Employee Theft-3 WC Blog 323
Training to reduce employee theft-3
Employee Background Checks-3
“Sweethearting” May Not Be So Good For Your Business; Find Out How Training To Reduce Employee Theft Can Help You Identify And Stop This And Other Dishonest Activity
I went to a coffee shop located next to the campus library where I work and for the second time in recent weeks I had something happen that has prompted me to write about the issue. I work late nights at the library and this particular coffee shop closes about an hour after I arrive to work so I occasionally grab a cup of coffee a few minutes before they close. The employees know I am a staff member and take my order and are supposed to ring my transaction, give me an employee discount and take my payment. Twice now the employees have tried to tell me not to worry about paying, I assume because it is near the end of the night and they will probably be throwing out the remainder of the coffee. Because of my background in Loss Prevention I am uncomfortable with this and insist on paying for my drinks. I know some of you may be thinking I am being silly, that they are closing soon and dumping it anyways, why not just take the drink? In my opinion, there is a bigger issue at stake here, at what point do you draw the line for your employees? Can being “flexible” on little things like this lead to larger issues of theft? It can be a slippery slope when you permit grey areas for employees. Many managers have a difficult time making the distinction because they have not had training to reduce employee theft. Consideration should also be given to the possibility that this can snowball into full blown associate crime. When employers lack knowledge of theft concerns they are probably not aware that employee background checks can help prevent a store being the victim of employee theft and fraud.
Why do managers need training to reduce employee theft? Because associate theft takes many forms and the untrained owner or manager can miss the indicators that would point out that theft is taking place. Losses could be in the form of return fraud, cash theft, merchandise theft, price manipulation and so much more. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has experienced Loss Prevention experts that can train you and your managers on identification of theft, prevention techniques and warning signals that can lead to employee theft.
Additional modules from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. include optional training on pre-employment hiring and how it can help employers avoid hiring people who may harm your business. In cases, like the one I experienced at the coffee shop there is a term for it called “Sweethearting”. In an article in LPMInsider, “Sweethearting: The Dark Side of Good Customer Service”, by Richard C. Hollinger, PhD, March 6, 2017, the author provides the definition of Sweethearting from an article he cites; “Service Sweethearting: It’s Antecedents and Customer Consequences”, by Michael K. Brady, Clay Voorhees and Michael J. Brusco, March 2012 issue of Journal of Marketing, “Sweethearting occurs when frontline workers give unauthorized free or discounted goods and services to customer conspirators.” While this activity can start off with good intentions of providing the great customer service employees are encouraged to practice, it can quickly turn into a regular exercise that costs businesses money. Dr. Hollinger writes, “Pre-employment Screening tests can head off sweethearting if we add measures that look for high scores on “personal ethics” and, alternatively, low scores on the “need social approval from others.” http://losspreventionmedia.com/insider/employee-theft/sweethearting-the-dark-side-of-good-customer-service/ In other words, employee background checks can help in weeding out potential employees who may be inclined to engage in these behaviors.
While they may start innocently, like giving away a cup of coffee at the end of a shift because it is going to be thrown out anyways, I have personally seen these situations multiply to include more people and bigger losses. I have apprehended groups of employees who started out giving unauthorized discounts on food and drinks to friends that spiraled into full blown employee theft cases involving passing of merchandise. It is amazing how much that $1.89 cup of coffee can really end up costing you in the long run.
Don’t allow sweethearting to develop in your business. You can prevent lost profits through training to reduce employee theft and conducting employee background checks. Find out how much you don’t know from the experts who have worked in the field.
Training to reduce employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I went to a coffee shop located next to the campus library where I work and for the second time in recent weeks I had something happen that has prompted me to write about the issue. I work late nights at the library and this particular coffee shop closes about an hour after I arrive to work so I occasionally grab a cup of coffee a few minutes before they close. The employees know I am a staff member and take my order and are supposed to ring my transaction, give me an employee discount and take my payment. Twice now the employees have tried to tell me not to worry about paying, I assume because it is near the end of the night and they will probably be throwing out the remainder of the coffee. Because of my background in Loss Prevention I am uncomfortable with this and insist on paying for my drinks. I know some of you may be thinking I am being silly, that they are closing soon and dumping it anyways, why not just take the drink? In my opinion, there is a bigger issue at stake here, at what point do you draw the line for your employees? Can being “flexible” on little things like this lead to larger issues of theft? It can be a slippery slope when you permit grey areas for employees. Many managers have a difficult time making the distinction because they have not had training to reduce employee theft. Consideration should also be given to the possibility that this can snowball into full blown associate crime. When employers lack knowledge of theft concerns they are probably not aware that employee background checks can help prevent a store being the victim of employee theft and fraud.
Why do managers need training to reduce employee theft? Because associate theft takes many forms and the untrained owner or manager can miss the indicators that would point out that theft is taking place. Losses could be in the form of return fraud, cash theft, merchandise theft, price manipulation and so much more. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has experienced Loss Prevention experts that can train you and your managers on identification of theft, prevention techniques and warning signals that can lead to employee theft.
Additional modules from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. include optional training on pre-employment hiring and how it can help employers avoid hiring people who may harm your business. In cases, like the one I experienced at the coffee shop there is a term for it called “Sweethearting”. In an article in LPMInsider, “Sweethearting: The Dark Side of Good Customer Service”, by Richard C. Hollinger, PhD, March 6, 2017, the author provides the definition of Sweethearting from an article he cites; “Service Sweethearting: It’s Antecedents and Customer Consequences”, by Michael K. Brady, Clay Voorhees and Michael J. Brusco, March 2012 issue of Journal of Marketing, “Sweethearting occurs when frontline workers give unauthorized free or discounted goods and services to customer conspirators.” While this activity can start off with good intentions of providing the great customer service employees are encouraged to practice, it can quickly turn into a regular exercise that costs businesses money. Dr. Hollinger writes, “Pre-employment Screening tests can head off sweethearting if we add measures that look for high scores on “personal ethics” and, alternatively, low scores on the “need social approval from others.” http://losspreventionmedia.com/insider/employee-theft/sweethearting-the-dark-side-of-good-customer-service/ In other words, employee background checks can help in weeding out potential employees who may be inclined to engage in these behaviors.
While they may start innocently, like giving away a cup of coffee at the end of a shift because it is going to be thrown out anyways, I have personally seen these situations multiply to include more people and bigger losses. I have apprehended groups of employees who started out giving unauthorized discounts on food and drinks to friends that spiraled into full blown employee theft cases involving passing of merchandise. It is amazing how much that $1.89 cup of coffee can really end up costing you in the long run.
Don’t allow sweethearting to develop in your business. You can prevent lost profits through training to reduce employee theft and conducting employee background checks. Find out how much you don’t know from the experts who have worked in the field.
Training to reduce employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
EAS Label-3 WC Blog 312
Checkpoint Labels-4
Electronic Article Surveillance-5
Stop Shoplifting-4
Be Aware Of Merchandise Your Store Sells That Interfere With The Optimum Performance Of Checkpoint Labels.
Recently, LPMINSIDER magazine had an article that focused on the potential shoplifting tools stores may be unwittingly carrying on store shelves that could be used by professional boosters or shoplifters. In his article, “Are Retailers Selling Shoplifting Tools?” by Scott Womack, December 21, 2016, Mr. Womack describes an insulated can cooler he found on a store shelf that was aluminum lined. He discusses several types of EAS labels and tag he had tested when placed in the bag to see if the bag would disrupt the alarm. He found the cooler did make it more difficult for the towers to detect tags concealed in this particular bag. The writer did not say the merchandise should not be carried but possible merchandising alternatives could be considered. In order to stop shoplifting, it is sometimes necessary for retailers to evaluate how they merchandise some items and to consider if specific merchandise could contribute to theft.
Checkpoint labels are soft tags that have coils designed into them that operate on a specific radio frequency (rf) wave. This tag, when carried within range of electronic article surveillance pedestals, causes the pedestal to sound an alarm or loud beeping noise that attracts the attention of store associates. Associates or managers respond to the alarm and usually stop shoplifting from taking place, though on occasion it may be an EAS label was not properly deactivated at a point of sale. While electronic article surveillance towers continue to get better with improved range detection fields and their detection abilities they can have limitations when thieves try to use devices to interfere with the signals, particularly aluminum or foils.
One type of device professional shoplifters or boosters will use to try to defeat Checkpoint labels and an electronic article surveillance tower is the foil lined shopping bag, often called a booster bag. This was the concern noted by the author of the article. The cooler Mr. Womack found was almost a ready-made booster bag since aluminum was one of the materials used to keep product cold when placed in the bag. His article reminded me of another product I had an issue with during an encounter with a razor blade booster. In my situation, the criminal took a box of roasting bags, removed one of the bags and took it to our health and beauty department where he filled it with packages of razor blades. The roasting bags are made of aluminum foil by the same company that makes rolls of aluminum foil. I had a tussle with the criminal and did stop shoplifting of the blades but only because I had observed the theft take place, in this situation the roasting bag did defeat any EAS label and towers. Unfortunately, there was not a lot we could do about product placement because it would have required a shift of all aluminum foils and removed them from the aisle with bakeware, plastic wrap, etc.
In spite of the occasional use of shoplifting tools by professionals and the rare instance when merchandise your store sells can be used to try to defeat an electronic article surveillance system; Checkpoint labels are still one of the best means of preventing theft. It takes a lot of time to make a booster bag that doesn’t look obvious. Additionally, finding those few items a store sells that might be used to try to defeat a system can be difficult. While some product placement may be in order, an alternative is to make sure employees know to offer exceptional customer service in those areas. If your store uses closed circuit television a camera on these aisles could be of assistance.
As I mentioned earlier, electronic article surveillance pedestals are far better than when I used them. Systems have been upgraded and are better able to pick up hidden tags and defeat efforts to disrupt radio frequency signals. Find out for yourself just how effective Checkpoint labels and EAS pedestals can be to stop shoplifting in your business.
Need information on Checkpoint labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
LPMINSIDER magazine had an article that focused on the potential shoplifting tools stores may be unwittingly carrying on store shelves that could be used by professional boosters or shoplifters. In his article, “Are Retailers Selling Shoplifting Tools?” by Scott Womack, December 21, 2016, Mr. Womack describes an insulated can cooler he found on a store shelf that was aluminum lined. He discusses several types of EAS labels and tag he had tested when placed in the bag to see if the bag would disrupt the alarm. He found the cooler did make it more difficult for the towers to detect tags concealed in this particular bag. The writer did not say the merchandise should not be carried but possible merchandising alternatives could be considered. In order to stop shoplifting, it is sometimes necessary for retailers to evaluate how they merchandise some items and to consider if specific merchandise could contribute to theft.
Checkpoint labels are soft tags that have coils designed into them that operate on a specific radio frequency (rf) wave. This tag, when carried within range of electronic article surveillance pedestals, causes the pedestal to sound an alarm or loud beeping noise that attracts the attention of store associates. Associates or managers respond to the alarm and usually stop shoplifting from taking place, though on occasion it may be an EAS label was not properly deactivated at a point of sale. While electronic article surveillance towers continue to get better with improved range detection fields and their detection abilities they can have limitations when thieves try to use devices to interfere with the signals, particularly aluminum or foils.
One type of device professional shoplifters or boosters will use to try to defeat Checkpoint labels and an electronic article surveillance tower is the foil lined shopping bag, often called a booster bag. This was the concern noted by the author of the article. The cooler Mr. Womack found was almost a ready-made booster bag since aluminum was one of the materials used to keep product cold when placed in the bag. His article reminded me of another product I had an issue with during an encounter with a razor blade booster. In my situation, the criminal took a box of roasting bags, removed one of the bags and took it to our health and beauty department where he filled it with packages of razor blades. The roasting bags are made of aluminum foil by the same company that makes rolls of aluminum foil. I had a tussle with the criminal and did stop shoplifting of the blades but only because I had observed the theft take place, in this situation the roasting bag did defeat any EAS label and towers. Unfortunately, there was not a lot we could do about product placement because it would have required a shift of all aluminum foils and removed them from the aisle with bakeware, plastic wrap, etc.
In spite of the occasional use of shoplifting tools by professionals and the rare instance when merchandise your store sells can be used to try to defeat an electronic article surveillance system; Checkpoint labels are still one of the best means of preventing theft. It takes a lot of time to make a booster bag that doesn’t look obvious. Additionally, finding those few items a store sells that might be used to try to defeat a system can be difficult. While some product placement may be in order, an alternative is to make sure employees know to offer exceptional customer service in those areas. If your store uses closed circuit television a camera on these aisles could be of assistance.
As I mentioned earlier, electronic article surveillance pedestals are far better than when I used them. Systems have been upgraded and are better able to pick up hidden tags and defeat efforts to disrupt radio frequency signals. Find out for yourself just how effective Checkpoint labels and EAS pedestals can be to stop shoplifting in your business.
Need information on Checkpoint labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Door counting sensor-4 WC blog 295
Retail Traffic Counting system-3
Customer Counting Systems-3
Special Events And Helping Charitable Causes Can Create Increases In Customers; Customer Counting Systems Aid In Future Planning
Have you ever held a special event in your store to support a charity or perhaps to try to increase your sales or even to do a little of both? I can think of several instances when I worked for a big box retailer that we did some of these things. One time our store manager permitted a local radio station to hold a radio-a-thon in the store to raise money for a great cause. Normally charities were not permitted to hold such events but our store manager had a big heart for children and especially the great work by this organization. To be honest, I can’t recall if only pledges were accepted or if monetary donations were received as well, but I do recall it was a success by the money raised for the organization. Did new people visit our store who had never been there before? We had no idea, we had no way to track foot traffic since we had no door counting sensor. An event that I helped sponsor in the store for several years was a “Santa’s Helpers” program. Working with our local police and fire department we would provide additional staff and cashiers to help underprivileged children and the public safety officials to shop for clothing, toys and necessities. Our store also donated lunch in our food court to feed everyone before they left. It was a very satisfying experience to see these kids getting new items they might not have had an opportunity to purchase otherwise. How many people came during these events, including visitors who were curious about what was going on? I wish I knew, a retail traffic counting system could have provided that information.
A retail traffic counting system keeps a retailer informed about how many customers are walking through their doors. A door counting sensor at the entrances detects the patrons walking in and out and can break down that information to the time of day. Stores that have installed a Checkpoint security system with electronic article surveillance antennas at the front doors in order to prevent shoplifting can have door sensors attached to the antennas. In these cases stores an also receive reports of EAS alarm activations and analyze that data to detect patterns of theft attempts. They use the information to create theft prevention plans and reduce shoplifting. By knowing how many people are actually entering the store at given times, retail managers can create improved staffing and payroll models based on historical data. This could include day of the week information or holiday staffing by hours of the day. If your Wednesday mornings show a minimal amount of foot traffic, it might be the time you shift some of your payroll spending elsewhere.
This historical data provided by the customer counting systems can also be used to determine if an event or sales promotion had an impact on pulling in additional customers. Let’s say for example you own a book store and you bring in an author for a book signing. The author is there to sell his/her book and you want to be the store to sell those books. You may be able to use sales information to determine if you sold a quantity of a certain book, but how many people showed up to the store that day? Sales receipts don’t tell you that information, a customer counting system will. Did you have an increase in the number of customers this year over the same day last year? If not, maybe this was an event you will not want to hold again in the future, especially if you brought in extra staff to help out. A door counting sensor gives you the ability to make intelligent decisions about how to spend payroll. Perhaps you choose to hold another book signing but this time you don’t spend the extra money on additional staff.
Retail traffic counting systems can make your business more profitable using measurable results of special events or marketing activities. By making sure you have enough staff on hand for your next event based on prior data and sales will certainly be increased. Don’t delay in getting a door counting sensor installed, the sooner you do, the sooner you will start collecting information for the future!
Need information on door counting sensors? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Have you ever held a special event in your store to support a charity or perhaps to try to increase your sales or even to do a little of both? I can think of several instances when I worked for a big box retailer that we did some of these things. One time our store manager permitted a local radio station to hold a radio-a-thon in the store to raise money for a great cause. Normally charities were not permitted to hold such events but our store manager had a big heart for children and especially the great work by this organization. To be honest, I can’t recall if only pledges were accepted or if monetary donations were received as well, but I do recall it was a success by the money raised for the organization. Did new people visit our store who had never been there before? We had no idea, we had no way to track foot traffic since we had no door counting sensor. An event that I helped sponsor in the store for several years was a “Santa’s Helpers” program. Working with our local police and fire department we would provide additional staff and cashiers to help underprivileged children and the public safety officials to shop for clothing, toys and necessities. Our store also donated lunch in our food court to feed everyone before they left. It was a very satisfying experience to see these kids getting new items they might not have had an opportunity to purchase otherwise. How many people came during these events, including visitors who were curious about what was going on? I wish I knew, a retail traffic counting system could have provided that information.
A retail traffic counting system keeps a retailer informed about how many customers are walking through their doors. A door counting sensor at the entrances detects the patrons walking in and out and can break down that information to the time of day. Stores that have installed a Checkpoint security system with electronic article surveillance antennas at the front doors in order to prevent shoplifting can have door sensors attached to the antennas. In these cases stores an also receive reports of EAS alarm activations and analyze that data to detect patterns of theft attempts. They use the information to create theft prevention plans and reduce shoplifting. By knowing how many people are actually entering the store at given times, retail managers can create improved staffing and payroll models based on historical data. This could include day of the week information or holiday staffing by hours of the day. If your Wednesday mornings show a minimal amount of foot traffic, it might be the time you shift some of your payroll spending elsewhere.
This historical data provided by the customer counting systems can also be used to determine if an event or sales promotion had an impact on pulling in additional customers. Let’s say for example you own a book store and you bring in an author for a book signing. The author is there to sell his/her book and you want to be the store to sell those books. You may be able to use sales information to determine if you sold a quantity of a certain book, but how many people showed up to the store that day? Sales receipts don’t tell you that information, a customer counting system will. Did you have an increase in the number of customers this year over the same day last year? If not, maybe this was an event you will not want to hold again in the future, especially if you brought in extra staff to help out. A door counting sensor gives you the ability to make intelligent decisions about how to spend payroll. Perhaps you choose to hold another book signing but this time you don’t spend the extra money on additional staff.
Retail traffic counting systems can make your business more profitable using measurable results of special events or marketing activities. By making sure you have enough staff on hand for your next event based on prior data and sales will certainly be increased. Don’t delay in getting a door counting sensor installed, the sooner you do, the sooner you will start collecting information for the future!
Need information on door counting sensors? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Checkpoint Security System-3 WC Blog 373
Stop Shoplifting-3
Checkpoint Tags-3
Weather Emergencies And Other Crisis; How Do You Prepare, Respond, Recover and Do You Still Stop Shoplifting? Part 2
I had several tornado watches and warnings I had to respond to while working as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager. Usually these took place when we were under severe thunderstorm warnings which happen regularly here during the summer. We couldn’t shut down computers, registers to protect against power surge damage because we still operated the store during the storms. We also had to stop shoplifting since customers were still shopping at those times so we continued to operate our Checkpoint Security System as well. If the wind was picking up we locked the automatic doors which had a tendency to fly open. Otherwise we monitored our weather radio and a portable radio I had in my office until we had to act. In Part 1 of this series I shared a story about a category 1 hurricane which hit our area and our store remained open. In this article I will share a couple of other crisis our store went through and how we responded.
Before I continue I do want to briefly tell readers about Checkpoint Security Systems, what they are and why I include them in a discussion on severe weather. The systems are anti-theft tools called electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems because they are a system of electrically powered detection towers, deactivation pads designed to de-tune soft Checkpoint tags and the Checkpoint tags themselves, which may be soft labels or hard tags that attach to clothes and other products. When power goes out due to a storm the towers become inoperable and cannot detect tags and therefore no longer stop shoplifting. Being aware of this means addressing it should be included in emergency action plans.
Living in a beach, resort area we get quite a few waterspouts just offshore. Generally they stay over the ocean without doing any damage. During one storm, a water spout actually came on land and became a full-blown tornado, less than a mile from our store. I got people to move to the center of our building when we got the tornado warning but to this day I still have to shake my head thinking about what one of our store managers did that day. The Manager On Duty went outside to see if she could see the tornado! I had to yell at her to get back in the building. We don’t see many tornados around here, so I guess she got caught up in the excitement. Ultimately the twister turned away and died out shortly afterwards but no damage was done to the store or any of our customers…or managers!
In a different emergency, a fuel truck overturned on the highway in front of our store. Aside from the obvious concern about the leaking contents, we had a different problem. Police had to divert traffic through our parking lot, directly in front of our front doors. There was no written plan for this but my team improvised in my absence. Customers wanting to enter and leave were having a terrible time as the line of cars would not stop to let people pass. It took them away from monitoring the Checkpoint security system towers but my team partnered with the manager on duty to have someone monitor for alarms set off by Checkpoint tags. They then stepped outside and began directing traffic. The Loss Prevention team helped customers enter the store and get out to their cars. Their efforts allowed the store to stay open and operate as normal.
One crisis that impacted our area for nearly a week, a small brush fire turned into a major fire emergency. There had been extremely dry conditions here and a resident decided to burn leaves, ignoring a burn ban. Fire fighters from all over the state and neighboring states came in to assist. In order to help in some way I partnered with our store manager and district Loss Prevention Manager to provide bottled water for firefighters and the company made a donation to The American Red Cross to assist families displaced by the fires. Though it was not a threat to the store, the impact on the community was real and some of our employees had homes in the threatened areas.
Emergency response can be difficult and the emergency itself can seem to grow exponentially when a plan is not in place. Training and review of emergency procedures can give a level of confidence to managers even when a situation cannot be foreseen, like an overturned truck. Plan now and don’t forget that Loss Prevention and the need to stop shoplifting should be a part of those plans. In Part 3 I will discuss some ideas on how to make an emergency plan.
Checkpoint Security Systems are important and we can help you with them. Call at 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I had several tornado watches and warnings I had to respond to while working as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager. Usually these took place when we were under severe thunderstorm warnings which happen regularly here during the summer. We couldn’t shut down computers, registers to protect against power surge damage because we still operated the store during the storms. We also had to stop shoplifting since customers were still shopping at those times so we continued to operate our Checkpoint Security System as well. If the wind was picking up we locked the automatic doors which had a tendency to fly open. Otherwise we monitored our weather radio and a portable radio I had in my office until we had to act. In Part 1 of this series I shared a story about a category 1 hurricane which hit our area and our store remained open. In this article I will share a couple of other crisis our store went through and how we responded.
Before I continue I do want to briefly tell readers about Checkpoint Security Systems, what they are and why I include them in a discussion on severe weather. The systems are anti-theft tools called electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems because they are a system of electrically powered detection towers, deactivation pads designed to de-tune soft Checkpoint tags and the Checkpoint tags themselves, which may be soft labels or hard tags that attach to clothes and other products. When power goes out due to a storm the towers become inoperable and cannot detect tags and therefore no longer stop shoplifting. Being aware of this means addressing it should be included in emergency action plans.
Living in a beach, resort area we get quite a few waterspouts just offshore. Generally they stay over the ocean without doing any damage. During one storm, a water spout actually came on land and became a full-blown tornado, less than a mile from our store. I got people to move to the center of our building when we got the tornado warning but to this day I still have to shake my head thinking about what one of our store managers did that day. The Manager On Duty went outside to see if she could see the tornado! I had to yell at her to get back in the building. We don’t see many tornados around here, so I guess she got caught up in the excitement. Ultimately the twister turned away and died out shortly afterwards but no damage was done to the store or any of our customers…or managers!
In a different emergency, a fuel truck overturned on the highway in front of our store. Aside from the obvious concern about the leaking contents, we had a different problem. Police had to divert traffic through our parking lot, directly in front of our front doors. There was no written plan for this but my team improvised in my absence. Customers wanting to enter and leave were having a terrible time as the line of cars would not stop to let people pass. It took them away from monitoring the Checkpoint security system towers but my team partnered with the manager on duty to have someone monitor for alarms set off by Checkpoint tags. They then stepped outside and began directing traffic. The Loss Prevention team helped customers enter the store and get out to their cars. Their efforts allowed the store to stay open and operate as normal.
One crisis that impacted our area for nearly a week, a small brush fire turned into a major fire emergency. There had been extremely dry conditions here and a resident decided to burn leaves, ignoring a burn ban. Fire fighters from all over the state and neighboring states came in to assist. In order to help in some way I partnered with our store manager and district Loss Prevention Manager to provide bottled water for firefighters and the company made a donation to The American Red Cross to assist families displaced by the fires. Though it was not a threat to the store, the impact on the community was real and some of our employees had homes in the threatened areas.
Emergency response can be difficult and the emergency itself can seem to grow exponentially when a plan is not in place. Training and review of emergency procedures can give a level of confidence to managers even when a situation cannot be foreseen, like an overturned truck. Plan now and don’t forget that Loss Prevention and the need to stop shoplifting should be a part of those plans. In Part 3 I will discuss some ideas on how to make an emergency plan.
Checkpoint Security Systems are important and we can help you with them. Call at 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Checkpoint Security System- 3 WC Blog 372
Stop Shoplifting-3
Checkpoint Tags-3
Weather Emergencies And Other Crisis; How Do You Prepare, Respond, Recover and Do You Still Stop Shoplifting? Part 1
Severe weather is a threat every business owner must be prepared for be it hurricanes, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, earthquakes or any other crisis you can think of. In some cases there is some sort of advance warning that makes it a little easier to keep customers and employees safe. Other times the event occurs without warning. What are some of the weather situations I have contended with as a manager in retail and even working in a college library and what steps did we have to take to recover and get back to normal operations? As a Loss Prevention Manager I had to ensure building safety and ensure our Checkpoint Security System and other retail theft prevention tools were working properly.
Why would I mention a Checkpoint Security System when discussing severe weather and recovery afterwards? The anti-theft systems in the store stop shoplifting and if you and your team are in recovery mode, you may have enough systems up and running to open your doors to sell merchandise and still be less than 100% fully back to normal. This means if there are customers in the store and they are attempting to steal, Checkpoint tags are not going to prevent pilferage if the electronic article surveillance pedestals aren’t working. Checkpoint tags emit a radio frequency signal that is picked up by pedestals and activate an alarm built into the pedestals. The pedestals do require an active power source and if the power is out, or a power surge has damaged the unit, the ability for tags to be detected is disrupted. Obviously many types of storms can result in power issues affecting a store.
I recall one time as a Loss Prevention Manager our store was in the path of a category 1 hurricane. Being in a beach location we are familiar with hurricanes and though they should never be taken lightly, this particular one was just barely above tropical storm strength and most of the locals were not too concerned about it. During a conference call with our district office I was asked my thoughts on whether we should close or stay open. I recommended we stay open. There were several factors I considered but this storm popped up unusually quickly and gave little time to prepare. We kept the store open through the storm and though power went out quite a few customers stopped in and waited out the storm. Some browsed and others hung out in the food court area chatting and making new friends. After the storm passed we were the only store in the area open for business as we ran on partial electricity with our emergency generator. I stood at the front doors conducting receipt checks since our Checkpoint Security System was not operating and I need to try to stop shoplifting to the best of my ability (partial power was reserved for registers and some lighting and while the ability to detect Checkpoint tags was important it was not critical for operations). I also made a point of letting people know the store was open since the store was pretty dark even with partial lights and all the other stores in our block were closed. People were driving by slowly trying to find somewhere that was open. I remember multiple customers telling me how much they appreciated us being open because they needed water, flashlights, batteries and other essentials.
As a store manager/owner, be aware of severe weather. Have an action plan in place even for unusual events and have a recovery plan in place to go back to business as usual. Don’t forget it is still important to stop shoplifting but making sure everyone is safe and the store is up and running are the priorities. In part 2 I will continue with a few more crises I encountered and some tip for preparing your own store. As a former Eagle Scout, I will remind you of the Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared.
Get more information on Checkpoint Security Systems, contact us at 1.770.426.0547 today.
Severe weather is a threat every business owner must be prepared for be it hurricanes, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, earthquakes or any other crisis you can think of. In some cases there is some sort of advance warning that makes it a little easier to keep customers and employees safe. Other times the event occurs without warning. What are some of the weather situations I have contended with as a manager in retail and even working in a college library and what steps did we have to take to recover and get back to normal operations? As a Loss Prevention Manager I had to ensure building safety and ensure our Checkpoint Security System and other retail theft prevention tools were working properly.
Why would I mention a Checkpoint Security System when discussing severe weather and recovery afterwards? The anti-theft systems in the store stop shoplifting and if you and your team are in recovery mode, you may have enough systems up and running to open your doors to sell merchandise and still be less than 100% fully back to normal. This means if there are customers in the store and they are attempting to steal, Checkpoint tags are not going to prevent pilferage if the electronic article surveillance pedestals aren’t working. Checkpoint tags emit a radio frequency signal that is picked up by pedestals and activate an alarm built into the pedestals. The pedestals do require an active power source and if the power is out, or a power surge has damaged the unit, the ability for tags to be detected is disrupted. Obviously many types of storms can result in power issues affecting a store.
I recall one time as a Loss Prevention Manager our store was in the path of a category 1 hurricane. Being in a beach location we are familiar with hurricanes and though they should never be taken lightly, this particular one was just barely above tropical storm strength and most of the locals were not too concerned about it. During a conference call with our district office I was asked my thoughts on whether we should close or stay open. I recommended we stay open. There were several factors I considered but this storm popped up unusually quickly and gave little time to prepare. We kept the store open through the storm and though power went out quite a few customers stopped in and waited out the storm. Some browsed and others hung out in the food court area chatting and making new friends. After the storm passed we were the only store in the area open for business as we ran on partial electricity with our emergency generator. I stood at the front doors conducting receipt checks since our Checkpoint Security System was not operating and I need to try to stop shoplifting to the best of my ability (partial power was reserved for registers and some lighting and while the ability to detect Checkpoint tags was important it was not critical for operations). I also made a point of letting people know the store was open since the store was pretty dark even with partial lights and all the other stores in our block were closed. People were driving by slowly trying to find somewhere that was open. I remember multiple customers telling me how much they appreciated us being open because they needed water, flashlights, batteries and other essentials.
As a store manager/owner, be aware of severe weather. Have an action plan in place even for unusual events and have a recovery plan in place to go back to business as usual. Don’t forget it is still important to stop shoplifting but making sure everyone is safe and the store is up and running are the priorities. In part 2 I will continue with a few more crises I encountered and some tip for preparing your own store. As a former Eagle Scout, I will remind you of the Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared.
Get more information on Checkpoint Security Systems, contact us at 1.770.426.0547 today.
Can Loss Prevention Be Free?-3 WC Blog 351
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-4
Don’t Fool Around Guessing If A Loss Prevention System Can Save You Money; Discover What Your ROI Will Be With The Free Loss Prevention Calculator
I work in an academic library and currently we are working on an assessment plan that will fit into our University’s strategic plan. Part of what we are doing is looking at what changes we have made, programs we have implemented and projects we have undertaken and we are trying to measure the success of those programs. This is not always easy to do. Some of the things we have done are easy to measure. For example, we changed some checkout policies for laptop computers so that they are one day checkouts during the week but on Fridays they are checked out for an entire weekend. This was not always the case. We used to make laptop checkouts 24 hours period. We changed the rules so people could go out of town for a weekend and athletes could travel to games without worrying about trying to renew over the phone or missing a deadline. The result was a reduction in the number of late returns and the fines collected. What is the Return On Investment? One might say we lost dollars so that was a negative return. Not that our student body did not have to pay out as much and could enjoy weekends was a positive return. It also led to happier customers for us to deal with. As we continue to look forward we are planning other projects and we need to anticipate what the Return on Investments will be in those instances. Likewise, for retailers it is important to take a look at theft and fraud and make plans for how to reduce shortage. Will it cost you money? Will you get back what you invest in it? Can Loss Prevention be free? Perhaps.
The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is a tool you can go into, at no cost and begin making plans on reducing shortage by investing in an electronic article surveillance system. You enter information in a few fields, your company annual sales, and how much you would like to invest in Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) equipment. The program estimates your store’s beginning shortage at 1.2 %, the average amount for most retailers nationwide and an estimated reduction of shortage to about .65%. The calculator then gives you the number of months it would roughly take for an EAS system to pay for itself. In other words by paying back in savings what you spend on the system it really does pay for itself, answering the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free? Afterwards you can add what you save to your profit line or consider using them for business expansion or increasing staff. By the way, when using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, none of the information is saved and you can change information as much as you like.
The question then becomes, “If the system pays for itself and then I start making money, how is hiring more staff or expanding my business adding to my profit line?” What happens when you add staff to your stores is that you make a positive impact in several areas. More people on your salesfloor means more customer service, and more people finding the items they want. Additional sales people have the opportunity for more suggestive selling, helping people realize there are things they need or could use with a purchase they are making. For example someone shopping for a printer may not realize they also needed additional ink or a ream of paper. Expanding the business itself, increasing your store floor space or opening an additional store translates to sales growth too. There is your ROI simply from the purchase of an anti-theft system for your store. And you invested because a Free Loss Prevention Calculator showed you what you could save from reduced theft.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can be, but the most effective way to convince you is for you to try out the Free Loss Prevention Calculator.
Get more information on The Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I work in an academic library and currently we are working on an assessment plan that will fit into our University’s strategic plan. Part of what we are doing is looking at what changes we have made, programs we have implemented and projects we have undertaken and we are trying to measure the success of those programs. This is not always easy to do. Some of the things we have done are easy to measure. For example, we changed some checkout policies for laptop computers so that they are one day checkouts during the week but on Fridays they are checked out for an entire weekend. This was not always the case. We used to make laptop checkouts 24 hours period. We changed the rules so people could go out of town for a weekend and athletes could travel to games without worrying about trying to renew over the phone or missing a deadline. The result was a reduction in the number of late returns and the fines collected. What is the Return On Investment? One might say we lost dollars so that was a negative return. Not that our student body did not have to pay out as much and could enjoy weekends was a positive return. It also led to happier customers for us to deal with. As we continue to look forward we are planning other projects and we need to anticipate what the Return on Investments will be in those instances. Likewise, for retailers it is important to take a look at theft and fraud and make plans for how to reduce shortage. Will it cost you money? Will you get back what you invest in it? Can Loss Prevention be free? Perhaps.
The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is a tool you can go into, at no cost and begin making plans on reducing shortage by investing in an electronic article surveillance system. You enter information in a few fields, your company annual sales, and how much you would like to invest in Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) equipment. The program estimates your store’s beginning shortage at 1.2 %, the average amount for most retailers nationwide and an estimated reduction of shortage to about .65%. The calculator then gives you the number of months it would roughly take for an EAS system to pay for itself. In other words by paying back in savings what you spend on the system it really does pay for itself, answering the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free? Afterwards you can add what you save to your profit line or consider using them for business expansion or increasing staff. By the way, when using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, none of the information is saved and you can change information as much as you like.
The question then becomes, “If the system pays for itself and then I start making money, how is hiring more staff or expanding my business adding to my profit line?” What happens when you add staff to your stores is that you make a positive impact in several areas. More people on your salesfloor means more customer service, and more people finding the items they want. Additional sales people have the opportunity for more suggestive selling, helping people realize there are things they need or could use with a purchase they are making. For example someone shopping for a printer may not realize they also needed additional ink or a ream of paper. Expanding the business itself, increasing your store floor space or opening an additional store translates to sales growth too. There is your ROI simply from the purchase of an anti-theft system for your store. And you invested because a Free Loss Prevention Calculator showed you what you could save from reduced theft.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can be, but the most effective way to convince you is for you to try out the Free Loss Prevention Calculator.
Get more information on The Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
