Stop Shoplifting-4 WC Blog 589
Training To Reduce Employee Theft-3
Training To Reduce Employee Theft And Stop Shoplifting Makes Stores Profitable
As a Retail Loss Prevention Manager I remember that there were certain Loss Prevention Associates in our district (and I had some in my store) that seemed to get into regular fights with shoplifters. We conducted training with all of our Loss Prevention personnel to stop shoplifting which included how to approach a suspect. Regardless of training there were some who just always seemed to get into altercations. When I began taking a look back it seemed in many instances, though not all, the confrontations may have been avoided if the approach to the shoplifter was different. This article isn’t about how you go about stopping a shoplifter, it is about the training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting. Just as we had some Loss Prevention Associates that could make apprehensions and rarely get in a tussle and others who couldn’t seem to make a stop without an ensuing fracas the same applies to theft in stores.
It is not an easy task to stop shoplifting especially in small businesses where there is no Loss Prevention department to handle theft incidents. That means if a store is going to prevent theft from crooks and dishonest employees there is going to have to be someone who knows how to do it and can train others in proper anti-theft tactics. If training is going to be done correctly it has to be done by someone with experience in the field of Loss Prevention. Just because someone has been in the retail field for quite some time does not mean they are the expert in theft prevention. I wouldn’t want someone trained to fly a piper cub aircraft to jump in a jet airliner and take me on a flight. They might get it rolling down the runway but I would have zero confidence in their ability to get it in the air let alone keep it aloft or worse try to land it. The folks at Loss Prevention Systems Inc. are dedicated to theft prevention in small and medium sized retail businesses. They have the resources and people to provide training to reduce employee theft as well as shoplifting. Once training is complete that management team will be successful in reducing shortage and driving thieves away.
Did you note that I did not say they will train you or your team to apprehend shoplifters? In order to effectively stop shoplifting there are a variety of actions you can implement that require little interaction with criminals. Using retail anti-theft devices on merchandise and setting up electronic article surveillance pedestals at store exits is one of the most effective methods of deterring crime. Understanding that there are signals bad guys and gals give off that can alert you that they may be a thief is crucial. If you actively listen to your employees you can learn whether they may be a candidate to steal from you. The key is being aware of clues they may give in conversation. As a quick example, have they started to talk a lot about financial problems they are having? Are they asking questions about security but attempting to make it sound matter-of-fact or just out of curiosity? Do you know the difference between profiling a person and profiling what a person is carrying or wearing into the store? In Loss Prevention we don’t (or certainly should never) assume a person will steal based on their age, gender, race or any other physical characteristic. However, we CAN and should be looking at such things as unseasonable clothing such as wearing a trench coat in 80 degree weather. Is a person carrying bags into the store from retailers who aren’t located nearby? Are they wearing sunglasses and a ball cap pulled down over the eyes? These are all a few of the things you can learn to look for when customers enter the store.
As far as interactions with shoplifters the tactics you can learn are how to employ customer service as a deterrent to criminals. A thief is not looking for attention and a thief needs an opportunity to steal and to do that he/she must be left alone. This applies to shoplifters and dishonest employees. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. will empower you with the ability to deal with criminals without having to have a tussle or worse. Find out how training to reduce employee theft and shoplifting can save you money in the long run.
Training to reduce employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
As a Retail Loss Prevention Manager I remember that there were certain Loss Prevention Associates in our district (and I had some in my store) that seemed to get into regular fights with shoplifters. We conducted training with all of our Loss Prevention personnel to stop shoplifting which included how to approach a suspect. Regardless of training there were some who just always seemed to get into altercations. When I began taking a look back it seemed in many instances, though not all, the confrontations may have been avoided if the approach to the shoplifter was different. This article isn’t about how you go about stopping a shoplifter, it is about the training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting. Just as we had some Loss Prevention Associates that could make apprehensions and rarely get in a tussle and others who couldn’t seem to make a stop without an ensuing fracas the same applies to theft in stores.
It is not an easy task to stop shoplifting especially in small businesses where there is no Loss Prevention department to handle theft incidents. That means if a store is going to prevent theft from crooks and dishonest employees there is going to have to be someone who knows how to do it and can train others in proper anti-theft tactics. If training is going to be done correctly it has to be done by someone with experience in the field of Loss Prevention. Just because someone has been in the retail field for quite some time does not mean they are the expert in theft prevention. I wouldn’t want someone trained to fly a piper cub aircraft to jump in a jet airliner and take me on a flight. They might get it rolling down the runway but I would have zero confidence in their ability to get it in the air let alone keep it aloft or worse try to land it. The folks at Loss Prevention Systems Inc. are dedicated to theft prevention in small and medium sized retail businesses. They have the resources and people to provide training to reduce employee theft as well as shoplifting. Once training is complete that management team will be successful in reducing shortage and driving thieves away.
Did you note that I did not say they will train you or your team to apprehend shoplifters? In order to effectively stop shoplifting there are a variety of actions you can implement that require little interaction with criminals. Using retail anti-theft devices on merchandise and setting up electronic article surveillance pedestals at store exits is one of the most effective methods of deterring crime. Understanding that there are signals bad guys and gals give off that can alert you that they may be a thief is crucial. If you actively listen to your employees you can learn whether they may be a candidate to steal from you. The key is being aware of clues they may give in conversation. As a quick example, have they started to talk a lot about financial problems they are having? Are they asking questions about security but attempting to make it sound matter-of-fact or just out of curiosity? Do you know the difference between profiling a person and profiling what a person is carrying or wearing into the store? In Loss Prevention we don’t (or certainly should never) assume a person will steal based on their age, gender, race or any other physical characteristic. However, we CAN and should be looking at such things as unseasonable clothing such as wearing a trench coat in 80 degree weather. Is a person carrying bags into the store from retailers who aren’t located nearby? Are they wearing sunglasses and a ball cap pulled down over the eyes? These are all a few of the things you can learn to look for when customers enter the store.
As far as interactions with shoplifters the tactics you can learn are how to employ customer service as a deterrent to criminals. A thief is not looking for attention and a thief needs an opportunity to steal and to do that he/she must be left alone. This applies to shoplifters and dishonest employees. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. will empower you with the ability to deal with criminals without having to have a tussle or worse. Find out how training to reduce employee theft and shoplifting can save you money in the long run.
Training to reduce employee theft is important and we can help you with it. Call1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Checkpoint Hard Tags – 4 WC Blog 602
Stop Shoplifting – 3
Checkpoint Tags Keep Blustering Bullies At Bay
Two things that I have learned over the 28 years I have been in retail that are essential for a store to remain profitable is to stop shoplifting and prevent fraud. They may sound like they go hand in hand but that isn’t necessarily the case. Both do have something in common I have found and a recent encounter my daughter had reminded me of this. Often someone who is trying to commit fraud or theft is a loudmouth and will try to intimidate people. When I was a Manager on Duty and especially as a Loss Prevention Manager it seemed I encountered it almost daily. I will tell the story of my daughter’s boisterous bully in a moment. Before I tell the story, it is important that I remind everyone that the use of Checkpoint hard tags is a good way to deter theft and as a consequence, some types of fraud.
Shoplifters tend to steal merchandise based on the ease of concealment, high value, ability to resell it or if it is low or high risk. By risk, I mean the chance of being caught in the act of ripping off a store. Some anti-theft devices can impair the ease of concealment for example when an Alpha Keeper Box is used for a perfume bottle. Merchandise becomes high risk when Checkpoint hard tags are used to stop shoplifting. Say for example using a Mini Hard Tag when to protect clothing. Crooks will take untagged clothing into a fitting room hide them in a purse or put them on under their clothes. When it is time for them to leave the store the stolen items go out with them. On the other hand, if the merchandise has a tag attached to it the bad guys know it is going to set off the electronic article surveillance alarm towers. They can’t remove it because forcing a tag off takes a LOT of effort and it also ruins the clothing. Checkpoint tags add risk to attempted shoplifting. Take these two factors away and the final class of thieves tend to be fewer and far between. They too can be thwarted with retail anti-theft devices but employees have to be responsive to alarm activations and tagging has to be aggressive.
The loudmouths are often those people who are trying to steal or commit fraud as I mentioned earlier. When one of these clowns sets off an electronic article surveillance tower they may raise their voice immediately. They will pretend to be embarrassed and in a loud voice let everyone know that they shop here all of the time (it makes no difference if they do or don’t). They may also announce that they have a receipt and paid for everything or claim they have nothing at all. If an employee asks for a receipt they will often make a public display of pulling out a receipt and carefully keeping a thumb over the date stamp. A glaring look frequently accompanies the loud voice that is intended to get the employee to do a cursory receipt check and send the crook on their way just to get rid of them.
The person committing fraud will act in the same fashion. With return fraud they will huff and puff and put on great theatrics to convince a manager that all is in order and if it isn’t it is in no way their fault. If the merchandise is being returned with Checkpoint hard tags still on them and no receipt it has most likely been stolen. If there is no receipt but there is damage to the merchandise it is quite probable a tag was forced off at home. Having a clear return policy and sticking to that policy makes it far easier to deal with these patrons than when managers start to cave into them.
In my daughter’s case she was dealing with a patron trying to pay for merchandise with a lot of $20 bills that were not being accepted through a counterfeit bill reader. When she told him she could not accept his money he attempted to puff up and raise his voice and complain that there was nothing wrong with his money. Fortunately my daughter stuck to her guns and the patron pulled out two bills that passed muster. The point is that criminals try to use intimidation to get away with their crimes.
Checkpoint hard tags may not prevent all types of fraud but they do stop shoplifting and certain forms of return fraud. Stop the theft and you can reduce you and your manager’s exposure to bullying browbeaters and blowhards. You will also keep your store a happier place to work and shop.
Get more information on Checkpoint hard tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
Two things that I have learned over the 28 years I have been in retail that are essential for a store to remain profitable is to stop shoplifting and prevent fraud. They may sound like they go hand in hand but that isn’t necessarily the case. Both do have something in common I have found and a recent encounter my daughter had reminded me of this. Often someone who is trying to commit fraud or theft is a loudmouth and will try to intimidate people. When I was a Manager on Duty and especially as a Loss Prevention Manager it seemed I encountered it almost daily. I will tell the story of my daughter’s boisterous bully in a moment. Before I tell the story, it is important that I remind everyone that the use of electronic article surveillance (EAS) hard tags is a good way to deter theft and as a consequence, some types of fraud.
Shoplifters tend to steal merchandise based on the ease of concealment, high value, ability to resell it or if it is low or high risk. By risk, I mean the chance of being caught in the act of ripping off a store. Some anti-theft devices can impair the ease of concealment for example when an a Keeper Box is used for a perfume bottle. Merchandise becomes high risk when EAS hard tags are used to stop shoplifting. Say for example using a Mini Hard Tag when to protect clothing. Crooks will take untagged clothing into a fitting room hide them in a purse or put them on under their clothes. When it is time for them to leave the store the stolen items go out with them. On the other hand, if the merchandise has a tag attached to it the bad guys know it is going to set off the electronic article surveillance alarm towers. They can’t remove it because forcing a tag off takes a LOT of effort and it also ruins the clothing. EAS tags add risk to attempted shoplifting. Take these two factors away and the final class of thieves tend to be fewer and far between. They too can be thwarted with retail anti-theft devices but employees have to be responsive to alarm activations and tagging has to be aggressive.
The loudmouths are often those people who are trying to steal or commit fraud as I mentioned earlier. When one of these clowns sets off an electronic article surveillance tower they may raise their voice immediately. They will pretend to be embarrassed and in a loud voice let everyone know that they shop here all of the time (it makes no difference if they do or don’t). They may also announce that they have a receipt and paid for everything or claim they have nothing at all. If an employee asks for a receipt they will often make a public display of pulling out a receipt and carefully keeping a thumb over the date stamp. A glaring look frequently accompanies the loud voice that is intended to get the employee to do a cursory receipt check and send the crook on their way just to get rid of them.
The person committing fraud will act in the same fashion. With return fraud they will huff and puff and put on great theatrics to convince a manager that all is in order and if it isn’t it is in no way their fault. If the merchandise is being returned with EAS hard tags still on them and no receipt it has most likely been stolen. If there is no receipt but there is damage to the merchandise it is quite probable a tag was forced off at home. Having a clear return policy and sticking to that policy makes it far easier to deal with these patrons than when managers start to cave into them.
In my daughter’s case she was dealing with a patron trying to pay for merchandise with a lot of $20 bills that were not being accepted through a counterfeit bill reader. When she told him she could not accept his money he attempted to puff up and raise his voice and complain that there was nothing wrong with his money. Fortunately my daughter stuck to her guns and the patron pulled out two bills that passed muster. The point is that criminals try to use intimidation to get away with their crimes.
EAS hard tags may not prevent all types of fraud but they do stop shoplifting and certain forms of return fraud. Stop the theft and you can reduce you and your manager’s exposure to bullying browbeaters and blowhards. You will also keep your store a happier place to work and shop.
Get more information on EAS hard tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
Stop Shoplifting – 4 WC Blog 634
Employee theft reduction training-3
With The Increase In Aggression Should Retailers Try To Stop Shoplifting?
With all of the recent stories on aggressive shoplifters, it is fair to ask if it makes sense to try to stop shoplifting. Preventing theft has to be a focus of store owners and managers. When store shortage on average is 1.33% and approximately 35.7% of that shrinkage is due to shoplifting, it only makes sense to try to stop it. According to the 2018 National Retail Security Survey, page 5, “Shoplifting has again surpassed employee theft as the leading cause of shrink for the fourth year in a row.” Think about what this means, more than one third of all of the losses your store is experiencing is caused by criminals walking in and taking your merchandise without paying for it. This leaves store owners with the following alternatives; allow theft to continue unabated, raise prices on merchandise to make up for the losses or teach staff how to prevent shoplifting through employee theft reduction training. The only solution that makes any real sense is to train employees and here are my reasons for it.
• If you allow theft to continue and make no effort to combat it, thieves will take advantage of your store. When an easy target is identified crooks will return to it because the rewards far outweigh the risks to them personally.
• Doing nothing to deter or stop shoplifting is an invitation to other more serious crime. Don’t think that word doesn’t spread in the criminal community about locations that are easy pickings. It may begin with shoplifting but it is not unheard of that car break-ins, robberies, purse snatchings and assaults creep in these places over time.
• When criminal activity grows around a store or a mall customers will stop shopping there. This in turn leads to reduced sales and at some point if sales go too low shops close up their doors…permanently.
• Increasing prices to make up for shortage rather than addressing root causes hurts customers not the thieves. Clients may be willing to spend a bit more cash for merchandise in a store with great customer service or a pleasant shopping atmosphere. Increasing prices too much and regardless of how wonderful service is, shoppers will eventually revolt and take their money elsewhere.
Ignoring shoplifting is not going to make it go away and worse, it may discourage customers from shopping in your store(s).
The concern that is then placed in front of store owners is how to address shoplifting if doing so is a potentially dangerous prospect due to violent offenders. The first thing that responsible business owners MUST do is provide employee theft reduction training to their workers. Employees are the first line of defense against criminal activity. That greeting and eye contact go a lot further than you may think in stopping a crook from snatching your merchandise. Additionally small things such as how to talk to a customer and how NOT to talk to them can make a difference in theft prevention. Is it the job of an employee to “identify” who may or may not be a criminal? To keep staff members safe while improving sales and driving out theft related shortage stores need to invest in training by a company that “has been there and done that.” Loss Prevention Systems Inc. CEO, Bill Bregar has put together that training program. As a Director of Loss Prevention for national retail companies Bill used his experience to design a program that is guaranteed to bring results and keep employees safe. As a Loss Prevention professional with years of experience training employees and teaching them how to stay safe, I have seen the training offered and I am totally impressed.
Installation of closed circuit television cameras, public view monitors, and retail anti-theft devices are all pieces of a shortage prevention strategy that owners should consider to stop shoplifting. Unfortunately none of these pieces guarantees the safety of store workers. Employee theft reduction training is the one thing that owners can do to add safety as well as security to their stores. Remember, when employees feel they have the tools to stay safe and still deter theft they are going to be willing to offer customer service that will also enhance sales. That is a winning combination for you and your team.
For more information on employee theft reduction training contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
With all of the recent stories on aggressive shoplifters, it is fair to ask if it makes sense to try to stop shoplifting. Preventing theft has to be a focus of store owners and managers. When store shortage on average is 1.33% and approximately 35.7% of that shrinkage is due to shoplifting, it only makes sense to try to stop it. According to the 2018 National Retail Security Survey, page 5, “Shoplifting has again surpassed employee theft as the leading cause of shrink for the fourth year in a row.” Think about what this means, more than one third of all of the losses your store is experiencing is caused by criminals walking in and taking your merchandise without paying for it. This leaves store owners with the following alternatives; allow theft to continue unabated, raise prices on merchandise to make up for the losses or teach staff how to prevent shoplifting through employee theft reduction training. The only solution that makes any real sense is to train employees and here are my reasons for it.
• If you allow theft to continue and make no effort to combat it, thieves will take advantage of your store. When an easy target is identified crooks will return to it because the rewards far outweigh the risks to them personally.
• Doing nothing to deter or stop shoplifting is an invitation to other more serious crime. Don’t think that word doesn’t spread in the criminal community about locations that are easy pickings. It may begin with shoplifting but it is not unheard of that car break-ins, robberies, purse snatchings and assaults creep in these places over time.
• When criminal activity grows around a store or a mall customers will stop shopping there. This in turn leads to reduced sales and at some point if sales go too low shops close up their doors…permanently.
• Increasing prices to make up for shortage rather than addressing root causes hurts customers not the thieves. Clients may be willing to spend a bit more cash for merchandise in a store with great customer service or a pleasant shopping atmosphere. Increasing prices too much and regardless of how wonderful service is, shoppers will eventually revolt and take their money elsewhere.Ignoring shoplifting is not going to make it go away and worse, it may discourage customers from shopping in your store(s).
The concern that is then placed in front of store owners is how to address shoplifting if doing so is a potentially dangerous prospect due to violent offenders. The first thing that responsible business owners MUST do is provide employee theft reduction training to their workers. Employees are the first line of defense against criminal activity. That greeting and eye contact go a lot further than you may think in stopping a crook from snatching your merchandise. Additionally small things such as how to talk to a customer and how NOT to talk to them can make a difference in theft prevention. Is it the job of an employee to “identify” who may or may not be a criminal? To keep staff members safe while improving sales and driving out theft related shortage stores need to invest in training by a company that “has been there and done that.” Loss Prevention Systems Inc. CEO, Bill Bregar has put together that training program. As a Director of Loss Prevention for national retail companies Bill used his experience to design a program that is guaranteed to bring results and keep employees safe. As a Loss Prevention professional with years of experience training employees and teaching them how to stay safe, I have seen the training offered and I am totally impressed.
Installation of closed circuit television cameras, public view monitors, and retail anti-theft devices are all pieces of a shortage prevention strategy that owners should consider to stop shoplifting. Unfortunately none of these pieces guarantees the safety of store workers. Employee theft reduction training is the one thing that owners can do to add safety as well as security to their stores. Remember, when employees feel they have the tools to stay safe and still deter theft they are going to be willing to offer customer service that will also enhance sales. That is a winning combination for you and your team.
For more information on employee theft reduction training, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Stop shoplifting-3 WC Blog 656
Electronic Article Surveillance-4
Sensormatic Labels-3
Group Theft Can Be Prevented With The Help Of Sensormatic Labels
I remember the days when I was a Loss Prevention Officer and had to make choices on how to stop shoplifting by a group that was working together. The decisions were never easy. I had to consider if I had a partner working with me or was I alone that shift. If I was alone, did I have a manager working on whom I could depend to at least call the police for me or did I have a less than reliable manager on duty? If I was working alone I had to decide how I was going to approach the group when I was ready to stop them. These may not seem like hard choices but there were all kinds of consequences and unforeseen outcomes that could occur if I was not careful. In fact when watching a group I even had to decide who the main actor was and determine if THAT was going to be the one to maintain surveillance on. Once concealment began I had to stick with one person to watch especially if the group split up. When it comes to Retail Loss Prevention store owners have choices to make also and they aren’t always easy.
Do you, the store owner have a Loss Prevention program in place? Is it effective and what does it consist of in terms of people, equipment, theft deterrence, etc.? Who in your store knows your plan or what their role if any is to stop shoplifting? Allow me to pause for a moment and say this if you don’t have an electronic article surveillance system as part of your anti-theft strategy you need one (another choice to make, right?). Most people are familiar with these systems so I won’t belabor that point. What I will comment on is there are a number of systems on the market and finding one that is effective and has a variety of tags and labels available is important. Sensormatic labels and tags along with their electronic article surveillance towers fits that bill. They offer both radio frequency labels and acoustic magnetic tags that protect a wide range of merchandise and packaging materials. As someone who has tagged more items than he cares to remember I can vouch for the fact that having multiple tags and styles is vital for an effective security plan. Different products have different security needs and one size does not fit all. I’m going to tag a package of gum with a different device than a pair of shoes.
More likely than not, there is a store manager reading this who is thinking that they don’t need an electronic article surveillance system. They feel that their employees offer customer service and that is enough to prevent theft. As someone who has been in Loss Prevention for many years I am going to say that train of thought is flawed. The groups I was dealing with were astute in how they would commit their crimes. If they noticed that employees were providing customer service they would split up. Divide the store team and someone is going to get free to conceal merchandise. It was hard in a big box store to cover everyone, for a small or medium size retailer you will probably not have the personnel to match up one for one. Once your team is divided your store becomes free game. A force multiplier for YOU is to use Sensormatic labels to protect your merchandise and the towers at the front doors to alarm if a criminal tries to sneak goods out of the store.
In the department store I worked for as a Loss Prevention Officer we had multiple exits, I could never cover them all on my own or with a partner. BUT in the big box stores I worked for we had one entry/exit point and a single employee could respond to an electronic article surveillance alarm quickly and effectively. In a store with this equipment set up your team can offer the best customer service possible to deter shoplifters. But tagging merchandise and having one person near the front doors able to answer alarms means you don’t have to be concerned if you can’t keep up with every member of a suspicious party of customers.
You have decisions to make on how to stop shoplifting in your store(s) to stay profitable. With so many day to day managerial responsibilities to attend to this doesn’t need to be a difficult one to make. Tag merchandise with Sensormatic labels and add Sensormatic towers at your entrances and exits and you will see an immediate impact on theft reduction in your store. Multiply the impact of your customer service with Sensormatic.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I remember the days when I was a Loss Prevention Officer and had to make choices on how to stop shoplifting by a group that was working together. The decisions were never easy. I had to consider if I had a partner working with me or was I alone that shift. If I was alone, did I have a manager working on whom I could depend to at least call the police for me or did I have a less than reliable manager on duty? If I was working alone I had to decide how I was going to approach the group when I was ready to stop them. These may not seem like hard choices but there were all kinds of consequences and unforeseen outcomes that could occur if I was not careful. In fact when watching a group I even had to decide who the main actor was and determine if THAT was going to be the one to maintain surveillance on. Once concealment began I had to stick with one person to watch especially if the group split up. When it comes to Retail Loss Prevention store owners have choices to make also and they aren’t always easy.
Do you, the store owner have a Loss Prevention program in place? Is it effective and what does it consist of in terms of people, equipment, theft deterrence, etc.? Who in your store knows your plan or what their role if any is to stop shoplifting? Allow me to pause for a moment and say this if you don’t have an electronic article surveillance system as part of your anti-theft strategy you need one (another choice to make, right?). Most people are familiar with these systems so I won’t belabor that point. What I will comment on is there are a number of systems on the market and finding one that is effective and has a variety of tags and labels available is important. Sensormatic labels and tags along with their electronic article surveillance towers fits that bill. They offer both radio frequency labels and acoustic magnetic tags that protect a wide range of merchandise and packaging materials. As someone who has tagged more items than he cares to remember I can vouch for the fact that having multiple tags and styles is vital for an effective security plan. Different products have different security needs and one size does not fit all. I’m going to tag a package of gum with a different device than a pair of shoes.
More likely than not, there is a store manager reading this who is thinking that they don’t need an electronic article surveillance system. They feel that their employees offer customer service and that is enough to prevent theft. As someone who has been in Loss Prevention for many years I am going to say that train of thought is flawed. The groups I was dealing with were astute in how they would commit their crimes. If they noticed that employees were providing customer service they would split up. Divide the store team and someone is going to get free to conceal merchandise. It was hard in a big box store to cover everyone, for a small or medium size retailer you will probably not have the personnel to match up one for one. Once your team is divided your store becomes free game. A force multiplier for YOU is to use Sensormatic labels to protect your merchandise and the towers at the front doors to alarm if a criminal tries to sneak goods out of the store.
In the department store I worked for as a Loss Prevention Officer we had multiple exits, I could never cover them all on my own or with a partner. BUT in the big box stores I worked for we had one entry/exit point and a single employee could respond to an electronic article surveillance alarm quickly and effectively. In a store with this equipment set up your team can offer the best customer service possible to deter shoplifters. But tagging merchandise and having one person near the front doors able to answer alarms means you don’t have to be concerned if you can’t keep up with every member of a suspicious party of customers.
You have decisions to make on how to stop shoplifting in your store(s) to stay profitable. With so many day to day managerial responsibilities to attend to this doesn’t need to be a difficult one to make. Tag merchandise with Sensormatic labels and add Sensormatic towers at your entrances and exits and you will see an immediate impact on theft reduction in your store. Multiply the impact of your customer service with Sensormatic.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I worked in Retail Loss Prevention for many years and during that time I had a lot of opportunities to stop shoplifting as the result of an electronic article surveillance alarm set off by a tagged piece of merchandise. Today I work in a library but still deal with alarms when patrons set them off as they exit or enter our building. The alarms are sometimes caused by items that are tagged but the tags have not been properly deactivated. In other cases it is the result of someone trying to sneak library materials out in order to steal them (sounds a lot like shoplifting doesn’t it?). It is necessary to investigate and resolve the source of any alarm until it is satisfactorily resolved. Just a few days ago a student was leaving the building and as she walked through our towers the alarm sounded. I used my Loss Prevention experience to stop the patron and talk to her about what may have caused the activation.
Whether it is a college library or a store, electronic article surveillance labels can prevent merchandise and property from being improperly removed from a building. In the case of a retail business those labels can make the difference between a profitable and successful enterprise and one that struggles. Sensormatic labels can prevent thieves from stealing but even with a system as good as Sensormatic’s a store must have employees available to respond to alarms. Those employees must also have the proper training to approach shoppers who set off alarms and the know how to resolve the alarms. It is not as easy as it may sound. I would like to offer some tips from my own experience so you can train your employees to identify what has set off an electronic article surveillance alarm system.
• An employee who approaches a customer that has set off an alarm should never begin the interaction assuming the customer was trying to steal something. The attitude exhibited by the employee influences the way the customer will respond. I have found that by making a statement that indicates a mistake happened rather than an attempted theft can calm a patron almost immediately. I will say something like, “Uh-oh, our system must not have deactivated a tag properly, I’m sorry.”
• I then begin the process of determining the cause of the alarm. In a store I will ask if the patron has made a purchase. If they say they did I ask if they could show me a receipt? If the patron said they bought something but they don’t have the receipt I ask if I can look in their bag. I follow up by asking what register they went through and after reviewing the transactions if I cannot locate the item I tell the customer we must have accidentally missed the item as we were scanning. No, I’m not throwing the cashier under the bus, I am giving the person an “out” so it does not appear I am accusing them of theft.
• If a look through a shopping bag does not reveal the cause of the alarm a bit if finesse will be required. You may have to try to get a peak in a purse, backpack or tote and that can be more difficult. People don’t like to have their personal belongings rummaged through. I like to say something that will make the person feel like I am helping them. If they have multiple bags I will suggest they walk one bag through the tower at a time. Through the process of elimination I find the bag that has the active tag in it. I then diffuse the situation further. I mention that I have had customers forget and put an item in a purse to see if it would fit (such as a wallet) and forget they put it in. Again, providing a ready-made excuse for the customer makes it easier to get an item back or the person to pay for it, I have encountered both. I also tell customers that sometimes people make purchases at other stores with electronic article surveillance systems and they fail to deactivate tags and it can set off our system.
A skilled employee who has been trained can stop shoplifting and even prevent unintentional missed merchandise from leaving the store.
If you don’t currently have a Sensormatic system in your store I strongly encourage you to get one. You will stop shoplifting and as you do you will see your instocks improve. THAT drives sales and profits. As evidence that my tips work, in the case of the library alarm, the student had two books in her backpack that she had forgotten about. I got them checked out and the student went on her way.
Need more information on electronic article surveillance, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
