier to be attentive to what they are doing but these shysters can be clever and will distract the employee with constant talking.
Another method of return fraud is done by the scoundrel who is wardrobing. This is the person who buys an outfit and wears it on a date or to a party. They return it a day or two later to the store where they bought it. This can be difficult to detect because often the tags are reattached with tagging guns. I saw several regular customers engage in this in the department store where I first worked as a Loss Prevention Associate. These customers were known to have money, but practiced this activity anyways (maybe this is why they had money). Unless a clear stain could be found, the majority of the time the manager would process the return. This is the situation where using the Alpha Shark Tag could be most effective.
Return Fraud can be a major source of profit loss. Reduce the chances of being taken advantage of by these characters. Use Alpha Shark Tags on your merchandise and improve your return process and your profits!
Return Fraud is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Employee Background Checks-4 WC Blog 397
Background Check Company-4
Take A Closer Look At A Prospective Employee Before Hiring Them By Using An Employee Background Check Company
When hiring for a position opening it can be extremely time consuming reading through all of the applications, cover letters and resumes you are sent, especially if your job ad is getting a great response. If there are a lot of applications it can be easy to overlook little things that could cause concern about an applicant. Not long ago I was part of a hiring search committee for six positions to fill. Combined the applications we received numbered around 30 or so with some of those applications being duplicates for more than one position. This still left us with at least 25 applications and the attached documents to go through. Some of the applications were easy to dismiss because the applicant did not meet the minimum required qualifications. On the other hand quite a few were very qualified on paper. One of those applicants seemed to meet our minimum job qualifications and initially I was considering requesting our committee interview him and then I looked a little closer at the application the candidate had submitted. I was glad I caught the issues as soon as I did and I will go into that in a little more detail but fortunately for us, had we overlooked these concerns and interviewed the applicant, even if we liked him our company does employee background checks and would have identified the problems and prevented hiring a potentially problem employee.
What is a background check company and how do employee background checks work? A background check company is one that has professional staff that possesses the ability and resources to look into a person’s history. They have access to public information that while available may be hard to gain access to for those of us not familiar with where to go or how to request such information. A background check company can also do the legwork of contacting references for an employer. This can be a frustrating task when you do it yourself. I have run into references who are no longer employed where they were listed as working. I have also had wrong phone numbers listed or the reference had changed their phone number. A background check can include social security verification, credit history, driving records, confirm past addresses and more. All of these are details that may reveal if an applicant is hiding something from you. You might be able to find out some of these details but the time it would take you to do so could be prohibitive. There are also legal aspects you have to take into consideration and failing to do so could land you in hot water.
Back to the candidate I was referencing above. On paper this fella looked pretty good and I was thinking he should be granted an interview until I looked a little closer at his application. He had left two jobs within a year’s time but his explanation was that he had been laid off from both. A plausible reason and I might have overlooked it but then I noticed he had about a 6 year gap in employment history. He then worked in another state for a couple of years and left because the business he worked for closed, according to his application. He was now in my state working as a cashier for a chain store. A big difference in the type of employment of his first job. There were big red “STOP” signs all over this application as I started to think about the gaps and types of work. Had we proceeded with the interview and made him our top choice I am reasonably certain we would have passed over him. If we had not I feel employee background checks by our company would have caught some fishy information.
Smaller retailers usually do not have a human resources department to conduct employee background checks. The owners and managers also do not need to spend all of their time and resources trying to follow up on candidates. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. be your background check company and help ensure you are hiring the best talent possible.
Employee Background Checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
When hiring for a position opening it can be extremely time consuming reading through all of the applications, cover letters and resumes you are sent, especially if your job ad is getting a great response. If there are a lot of applications it can be easy to overlook little things that could cause concern about an applicant. Not long ago I was part of a hiring search committee for six positions to fill. Combined the applications we received numbered around 30 or so with some of those applications being duplicates for more than one position. This still left us with at least 25 applications and the attached documents to go through. Some of the applications were easy to dismiss because the applicant did not meet the minimum required qualifications. On the other hand quite a few were very qualified on paper. One of those applicants seemed to meet our minimum job qualifications and initially I was considering requesting our committee interview him and then I looked a little closer at the application the candidate had submitted. I was glad I caught the issues as soon as I did and I will go into that in a little more detail but fortunately for us, had we overlooked these concerns and interviewed the applicant, even if we liked him our company does employee background checks and would have identified the problems and prevented hiring a potentially problem employee.
What is a background check company and how do employee background checks work? A background check company is one that has professional staff that possesses the ability and resources to look into a person’s history. They have access to public information that while available may be hard to gain access to for those of us not familiar with where to go or how to request such information. A background check company can also do the legwork of contacting references for an employer. This can be a frustrating task when you do it yourself. I have run into references who are no longer employed where they were listed as working. I have also had wrong phone numbers listed or the reference had changed their phone number. A background check can include social security verification, credit history, driving records, confirm past addresses and more. All of these are details that may reveal if an applicant is hiding something from you. You might be able to find out some of these details but the time it would take you to do so could be prohibitive. There are also legal aspects you have to take into consideration and failing to do so could land you in hot water.
Back to the candidate I was referencing above. On paper this fella looked pretty good and I was thinking he should be granted an interview until I looked a little closer at his application. He had left two jobs within a year’s time but his explanation was that he had been laid off from both. A plausible reason and I might have overlooked it but then I noticed he had about a 6 year gap in employment history. He then worked in another state for a couple of years and left because the business he worked for closed, according to his application. He was now in my state working as a cashier for a chain store. A big difference in the type of employment of his first job. There were big red “STOP” signs all over this application as I started to think about the gaps and types of work. Had we proceeded with the interview and made him our top choice I am reasonably certain we would have passed over him. If we had not I feel employee background checks by our company would have caught some fishy information.
Smaller retailers usually do not have a human resources department to conduct employee background checks. The owners and managers also do not need to spend all of their time and resources trying to follow up on candidates. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. be your background check company and help ensure you are hiring the best talent possible.
Employee Background Checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Checkpoint Tags-4 WC Blog 444
Stop Shoplifting -4
Building A Business Brand By Using Checkpoint Tags
Branding. Ranchers used to use it on cattle to identify ownership. Manufacturers use it to distinguish their company products from others. For example if you are shopping for ketchup, do you look for Heinz or Del Monte? Maybe you prefer the store brand of ketchup or it doesn’t really matter as long as it is inexpensive. How about products that have become so powerful in their product(s) and marketing that the name is used to refer to the type of product it is. One brand that comes immediately to my mind is Coke (Coca Cola). How many times have I heard someone ask for a Coke and they really just meant whatever cola soft drink was available. Often the question turns into something like, “I only have Pepsi or will an RC be okay?” This isn’t a slight against those companies and I like all three products but Coke just has that kind of imprint on American culture. So I pose the question to retailers, what makes your company distinct? What is it that you can point to as your brand? Is it your store layout? Is it the culture of safety in your store? Is it the products you carry? Something about your business HAS to stand out from the others and if there isn’t anything then maybe you need to revisit that area in order to continue to be relevant. I would suggest there are several things you could consider doing to make your “trademark” among your peers. One may be using Checkpoint Tags on merchandise to allow you to make your store more user-friendly, stop shoplifting and to keep prices low.
Checkpoint Tags can come in a variety of styles to protect merchandise. Whether you sell clothing, health and beauty products or bed and bath goods there is a retail anti-theft device available to help protect them from shoplifters. Soft tags and labels are available to use under meat soaker pads and others for small merchandise like lipsticks and mascaras. They also come in a standard size that can be used on nearly anything else, CD’s, DVD’s blister packages, etc. Hard tags can be pinned to clothing items which can stop shoplifting through deterrence and electronic article surveillance alarms (EAS). Tags from Checkpoint have technology in them that sends out radio waves. When this frequency is picked up by EAS pedestals which are usually set up near store exits and entrances the pedestal alarms and flashing lights are activated. The alarm gains the attention of nearby employees who respond to the pedestal and determine who caused it. The employee gets the offender to pay for the item or they bring it back in if the person attempting to shoplift drops it.
Is it a stretch to suggest that safety and security can be a brand for your store? I firmly believe that customer perception of what your store is like can be a hallmark of your company. If customers can walk in and carpets are clean or floors are swept, the lights are bright and shopping carts are in neatly lined up, you are creating an image that cleanliness and organization are a part of your store’s culture. Public View monitors at the entrance of the store, EAS pedestals and Checkpoint Tags on merchandise make the statement to honest customers and thieves alike that security it a priority for your location. Employees greeting customers when they walk in and ensuring the customers are finding everything they need while on the sales floor enhances your store image as one that places a premium on customer service. By the way, that last one also helps you stop shoplifting which goes back to your efforts to provide great value for your patrons.
If you really want to create an image for your company and increase sales in the process, combine these all of these values into one. Checkpoint Tags, EAS pedestals and CCTV to stop shoplifting will remind customers you are working hard to keep prices low. Clean and neat stores and shelves will tell people you care about what you are invested in. Proper lighting in the store and parking lot will let shoppers and customers know their safety and security matter. Image is important but meaning it and standing behind it is what makes a difference to people and THAT is quite a brand image with which to promote your company.
Need information on Checkpoint Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Branding. Ranchers used to use it on cattle to identify ownership. Manufacturers use it to distinguish their company products from others. For example if you are shopping for ketchup, do you look for Heinz or Del Monte? Maybe you prefer the store brand of ketchup or it doesn’t really matter as long as it is inexpensive. How about products that have become so powerful in their product(s) and marketing that the name is used to refer to the type of product it is. One brand that comes immediately to my mind is Coke (Coca Cola). How many times have I heard someone ask for a Coke and they really just meant whatever cola soft drink was available. Often the question turns into something like, “I only have Pepsi or will an RC be okay?” This isn’t a slight against those companies and I like all three products but Coke just has that kind of imprint on American culture. So I pose the question to retailers, what makes your company distinct? What is it that you can point to as your brand? Is it your store layout? Is it the culture of safety in your store? Is it the products you carry? Something about your business HAS to stand out from the others and if there isn’t anything then maybe you need to revisit that area in order to continue to be relevant. I would suggest there are several things you could consider doing to make your “trademark” among your peers. One may be using Checkpoint Tags on merchandise to allow you to make your store more user-friendly, stop shoplifting and to keep prices low.
Checkpoint Tags can come in a variety of styles to protect merchandise. Whether you sell clothing, health and beauty products or bed and bath goods there is a retail anti-theft device available to help protect them from shoplifters. Soft tags and labels are available to use under meat soaker pads and others for small merchandise like lipsticks and mascaras. They also come in a standard size that can be used on nearly anything else, CD’s, DVD’s blister packages, etc. Hard tags can be pinned to clothing items which can stop shoplifting through deterrence and electronic article surveillance alarms (EAS). Tags from Checkpoint have technology in them that sends out radio waves. When this frequency is picked up by EAS pedestals which are usually set up near store exits and entrances the pedestal alarms and flashing lights are activated. The alarm gains the attention of nearby employees who respond to the pedestal and determine who caused it. The employee gets the offender to pay for the item or they bring it back in if the person attempting to shoplift drops it.
Is it a stretch to suggest that safety and security can be a brand for your store? I firmly believe that customer perception of what your store is like can be a hallmark of your company. If customers can walk in and carpets are clean or floors are swept, the lights are bright and shopping carts are in neatly lined up, you are creating an image that cleanliness and organization are a part of your store’s culture. Public View monitors at the entrance of the store, EAS pedestals and Checkpoint Tags on merchandise make the statement to honest customers and thieves alike that security it a priority for your location. Employees greeting customers when they walk in and ensuring the customers are finding everything they need while on the sales floor enhances your store image as one that places a premium on customer service. By the way, that last one also helps you stop shoplifting which goes back to your efforts to provide great value for your patrons.
If you really want to create an image for your company and increase sales in the process, combine these all of these values into one. Checkpoint Tags, EAS pedestals and CCTV to stop shoplifting will remind customers you are working hard to keep prices low. Clean and neat stores and shelves will tell people you care about what you are invested in. Proper lighting in the store and parking lot will let shoppers and customers know their safety and security matter. Image is important but meaning it and standing behind it is what makes a difference to people and THAT is quite a brand image with which to promote your company.
Need information on Checkpoint Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
