Stop Shoplifting – 4 WC Blog 402
Employee Theft – 3
Training To Reduce Employee Theft – 3
Driving For Better Profits And Lower Shrink; Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Offers Training To Reduce Employee Theft And Stop Shoplifting
A long time ago I taught my wife to drive. She had a few skills from when she was a little younger but had not pursued driving after that. Not long after we married we agreed there was a need for her to get her license so I spent time teaching her and she did earn her driver’s license. Turn the clock ahead 17 years and our son was ready to learn to drive. I spent time teaching him and giving him the basic skills. Wanting to be sure that he had all of the technical skills he would need to get through his driving test (and to lower insurance premiums) we sent him to a driver training school. Ahead another 3 years and I did the same training with our younger son and daughter. We sent them through driver training school also and our son went on to get his driver’s license. Our daughter chose to hold off. Now I am preparing her once again and guess what? I have found I have to review a few things, like parallel parking. More than 30 years of driving experience, 4 of those years as an Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist, and I have to refresh myself despite my driving experience (Thank You YouTube!). My reason for talking about this is that even with experience sometimes there are things you have to get refresher training on. For those things you don’t know how to do at all, getting the proper training pays off as you learn how to do something you never knew how to do in the first place. The same is true when it comes to retail loss prevention. You may be a store owner but that doesn’t necessarily translate to knowledge on how to stop shoplifting or prevent employee theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting doesn’t come just by being a store manager. Bad guys are creative with old and new methods to steal from stores. Whatever the manner of theft most people are not equipped with the knowledge required to catch the bad guys let alone recognize the signs and indicators that can identify who may steal or who is planning on stealing. Think of it like this, I have been in retail management and I have been a Loss Prevention Manager. Those experiences alone do not necessarily mean I could own my own store and run it successfully or even take the position of store manager. Even if I could do so I would still require a certain amount of training in order to be successful. The same applies to Loss Prevention. In order to be successful at shortage reduction a manager or owner should go through training to reduce employee theft and that training is available through Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. They offer seminars on employee theft, shoplifting and even pre-employment hiring. As someone with over 25 years of combined retail, Loss Prevention and retail management experience, I will tell you that taking these training seminars provides invaluable lessons that will pay off over and over again in the future.
I mentioned earlier that proper training can pay off down the road (pun intended, you didn’t think I would pass up the opportunity did you?). With driver training the payoff is reduced insurance premiums and lowered chances of accidents meaning a lower risk of costly car repairs. What are the expected benefits of training to reduce employee theft or training to stop shoplifting? The obvious comes to mind first, you will learn to identify where theft is taking place and you can start to take the proper measure to stop it. You will also learn about the tools to deter and prevent theft like the Checkpoint electronic article surveillance towers and tags. As theft goes down profits go up, THERE is your dividend, black ink on your bottom line. What about the not so obvious dividends, what are they? Did you ever consider that time card fraud is theft? Have you ever thought about an employee clocking another employee in and the person being clocked in isn’t at work? How about price change manipulation? Return fraud? Never considered what happened to those receipts customers didn’t want when they left the store did you? All of these things can add up to big losses, but LPSi can show you the way to put an end to the leaches who are trying to bleed you dry. Want countless dividends when you learn to stop shoplifting and employee theft? Sign up for the seminars today, what in the world are you waiting for?
Get more information on Training To Reduce Employee Theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
A long time ago I taught my wife to drive. She had a few skills from when she was a little younger but had not pursued driving after that. Not long after we married we agreed there was a need for her to get her license so I spent time teaching her and she did earn her driver’s license. Turn the clock ahead 17 years and our son was ready to learn to drive. I spent time teaching him and giving him the basic skills. Wanting to be sure that he had all of the technical skills he would need to get through his driving test (and to lower insurance premiums) we sent him to a driver training school. Ahead another 3 years and I did the same training with our younger son and daughter. We sent them through driver training school also and our son went on to get his driver’s license. Our daughter chose to hold off. Now I am preparing her once again and guess what? I have found I have to review a few things, like parallel parking. More than 30 years of driving experience, 4 of those years as an Air Force Law Enforcement Specialist, and I have to refresh myself despite my driving experience (Thank You YouTube!). My reason for talking about this is that even with experience sometimes there are things you have to get refresher training on. For those things you don’t know how to do at all, getting the proper training pays off as you learn how to do something you never knew how to do in the first place. The same is true when it comes to retail loss prevention. You may be a store owner but that doesn’t necessarily translate to knowledge on how to stop shoplifting or prevent employee theft.
Training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting doesn’t come just by being a store manager. Bad guys are creative with old and new methods to steal from stores. Whatever the manner of theft most people are not equipped with the knowledge required to catch the bad guys let alone recognize the signs and indicators that can identify who may steal or who is planning on stealing. Think of it like this, I have been in retail management and I have been a Loss Prevention Manager. Those experiences alone do not necessarily mean I could own my own store and run it successfully or even take the position of store manager. Even if I could do so I would still require a certain amount of training in order to be successful. The same applies to Loss Prevention. In order to be successful at shortage reduction a manager or owner should go through training to reduce employee theft and that training is available through Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. They offer seminars on employee theft, shoplifting and even pre-employment hiring. As someone with over 25 years of combined retail, Loss Prevention and retail management experience, I will tell you that taking these training seminars provides invaluable lessons that will pay off over and over again in the future.
I mentioned earlier that proper training can pay off down the road (pun intended, you didn’t think I would pass up the opportunity did you?). With driver training the payoff is reduced insurance premiums and lowered chances of accidents meaning a lower risk of costly car repairs. What are the expected benefits of training to reduce employee theft or training to stop shoplifting? The obvious comes to mind first, you will learn to identify where theft is taking place and you can start to take the proper measure to stop it. You will also learn about the tools to deter and prevent theft like the Checkpoint electronic article surveillance towers and tags. As theft goes down profits go up, THERE is your dividend, black ink on your bottom line. What about the not so obvious dividends, what are they? Did you ever consider that time card fraud is theft? Have you ever thought about an employee clocking another employee in and the person being clocked in isn’t at work? How about price change manipulation? Return fraud? Never considered what happened to those receipts customers didn’t want when they left the store did you? All of these things can add up to big losses, but LPSi can show you the way to put an end to the leaches who are trying to bleed you dry. Want countless dividends when you learn to stop shoplifting and employee theft? Sign up for the seminars today, what in the world are you waiting for?
Get more information on Training To Reduce Employee Theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 now.
Alpha Shark Tags – 3 WC Blog 367
Wardrobing -3
Return Fraud -4
You May Feel Embattled By Theft And Return Fraud; A Good Shortage Action Plan That Includes Alpha Shark Tags Can Help You Overcome The Opposition
I am a military history buff therefore I have certain quotes that I find I like that can be applied to both life and war.
Sun Tzu – Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster
Napoleon Bonaparte – You must not fight too often with one enemy or you will teach him all your art of war.
Sun Tzu – He who will win knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
General George Patton Jr. – A good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future.
General George Patton Jr. – You’re never beaten until you admit it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower – What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight –it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
What in the world does this have to do with retail and especially preventing theft, fraud and shortage?! I’m glad you asked. Shoplifters and those committing fraud are the enemies of retailers. The business owner can sit by and be the victim or they can know their enemy and to paraphrase Sun Tzu, subdue the enemy without fighting them, winning the battles because they know the enemy and their strategies. Part of retail theft and fraud prevention is having a good action plan. Those who commit return fraud and shoplift CAN be beaten, when a store owner or manager has the tools and knowledge to deter or prevent their activity.
What tools are available to business owners to prevent return fraud? How about Alpha Shark Tags to start with? While shoplifters are out to just steal merchandise for personal use or to sell, the fraudster is often using store policies against the store to purchase clothes, wear them and bring the items back for a full refund. It is so prevalent that it has the name wardrobing attached to it. Tags and receipts are retained and often tags are re-attached to the merchandise and after being worn out a time or two, all items are returned for a full refund. The clothing sometimes is returned with small stains, or body odors, make-up stains or cologne smells. Retailers take the hit by selling the merchandise and then taking it back but often reducing the price or having to get rid of it and marking it out-of-stock. If a retailer uses Alpha Shark Tags, they defeat wardrobing fraud before it can happen. These tags are pinned on clothes with the stipulation that if the clothes are returned the pin has to be in place and intact. When properly placed, these brightly colored tags stand out like a sore thumb and someone used to committing fraud can’t wear the merchandise or people will be aware it is going to be returned. Rather than try to get away with the activity they shop elsewhere.
How else does a retailer defeat the enemy that would put them out of business if their crime is left unchecked? By creating shortage action plans focused on addressing weaknesses in return policies, identifying high merchandise shrinkage areas and making it an area of customer service focus. I have been part of creating large, unwieldy action plans that were detailed, long, filled with deadlines and due dates that have totally fallen apart within a few months of being finalized. The most effective plans are short, direct, have specific objectives and can be executed quickly, for example placing a security camera and dome over a high theft area. It may be as easy as starting an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tagging program and having EAS pedestals installed. Remember Patton’s quote? Execute a good plan today rather than a perfect plan at some point in the future.
I know you aren’t going into combat you are selling merchandise. It’s your business and hopefully your passion. There’s a saying in sports, “Protect This House”. Protect YOUR house against theft. Use Alpha Shark Tags to stop return fraud, EAS tags to prevent theft and customer service to deter theft and increase sales and attachment rates. You could be suffering at the hands of thieves right now but, “You’re never beaten until you admit it”. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) help you turn things around with our expert advice about wardrobing return fraud, shoplifting, planning and hiring practices, our website and monthly newsletter. We also offer training seminars on employee theft, shoplifting and pre-employment hiring. We CAN help your business thrive.
Need information on Alpha Shark Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
I am a military history buff therefore I have certain quotes that I find I like that can be applied to both life and war.
Sun Tzu – Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
Napoleon Bonaparte – You must not fight too often with one enemy or you will teach him all your art of war.
Sun Tzu – He who will win knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
General George Patton Jr. – A good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future. You’re never beaten until you admit it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower – What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight –it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
What in the world does this have to do with retail and especially preventing theft, fraud and shortage?! I’m glad you asked. Shoplifters and those committing fraud are the enemies of retailers. The business owner can sit by and be the victim or they can know their enemy and to paraphrase Sun Tzu, subdue the enemy without fighting them, winning the battles because they know the enemy and their strategies. Part of retail theft and fraud prevention is having a good action plan. Those who commit return fraud and shoplift CAN be beaten, when a store owner or manager has the tools and knowledge to deter or prevent their activity.
What tools are available to business owners to prevent return fraud? How about Alpha Shark Tags to start with? While shoplifters are out to just steal merchandise for personal use or to sell, the fraudster is often using store policies against the store to purchase clothes, wear them and bring the items back for a full refund. It is so prevalent that it has the name wardrobing attached to it. Tags and receipts are retained and often tags are re-attached to the merchandise and after being worn out a time or two, all items are returned for a full refund. The clothing sometimes is returned with small stains, or body odors, make-up stains or cologne smells. Retailers take the hit by selling the merchandise and then taking it back but often reducing the price or having to get rid of it and marking it out-of-stock. If a retailer uses Alpha Shark Tags, they defeat wardrobing fraud before it can happen. These tags are pinned on clothes with the stipulation that if the clothes are returned the pin has to be in place and intact. When properly placed, these brightly colored tags stand out like a sore thumb and someone used to committing fraud can’t wear the merchandise or people will be aware it is going to be returned. Rather than try to get away with the activity they shop elsewhere.
How else does a retailer defeat the enemy that would put them out of business if their crime is left unchecked? By creating shortage action plans focused on addressing weaknesses in return policies, identifying high merchandise shrinkage areas and making it an area of customer service focus. I have been part of creating large, unwieldy action plans that were detailed, long, filled with deadlines and due dates that have totally fallen apart within a few months of being finalized. The most effective plans are short, direct, have specific objectives and can be executed quickly, for example placing a security camera and dome over a high theft area. It may be as easy as starting an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tagging program and having EAS pedestals installed. Remember Patton’s quote? Execute a good plan today rather than a perfect plan at some point in the future.
I know you aren’t going into combat you are selling merchandise. It’s your business and hopefully your passion. There’s a saying in sports, “Protect This House”. Protect YOUR house against theft. Use Alpha Shark Tags to stop return fraud, EAS tags to prevent theft and customer service to deter theft and increase sales and attachment rates. You could be suffering at the hands of thieves right now but, “You’re never beaten until you admit it”. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) help you turn things around with our expert advice about wardrobing return fraud, shoplifting, planning and hiring practices, our website and monthly newsletter. We also offer training seminars on employee theft, shoplifting and pre-employment hiring. We CAN help your business thrive.
Need information on Alpha Shark Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Background Check Company-3 WC Blog 356
Employee Background Checks-3
Be Confident That Your Customer’s Personal Information Is Secure By Using A Background Check Company
I have spent the last week shopping for a new used car (yeah, I can’t afford a real new car so anything I buy is new for me). We went to back and forth between two-dealerships where we have made previous purchases. We started the loan paperwork at one of the two and got great news, we have good credit scores…HOORAY! They think we can afford nearly anything on their lot. Reality says they are crazy, I can’t afford those kinds of payments regardless of what my credit score says. Today we made a decision on a used minivan at the second dealership after doing some research on the vehicle we were interested in. We filled out financing paperwork again, paid a down payment and in a couple days go to pick up the new edition to our family. The process made me start thinking about something. I have provided my personal information to two different people and their co-workers in their respective finance offices. While I have dealt with both of the companies and these two particular salesmen, I really don’t know them nor do I know the office workers. I am taking a HUGE risk giving over my social security number, address, proper name, etc. to strangers. I feel reasonably secure about how the information will be handled but I can’t be completely certain my information won’t be stolen. I would feel better if I knew that the businesses conducted employee background checks on their sales associates and staff.
Employee Background Checks completed by professionals who have the proper research knowledge, contact information and experience with legal issues surrounding pre-employment screening and background checks can help businesses hire the right people. Do you need someone with a finance degree or licensing to work in the financing department of your company? A background check company can validate if your top candidate has the degree or certifications they have indicated they have on their job application. Does someone want to work for you in a position that will require handling confidential information? Perhaps you need to run criminal background checks on those applicants. You don’t want someone working for you that has been convicted of identity fraud or theft. There is a wide range of information a background check company can legally investigate for you that could turn up a hidden past an applicant is trying to keep from you.
The question may arise, “How can my business be held accountable if one of my employees chooses to steal a customer’s credit card information or Social Security Number?” The answer is that as the employer, you are held responsible for the actions of your employees in many circumstances when they harm someone in the course and scope of their employment. According to nolo.com regarding job related accidents or misconduct, “Under a legal doctrine sometimes referred to as “respondeat superior” (Latin for “Let the superior answer”), an employer is legally responsible for the actions of its employees.” If your employee has access to confidential information and they steal that information or use it for illegal activities, you could be potentially held responsible. What can you do to protect your business against the actions of a dishonest employee? Nolo’s website goes on to say, “Make it your business to run a routine background check before you hire an applicant.” This is exactly what a background check company does. It helps weed out bad apples before you bring them on board.
Don’t take your customers’ safety and security for granted. They trust you to protect their privacy and their financial information. You also need to protect your business from theft, fraud and lawsuits due to dishonest employee activity. Employee background checks are your first line of defense and will minimize the chances of security breaches.
Get more information on a background check company. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I have spent the last week shopping for a new used car (yeah, I can’t afford a real new car so anything I buy is new for me). We went to back and forth between two-dealerships where we have made previous purchases. We started the loan paperwork at one of the two and got great news, we have good credit scores…HOORAY! They think we can afford nearly anything on their lot. Reality says they are crazy, I can’t afford those kinds of payments regardless of what my credit score says. Today we made a decision on a used minivan at the second dealership after doing some research on the vehicle we were interested in. We filled out financing paperwork again, paid a down payment and in a couple days go to pick up the new edition to our family. The process made me start thinking about something. I have provided my personal information to two different people and their co-workers in their respective finance offices. While I have dealt with both of the companies and these two particular salesmen, I really don’t know them nor do I know the office workers. I am taking a HUGE risk giving over my social security number, address, proper name, etc. to strangers. I feel reasonably secure about how the information will be handled but I can’t be completely certain my information won’t be stolen. I would feel better if I knew that the businesses conducted employee background checks on their sales associates and staff.
Employee Background Checks completed by professionals who have the proper research knowledge, contact information and experience with legal issues surrounding pre-employment screening and background checks can help businesses hire the right people. Do you need someone with a finance degree or licensing to work in the financing department of your company? A background check company can validate if your top candidate has the degree or certifications they have indicated they have on their job application. Does someone want to work for you in a position that will require handling confidential information? Perhaps you need to run criminal background checks on those applicants. You don’t want someone working for you that has been convicted of identity fraud or theft. There is a wide range of information a background check company can legally investigate for you that could turn up a hidden past an applicant is trying to keep from you.
The question may arise, “How can my business be held accountable if one of my employees chooses to steal a customer’s credit card information or Social Security Number?” The answer is that as the employer, you are held responsible for the actions of your employees in many circumstances when they harm someone in the course and scope of their employment. According to nolo.com regarding job related accidents or misconduct, “Under a legal doctrine sometimes referred to as “respondeat superior” (Latin for “Let the superior answer”), an employer is legally responsible for the actions of its employees.” If your employee has access to confidential information and they steal that information or use it for illegal activities, you could be potentially held responsible. What can you do to protect your business against the actions of a dishonest employee? Nolo’s website goes on to say, “Make it your business to run a routine background check before you hire an applicant.” This is exactly what a background check company does. It helps weed out bad apples before you bring them on board.
Don’t take your customers’ safety and security for granted. They trust you to protect their privacy and their financial information. You also need to protect your business from theft, fraud and lawsuits due to dishonest employee activity. Employee background checks are your first line of defense and will minimize the chances of security breaches.
Get more information on a background check company. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Electronic article surveillance – 5 WC blog 396
Checkpoint Tags -3
Stop Shoplifting-3
What Were You thinking? Questions I Ask Myself About Merchandise Strategies, Theft Prevention And Electronic Article Surveillance
Have you ever had those moments where you’ve seen something and you just had to wonder, “What were they thinking?” I believe most of us have and from a customer and Retail Loss Prevention Manager’s perspective I do this in stores quite a bit. Sometimes it is based on merchandising strategies and sometimes how they intend to stop shoplifting:
• Dump bins – Can someone please explain to me the sales strategy behind these? How does dumping bazillions of dvd’s or videogames into a box and expecting potential customers to dig through to find one gem they really want (at a $3-$5 price point) enhance sales? I’ve tried to dig through these things and after an avalanche of movies crashes down on me as I get near the bottom of the bin I quit.
• Lawn and Garden shops at stores – why do you have a fenced in area and then have merchandise on the outside of the fence? Worse yet, you have your point of sales INSIDE the building, not even a register by the fence exit. I am certain most customers will pick up merchandise and walk it all the way back in to make a purchase but I am just as certain there are people picking up items and walking off with them.
• Why do stores have TEN shelf checkout lanes with one cashier monitoring them all? Four is okay, but inevitably when I am using a self-checkout with more than four it seems the ONE cashier is constantly busy helping with problem checkouts. I get angry having to wait for several minutes for assistance when I was going through the self-checkout to speed up the process not slow down.
• Similar to the outside the fence garden shop merchandise strategy, how about the shoe store sidewalk sale with no one manning the sidewalk? What were you thinking? Yes, those stores have electronic article surveillance towers and nope, they won’t detect Checkpoint tags that are already past the towers.
Are there answers out there to my questions? I know someone in a business has a reason for the decisions, but that does not mean it is necessarily a smart decision. This is especially true for stores that are trying to stop shoplifting by using Electronic Article Surveillance systems.
Electronic Article Surveillance systems use radio frequency (rf) waves emitted from Checkpoint Tags and picked up by Checkpoint towers to protect merchandise from theft. When merchandise is protected with tags and the tagged merchandise is carried within the detection range of the towers there are alarms and lights in the towers that are activated. The noise and lights of the towers draws a response from store employees who then conduct receipt checks and determine the cause of the activation. With the proper training on addressing alarms, employees can recover merchandise and stop shoplifting from taking place.
Additional “What were they thinking?” moments I have had in regard to merchandise protection:
• Why are anti-theft devices used on some music and movies and not used on others? I just don’t get that.
• Anti-theft device wraps used to secure merchandise and the wraps are then secured to pegboard or shelving! Alert to store managers or Loss Prevention Departments, the purpose of the wrap is to allow the customer to walk around the store while the merchandise is still protected. It is also supposed to free up employees from having to unlock showcases. Guess what they have to do with these displays? That’s right…someone has to unlock them.
• No one responds when Electronic Article Surveillance tower alarms activate! Why is no one trained to respond or responsible for making a response a priority? Why bother with a system?
Merchandise protection is called that for a reason, it is meant to protect merchandise. Doing it in a half- hearted manner does not equate to cutting your shortage in half, it simply means it isn’t being taken seriously by thieves and to a certain extent by the store.
While retailers may have good intentions in their merchandise strategies that does not mean they make sense (at least to me). The same is true for merchandise protection and I have very strong feelings on this. Electronic Article Surveillance and Checkpoint Tags can stop shoplifting when employed to its fullest potential in stores. Tag everything, make alarm response a priority and train all employees and you will see profits rise as shortage decreases. End of rants…for now.
Get more information on Electronic Article Surveillance, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Have you ever had those moments where you’ve seen something and you just had to wonder, “What were they thinking?” I believe most of us have and from a customer and Retail Loss Prevention Manager’s perspective I do this in stores quite a bit. Sometimes it is based on merchandising strategies and sometimes how they intend to stop shoplifting:
• Dump bins – Can someone please explain to me the sales strategy behind these? How does dumping bazillions of dvd’s or videogames into a box and expecting potential customers to dig through to find one gem they really want (at a $3-$5 price point) enhance sales? I’ve tried to dig through these things and after an avalanche of movies crashes down on me as I get near the bottom of the bin I quit.
• Lawn and Garden shops at stores – why do you have a fenced in area and then have merchandise on the outside of the fence? Worse yet, you have your point of sales INSIDE the building, not even a register by the fence exit. I am certain most customers will pick up merchandise and walk it all the way back in to make a purchase but I am just as certain there are people picking up items and walking off with them.
• Why do stores have TEN shelf checkout lanes with one cashier monitoring them all? Four is okay, but inevitably when I am using a self-checkout with more than four it seems the ONE cashier is constantly busy helping with problem checkouts. I get angry having to wait for several minutes for assistance when I was going through the self-checkout to speed up the process not slow down.
• Similar to the outside the fence garden shop merchandise strategy, how about the shoe store sidewalk sale with no one manning the sidewalk? What were you thinking? Yes, those stores have electronic article surveillance towers and nope, they won’t detect Checkpoint tags that are already past the towers.
Are there answers out there to my questions? I know someone in a business has a reason for the decisions, but that does not mean it is necessarily a smart decision. This is especially true for stores that are trying to stop shoplifting by using Electronic Article Surveillance systems.
Electronic Article Surveillance systems use radio frequency (rf) waves emitted from Checkpoint Tags and picked up by Checkpoint towers to protect merchandise from theft. When merchandise is protected with tags and the tagged merchandise is carried within the detection range of the towers there are alarms and lights in the towers that are activated. The noise and lights of the towers draws a response from store employees who then conduct receipt checks and determine the cause of the activation. With the proper training on addressing alarms, employees can recover merchandise and stop shoplifting from taking place.
Additional “What were they thinking?” moments I have had in regard to merchandise protection:
• Why are anti-theft devices used on some music and movies and not used on others? I just don’t get that.
• Anti-theft device wraps used to secure merchandise and the wraps are then secured to pegboard or shelving! Alert to store managers or Loss Prevention Departments, the purpose of the wrap is to allow the customer to walk around the store while the merchandise is still protected. It is also supposed to free up employees from having to unlock showcases. Guess what they have to do with these displays? That’s right…someone has to unlock them.
• No one responds when Electronic Article Surveillance tower alarms activate! Why is no one trained to respond or responsible for making a response a priority? Why bother with a system?
Merchandise protection is called that for a reason, it is meant to protect merchandise. Doing it in a half- hearted manner does not equate to cutting your shortage in half, it simply means it isn’t being taken seriously by thieves and to a certain extent by the store.
While retailers may have good intentions in their merchandise strategies that does not mean they make sense (at least to me). The same is true for merchandise protection and I have very strong feelings on this. Electronic Article Surveillance and Checkpoint Tags can stop shoplifting when employed to its fullest potential in stores. Tag everything, make alarm response a priority and train all employees and you will see profits rise as shortage decreases. End of rants…for now.
Get more information on Electronic Article Surveillance, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
i-Pads are getting used more and more these days in hospitals. From patient check-ins to entertainment for children in a doctor’s office to keep them calm new uses for Android tablets and i-pads are being discovered it seems on an almost daily basis. Our family has used i-pads at a “minute clinic” in a drug store for registering and filling out new patient information at a nationally known doctor office chain. But take a moment to think about this, if you have a queasy stomach drop to the next paragraph, if you are in a doctor’s office or you are visiting a “minute clinic” you are probably there because you or someone you are caring for is sick. That means all of those other people that visit there are probably also sick. Vomiting, coughing, dripping noses and creepy little viruses and bugs you can’t even pronounce are most likely waiting for you on the surfaces of whatever those patients touch, including mobile devices. This gives me cause for concern for the hospital on two points. From a security standpoint, many of the mobile devices are not protected to prevent theft. They may have protocols in place to try to prevent hacking but the devices themselves could be stolen along with any private information that may be contained on them. The second issue is the health concerns with shared tablets. I-Pad theft can be controlled by using a Bug Tag on each one and a Checkpoint Classic N10 pedestal at the doors to the building. The health issue is another matter altogether.
The i-Pads and Android tablets hospitals and physician’s offices are employing are being used to register patient’s, share medical information, store issued prescription and other HIPPA protected data. Should any of the information be compromised through data breaches or theft of mobile devices, the owning facility is held responsible. A Bug Tag can be attached to each device and provide electronic article surveillance protection (EAS) to prevent tablet or i-Pad theft. Since the tags have the EAS technology built into them when a tagged device is carried into the area of a door that has a Classic N10 pedestal there, the device will trigger an alarm within the pedestal. This alarm alerts staff that a device is being carried out and the i-Pad or tablet can be recovered saving both the hardware and the potential theft of protected personal information.
In an article in popsci.com, “I is for infection? The role of iPads in Pathogen Spread” by Jason Tetro, November 4, 2014, the writer cites a study in that took place at Northwestern University. “…in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. The group gave all 30 faculty members an iPad for their work. They were not given any instructions on how to care for the tablet nor how to clean it. Six months later the iPads were swabbed and the bacteria cultured.” The results after the cultures were tested found, “The most surprising was the relative lack of interest in cleaning. During the six months, only half the faculty members cleaned their iPads, even once.” It is concerning that in a hospital environment, medical professionals would neglect to consider cleaning an iPad or tablet that they have carried into different treatment rooms.
How difficult would it be for clinics and hospitals to disinfect mobile devices such as medical i-Pads and tablets? The journalofhospitalinfection.com, June 2014, volume 87, issue 2 article abstract, “Disinfecting the iPad: evaluating effective methods”, by V. Howell, A. Thoppil, M. Mariyaselvam, R. Jones, H. Young, S. Sharma, M. Blunt, P. Young, the results of the study found, “With the exception of Clostridium difficile, Sani-Cloth CHG 2% and Clorox wipes were most effective against MRSA and VRE, and they were significantly better than the Apple-Recommended plain cloth…”. In other words, most of the yucky things that can spread illnesses could be taken care of easily with wipes like those now being provided by many stores to wipe down their shopping carts when you walk in.
Take the time to bug AND de-bug your i-Pads and medical tablets. Use the Bug Tag and Classic N10 towers to prevent i-Pad theft and protect equipment and patient information. Use Clorox wipes to get rid of the rest of the bugs you don’t want spread from patient to patient.
Bug Tags are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
ELECTRONIC ARTICLE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM ARE THE HIGHEST QUALITY THEFT DETERRENCE SYSTEM IN RETAILERS!
ELECTRONIC ARTICLE SURVEILLANCE -3 ML Blog 02
STOP SHOPLIFTING- 4
With 12 years of Loss Prevention experience, I’ve seen it ALL. In today’s world of fast paced technology, there is a plethora of possibilities for preventing theft. I have been lucky enough to work with a majority of them. This has helped me gain extensive knowledge on what truly works to stop shoplifting in retailers.
When I’m traveling to complete store visits, I am surprised on how many retailers are still using outdated merchandise protection standards in their stores. This allows shoplifters to continue to drain profits each year. During these visits, I meet with the store managers and always ask to see their 3 year shrink trend. I am consistently seeing out dated merchandise protection devices in the stores who are constantly trending high in shrink each year. I explain to the store managers that if they are losing money each year, then it’s time to think about trying a system that has been known to positively impact shrink in retailers. Out with the old, in with the new! I visited a store manager who ran a 20 million dollar per year location. His shrink was trending higher each year, and his last shrink number consisted of $238k. We went over his Shrink Action Plan for the store to stop shoplifting and increase profits for the following year. The plan had good “reasoning” to it, but were the actions they had listed to be executed really impactful to reduce shrink the following year? Absolutely not.
The store was doing the same actions each year and stuck in repetition. The numbers were rising showing that the plan was not working. This location was still utilizing an “ink tag” system, and could not remember the last time they updated any of their merchandise protection standards. They did not realize all the new technology that was now available to retailers. I explained to the store manager about investing in an Electronic Article Surveillance System and how this would increase sales, protect high dollar merchandise, and improve shelf availability for the shoppers. They would finally be able to stop shoplifting and change how they were doing things. We created a new plan and were able to get approval to receive an Electronic Article Surveillance System for the store. The security labels for the system were an easy transition for the store. They could be placed not only on high dollar clothing, but also on bedding, footwear, food products, and even electronics. Based on the feedback I received, the store was extremely surprised on how the alarm was easy to respond to. They couldn’t believe how many times the alarm would stop shoplifting right before their eyes. Before this, they had no way of really tracking how much merchandise was going straight out the door! It was very exciting to hear the positive feedback, but without seeing the numbers after the following inventory we would not know how effective the new system truly would be. I needed to see what the shrink number would be after making the change to the new Electronic Article Surveillance System.
After inventory was completed, the store’s final numbers came in at just $62k, an estimated gain of $176k! This was the first year this store had a reduction in almost 4 years. The store was finally able to break their shrink trend! The store has been off the Shrink Focus list ever since that year, and anytime we see a store with outdated Security Systems, we try out best to show them what really works.
Get more information on the Electronic Article Surveillance System, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
With 12 years of Loss Prevention experience, I’ve seen it ALL. In today’s world of fast paced technology, there is a plethora of possibilities for preventing theft. I have been lucky enough to work with a majority of them. This has helped me gain extensive knowledge on what truly works to stop shoplifting in retailers.
When I’m traveling to complete store visits, I am surprised on how many retailers are still using outdated merchandise protection standards in their stores. This allows shoplifters to continue to drain profits each year. During these visits, I meet with the store managers and always ask to see their 3 year shrink trend. I am consistently seeing out dated merchandise protection devices in the stores who are constantly trending high in shrink each year. I explain to the store managers that if they are losing money each year, then it’s time to think about trying a system that has been known to positively impact shrink in retailers. Out with the old, in with the new! I visited a store manager who ran a 20 million dollar per year location. His shrink was trending higher each year, and his last shrink number consisted of $238k. We went over his Shrink Action Plan for the store to stop shoplifting and increase profits for the following year. The plan had good “reasoning” to it, but were the actions they had listed to be executed really impactful to reduce shrink the following year? Absolutely not.
The store was doing the same actions each year and stuck in repetition. The numbers were rising showing that the plan was not working. This location was still utilizing an “ink tag” system, and could not remember the last time they updated any of their merchandise protection standards. They did not realize all the new technology that was now available to retailers. I explained to the store manager about investing in an Electronic Article Surveillance System and how this would increase sales, protect high dollar merchandise, and improve shelf availability for the shoppers. They would finally be able to stop shoplifting and change how they were doing things. We created a new plan and were able to get approval to receive an Electronic Article Surveillance System for the store. The security labels for the system were an easy transition for the store. They could be placed not only on high dollar clothing, but also on bedding, footwear, food products, and even electronics. Based on the feedback I received, the store was extremely surprised on how the alarm was easy to respond to. They couldn’t believe how many times the alarm would stop shoplifting right before their eyes. Before this, they had no way of really tracking how much merchandise was going straight out the door! It was very exciting to hear the positive feedback, but without seeing the numbers after the following inventory we would not know how effective the new system truly would be. I needed to see what the shrink number would be after making the change to the new Electronic Article Surveillance System.
After inventory was completed, the store’s final numbers came in at just $62k, an estimated gain of $176k! This was the first year this store had a reduction in almost 4 years. The store was finally able to break their shrink trend! The store has been off the Shrink Focus list ever since that year, and anytime we see a store with outdated Security Systems, we try out best to show them what really works.
Get more information on the Electronic Article Surveillance System, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
