Can Loss Prevention Be Free?-3 WC Blog 420
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-3
Is It Reasonable To Ask The Question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” The Answer May Pleasantly Surprise You
Over the last six years or so I have worked as an overnight supervisor in a college library. I also work part-time for an office supply retail store and I write articles based on my many years of Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail logistics management experience. Recently I have changed positions in the library from an overnight supervisor to a daytime supervisor, a change I have been hoping for over the last year or so. I had to consider the costs and benefits of such a move before I asked for it. The cost was going to be losing a shift differential payment that went with working overnights. Financially it was going to be a bit tighter on my budget. The return on investment (ROI) for me would be working during the daytime, seeing my family more and not dealing with sleep issues from working overnights. There would also be the opportunity to enjoy a full day off rather than sleeping part of my second day off in order to get ready for the overnight shift. To address the financial loss I was able to pick up an additional shift at my retail job each week. Some decisions are not always easy to make, they have to be well thought out because there can be consequences to those decisions. In my case it was a financial cost but I was able to find a solution and the benefits far outweighed the cost. Some decisions are what I call no-brainers. The benefits from a decision clearly outweigh a cost and will continue to reap dividends in the future. One decision that would be a no-brainer would be if someone were to ask, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” and the answer would be yes.
It may sound like a preposterous question, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” but it really isn’t preposterous. By using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator a business owner can see how long it would take for a Checkpoint Loss Prevention System to pay for itself in savings due to reduced theft. Here’s how it works, you go to the calculator, enter your annual sales information and the amount of money you would like to invest in Checkpoint retail anti-theft equipment. Based on average retail shortage percentages of 1.2%, the calculator reduces annual shrinkage to .65% and gives an estimated figure of how many months it would take for the system to pay for itself. I should also point out that the Free Loss Prevention Calculator requires no “sign-ups” and there is no tracking of information. In fact, you can change the information you input as much as you like to see the different results you could get by spending more or less on Loss Prevention equipment.
If reduced shortage in and of itself isn’t enough motivation to get you to try the Free Loss Prevention Calculator perhaps you would be interested to know that you can also improve sales with a decline in theft due to shoplifting and employee pilferage. Shoplifters empty product from store shelves and thereby remove product for your true customers to purchase. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that without merchandise there is nothing to buy and guess what? The shoplifters are stealing what everyone else wants not the items that sit on the shelf and don’t move. They are taking the items that can be sold on the internet or in “Mom and Pop” shops. Without those items sales decline on top of the losses you are incurring from the criminals. Installing an anti-theft system puts a stop to the losses and product remains on the shelf until the paying customer takes it off and buys it.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can and it can be profitable too, this is a no-brainer. Theft prevention, improved in-stocks and increased sales can be your ROI if you invest in Checkpoint equipment.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Over the last six years or so I have worked as an overnight supervisor in a college library. I also work part-time for an office supply retail store and I write articles based on my many years of Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail logistics management experience. Recently I have changed positions in the library from an overnight supervisor to a daytime supervisor, a change I have been hoping for over the last year or so. I had to consider the costs and benefits of such a move before I asked for it. The cost was going to be losing a shift differential payment that went with working overnights. Financially it was going to be a bit tighter on my budget. The return on investment (ROI) for me would be working during the daytime, seeing my family more and not dealing with sleep issues from working overnights. There would also be the opportunity to enjoy a full day off rather than sleeping part of my second day off in order to get ready for the overnight shift. To address the financial loss I was able to pick up an additional shift at my retail job each week. Some decisions are not always easy to make, they have to be well thought out because there can be consequences to those decisions. In my case it was a financial cost but I was able to find a solution and the benefits far outweighed the cost. Some decisions are what I call no-brainers. The benefits from a decision clearly outweigh a cost and will continue to reap dividends in the future. One decision that would be a no-brainer would be if someone were to ask, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” and the answer would be yes.
It may sound like a preposterous question, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” but it really isn’t preposterous. By using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator a business owner can see how long it would take for a Checkpoint Loss Prevention System to pay for itself in savings due to reduced theft. Here’s how it works, you go to the calculator, enter your annual sales information and the amount of money you would like to invest in Checkpoint retail anti-theft equipment. Based on average retail shortage percentages of 1.2%, the calculator reduces annual shrinkage to .65% and gives an estimated figure of how many months it would take for the system to pay for itself. I should also point out that the Free Loss Prevention Calculator requires no “sign-ups” and there is no tracking of information. In fact, you can change the information you input as much as you like to see the different results you could get by spending more or less on Loss Prevention equipment.
If reduced shortage in and of itself isn’t enough motivation to get you to try the Free Loss Prevention Calculator perhaps you would be interested to know that you can also improve sales with a decline in theft due to shoplifting and employee pilferage. Shoplifters empty product from store shelves and thereby remove product for your true customers to purchase. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that without merchandise there is nothing to buy and guess what? The shoplifters are stealing what everyone else wants not the items that sit on the shelf and don’t move. They are taking the items that can be sold on the internet or in “Mom and Pop” shops. Without those items sales decline on top of the losses you are incurring from the criminals. Installing an anti-theft system puts a stop to the losses and product remains on the shelf until the paying customer takes it off and buys it.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can and it can be profitable too, this is a no-brainer. Theft prevention, improved in-stocks and increased sales can be your ROI if you invest in Checkpoint equipment.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Alpha 3 Alarm -5 WC Blog 398
Retail Ani-Theft Device-4
Prevent Shoplifting-3
Monitor A Problem Or Prevent A Problem? Alpha 3 Alarm Tags Are An Effective Tool To Prevent Shoplifting
The commercial begins with several armed thugs barging into a bank. The customers all get down on the floor cowering and the bank clerks raise their hands in submission. In the middle of the bank a uniformed officer is standing watching what is going on. A woman on the floor whispers up at him and says, “Do something!” The officer looks down at her and says, “Oh, I’m not a security guard, I’m a security monitor.” He goes on to explain that he only monitors for bank robberies he doesn’t do anything about them. The commercial is hilarious to me. The absurdity of the exaggeration has enough ring of truth to it to make it effective in getting out its message. The company is pointing out that it proactively monitors personal information and credit information for the clients who use it. It argues through the messaging of the commercial that it doesn’t just monitor when a person has their identity stolen. I bring this up because it seems some stores use retail anti-theft devices on merchandise with the intention to prevent shoplifting but then do nothing about it when an alarm sounds. It may be the tamper alarm on an Alpha 3 Alarm tag that is sounding or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestal activating due to a shoplifter trying to sneak tagged merchandise out the door. Of course, talking about an Alpha 3 Alarm tag makes no sense if you aren’t familiar with it so let me talk about it briefly.
An Alpha 3 Alarm tags are retail anti-theft devices that are attached to merchandise, especially softlines products (clothing, clothing accessories, bath shop items and bedding to name a few) that deters thieves and can prevent shoplifting. Tags are two–pieces, a hard tag with a pin and a cap that covers the pin after it is pushed through the product. Once pieced together the tag is nearly impossible to remove from the merchandise without an Alpha detachment tool. When a crook attempts to pry a tag off the merchandise is damaged and rendered useless to the criminal, defeating the reason they would want to get the tag off in the first place. Tags are also equipped with EAS technology designed to be picked up by EAS pedestal sensors when a shoplifter tries to carry an item out of the store. This sounds an alarm in the pedestal designed to elicit employee response to determine the cause of the alarm and recover merchandise. An Alpha 3 Alarm tag has a built in tamper alarm that activates when someone tries to pry it off, activates a pedestal alarm and if it is carried out the door and a built in alarm that sounds in the tag. Thieves cannot avoid being noticed with a screeching tag giving them away as they try to run away.
Going back to my commercial example and retail theft prevention strategies, I am perplexed by the number of times I am hearing EAS alarm activations and there appears to be no response to the alarms. I was in the mall not long ago and heard an alarm activation at one of the doors. The person who set it off looked around and left. The closest cashier didn’t look over or appear to acknowledge an alarm had gone off. I just questioned what the purpose was of having the EAS pedestals in the first place. All I picture is the pedestal in place of the security monitor saying, “I’m not an a retail anti-theft device, I’m a retail anti-theft monitor, I only let you know when a theft took place” then matter- of- factly it adds, “A theft just took place” and the alarm sounds. No one does anything to react you just know a theft occurred.
C’mon, take theft and shortage seriously. Don’t invest in an EAS pedestal and ignore it. Don’t purchase Alpha 3 Alarm tags and use them on only part of the merchandise in the store. What are you trying to do stop just some of the shoplifters stealing from you? Which ones are they? Prevent shoplifting from taking place don’t just monitor the problem.
Get more information on Alpha 3 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
The commercial begins with several armed thugs barging into a bank. The customers all get down on the floor cowering and the bank clerks raise their hands in submission. In the middle of the bank a uniformed officer is standing watching what is going on. A woman on the floor whispers up at him and says, “Do something!” The officer looks down at her and says, “Oh, I’m not a security guard, I’m a security monitor.” He goes on to explain that he only monitors for bank robberies he doesn’t do anything about them. The commercial is hilarious to me. The absurdity of the exaggeration has enough ring of truth to it to make it effective in getting out its message. The company is pointing out that it proactively monitors personal information and credit information for the clients who use it. It argues through the messaging of the commercial that it doesn’t just monitor when a person has their identity stolen. I bring this up because it seems some stores use retail anti-theft devices on merchandise with the intention to prevent shoplifting but then do nothing about it when an alarm sounds. It may be the tamper alarm on an Alpha 3 Alarm tag that is sounding or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestal activating due to a shoplifter trying to sneak tagged merchandise out the door. Of course, talking about an Alpha 3 Alarm tag makes no sense if you aren’t familiar with it so let me talk about it briefly.
An Alpha 3 Alarm tags are retail anti-theft devices that are attached to merchandise, especially softlines products (clothing, clothing accessories, bath shop items and bedding to name a few) that deters thieves and can prevent shoplifting. Tags are two–pieces, a hard tag with a pin and a cap that covers the pin after it is pushed through the product. Once pieced together the tag is nearly impossible to remove from the merchandise without an Alpha detachment tool. When a crook attempts to pry a tag off the merchandise is damaged and rendered useless to the criminal, defeating the reason they would want to get the tag off in the first place. Tags are also equipped with EAS technology designed to be picked up by EAS pedestal sensors when a shoplifter tries to carry an item out of the store. This sounds an alarm in the pedestal designed to elicit employee response to determine the cause of the alarm and recover merchandise. An Alpha 3 Alarm tag has a built in tamper alarm that activates when someone tries to pry it off, activates a pedestal alarm and if it is carried out the door and a built in alarm that sounds in the tag. Thieves cannot avoid being noticed with a screeching tag giving them away as they try to run away.
Going back to my commercial example and retail theft prevention strategies, I am perplexed by the number of times I am hearing EAS alarm activations and there appears to be no response to the alarms. I was in the mall not long ago and heard an alarm activation at one of the doors. The person who set it off looked around and left. The closest cashier didn’t look over or appear to acknowledge an alarm had gone off. I just questioned what the purpose was of having the EAS pedestals in the first place. All I picture is the pedestal in place of the security monitor saying, “I’m not an a retail anti-theft device, I’m a retail anti-theft monitor, I only let you know when a theft took place” then matter- of- factly it adds, “A theft just took place” and the alarm sounds. No one does anything to react you just know a theft occurred.
C’mon, take theft and shortage seriously. Don’t invest in an EAS pedestal and ignore it. Don’t purchase Alpha 3 Alarm tags and use them on only part of the merchandise in the store. What are you trying to do stop just some of the shoplifters stealing from you? Which ones are they? Prevent shoplifting from taking place don’t just monitor the problem.
Get more information on Alpha 3 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Have you ever had one of those days or weeks when it seems like everything breaks down on you? Compounding that is when all of the breakdowns seem to happen at once, it’s enough to make you go crazy! I recently experienced this in the college library where I work. Day one of classes and that is when it seems all of the students come to the library to print out their syllabuses, first assignments and projects. In fact, every day of the week is busy with printing needs and freshmen needing to learn how to print from library computers to the library printers. Murphy’s Law says something is going to go wrong and this particular week it did. Out of four black and white printers one primary printer broke down along with a bill/coin machine used for printing when a student without their student ID needs or a non-student wants to print. On top of all of this we were answering all types of other questions, some related to library services and some just general questions regarding the college. Similar situations have happened to me as a Retail Manager On Duty, cash registers crashing, power goes out and credit card readers go offline. Store owners, here is my question to you, how do your store management teams respond to crisis? Have you trained them so they are prepared to address emergencies? I’ve also been a Loss Prevention Manager and have had to deal with a Checkpoint Security System that stopped working several times over my tenure. Issues were sometimes due to power outages and sometimes due to equipment malfunctions.
Before I go further, I may have readers who know about point of sale systems, credit readers, computer and scanning technology but have little information about a Checkpoint Security System and anti-shoplifting devices. A Checkpoint System is a series of components that uses radio frequency waves to protect merchandise from theft. Usually referred to as electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology, a system uses EAS towers at points in a store where owners don’t want unpaid merchandise to be carried by customers and near store entry/exit doors. EAS tags are the protective devices applied to merchandise that emit the radio frequency that is detected by the towers. Tagged merchandise carried too close to the towers sets off an alarm and elicits an immediate response from store personnel. Other critical components to a Checkpoint Security System are deactivation pads at the point of sale to “turn off” soft tags on some merchandise and Detachment keys to remove EAS hard tags for reuse later on. The system is effective as an anti-shoplifting tool for the alarms it creates when someone tries to steal merchandise. It also serves to deter theft since criminals try to avoid anything that may get them caught.
Back to my original point, when systems fail for one reason or another things can be totally out of control and some managers don’t know how to adapt. Leaders have to be ready to control a situation and redirect resources as necessary. In the case of our library printers I had our staff redirect patrons to the other three black and white printers in the building. Although somewhat inconvenient the students were still able to print. If a customer needed to pay for a print job with cash we were accepting the money, giving change and releasing the print job manually. We adapted to the situation, found alternative solutions and maintained control of what was taking place in our building.
In those situations as an L.P. Manager when my Checkpoint Security System would stop working, I took steps to minimize the chance someone would be able to steal. I did trouble shooting on my end, then placed a service call to the vendor. In the meantime I had a store employee stationed at the front doors to conduct receipt checks and I had one of my uniformed security officers walk the salesfloor as an anti-shoplifting solution. It was important to have someone visible to deter thieves who might try to take advantage of a situation if word got out that the system was not functioning properly.
Store owners train your managers to be leaders when things start to go awry. It may be as simple as being the person who keeps things calm and orderly when the power fails. It could be redirecting customers to a functioning register when one goes down, as long as you can keep ringing sales. Freezing up or failing to lead during any crisis leads to chaos and a lack of trust of those who depend on a manager for guidance. Don’t let breakdowns in equipment such as a Checkpoint Security System lead to breakdowns in leadership.
Need information on a Checkpoint Security System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Applicant Management Center – 5 WC Blog 506
Pre-employment Screening-3
An Applicant Management Center Streamlines The Hiring Process And Saves Time
Filling open positions on a team can be a logistical nightmare for many reasons and the goal of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. is to assist you in making the process easier with their Applicant Management Center (AMC). The task of hiring becomes more burdensome for the smaller retailers that may not have a dedicated Human Resources Manager to manage all of the pieces involved. Filling position vacancies requires the posting of job ads and having all of the pertinent hiring paperwork ready and available for applicants. Added to that there is the issue of pre-employment screening and possible drug testing procedures. There are federal labor regulations an employer must be in compliance with such as following the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) rules when reviewing an applicant’s credit history. If you are managing your hiring process are you ensuring all I9 documentation is completed and submitted to the proper government agency? It is a lot of work to manage the process not to mention the time involved for a store owner or manager.
The Applicant Management Center offers a number of benefits to clients. For starters an applicant tracking list makes the management of a candidate pool easier to navigate. Sorting through emails and attachments or paper applications is unwieldy. Emails may be received as spam and paper has a tendency to get lost in a shuffle. Is your current hiring process one that involves an applicant coming in and filling out documents? The Applicant Management Center gives you the ability to provide electronic forms and customizable options including a mouse signature to prospective new hires. All of your required forms and documents are stored in one location for each of your candidates. No more digging through file drawers and cabinets looking up information on a particular candidate.
I mentioned earlier the requirement that employers must follow FCRA rules when conducting credit checks on applicants. Retailers should be completing pre-employment screening on all candidates being given serious consideration for a job. There are many reasons for this that will be discussed in future articles but suffice it to say that as a retailer you are hiring people to work with money and financial transaction information. As part of a background check a credit check should be part of this process. The Applicant Management Center will display appropriate FCRA notices to applicants as part of the application. There is no longer a need for managers to have to remember to remind applicants of these regulations and risk being out of compliance.
How many times have you set up a job ad and an application with specific questions you would like to flag that would alert you that this is a person you automatically want to interview or disregard based on the answer to that question? The Applicant Management Center gives employers the ability to flag responses to streamline your interview process. It can be cumbersome to interview every applicant in those situations where a lot of people have applied for one position and many may not be qualified to work in that job. Having a weeding process reduces the time spent sifting through applications and trying to make the decision of who is really meeting your qualification expectations.
Hiring is usually not a fun process and it requires a significant amount of time and effort on the part of a store owner or manager when there is not a Human Resources Department or Manager to take care of the task. Streamlining that process allows those owners to focus their attention on the operations of the store(s) that will drive sales and profits. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. CEO, Bill Bregar sees the problems this causes and is now offering AMC as a way to help those owners and managers avoid getting bogged down in hiring paperwork, pre-employment screening, unnecessary interviewing and direct their time where it needs to be on building a profitable business.
For more information about an Applicant Management Cystem contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Filling open positions on a team can be a logistical nightmare for many reasons and the goal of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. is to assist you in making the process easier with their Applicant Management Center (AMC). The task of hiring becomes more burdensome for the smaller retailers that may not have a dedicated Human Resources Manager to manage all of the pieces involved. Filling position vacancies requires the posting of job ads and having all of the pertinent hiring paperwork ready and available for applicants. Added to that there is the issue of pre-employment screening and possible drug testing procedures. There are federal labor regulations an employer must be in compliance with such as following the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) rules when reviewing an applicant’s credit history. If you are managing your hiring process are you ensuring all I9 documentation is completed and submitted to the proper government agency? It is a lot of work to manage the process not to mention the time involved for a store owner or manager.
The Applicant Management Center offers a number of benefits to clients. For starters an applicant tracking list makes the management of a candidate pool easier to navigate. Sorting through emails and attachments or paper applications is unwieldy. Emails may be received as spam and paper has a tendency to get lost in a shuffle. Is your current hiring process one that involves an applicant coming in and filling out documents? The Applicant Management Center gives you the ability to provide electronic forms and customizable options including a mouse signature to prospective new hires. All of your required forms and documents are stored in one location for each of your candidates. No more digging through file drawers and cabinets looking up information on a particular candidate.
I mentioned earlier the requirement that employers must follow FCRA rules when conducting credit checks on applicants. Retailers should be completing pre-employment screening on all candidates being given serious consideration for a job. There are many reasons for this that will be discussed in future articles but suffice it to say that as a retailer you are hiring people to work with money and financial transaction information. As part of a background check a credit check should be part of this process. The Applicant Management Center will display appropriate FCRA notices to applicants as part of the application. There is no longer a need for managers to have to remember to remind applicants of these regulations and risk being out of compliance.
How many times have you set up a job ad and an application with specific questions you would like to flag that would alert you that this is a person you automatically want to interview or disregard based on the answer to that question? The Applicant Management Center gives employers the ability to flag responses to streamline your interview process. It can be cumbersome to interview every applicant in those situations where a lot of people have applied for one position and many may not be qualified to work in that job. Having a weeding process reduces the time spent sifting through applications and trying to make the decision of who is really meeting your qualification expectations.
Hiring is usually not a fun process and it requires a significant amount of time and effort on the part of a store owner or manager when there is not a Human Resources Department or Manager to take care of the task. Streamlining that process allows those owners to focus their attention on the operations of the store(s) that will drive sales and profits. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. CEO, Bill Bregar sees the problems this causes and is now offering AMC as a way to help those owners and managers avoid getting bogged down in hiring paperwork, pre-employment screening, unnecessary interviewing and direct their time where it needs to be on building a profitable business.
For more information about an Applicant Management System, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Alpha Keepers-4 WC Blog 394
Prevent Shoplifting-4
Retail Anti-Theft Devices-4
Retail Anti-Theft Devices; The Decisions Stores Make That Drive Me Crazy! Part 1
From time to time I see retail Loss Prevention initiatives that make me go crazy. Sometimes the initiative goes too far in reducing security measures. I have seen Loss Prevention payroll cuts in an effort to save money. I have seen merchandise such as video games removed from lock-up cases (which I might add I am not necessarily opposed to) but then no security measure is added to prevent shoplifting, by using Alpha Keepers or even soft electronic article surveillance tags. I have seen high priced items removed from “security grids” that direct what items get retail anti-theft devices placed on them. For example, I am aware of a company that sells laminators. No, not really a high sales item but there was a time when a certain price point of the item required them to be protected with a security device and now they are no longer protected. Certain ink jet cartridges in one store are stored in Alpha Keepers while other brands are not protected. News flash! Shoplifters are not necessarily concerned with the brand or price points sometimes they just want the merchandise in order to trade it for whatever cash they can get or for drugs.
I want to briefly clarify for readers who may not be familiar with them, what Alpha Keepers are. Keepers are clear, solid, plastic boxes with hinged, locking lids that allows merchants to display merchandise on the salesfloor while protecting the merchandise from theft. The boxes require special detachment keys in order to open them adding an additional level of security. The boxes are also built with electronic article surveillance technology (EAS) that makes the Keepers detectable by EAS towers when stores have them installed. This makes sure that if a shoplifter tries to carry secured merchandise out of the store tower alarms and lights activate and warn store employees that an attempted theft is taking place. Employees respond to the doors and recover merchandise and prevent shoplifting or get the patron to purchase the item.
The beauty of retail anti-theft devices is that it allows retailers to take merchandise from the showcases and place them in the reach of the customer. This gives customers the ability to handle merchandise, read package information and carry it around the store while they continue to shop. Likewise, the Keepers give flexibility to store owners and managers to not tie an employee down to the showcases waiting to help customers or standing at the showcase taking out merchandise and putting it back while the customer browses merchandise. So YES, remove merchandise from showcases, make it accessible and sales will inevitably climb. People will buy products when they don’t have to wait for assistance.
My irritation is NOT at the removal of product from security lock-ups, my irritation is when merchandise is put on the floor and not secured with retail anti-theft devices. Furthermore, DON’T have a policy of securing product with anti-theft devices and then removing the devices or not placing them on new shipments anymore. Is the policy in place because there is no longer evidence that the merchandise is being stolen…WELL DUH! The merchandise not being stolen because the protections did what they were designed to do, prevent shoplifting! Is the decision based on the lack of sales of a product? That has nothing to do with the security device or the ability of customers to access them, it may be due to product placement, price point, lack of customer service or simply the item is not in demand. As long as it is being carried in the store all merchandise should be protected.
Removing merchandise from lock-up cases can certainly improve sales. Placing merchandise on the floor without protecting it is an invitation to increased theft and shortage. Make products available to your customers but use Alpha Keepers and retail anti-theft devices on all the things you sell to prevent shoplifting.
For more information about Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
From time to time I see retail Loss Prevention initiatives that make me go crazy. Sometimes the initiative goes too far in reducing security measures. I have seen Loss Prevention payroll cuts in an effort to save money. I have seen merchandise such as video games removed from lock-up cases (which I might add I am not necessarily opposed to) but then no security measure is added to prevent shoplifting, by using Alpha Keepers or even soft electronic article surveillance tags. I have seen high priced items removed from “security grids” that direct what items get retail anti-theft devices placed on them. For example, I am aware of a company that sells laminators. No, not really a high sales item but there was a time when a certain price point of the item required them to be protected with a security device and now they are no longer protected. Certain ink jet cartridges in one store are stored in Alpha Keepers while other brands are not protected. News flash! Shoplifters are not necessarily concerned with the brand or price points sometimes they just want the merchandise in order to trade it for whatever cash they can get or for drugs.
I want to briefly clarify for readers who may not be familiar with them, what Alpha Keepers are. Keepers are clear, solid, plastic boxes with hinged, locking lids that allows merchants to display merchandise on the salesfloor while protecting the merchandise from theft. The boxes require special detachment keys in order to open them adding an additional level of security. The boxes are also built with electronic article surveillance technology (EAS) that makes the Keepers detectable by EAS towers when stores have them installed. This makes sure that if a shoplifter tries to carry secured merchandise out of the store tower alarms and lights activate and warn store employees that an attempted theft is taking place. Employees respond to the doors and recover merchandise and prevent shoplifting or get the patron to purchase the item.
The beauty of retail anti-theft devices is that it allows retailers to take merchandise from the showcases and place them in the reach of the customer. This gives customers the ability to handle merchandise, read package information and carry it around the store while they continue to shop. Likewise, the Keepers give flexibility to store owners and managers to not tie an employee down to the showcases waiting to help customers or standing at the showcase taking out merchandise and putting it back while the customer browses merchandise. So YES, remove merchandise from showcases, make it accessible and sales will inevitably climb. People will buy products when they don’t have to wait for assistance.
My irritation is NOT at the removal of product from security lock-ups, my irritation is when merchandise is put on the floor and not secured with retail anti-theft devices. Furthermore, DON’T have a policy of securing product with anti-theft devices and then removing the devices or not placing them on new shipments anymore. Is the policy in place because there is no longer evidence that the merchandise is being stolen…WELL DUH! The merchandise not being stolen because the protections did what they were designed to do, prevent shoplifting! Is the decision based on the lack of sales of a product? That has nothing to do with the security device or the ability of customers to access them, it may be due to product placement, price point, lack of customer service or simply the item is not in demand. As long as it is being carried in the store all merchandise should be protected.
Removing merchandise from lock-up cases can certainly improve sales. Placing merchandise on the floor without protecting it is an invitation to increased theft and shortage. Make products available to your customers but use Alpha Keepers and retail anti-theft devices on all the things you sell to prevent shoplifting.
For more information about Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I have been fighting to lose a lot of weight over the last two years and some odd months. I was looking at pictures of myself at our eldest son’s graduation and I had enough of it. I didn’t like the way I looked and made a decision I was going to lose weight and it wasn’t going to be one of those fad diets. I would use common sense eating approaches and exercise more. I didn’t totally cut out all of the foods I like but I did drastically cut back on sweets and regular sodas/pop/coke, whatever you want to call them. At this point I have lost about 40 pounds. I have almost reached my goal but here is the catch, I can’t fall back into old habits. I can’t go back to second helpings of dinners that I truly enjoy. I can’t go back to regular soft drinks and it takes discipline to stay out of our library breakroom when co-workers bring in donuts or treats for everyone. Now before you ask what this has to do with employee theft reduction training, hear me out. Disciplining myself to reduce weight is not much different than the discipline an employer requires to educate themselves and enforce policies to stop employee theft.
It is terribly difficult to identify employee theft by Loss Prevention Professions. It can be nearly an impossible task for a retail store owner or manager to identify it let alone have the knowledge to put a stop to it. I have seen cases where dishonest employees have gotten away with thousands of dollars in merchandise and even more in cash theft. If they are good at doing it an employee can steal from an employer for years without the employer having a clue it is happening. The problem often facing store management is that they don’t have the ability to keep a Loss Prevention staff of any size on the payroll. So, if there is no Loss Prevention and I have pointed out the difficulty for a novice to tell when an employee is stealing from them, what are the alternatives? The alternative is employee theft reduction training for store owners and managers. With the proper instruction it is possible for management teams to learn the steps they can take to minimize the chance of hiring thieves in the first place. They may also learn to identify the signs that may indicate employee theft is taking place. It is also possible to take steps to reduce the opportunities for theft to happen.
While employee theft reduction training will give employers the tools they need to impact employee theft in the store it takes discipline to stay on track. Just like starting a weight loss program it is energizing at first. You go through the seminar and learn new things to set you on the road to your goal and you begin to implement changes. You start to use employee background checks in your hiring process. You teach your managers to look for the signs that an employee may be unintentionally transmitting that could indicate they are in a position where they may start stealing. The dieter changes what he/she eats and starts to monitor calories and fat grams. Things start to improve for the retailer and cash shortages seem to disappear or shortage percentages go down. The dieter loses a couple of pounds. Then before you know it the old habits creep in and excuses are made. It is the holiday season and you HAVE to get staffed so there isn’t time for employee background checks. Yes, you decided to hire your employee’s best friend on her word that she would be a great worker. It is the holiday season and your Uncle Joe would be hurt if you didn’t eat two helpings of his famous fried turkey. It is only a couple of cookies and you can lose the weight after the first of the year. Do you see where I’m going? Training and knowledge and making changes are fantastic. Being disciplined to resist returning to old habits is hard.
Running a vibrant, profitable store requires managers to understand the damage dishonest workers can do to a business. Those without Loss Prevention must also learn how to identify and prevent it by taking employee theft reduction training for the management teams. They must also start using employee background checks to help avoid hiring the thieves in the first place. Finally, once positive changes are made there must be a commitment that managers will not fall back into old routines. Make a change today and watch profits grow tomorrow.
Get more information on employee theft reduction training, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
