Electronic Article Surveillance – 4 WC Blog 371
Checkpoint Security Tags – 3
Stop shoplifting-3
Following An Opening And Closing Checklist Can Keep Personnel Safe And Help To Stop Shoplifting
Store opening and closing procedures should never be taken for granted. A lot of things can happen during these times and particular care should be taken in everything you do. My 27 plus years in retail Loss Prevention and retail have given me a unique perspective on what should be done during an opening and closing process. From clearing registers to checking on electronic article surveillance systems, a specific task list should be in place and followed. The first reason to put the procedures in place is safety. The second reason is that set procedures help managers ensure systems are functioning properly which can impact store security.
One of the systems that must be included in opening procedures is the store’s electronic article surveillance systems. This is the one system in a store that can stop shoplifting and that actually affects profit AND safety. The two components of this system that must be checked are the deactivation pads and the towers. The deactivation pads located at the checkout lanes de-tune the soft variety of Checkpoint security tags. The Towers are usually located at front entrances or exits and are used to detect if a tagged piece of merchandise is being carried close to the doors. The presence of towers can stop shoplifting and improve profits since generally speaking, thieves don’t like to take the chance that they will be caught due to an alarm activation. From a safety standpoint, thieves who steal from a store often times will steal from customers as well. If you have an electronic article surveillance system in place the criminals are likely going to other stores which means less crime in your building and even in your parking lot. Testing and verification devices are easy to use and ensure your EAS system functions as it should.
In addition to your Checkpoint security system, an opening routine should include the following:
• The opening manager should drive around the building before entering. Look for signed of forced entry into back doors or ladders against the building. If anything suspicious is noted, call for police assistance before entering the building.
• Two or more people should be entering the store together. The best method to do this is to have one employee sit in the car and watch the key holder enter the building, re-lock the door and turn off the alarm. They then come to the door and let the second employee enter.
• However the store does their cash office, the manager and the cash counter should enter the cash office together and the manager then opens the safe and the register till(s) are prepared.
• Store computers should be checked to ensure they are logging in properly and the internet is working.
• A test of the electronic article surveillance towers and de-activation pads. As mentioned you want to be sure you stop shoplifting but you don’t want Checkpoint Security tags to fail to de-tune and cause customer distractions.
• If applicable, verify closed circuit television and cameras are all functioning properly. Turn on any public view monitors at this time.
• Do a quick walk through the store to ensure all lights are on and no facility emergencies have taken place overnight such as burst pipes, overflowing commodes, etc.
Closing routines should include:
• Make closing announcements around 15 minutes prior to closing. This let’s customer’s finish shopping and your managers can see who appears to be lingering behind.
• Lock all doors as the last customer exits.
• If you drop register tills before closing, have two people do it together, one person is vulnerable to a grab and run.
• Have employees check specific areas of the store for customers who may be hiding, including restrooms and fitting rooms.
• Close out registers and secure funds in the safe in the cash office. For checks and balances have two people do this together.
• Turn off all public view monitors to extend the life of the monitors.
• As the employees are ready to leave, one person should go to their car and move it to a place where they can watch the front doors. Then the key holder should set the building alarm, everyone should exit, the key holder locks the doors as the group of employees waits and they all go to their vehicles.
• The key holder should do a final drive around the building to ensure no one is hanging around back doors or windows waiting for an opportunity to break-in.
Create an opening and closing checklist using these tips to make your store safer for employees and customers. Remember, a store that uses Checkpoint Security tags and systems and focuses on creating a safe environment is a profitable store.
Electronic Article Surveillance is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Store opening and closing procedures should never be taken for granted. A lot of things can happen during these times and particular care should be taken in everything you do. My 27 plus years in retail Loss Prevention and retail have given me a unique perspective on what should be done during an opening and closing process. From clearing registers to checking on electronic article surveillance systems, a specific task list should be in place and followed. The first reason to put the procedures in place is safety. The second reason is that set procedures help managers ensure systems are functioning properly which can impact store security.
One of the systems that must be included in opening procedures is the store’s electronic article surveillance systems. This is the one system in a store that can stop shoplifting and that actually affects profit AND safety. The two components of this system that must be checked are the deactivation pads and the towers. The deactivation pads located at the checkout lanes de-tune the soft variety of Checkpoint security tags. The Towers are usually located at front entrances or exits and are used to detect if a tagged piece of merchandise is being carried close to the doors. The presence of towers can stop shoplifting and improve profits since generally speaking, thieves don’t like to take the chance that they will be caught due to an alarm activation. From a safety standpoint, thieves who steal from a store often times will steal from customers as well. If you have an electronic article surveillance system in place the criminals are likely going to other stores which means less crime in your building and even in your parking lot. Testing and verification devices are easy to use and ensure your EAS system functions as it should.
In addition to your Checkpoint security system, an opening routine should include the following:
• The opening manager should drive around the building before entering. Look for signed of forced entry into back doors or ladders against the building. If anything suspicious is noted, call for police assistance before entering the building.
• Two or more people should be entering the store together. The best method to do this is to have one employee sit in the car and watch the key holder enter the building, re-lock the door and turn off the alarm. They then come to the door and let the second employee enter.
• However the store does their cash office, the manager and the cash counter should enter the cash office together and the manager then opens the safe and the register till(s) are prepared.
• Store computers should be checked to ensure they are logging in properly and the internet is working.
• A test of the electronic article surveillance towers and de-activation pads. As mentioned you want to be sure you stop shoplifting but you don’t want Checkpoint Security tags to fail to de-tune and cause customer distractions.
• If applicable, verify closed circuit television and cameras are all functioning properly. Turn on any public view monitors at this time.
• Do a quick walk through the store to ensure all lights are on and no facility emergencies have taken place overnight such as burst pipes, overflowing commodes, etc.
Closing routines should include:
• Make closing announcements around 15 minutes prior to closing. This let’s customer’s finish shopping and your managers can see who appears to be lingering behind.
• Lock all doors as the last customer exits.
• If you drop register tills before closing, have two people do it together, one person is vulnerable to a grab and run.
• Have employees check specific areas of the store for customers who may be hiding, including restrooms and fitting rooms.
• Close out registers and secure funds in the safe in the cash office. For checks and balances have two people do this together.
• Turn off all public view monitors to extend the life of the monitors.
• As the employees are ready to leave, one person should go to their car and move it to a place where they can watch the front doors. Then the key holder should set the building alarm, everyone should exit, the key holder locks the doors as the group of employees waits and they all go to their vehicles.
• The key holder should do a final drive around the building to ensure no one is hanging around back doors or windows waiting for an opportunity to break-in.
Create an opening and closing checklist using these tips to make your store safer for employees and customers. Remember, a store that uses Checkpoint Security tags and systems and focuses on creating a safe environment is a profitable store.
Electronic Article Surveillance is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Alpha Bug Tag-3 WC Blog 350
i-Pad theft-3
Don’t Have A Heart Attack Over The Use Of Alpha Bug Tags To Protect Mobile Medical Devices From Theft, EAS Won’t Interfere With Pacemakers
When I worked as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager our store was located in a place where retirees would often move to for the winter in order to escape the cold. One of the questions I was asked on a fairly regular basis was if our electronic article surveillance (EAS) system would interfere with pacemakers. Customers were concerned about the tags we used but they were really fearful of the EAS pedestals since they were located right at the doors to the building. I would try to reassure them that there was no health concerns associated with the system and after a few minutes that was usually enough to allay any trepidations the customers might have had. There were some though that no matter how much time I spent trying to reassure them they could not get over that hurdle. That is why the question was posed to me more often than it may have been to a peer somewhere else. Studies have been done that show there is minimal chance EAS could interfere with pacemakers and similar medical devices. Stores aren’t the only place the technology is used. It is important for healthcare providers to understand this as they consider the need to protect mobile medical devices from tablet theft of i-Pad theft.
Many medical offices from general practitioners to dentists are realizing the advantages of using mobile technology to improve patient care, share information with patients and protect records. Loose papers and stray clipboards are slowly being replaced with an i-Pad or a tablet. Patients are now using these devices to register new accounts including all of their personal information but now it is quickly accessed at the touch of a button. The down side is that if one of these mobile devices is stolen there is a chance client information can be accessed by criminals. Many offices that have made the switch to technology over paper have taken steps to protect the mobile units with an Alpha Bug Tag attached to a device and set up EAS towers at the doors. When protected devices are carried into the detection field of the towers, alarms alert employees and who then prevent an i-Pad theft from taking place. The tags are also tamper proof which prevents a thief from being able to remove an anti-theft device and steal a tablet. Attempts to pry a tag off of a device sets off an alarm built into the Alpha Bug Tag again foiling efforts of someone trying to steal protected information.
The safety of electronic article surveillance on pacemakers has been documented many times. For instance the American Heart Association on their website www.heart.org states, “Interactions with EAS systems are unlikely to cause clinically significant symptoms in most patients.” On the other hand, with regard to MP3 players the website says, “Most contain a magnetic substance and research has documented that placing the headphones too close to the pacemaker caused interference.” Another concern is raised with power- generating equipment, arc welding equipment and powerful magnets. The site continues, “Such as found in some medical devices, heavy equipment or motors can inhibit pulse generators.” On their website, hopkinsmedicine.org, Johns Hopkins Hospital article for potential patients, “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Insertion” provides the caution, “Anti-Theft systems or electronic article surveillance (EAS) used in department stores may interact with an ICD. The American Heart Association recommends you should not lean on or stand in this equipment but should pass quickly through the detection system.”
There is potentially more risk involved in a visit to a doctor’s office or hospital from the medical equipment in those facilities than that associated with EAS. The American Heart Association warns of interference from MRI’s, Radio Frequency Ablation (a medical procedure that uses radio waves to manage a variety of arrhythmias) and Short-wave or microwave diathermy (a medical procedure that uses high-frequency, high-intensity signals for physical therapy). Each of these can disrupt or damage the pacemaker a patient is carrying.
The point I am making is that medical providers should adapt mobile devices in the practice to improve service and save time. Any concern over i-Pad theft or tablet theft and the compromise of protected patient information can be laid to rest with the use of Alpha Bug Tags and EAS technology. Patients who may have pacemakers need not worry about interference with their devices.
Need information on Alpha Bug Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
When I worked as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager our store was located in a place where retirees would often move to for the winter in order to escape the cold. One of the questions I was asked on a fairly regular basis was if our electronic article surveillance (EAS) system would interfere with pacemakers. Customers were concerned about the tags we used but they were really fearful of the EAS pedestals since they were located right at the doors to the building. I would try to reassure them that there was no health concerns associated with the system and after a few minutes that was usually enough to allay any trepidations the customers might have had. There were some though that no matter how much time I spent trying to reassure them they could not get over that hurdle. That is why the question was posed to me more often than it may have been to a peer somewhere else. Studies have been done that show there is minimal chance EAS could interfere with pacemakers and similar medical devices. Stores aren’t the only place the technology is used. It is important for healthcare providers to understand this as they consider the need to protect mobile medical devices from tablet theft of i-Pad theft.
Many medical offices from general practitioners to dentists are realizing the advantages of using mobile technology to improve patient care, share information with patients and protect records. Loose papers and stray clipboards are slowly being replaced with an i-Pad or a tablet. Patients are now using these devices to register new accounts including all of their personal information but now it is quickly accessed at the touch of a button. The down side is that if one of these mobile devices is stolen there is a chance client information can be accessed by criminals. Many offices that have made the switch to technology over paper have taken steps to protect the mobile units with an Alpha Bug Tag attached to a device and set up EAS towers at the doors. When protected devices are carried into the detection field of the towers, alarms alert employees and who then prevent an i-Pad theft from taking place. The tags are also tamper proof which prevents a thief from being able to remove an anti-theft device and steal a tablet. Attempts to pry a tag off of a device sets off an alarm built into the Alpha Bug Tag again foiling efforts of someone trying to steal protected information.
The safety of electronic article surveillance on pacemakers has been documented many times. For instance the American Heart Association on their website www.heart.org states, “Interactions with EAS systems are unlikely to cause clinically significant symptoms in most patients.” On the other hand, with regard to MP3 players the website says, “Most contain a magnetic substance and research has documented that placing the headphones too close to the pacemaker caused interference.” Another concern is raised with power- generating equipment, arc welding equipment and powerful magnets. The site continues, “Such as found in some medical devices, heavy equipment or motors can inhibit pulse generators.” On their website, hopkinsmedicine.org, Johns Hopkins Hospital article for potential patients, “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Insertion” provides the caution, “Anti-Theft systems or electronic article surveillance (EAS) used in department stores may interact with an ICD. The American Heart Association recommends you should not lean on or stand in this equipment but should pass quickly through the detection system.”
There is potentially more risk involved in a visit to a doctor’s office or hospital from the medical equipment in those facilities than that associated with EAS. The American Heart Association warns of interference from MRI’s, Radio Frequency Ablation (a medical procedure that uses radio waves to manage a variety of arrhythmias) and Short-wave or microwave diathermy (a medical procedure that uses high-frequency, high-intensity signals for physical therapy). Each of these can disrupt or damage the pacemaker a patient is carrying.
The point I am making is that medical providers should adapt mobile devices in the practice to improve service and save time. Any concern over i-Pad theft or tablet theft and the compromise of protected patient information can be laid to rest with the use of Alpha Bug Tags and EAS technology. Patients who may have pacemakers need not worry about interference with their devices.
Need information on Alpha Bug Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
I’ve been in Retail Loss Prevention and retail as a whole for nearly 27 years. During that time I have obviously been involved in many efforts to prevent shoplifting from implementing merchandise protection strategies that use retail anti-theft devices like an Alpha Hang Tag to following and actually catching shoplifters. Over that time I found I changed how I dealt with the people I caught stealing from the stores I was working at. As a young man, even with my military experience, I probably was a bit more aggressive than I needed to be in some of my apprehensions. I didn’t yell or holler often, but in some instances I was a little meaner than I needed to be and that is the point of this article. Do you catch shoplifters, do you deter them and how do you deal with the people if you DO catch them shoplifting from your store?
Before I delve into that conversation I think it is important to discuss what I mean by merchandise protection strategies. Basically every store, regardless of how small or large, should have a merchandise protection plan in place. Is the store going to use lock-up cases or retail anti-theft devices like the electronic article surveillance (EAS) Alpha Hang Tag? The devices work with (EAS) radio frequency pedestals. They can be wraps, hard tags or cables that secure merchandise and prevent theft while allowing customers to walk around the store with the merchandise. As an example I already referenced, the Alpha Hang Tag has two pieces that clip together to reinforce packaging hang tabs and blister pack tabs. Merchandise can no longer be cut from locking peghooks and the EAS protection ensures an alarm will sound at the EAS towers if a thief tries to conceal merchandise and sneak it out the doors. Is the store going to install a closed circuit television system to record potential high theft areas? Perhaps cctv will be used to record cash registers to monitor for internal theft. All of these things need to be considered in a strategy plan to reduce merchandise shortage and improve profitability.
So to return to my point, if you are deciding if you are going to stop shoplifters (or maybe you already do) or have managers or a Loss Prevention Associate detain shoplifters how do you handle them? First, you have to be careful to remember that each situation is different. You must be ready to adapt to the person and how they respond when you stop them. When I started out in the business I was firm with everyone, I wasn’t rude, but I was not friendly with the suspect either. Over the years I modified my approach somewhat, taking into account the situation, the number of people I was dealing with and watching for reaction signals from shoplifters. I learned that the teenager who was alone might be much more compliant with my requests than the teenager with a group of friends. Frequently pulling someone out of a group causes that person to want to show off and present a “tough” image for their friends. That well-dressed “business” man or woman may very well be quiet and not want to be noticed or they may be the person that starts screaming and yelling and acting out in an attempt to embarrass you and hoping that you will back down. I learned over time that sometimes being friendly is a good way to disarm a tense situation. While a Loss Prevention Associate should always identify who they are when the stop someone, a manager can just say hello and offer their first name. Don’t forget, the shoplifter is always on edge when they approach the doors so the shock of being stopped amps up an already tense situation. Using a friendly approach can take the tension down a notch. It may get you your merchandise back even if the suspect chooses to run.
Maybe you are leaning more towards a deterrence approach to prevent shoplifting. Retail anti-theft devices and a prolific number of employees to provide customer service may be your answer to reduce shortage. CCTV cameras and public view monitors can add an additional layer of security so criminals are less inclined to steal.
For those business owners leaning towards the possibility of apprehending shoplifters, in Part 2 of this series I discuss some tips you will want to consider. Theft is not a joke and stopping thieves is serious business. Consider all the facts and consider consulting with Loss Prevention System Inc. Professionals who can provide training seminars that might help in your decision.
Need information on how to prevent shoplifting? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
I’ve been in Retail Loss Prevention and retail as a whole for nearly 27 years. During that time I have obviously been involved in many efforts to prevent shoplifting from implementing merchandise protection strategies that use retail anti-theft devices like an Alpha Hang Tag to following and actually catching shoplifters. Over that time I found I changed how I dealt with the people I caught stealing from the stores I was working at. As a young man, even with my military experience, I probably was a bit more aggressive than I needed to be in some of my apprehensions. I didn’t yell or holler often, but in some instances I was a little meaner than I needed to be and that is the point of this article. Do you catch shoplifters, do you deter them and how do you deal with the people if you DO catch them shoplifting from your store?
Before I delve into that conversation I think it is important to discuss what I mean by merchandise protection strategies. Basically every store, regardless of how small or large, should have a merchandise protection plan in place. Is the store going to use lock-up cases or retail anti-theft devices like the electronic article surveillance (EAS) Alpha Hang Tag? The devices work with (EAS) radio frequency pedestals. They can be wraps, hard tags or cables that secure merchandise and prevent theft while allowing customers to walk around the store with the merchandise. As an example I already referenced, the Alpha Hang Tag has two pieces that clip together to reinforce packaging hang tabs and blister pack tabs. Merchandise can no longer be cut from locking peghooks and the EAS protection ensures an alarm will sound at the EAS towers if a thief tries to conceal merchandise and sneak it out the doors. Is the store going to install a closed circuit television system to record potential high theft areas? Perhaps cctv will be used to record cash registers to monitor for internal theft. All of these things need to be considered in a strategy plan to reduce merchandise shortage and improve profitability.
So to return to my point, if you are deciding if you are going to stop shoplifters (or maybe you already do) or have managers or a Loss Prevention Associate detain shoplifters how do you handle them? First, you have to be careful to remember that each situation is different. You must be ready to adapt to the person and how they respond when you stop them. When I started out in the business I was firm with everyone, I wasn’t rude, but I was not friendly with the suspect either. Over the years I modified my approach somewhat, taking into account the situation, the number of people I was dealing with and watching for reaction signals from shoplifters. I learned that the teenager who was alone might be much more compliant with my requests than the teenager with a group of friends. Frequently pulling someone out of a group causes that person to want to show off and present a “tough” image for their friends. That well-dressed “business” man or woman may very well be quiet and not want to be noticed or they may be the person that starts screaming and yelling and acting out in an attempt to embarrass you and hoping that you will back down. I learned over time that sometimes being friendly is a good way to disarm a tense situation. While a Loss Prevention Associate should always identify who they are when the stop someone, a manager can just say hello and offer their first name. Don’t forget, the shoplifter is always on edge when they approach the doors so the shock of being stopped amps up an already tense situation. Using a friendly approach can take the tension down a notch. It may get you your merchandise back even if the suspect chooses to run.
Maybe you are leaning more towards a deterrence approach to prevent shoplifting. Retail anti-theft devices and a prolific number of employees to provide customer service may be your answer to reduce shortage. CCTV cameras and public view monitors can add an additional layer of security so criminals are less inclined to steal.
For those business owners leaning towards the possibility of apprehending shoplifters, in Part 2 of this series I discuss some tips you will want to consider. Theft is not a joke and stopping thieves is serious business. Consider all the facts and consider consulting with Loss Prevention System Inc. Professionals who can provide training seminars that might help in your decision.
Need information on how to prevent shoplifting? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
You’re going about your daily routine running your store, you’re on the salesfloor working to fill merchandise out of stocks on the floor, or you happen to be at the checkout lanes helping the customers and then IT happens! That’s right the power goes out to the store. I live and work in a beach/tourist area and for whatever reason we regularly get hit with some nasty late afternoon storms and sure enough power is bound to go out around here. We also have issues with power poles jumping into the path of oncoming vehicles with the result that power will go out for an entire block…or two or three or more. Stupid power poles! Anyways, I had one incident when I worked for a big box retailer that our power unexpectedly went out to our building. Normally this type of issue would be no longer than a couple of hours in duration and power would be restored and we would be back to full operations. During this particular incident our building ended up being without power for at least 5 hours. The upside was that we had emergency power through a natural gas operated emergency generator. The downside? Only limited systems were functional, that meant we were conducting business with barebones service. As the Loss Prevention Manager I had a number of concerns to deal with from a security and safety perspective. With the electronic article surveillance system not operating to read Checkpoint tags, how was I going to stop shoplifting? My closed circuit television was not on the emergency power so CCTV was out as well. Without an emergency action plan I would have been scrambling but we did have one and we were prepared.
Electronic article surveillance pedestals are part of a retail anti-theft system that can detect Checkpoint tags which operate using radio frequency waves to create a signal between the pedestals and the tags. Parts of a system include the tags which may be hard tags or labels, pedestals which, by the way, require power to operate and deactivation units at points of sale also requiring power. Deactivation units “turn off” soft Checkpoint tags so they don’t activate the electronic article surveillance pedestals at the doors when a customer leaves with paid merchandise. Hard tags don’t de-tune so they have to be removed at the point of sale. This is why hard tagged merchandise stop shoplifting, because they cause the alarm system to activate a loud alert noise and flashing lights that alert employees to the attempted theft.
Because the power was out I did reference our safety action plans and partnered with the Manager on Duty to make sure proper notifications were made and prioritize what needed to be done. Safety for customers and employees became my first concern. The store was operating on emergency lighting which meant we had dark areas of the store. Because scan guns could not pick operate on the store computer systems all “tasks” were suspended on the salesfloor except for some straightening. Employees were fully focused on customer service, walking up and down aisles, assisting at the fitting room and keeping an eye out for potential theft and safety concerns. Two-way radios worked so Loss Prevention staff switched to the store radio frequency in case we were needed somewhere. My plainclothes officer donned a “security” labeled jacket so customers would know who he was. Since the electronic article surveillance system was out of service and Checkpoint tags would not set off the alarm, I needed to stop shoplifting while addressing store safety so I stationed one L.P. member at the doors to conduct receipt checks and I assisted there while being available to assist with L.O.D. duties.
Guess what else doesn’t work when power goes out? Powered entry doors don’t work. Lighting was poor so many people were driving past the building thinking we were closed. We propped open the doors and I had a store employee stand outside to assure people that the store was open for business. Yes, the number of available checklanes was cut in half due to the outage and lines formed up but we were able to process customers so sales were only minimally impacted.
What do you do for power outages? Do you close your store? Do you wring your hands and worry or do you pull out a safety action plan? Have a plan and a back-up generator in place and though you may not be able to power an electronic article surveillance system you can still drive sales and use customer service to stop shoplifting.
Need information on electronic article surveillance? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
AA Blog 50
Customer Counting Systems: 5
Door Counting Sensor: 3
Improve Customer Service And Staffing Inefficiencies With A Customer Counting System.
Being in loss prevention I always tend to think about security related products and how they can benefit companies. I do this all the time! Everywhere I go, I am thinking about how certain solutions could assist in making my experience more convenient. Maybe that sounds silly, but as a consumer there are so many areas that I encounter on a daily basis that involve customer service and sales, that I can’t help but ponder how it could be improved. For example, I was at the bank the other day to deposit a check, and I couldn’t help but be annoyed with the line of customers waiting for assistance. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that they are doing the best they can to provide good service to their customers, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am on lunch break, and have only a prescribed amount of time to complete my errand. It was the middle of the work week, around lunch time, and they only had two tellers working. There were about ten customer’s waiting for assistance and it was moving very slow. When it comes to banking, they don’t have extra tellers sitting in the back just waiting to jump in to assist, and you know customer service doesn’t fall into a loan officer’s job description, so your only option is to wait or leave and come back later. Well I wasn’t leaving, because I needed to deposit my check, so I waited. While waiting, semi-patiently, I began to think about this situation and how I could improve this process. Obviously the bank, like other services, has to try and determine what their customer rates are going to be based various factors. They might be able to do a trending analysis on transactions to get a better understanding of transaction frequency and customer rates, but I can only assume this would be a daunting task. They can predict customer rates based on certain factors, like holiday schedules, business hours, and typical pay cycles, but it’s definitely not a science. Although, a customer counting system would alleviate the guess work, and allow for a real time look at customer rates and waiting times.
Although customer counting systems are typically designed for the retail industry, they can be effective in various customer service related fields. In the banking industry, door counting sensors could be a valuable means to monitor customer traffic, both entering and exiting the institution. These devices are designed so that it can provide an automatic report every night, which details the data hourly. This level of detail can assist management in determining how long the transactions are taking and how that is affecting customer satisfaction. Customer counting systems can assist with employee management and staffing issues as well. Evaluating customer rates can allow managers to better staff their branches, based on customer history, thus reducing unneeded staffing and reducing cost. The door counting sensors provide a real time means to evaluate customer traffic, evaluate staffing needs, and increase profits, while improving customer satisfaction.
Technology is imperative in today’s society, and a great way to improve various parts of our business’ practices. Customer counting systems are no different. They provide a great way to track customer activity, manage resources, and identify weaknesses in customer service. The door counting sensors are very easy to install and connect utilizing your current internet connection. The reporting feature is very useful and can also assist in identifying marketing opportunities. A door counting sensor isn’t limited to retail; in fact it can be utilized by anyone in the customer service field.
Get more information on customer counting systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Being in loss prevention I always tend to think about security related products and how they can benefit companies. I do this all the time! Everywhere I go, I am thinking about how certain solutions could assist in making my experience more convenient. Maybe that sounds silly, but as a consumer there are so many areas that I encounter on a daily basis that involve customer service and sales, that I can’t help but ponder how it could be improved. For example, I was at the bank the other day to deposit a check, and I couldn’t help but be annoyed with the line of customers waiting for assistance. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that they are doing the best they can to provide good service to their customers, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am on lunch break, and have only a prescribed amount of time to complete my errand. It was the middle of the work week, around lunch time, and they only had two tellers working. There were about ten customer’s waiting for assistance and it was moving very slow. When it comes to banking, they don’t have extra tellers sitting in the back just waiting to jump in to assist, and you know customer service doesn’t fall into a loan officer’s job description, so your only option is to wait or leave and come back later. Well I wasn’t leaving, because I needed to deposit my check, so I waited. While waiting, semi-patiently, I began to think about this situation and how I could improve this process. Obviously the bank, like other services, has to try and determine what their customer rates are going to be based various factors. They might be able to do a trending analysis on transactions to get a better understanding of transaction frequency and customer rates, but I can only assume this would be a daunting task. They can predict customer rates based on certain factors, like holiday schedules, business hours, and typical pay cycles, but it’s definitely not a science. Although, a customer counting system would alleviate the guess work, and allow for a real time look at customer rates and waiting times.
Although customer counting systems are typically designed for the retail industry, they can be effective in various customer service related fields. In the banking industry, door counting sensors could be a valuable means to monitor customer traffic, both entering and exiting the institution. These devices are designed so that it can provide an automatic report every night, which details the data hourly. This level of detail can assist management in determining how long the transactions are taking and how that is affecting customer satisfaction. Customer counting systems can assist with employee management and staffing issues as well. Evaluating customer rates can allow managers to better staff their branches, based on customer history, thus reducing unneeded staffing and reducing cost. The door counting sensors provide a real time means to evaluate customer traffic, evaluate staffing needs, and increase profits, while improving customer satisfaction.
Technology is imperative in today’s society, and a great way to improve various parts of our business’ practices. Customer counting systems are no different. They provide a great way to track customer activity, manage resources, and identify weaknesses in customer service. The door counting sensors are very easy to install and connect utilizing your current internet connection. The reporting feature is very useful and can also assist in identifying marketing opportunities. A door counting sensor isn’t limited to retail; in fact it can be utilized by anyone in the customer service field.
Get more information on customer counting systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
