11 WAB Blog
Retail A Dangerous Place To Work? Balancing Clothing Security and Safety
How do we balance clothing security and keeping our associates and ourselves safe from harm. We know that if we do nothing to combat shoplifting that we will soon be out of business. Shoplifters are like anyone else, they talk. And talk they do, to other shoplifters. They compare stories, techniques and where the best places to steal are. We have to combat shoplifters or your store will end up on the shoplifters’ short list. Clothing security and the security of any other type of merchandise is really quite simple. That is the easy part! If you want help with that reach out to us. We can fix it.
But when is enough, enough? There are shoplifters out there that are ready to take it to the next level and hurt someone in order to get away. The reasons are many, i.e. drugs, desperation, greed, debt or just that they “want it”. When I conduct my live Stop Shoplifting seminars either in person or via webinar I always tell a story. Many years ago a shoplifter stole an item from a store in a mall. That was not in dispute. The item was not just petty it was around $500+, a felony. He was seen by store management and ran. This was a store in a mall on the second level. As he was running to escape, he collided with a woman holding an infant. The infant flew out of her arms and went over the railing and was killed on impact on the planter below.
The shoplifter was caught and prosecuted for not only felony theft but for the infant’s death. That was on the criminal court side. He stole the merchandise, ran, and caused the death of the infant. We do not even need to go into the civil suits that were filed. You can imagine who was sued, everyone including the retailer and employees.
But now put yourself into the place of the manager who chased him. How would you feel? You might say to yourself that you were simply pursuing a thief that caused the death. It’s not my fault. Or, is it? If you did not chase the shoplifter to begin with, it would have never happened. These are the things that you will have to wrestle with, for the rest of your life. I have been a Law Enforcement Officer in both the civilian and military worlds. I have faced more life and death situations, both my life and others, than I care to remember. There have been many thousands of times that I have asked myself if I could have done something different.
So, all of this happened due of $500. It was simply NOT WORTH IT! In fact I want you to look at your shoplifting problem from a completely different angle. If you have an incident where you have to chase a shoplifter occurs and your training to stop shoplifting and procedures broke down or failed. In that case you need to go back and refine your program to stop shoplifting, not be chasing shoplifters through the parking lot. When reading this in the comfortable environment you are in right now it may sound like good justice that the shoplifter himself runs out into traffic and gets hit by a car. But the potential for innocent casualties from that could be too horrible to consider.
When a loss occurs reverse engineer it. Where were the break downs? Was your staff paying attention? Were they even trained in what to look for? Do you have adequate Sensormatic Security Systems in place? Are those Sensormatic Security Systems working correctly? Do you have the correct Sensormatic clothing security tags? Are those clothing security tags placed correctly? Are the clothing security tags using the correct pin? Does your staff (and you) know how to PROPERLY react to a Sensormatic Security System alarm? Is your store’s merchandise arranged and displayed correctly or is it customer AND shoplifter friendly? Are small, high dollar, popular items on an end cap in the back of the store? Are you relying on a CCTV system to discourage shoplifters? Shoplifters do not care if you have cameras or not.
Look at it this way. After thirty-five years in Loss Prevention I have found that there are only two ways to prevent shoplifting and they both must be done together. Staff training to PREVENT or stop shoplifting and a Sensormatic Security System. Other brands are fine also but retail theft prevention with Sensormatic systems tend to protect the widest range of products. Retail theft prevention needs to be a constant, consistent effort on your part. And retail theft prevention must involve your trained staff. Without them you can have the best Sensormatic systems installed and you will still have shoplifting problems. Loss Prevention Systems will train you and your staff on how to avoid confrontations and discourage shoplifters while delighting your good customers.
So if you are ready to stop shoplifting once and for all, contact us or call us toll free at 1-770-426-0547 and let us attack your shoplifting problems together.
How do we balance clothing security and keeping our associates and ourselves safe from harm. We know that if we do nothing to combat shoplifting that we will soon be out of business. Shoplifters are like anyone else, they talk. And talk they do, to other shoplifters. They compare stories, techniques and where the best places to steal are. We have to combat shoplifters or your store will end up on the shoplifters’ short list. Clothing security and the security of any other type of merchandise is really quite simple. That is the easy part! If you want help with that reach out to us. We can fix it.
But when is enough, enough? There are shoplifters out there that are ready to take it to the next level and hurt someone in order to get away. The reasons are many, i.e. drugs, desperation, greed, debt or just that they “want it”. When I conduct my live Stop Shoplifting seminars either in person or via webinar I always tell a story. Many years ago a shoplifter stole an item from a store in a mall. That was not in dispute. The item was not just petty it was around $500+, a felony. He was seen by store management and ran. This was a store in a mall on the second level. As he was running to escape, he collided with a woman holding an infant. The infant flew out of her arms and went over the railing and was killed on impact on the planter below.
The shoplifter was caught and prosecuted for not only felony theft but for the infant’s death. That was on the criminal court side. He stole the merchandise, ran, and caused the death of the infant. We do not even need to go into the civil suits that were filed. You can imagine who was sued, everyone including the retailer and employees.
But now put yourself into the place of the manager who chased him. How would you feel? You might say to yourself that you were simply pursuing a thief that caused the death. It’s not my fault. Or, is it? If you did not chase the shoplifter to begin with, it would have never happened. These are the things that you will have to wrestle with, for the rest of your life. I have been a Law Enforcement Officer in both the civilian and military worlds. I have faced more life and death situations, both my life and others, than I care to remember. There have been many thousands of times that I have asked myself if I could have done something different.
So, all of this happened due of $500. It was simply NOT WORTH IT! In fact I want you to look at your shoplifting problem from a completely different angle. If you have an incident where you have to chase a shoplifter occurs and your training to stop shoplifting and procedures broke down or failed. In that case you need to go back and refine your program to stop shoplifting, not be chasing shoplifters through the parking lot. When reading this in the comfortable environment you are in right now it may sound like good justice that the shoplifter himself runs out into traffic and gets hit by a car. But the potential for innocent casualties from that could be too horrible to consider.
When a loss occurs reverse engineer it. Where were the break downs? Was your staff paying attention? Were they even trained in what to look for? Do you have adequate Sensormatic Security Systems in place? Are those Sensormatic Security Systems working correctly? Do you have the correct Sensormatic clothing security tags? Are those clothing security tags placed correctly? Are the clothing security tags using the correct pin? Does your staff (and you) know how to PROPERLY react to a Sensormatic Security System alarm? Is your store’s merchandise arranged and displayed correctly or is it customer AND shoplifter friendly? Are small, high dollar, popular items on an end cap in the back of the store? Are you relying on a CCTV system to discourage shoplifters? Shoplifters do not care if you have cameras or not.
Look at it this way. After thirty-five years in Loss Prevention I have found that there are only two ways to prevent shoplifting and they both must be done together. Staff training to PREVENT or stop shoplifting and a Sensormatic Security System. Other brands are fine also but retail theft prevention with Sensormatic systems tend to protect the widest range of products. Retail theft prevention needs to be a constant, consistent effort on your part. And retail theft prevention must involve your trained staff. Without them you can have the best Sensormatic systems installed and you will still have shoplifting problems. Loss Prevention Systems will train you and your staff on how to avoid confrontations and discourage shoplifters while delighting your good customers.
So if you are ready to stop shoplifting once and for all, contact us or call us toll free at 1-770-426-0547 and let us attack your shoplifting problems together.
Electronic Article Surveillance – 4 WC Blog 768
Sensormatic hard tags – 3
Great Power Comes With The Use Of Sensormatic Hard Tags
Electronic article surveillance is an extremely popular form of retail security but if it is not implemented properly it can become problematic. I do not say this to discourage owners and managers from purchasing a Sensormatic security system or Sensormatic tags but to make sure that people understand there are responsibilities that come with owning and using a system. To steal a quote from the “Spiderman” movie, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Anti-theft systems are powerful and can stop shoplifting but they can hurt customer service too.
I have long believed that the failure to remove Sensormatic hard tags when a customer makes a purchase does cause a problem for the retailer. Shoppers get irritated and embarrassed by false alarms. The alarm itself causes a distraction to other shoppers (which is okay if the alarm is legitimate but not because of a cashier error). False alarms take up unnecessary time from the responding supervisor. To add to all of these I have noticed that some websites that claim to tell people how to remove electronic article surveillance tags (not related to Sensormatic or any anti-theft system dealer or manufacturer) allegedly do so in response to finding tags still on merchandise after a customer gets home. I do know that tags are sometimes left on merchandise and it does create a headache for the patron. It has happened to me and I have had to go back to the store and have the tag removed. Did the alarm sound when I left the store? Yes, I think so, other people were walking out and in at the same time. After waiting for someone to respond to the alarm I got irritated and left. As you would expect when I returned the alarm went off again and people looked at me and I was further annoyed. Then there is the look from the return desk employee that lets you know they don’t quite believe your story with or without a receipt. Customer distractions can lead to customer dissatisfaction and THAT can hurt future sales from that shopper and those friends of theirs they talk to about their experience.
I want to digress for a moment and talk about those websites that allege to “show” or “tell” someone how to remove Sensormatic hard tags without the proper removal tool only a store should possess. After reading through several of these sites I just shook my head in disgust. First, if I take them at their word that they are “helping” those who have made purchases and found a tag left on their merchandise, I can still say they are not helping. The methods that I was reading about would very likely lead to damaged product completely defeating the purpose for not returning to the store. The methods could also result in injury to the person following the ill-advised instructions. I do not wish to see people get injured especially when they are following stupid advice. Second, I don’t buy that the writers or videographer wannabe’s are really trying to help hapless shoppers. I happen to believe the intention of these people is to encourage theft. Why would they do that? I can’t speak to their reasoning, of course I can’t explain why people want to shoplift either all I know is I have dedicated many years to catching and stopping criminals.
Retail owners and managers please heed my recommendation, use electronic article surveillance in your store. If you have an older system, consider upgrading to a newer, more energy-efficient Sensormatic system. Use genuine Sensormatic hard tags to protect against theft and increase the profit for your store through reduced shortage and increased sales (resulting from the decreased theft). I can hear it now, “But you just told me that there can be customer service issues if cashiers don’t remove tags”. What I said was there can be problems if a system is not implemented properly. That is where Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) comes in to play. With the purchase of a new Sensormatic security system from LPSI you receive the training you and your team need to properly operate a system. From tagging of products to system testing and alarm response LPSI will ensure your store will operate an effective anti-theft program.
Faulty loss prevention equipment, lack of training and poor tag removal processes can hurt a store’s reputation. Sensormatic has a reputation as a leader in retail theft prevention and is used by retailers world-wide to help fight shortage and improve profits. LPSI will show you how you can have great responsibility as you as add the great power of a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system.
For more information on Sensormatic hard tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Electronic article surveillance is an extremely popular form of retail security but if it is not implemented properly it can become problematic. I do not say this to discourage owners and managers from purchasing a Sensormatic security system or Sensormatic tags but to make sure that people understand there are responsibilities that come with owning and using a system. To steal a quote from the “Spiderman” movie, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Anti-theft systems are powerful and can stop shoplifting but they can hurt customer service too.
I have long believed that the failure to remove Sensormatic hard tags when a customer makes a purchase does cause a problem for the retailer. Shoppers get irritated and embarrassed by false alarms. The alarm itself causes a distraction to other shoppers (which is okay if the alarm is legitimate but not because of a cashier error). False alarms take up unnecessary time from the responding supervisor. To add to all of these I have noticed that some websites that claim to tell people how to remove electronic article surveillance tags (not related to Sensormatic or any anti-theft system dealer or manufacturer) allegedly do so in response to finding tags still on merchandise after a customer gets home. I do know that tags are sometimes left on merchandise and it does create a headache for the patron. It has happened to me and I have had to go back to the store and have the tag removed. Did the alarm sound when I left the store? Yes, I think so, other people were walking out and in at the same time. After waiting for someone to respond to the alarm I got irritated and left. As you would expect when I returned the alarm went off again and people looked at me and I was further annoyed. Then there is the look from the return desk employee that lets you know they don’t quite believe your story with or without a receipt. Customer distractions can lead to customer dissatisfaction and THAT can hurt future sales from that shopper and those friends of theirs they talk to about their experience.
I want to digress for a moment and talk about those websites that allege to “show” or “tell” someone how to remove Sensormatic hard tags without the proper removal tool only a store should possess. After reading through several of these sites I just shook my head in disgust. First, if I take them at their word that they are “helping” those who have made purchases and found a tag left on their merchandise, I can still say they are not helping. The methods that I was reading about would very likely lead to damaged product completely defeating the purpose for not returning to the store. The methods could also result in injury to the person following the ill-advised instructions. I do not wish to see people get injured especially when they are following stupid advice. Second, I don’t buy that the writers or videographer wannabe’s are really trying to help hapless shoppers. I happen to believe the intention of these people is to encourage theft. Why would they do that? I can’t speak to their reasoning, of course I can’t explain why people want to shoplift either all I know is I have dedicated many years to catching and stopping criminals.
Retail owners and managers please heed my recommendation, use electronic article surveillance in your store. If you have an older system, consider upgrading to a newer, more energy-efficient Sensormatic system. Use genuine Sensormatic hard tags to protect against theft and increase the profit for your store through reduced shortage and increased sales (resulting from the decreased theft). I can hear it now, “But you just told me that there can be customer service issues if cashiers don’t remove tags”. What I said was there can be problems if a system is not implemented properly. That is where Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) comes in to play. With the purchase of a new Sensormatic security system from LPSI you receive the training you and your team need to properly operate a system. From tagging of products to system testing and alarm response LPSI will ensure your store will operate an effective anti-theft program.
Faulty loss prevention equipment, lack of training and poor tag removal processes can hurt a store’s reputation. Sensormatic has a reputation as a leader in retail theft prevention and is used by retailers world-wide to help fight shortage and improve profits. LPSI will show you how you can have great responsibility as you as add the great power of a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system.
For more information on Sensormatic hard tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Loss Prevention ROI Calculator -3 wc blog 767
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-3
Tabulating The Cost Of Not Using The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator
As I was checking out calculators in the college library where I work I started thinking about a correlation with the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 TI 83 and TI 84 graphing calculators and another 30 – 40 various other calculators to check out to students. We have different points in the semester when we check out almost every one of these calculators. Frequently we run out of the Texas Instruments graphing calculators because they can be an expensive investment for a college student. The thing about it is while we offer this service and checkouts are FREE there are a lot of students who don’t take advantage of the technology available to them. It is a FREE offering and yet students fail to use what is within their grasp and could help them in their classes. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is kind of the same thing, it is free to everyone and yet many don’t take advantage of it.
My thinking on this then went to retail store owners. No, you don’t have an exam to pass but you do have a much greater test in your store when you conduct inventory. You have the financial health of your business to consider at least once a year when you count what is in your store and determine how much thieves took from you (along with the operational shortage factors you had during that year). There are tools available to help you stop the bleeding from criminal activity and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has created the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator to assist in seeing that it can be affordable to do so. The issue is owners either don’t know about it OR they have chosen to ignore it, much like the students at our college who don’t use our calculators.
The Free Loss Prevention calculator is available to anyone simply by going to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and clicking on the ROI calc tab. Once you are in the calculator you enter a couple of pieces of information; the amount you are willing to pay for a Sensormatic security system and how much your annual store sales are and the calculator tabulates an approximation of how much you are losing to shortage each year and how much a new system could save you. It also gives an estimate of how long it would take for a new system to pay for itself. Think about it, a Free Loss Prevention Calculator can tell you how a Loss Prevention System can be FREE!
The funny thing about the calculators at the library is we also sell these at the store where I work. When I know a college student is in looking to purchase one and they attend our school I ask if they know our library has them to check out. Often I get the reply that they didn’t know but when I suggest they could save money by just checking them out they will tell me they just want to go ahead and get their own. They choose to not save money. Sometimes store owners are the same way. They hear about how they can save money but decide not to make an initial investment even though a system can pay for itself. They may use the excuse they can’t afford it but that probably isn’t true when Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. also offers financing for a Sensormatic system. Whether it is the college student or the shop owner I scratch my head in wonder.
So now you know about the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator and you know how it can help you save money due to shortage. There is no excuse not to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and give the calculator a try. You will find out just how much you could have been saving but it isn’t too late to install a system now and begin to reap the benefits of a Sensormatic security system. Remember the Calculator is free and ultimately a system can be too.
Need information on the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
As I was checking out calculators in the college library where I work I started thinking about a correlation with the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 TI 83 and TI 84 graphing calculators and another 30 – 40 various other calculators to check out to students. We have different points in the semester when we check out almost every one of these calculators. Frequently we run out of the Texas Instruments graphing calculators because they can be an expensive investment for a college student. The thing about it is while we offer this service and checkouts are FREE there are a lot of students who don’t take advantage of the technology available to them. It is a FREE offering and yet students fail to use what is within their grasp and could help them in their classes. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is kind of the same thing, it is free to everyone and yet many don’t take advantage of it.
My thinking on this then went to retail store owners. No, you don’t have an exam to pass but you do have a much greater test in your store when you conduct inventory. You have the financial health of your business to consider at least once a year when you count what is in your store and determine how much thieves took from you (along with the operational shortage factors you had during that year). There are tools available to help you stop the bleeding from criminal activity and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. has created the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator to assist in seeing that it can be affordable to do so. The issue is owners either don’t know about it OR they have chosen to ignore it, much like the students at our college who don’t use our calculators.
The Free Loss Prevention calculator is available to anyone simply by going to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and clicking on the ROI calc tab. Once you are in the calculator you enter a couple of pieces of information; the amount you are willing to pay for a Sensormatic security system and how much your annual store sales are and the calculator tabulates an approximation of how much you are losing to shortage each year and how much a new system could save you. It also gives an estimate of how long it would take for a new system to pay for itself. Think about it, a Free Loss Prevention Calculator can tell you how a Loss Prevention System can be FREE!
The funny thing about the calculators at the library is we also sell these at the store where I work. When I know a college student is in looking to purchase one and they attend our school I ask if they know our library has them to check out. Often I get the reply that they didn’t know but when I suggest they could save money by just checking them out they will tell me they just want to go ahead and get their own. They choose to not save money. Sometimes store owners are the same way. They hear about how they can save money but decide not to make an initial investment even though a system can pay for itself. They may use the excuse they can’t afford it but that probably isn’t true when Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. also offers financing for a Sensormatic system. Whether it is the college student or the shop owner I scratch my head in wonder.
So now you know about the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator and you know how it can help you save money due to shortage. There is no excuse not to visit the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. website and give the calculator a try. You will find out just how much you could have been saving but it isn’t too late to install a system now and begin to reap the benefits of a Sensormatic security system. Remember the Calculator is free and ultimately a system can be too.
Need information on the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Sensormatic security label – 4 WC Blog 755
Electronic Article Surveillance – 5
Advantages Of Using Sensormatic Security Labels Over Other Brands Part 1
Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.
For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Are there advantages for stores to use Sensormatic security labels rather than other security labels on the market? I started out in the 1990’s in Loss Prevention and I used the big electronic article surveillance tags to protect clothing. I was pleased when those anti-theft labels got smaller but they were still bigger than the tags I saw competitor retailers using. Some other stores were using small, plastic-looking contraptions. They were adhesive just like our labels but smaller and took up much less room on merchandise. I knew some of the disadvantages of using the labels I was used to using. The size of the labels could cause tagging problems and some materials were causing false alarms at the towers. These were two big disadvantages of the system and labels we had to use. Did the other product offer something that would have been to the advantage of our store?
Leadership far above me made decisions on how merchandise in our stores would be protected so I had no say in how security was handled. If asked though I would have suggested the labels used by our competitors after I learned more about them. I should be clear, the electronic article surveillance labels we were using were working but there was a better choice on the market we should have explored. Anti-theft labels are an effective deterrent to crime and I would prefer to see stores using something rather than nothing at all. There is a distinct difference in how tags perform. They both work but one is more reliable and one does have performance advantages over the other. After learning more about Sensormatic security labels (and later using them with another retailer) I believe they are the superior tag. They would be my first choice if I was in the position to choose which a store would use.
One of the problems I encountered with the electronic article surveillance systems I was used to using was that we experienced phantom alarms. False alarms were created by a variety of different items the store sold . Foil gift wrap, tin foil rolls for cooking, coiled cords on power tools and even vacuum cleaners were potential culprits that could cause alarm towers to alert unnecessarily. You may even have been the victim of one of these false alarm situations yourself. If so, you know how annoying these can be to everyone involved. A customer who has paid for their purchase prepares to exit and the alarm begins blaring causing everyone to stop and stare. It can be uncomfortable and can be embarrassing. I know because it has happened to me. A supervisor responds to the door, which can take time if they are busy with something else and then they have to check the receipt against the merchandise. When they can’t find an obvious cause for an alarm the supervisor has to go through the purchase trying to find the offending item. If the result is due to the type of merchandise there is no way to deactivate an item and the customer has to exit with merchandise that alarms again. There was one point where false electronic article surveillance alarms became such a nuisance I had to place a service call wasting the technician’s time and our money.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) specializes in fighting retail theft and fraud. They understand the impact electronic article surveillance can have on stopping criminal activity. They also know that any system that is installed has to be reliable. Used equipment, unknown branded systems and systems that are prone to false alarms can result in poor employee response to activations. Shoplifters watch to see how workers react and how thorough they are in inspections. They identify stores that are attentive and which exhibit poor training and target the easier prey. LPSI makes a point of recommending the Sensormatic security systems and labels to their clientele. The equipment is reliable and so are the Sensormatic security labels that should be used with them.
I have used several different name brands of EAS labels in my career and I have a very strong opinion about which I prefer. In Part 2 of this series I will discuss the advantages that come with using Sensormatic security labels over other types of labels. After you have read through the articles, I recommend you visit the LPSI website to find out how you can improve your profit line with a Sensormatic system.
For more information about Sensormatic security labels contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
WAB 09 Blog
We Can Guarantee To Stop All Shoplifting In Your Store-Sensormatic Systems
Yep, Loss Prevention Systems has a Sensormatic Systems solution to stop every bit of shoplifting in your store going forward. We will even put it in writing. The problem is that you will not have any customers because you will not be able to let anyone in. If that is a bit extreme for you, then you may want to try our other more popular plan to prevent shoplifting. It is a two part plan including LPSI helping you to train your staff and a Sensormatic system.
The reality is that the only way to shut down all shoplifting will cut into your profit margin. What we need to do is focus on the bulk of the shoplifting that is costing you the most money. If your goal is to prevent shoplifting completely then you will spend more in expenses than the losses are worth. However, we need to make sure we are on the same page in how we calculate losses. If a shoplifter steals $100 in merchandise is that what you have lost – $100?
Actually, no, you have lost much more than that. To replace that $100 at retail you need to figure in your costs. You had to purchase it, ship and receive it, handle and stock it, carry the cost in inventory, etc. On top of that you have rent, payroll, taxes, utilities and other expenses.
The easiest way to figure this is to take the retail price of the item and divide it by your profit margin. So let’s say for this explanation that your margin after all expenses is 2%. So the calculation is 100/.02=5000. Yes that is a five with three zeros. To break even, not make money but to break even you will need to sell an ADDITIONAL $5000 in merchandise.
Well, that’s not really a good business plan. So we have to fix this problem once and for all by doing what you do for any business problem you encounter, you attack it head on! Our goal has to be something more than “catching” shoplifters. You have already lost money at that point. You may have caught them but now you have to deal with them. It is kind of like when my dog chases a car. Exactly what is she going to do when she catches it???
There are only two economical ways to prevent shoplifting, not counting the whole never let anyone in your store thing. Training your staff and putting in an electronic article system such as a Sensormatic system. Okay let’s get something out of the way right now. YES, this is what Loss Prevention Systems does. We train our customers and we provide one of the best systems in the retail world, Sensormatic.
Our solutions that prevent shoplifting work. The reason I know that is that I have been in the loss prevention world for most of my life. I started in the trenches apprehending shoplifters all the way through Director of Loss Prevention at several major companies to the Board Room.
So let’s fix the shoplifting problem once and for all. Our training does not focus on chasing shoplifters in the parking lot. We want them to go away and take their theft elsewhere. Consider this, if you are doing a better job sending the shoplifter on their way and getting the reputation in the shoplifting community that you are not an easy mark then the shoplifters will go elsewhere. No one wishes trouble on anyone else. But, if your neighbors are doing a better job of shoplifting prevention than you then guess where they will go? Yeah, right to you!
Even with the best of training you still need a back-up. A Sensormatic system is protecting your merchandise 24/7. No vacations, sick days or my Grandfather has died for the ninth time. So when your staff is slammed and the customer to employee ratio is out of sync, the Sensormatic system is on guard. Kind of like a Doberman ready to start barking and baring its teeth.
The combination of the two, training and Sensormatic, are the problem solver. Oh, and by the way, both solutions are VERY AFFORDABLE for any size company from one store to, well you get the picture. So now you do not have any excuse. Contact us today or call 1-770-426-0547 for Sensormatic systems, retail theft prevention and stop shoplifting training.
Yep, Loss Prevention Systems has a Sensormatic Systems solution to stop every bit of shoplifting in your store going forward. We will even put it in writing. The problem is that you will not have any customers because you will not be able to let anyone in. If that is a bit extreme for you, then you may want to try our other more popular plan to prevent shoplifting. It is a two part plan including LPSI helping you to train your staff and a Sensormatic system.
The reality is that the only way to shut down all shoplifting will cut into your profit margin. What we need to do is focus on the bulk of the shoplifting that is costing you the most money. If your goal is to prevent shoplifting completely then you will spend more in expenses than the losses are worth. However, we need to make sure we are on the same page in how we calculate losses. If a shoplifter steals $100 in merchandise is that what you have lost – $100?
Actually, no, you have lost much more than that. To replace that $100 at retail you need to figure in your costs. You had to purchase it, ship and receive it, handle and stock it, carry the cost in inventory, etc. On top of that you have rent, payroll, taxes, utilities and other expenses.
The easiest way to figure this is to take the retail price of the item and divide it by your profit margin. So let’s say for this explanation that your margin after all expenses is 2%. So the calculation is 100/.02=5000. Yes that is a five with three zeros. To break even, not make money but to break even you will need to sell an ADDITIONAL $5000 in merchandise.
Well, that’s not really a good business plan. So we have to fix this problem once and for all by doing what you do for any business problem you encounter, you attack it head on! Our goal has to be something more than “catching” shoplifters. You have already lost money at that point. You may have caught them but now you have to deal with them. It is kind of like when my dog chases a car. Exactly what is she going to do when she catches it???
There are only two economical ways to prevent shoplifting, not counting the whole never let anyone in your store thing. Training your staff and putting in an electronic article system such as a Sensormatic system. Okay let’s get something out of the way right now. YES, this is what Loss Prevention Systems does. We train our customers and we provide one of the best systems in the retail world, Sensormatic.
Our solutions that prevent shoplifting work. The reason I know that is that I have been in the loss prevention world for most of my life. I started in the trenches apprehending shoplifters all the way through Director of Loss Prevention at several major companies to the Board Room.
So let’s fix the shoplifting problem once and for all. Our training does not focus on chasing shoplifters in the parking lot. We want them to go away and take their theft elsewhere. Consider this, if you are doing a better job sending the shoplifter on their way and getting the reputation in the shoplifting community that you are not an easy mark then the shoplifters will go elsewhere. No one wishes trouble on anyone else. But, if your neighbors are doing a better job of shoplifting prevention than you then guess where they will go? Yeah, right to you!
Even with the best of training you still need a back-up. A Sensormatic system is protecting your merchandise 24/7. No vacations, sick days or my Grandfather has died for the ninth time. So when your staff is slammed and the customer to employee ratio is out of sync, the Sensormatic system is on guard. Kind of like a Doberman ready to start barking and baring its teeth.
The combination of the two, training and Sensormatic, are the problem solver. Oh, and by the way, both solutions are VERY AFFORDABLE for any size company from one store to, well you get the picture. So now you do not have any excuse.
Contact us today or call 1-770-426-0547 for Sensormatic systems, retail theft prevention and stop shoplifting training.
