Electronic Article Surveillance – 4 WC Blog 371
Checkpoint Security Tags – 3
Stop shoplifting-3
Following An Opening And Closing Checklist Can Keep Personnel Safe And Help To Stop Shoplifting
Store opening and closing procedures should never be taken for granted. A lot of things can happen during these times and particular care should be taken in everything you do. My 27 plus years in retail Loss Prevention and retail have given me a unique perspective on what should be done during an opening and closing process. From clearing registers to checking on electronic article surveillance systems, a specific task list should be in place and followed. The first reason to put the procedures in place is safety. The second reason is that set procedures help managers ensure systems are functioning properly which can impact store security.
One of the systems that must be included in opening procedures is the store’s electronic article surveillance systems. This is the one system in a store that can stop shoplifting and that actually affects profit AND safety. The two components of this system that must be checked are the deactivation pads and the towers. The deactivation pads located at the checkout lanes de-tune the soft variety of Checkpoint security tags. The Towers are usually located at front entrances or exits and are used to detect if a tagged piece of merchandise is being carried close to the doors. The presence of towers can stop shoplifting and improve profits since generally speaking, thieves don’t like to take the chance that they will be caught due to an alarm activation. From a safety standpoint, thieves who steal from a store often times will steal from customers as well. If you have an electronic article surveillance system in place the criminals are likely going to other stores which means less crime in your building and even in your parking lot. Testing and verification devices are easy to use and ensure your EAS system functions as it should.
In addition to your Checkpoint security system, an opening routine should include the following:
• The opening manager should drive around the building before entering. Look for signed of forced entry into back doors or ladders against the building. If anything suspicious is noted, call for police assistance before entering the building.
• Two or more people should be entering the store together. The best method to do this is to have one employee sit in the car and watch the key holder enter the building, re-lock the door and turn off the alarm. They then come to the door and let the second employee enter.
• However the store does their cash office, the manager and the cash counter should enter the cash office together and the manager then opens the safe and the register till(s) are prepared.
• Store computers should be checked to ensure they are logging in properly and the internet is working.
• A test of the electronic article surveillance towers and de-activation pads. As mentioned you want to be sure you stop shoplifting but you don’t want Checkpoint Security tags to fail to de-tune and cause customer distractions.
• If applicable, verify closed circuit television and cameras are all functioning properly. Turn on any public view monitors at this time.
• Do a quick walk through the store to ensure all lights are on and no facility emergencies have taken place overnight such as burst pipes, overflowing commodes, etc.
Closing routines should include:
• Make closing announcements around 15 minutes prior to closing. This let’s customer’s finish shopping and your managers can see who appears to be lingering behind.
• Lock all doors as the last customer exits.
• If you drop register tills before closing, have two people do it together, one person is vulnerable to a grab and run.
• Have employees check specific areas of the store for customers who may be hiding, including restrooms and fitting rooms.
• Close out registers and secure funds in the safe in the cash office. For checks and balances have two people do this together.
• Turn off all public view monitors to extend the life of the monitors.
• As the employees are ready to leave, one person should go to their car and move it to a place where they can watch the front doors. Then the key holder should set the building alarm, everyone should exit, the key holder locks the doors as the group of employees waits and they all go to their vehicles.
• The key holder should do a final drive around the building to ensure no one is hanging around back doors or windows waiting for an opportunity to break-in.
Create an opening and closing checklist using these tips to make your store safer for employees and customers. Remember, a store that uses Checkpoint Security tags and systems and focuses on creating a safe environment is a profitable store.
Electronic Article Surveillance is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Store opening and closing procedures should never be taken for granted. A lot of things can happen during these times and particular care should be taken in everything you do. My 27 plus years in retail Loss Prevention and retail have given me a unique perspective on what should be done during an opening and closing process. From clearing registers to checking on electronic article surveillance systems, a specific task list should be in place and followed. The first reason to put the procedures in place is safety. The second reason is that set procedures help managers ensure systems are functioning properly which can impact store security.
One of the systems that must be included in opening procedures is the store’s electronic article surveillance systems. This is the one system in a store that can stop shoplifting and that actually affects profit AND safety. The two components of this system that must be checked are the deactivation pads and the towers. The deactivation pads located at the checkout lanes de-tune the soft variety of Checkpoint security tags. The Towers are usually located at front entrances or exits and are used to detect if a tagged piece of merchandise is being carried close to the doors. The presence of towers can stop shoplifting and improve profits since generally speaking, thieves don’t like to take the chance that they will be caught due to an alarm activation. From a safety standpoint, thieves who steal from a store often times will steal from customers as well. If you have an electronic article surveillance system in place the criminals are likely going to other stores which means less crime in your building and even in your parking lot. Testing and verification devices are easy to use and ensure your EAS system functions as it should.
In addition to your Checkpoint security system, an opening routine should include the following:
• The opening manager should drive around the building before entering. Look for signed of forced entry into back doors or ladders against the building. If anything suspicious is noted, call for police assistance before entering the building.
• Two or more people should be entering the store together. The best method to do this is to have one employee sit in the car and watch the key holder enter the building, re-lock the door and turn off the alarm. They then come to the door and let the second employee enter.
• However the store does their cash office, the manager and the cash counter should enter the cash office together and the manager then opens the safe and the register till(s) are prepared.
• Store computers should be checked to ensure they are logging in properly and the internet is working.
• A test of the electronic article surveillance towers and de-activation pads. As mentioned you want to be sure you stop shoplifting but you don’t want Checkpoint Security tags to fail to de-tune and cause customer distractions.
• If applicable, verify closed circuit television and cameras are all functioning properly. Turn on any public view monitors at this time.
• Do a quick walk through the store to ensure all lights are on and no facility emergencies have taken place overnight such as burst pipes, overflowing commodes, etc.
Closing routines should include:
• Make closing announcements around 15 minutes prior to closing. This let’s customer’s finish shopping and your managers can see who appears to be lingering behind.
• Lock all doors as the last customer exits.
• If you drop register tills before closing, have two people do it together, one person is vulnerable to a grab and run.
• Have employees check specific areas of the store for customers who may be hiding, including restrooms and fitting rooms.
• Close out registers and secure funds in the safe in the cash office. For checks and balances have two people do this together.
• Turn off all public view monitors to extend the life of the monitors.
• As the employees are ready to leave, one person should go to their car and move it to a place where they can watch the front doors. Then the key holder should set the building alarm, everyone should exit, the key holder locks the doors as the group of employees waits and they all go to their vehicles.
• The key holder should do a final drive around the building to ensure no one is hanging around back doors or windows waiting for an opportunity to break-in.
Create an opening and closing checklist using these tips to make your store safer for employees and customers. Remember, a store that uses Checkpoint Security tags and systems and focuses on creating a safe environment is a profitable store.
Electronic Article Surveillance is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
You’re going about your daily routine running your store, you’re on the salesfloor working to fill merchandise out of stocks on the floor, or you happen to be at the checkout lanes helping the customers and then IT happens! That’s right the power goes out to the store. I live and work in a beach/tourist area and for whatever reason we regularly get hit with some nasty late afternoon storms and sure enough power is bound to go out around here. We also have issues with power poles jumping into the path of oncoming vehicles with the result that power will go out for an entire block…or two or three or more. Stupid power poles! Anyways, I had one incident when I worked for a big box retailer that our power unexpectedly went out to our building. Normally this type of issue would be no longer than a couple of hours in duration and power would be restored and we would be back to full operations. During this particular incident our building ended up being without power for at least 5 hours. The upside was that we had emergency power through a natural gas operated emergency generator. The downside? Only limited systems were functional, that meant we were conducting business with barebones service. As the Loss Prevention Manager I had a number of concerns to deal with from a security and safety perspective. With the electronic article surveillance system not operating to read Checkpoint tags, how was I going to stop shoplifting? My closed circuit television was not on the emergency power so CCTV was out as well. Without an emergency action plan I would have been scrambling but we did have one and we were prepared.
Electronic article surveillance pedestals are part of a retail anti-theft system that can detect Checkpoint tags which operate using radio frequency waves to create a signal between the pedestals and the tags. Parts of a system include the tags which may be hard tags or labels, pedestals which, by the way, require power to operate and deactivation units at points of sale also requiring power. Deactivation units “turn off” soft Checkpoint tags so they don’t activate the electronic article surveillance pedestals at the doors when a customer leaves with paid merchandise. Hard tags don’t de-tune so they have to be removed at the point of sale. This is why hard tagged merchandise stop shoplifting, because they cause the alarm system to activate a loud alert noise and flashing lights that alert employees to the attempted theft.
Because the power was out I did reference our safety action plans and partnered with the Manager on Duty to make sure proper notifications were made and prioritize what needed to be done. Safety for customers and employees became my first concern. The store was operating on emergency lighting which meant we had dark areas of the store. Because scan guns could not pick operate on the store computer systems all “tasks” were suspended on the salesfloor except for some straightening. Employees were fully focused on customer service, walking up and down aisles, assisting at the fitting room and keeping an eye out for potential theft and safety concerns. Two-way radios worked so Loss Prevention staff switched to the store radio frequency in case we were needed somewhere. My plainclothes officer donned a “security” labeled jacket so customers would know who he was. Since the electronic article surveillance system was out of service and Checkpoint tags would not set off the alarm, I needed to stop shoplifting while addressing store safety so I stationed one L.P. member at the doors to conduct receipt checks and I assisted there while being available to assist with L.O.D. duties.
Guess what else doesn’t work when power goes out? Powered entry doors don’t work. Lighting was poor so many people were driving past the building thinking we were closed. We propped open the doors and I had a store employee stand outside to assure people that the store was open for business. Yes, the number of available checklanes was cut in half due to the outage and lines formed up but we were able to process customers so sales were only minimally impacted.
What do you do for power outages? Do you close your store? Do you wring your hands and worry or do you pull out a safety action plan? Have a plan and a back-up generator in place and though you may not be able to power an electronic article surveillance system you can still drive sales and use customer service to stop shoplifting.
Need information on electronic article surveillance? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Stop Shoplifting-4 WC blog 374
Checkpoint Security System-3
Weather Emergencies And Other Crisis; How Do You Prepare, Respond, Recover and Do You Still Stop Shoplifting? Part 3
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Emergencies and Crisis that can impact a retail store, I spent time sharing a number of stories of incidents I have dealt with as a Loss Prevention Manager. I also talked about how store management needs to be aware that if a store is open pre or post emergency, there still needs to be an awareness of the need to stop shoplifting if possible and keep Checkpoint Security Systems operating until a store closure is necessary.
Checkpoint Security Systems are the first line of defense to stop shoplifting. The pedestals at the doors can detect electronic article surveillance tags on merchandise and sound an alert and activate flashing lights so employees can respond and prevent a theft. Many EAS hard tags are tamper proof and will alarm if someone tries to force them off of a piece of merchandise. While staff are busy trying to react to crisis situations, the Security System maybe the only thing to prevent shoplifters from cleaning out a store.
In creating an emergency action plan for your store keep in mind that each store is different and varies in building layout, number of staff members, number of managers, locations of exits and so on. It is also important to remember a store in Wisconsin doesn’t need to plan for a hurricane but a store in Florida should put this near the top of their planning. So here are some tips for things to include in your action plans as you complete them:
• Remember that the protection of employees and customers should be your number 1 priority. All other things regarding the protection of property and merchandise are secondary concerns. Keep this in mind as you begin your planning.
• If the emergency is a hurricane, in most instances you will have advance warning through tropical storm watches and warnings which grow into hurricane watches and warnings. Make sure your employees know you are monitoring the situation. If employees are getting nervous as the storm nears and they ask to leave so they can get their families to a safer location, allow it. I have seen the effect anxious employees can have on those around them and it can be infectious. You don’t want that as you are preparing for the event. The same can be true for severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches. It may be difficult to run the store with fewer people but in the long run you help yourself.
• When there is advance warning, start to shut down non-essential equipment to avoid power surge damage and if possible cover those items with plastic bags to protect against water damage in case of roof leaks. Leave enough cash registers operating to serve customers and don’t power down your Checkpoint Security Systems until absolutely necessary. If patrons are still in the store potential shoplifters are too and you need it to stop shoplifting while running through our preparations.
• For emergencies that give little time to prepare, have an emergency binder and make it a daily task to review how to respond to a different contingency and once you have reviewed everything, start over. Repetition helps reinforce information and makes it easier to respond.
• Have Flashlights located near an emergency binder in multiple locations in the store. One at the service desk, one at a fitting room, and one in your stockroom. Place a first aid kit at each location and if possible an AED kit (Automated External Defibrillators). I would also recommend a small fire extinguisher at each of these places too.
• Have a pre-planned safe place where you will send your customers and employees in the event of a tornado. If you have a lot of people to protect, find an interior room or location that is away from doors and windows.
• For building evacuations due to fire, gas leaks, earthquakes, etc. have a pre-planned rally point that all employees know about. This allows the manager on duty to account for everyone or identify if someone is missing and report it to authorities.
• If at all possible have an emergency generator hooked up to a natural gas source that can run a few registers and lights if power goes out so you can run your business and not lose all business.
These are only a few suggestions to put include in a plan. It is important to keep in mind that a store should have a more detailed action plan in place. Just remember customer and employee safety is first but don’t forget that it is important to try to stop shoplifting at the same time, if at all possible.
Need information on Checkpoint Security Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Emergencies and Crisis that can impact a retail store, I spent time sharing a number of stories of incidents I have dealt with as a Loss Prevention Manager. I also talked about how store management needs to be aware that if a store is open pre or post emergency, there still needs to be an awareness of the need to stop shoplifting if possible and keep Checkpoint Security Systems operating until a store closure is necessary.
Checkpoint Security Systems are the first line of defense to stop shoplifting. The pedestals at the doors can detect electronic article surveillance tags on merchandise and sound an alert and activate flashing lights so employees can respond and prevent a theft. Many EAS hard tags are tamper proof and will alarm if someone tries to force them off of a piece of merchandise. While staff are busy trying to react to crisis situations, the Security System maybe the only thing to prevent shoplifters from cleaning out a store.
In creating an emergency action plan for your store keep in mind that each store is different and varies in building layout, number of staff members, number of managers, locations of exits and so on. It is also important to remember a store in Wisconsin doesn’t need to plan for a hurricane but a store in Florida should put this near the top of their planning. So here are some tips for things to include in your action plans as you complete them:
• Remember that the protection of employees and customers should be your number 1 priority. All other things regarding the protection of property and merchandise are secondary concerns. Keep this in mind as you begin your planning.
• If the emergency is a hurricane, in most instances you will have advance warning through tropical storm watches and warnings which grow into hurricane watches and warnings. Make sure your employees know you are monitoring the situation. If employees are getting nervous as the storm nears and they ask to leave so they can get their families to a safer location, allow it. I have seen the effect anxious employees can have on those around them and it can be infectious. You don’t want that as you are preparing for the event. The same can be true for severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches. It may be difficult to run the store with fewer people but in the long run you help yourself.
• When there is advance warning, start to shut down non-essential equipment to avoid power surge damage and if possible cover those items with plastic bags to protect against water damage in case of roof leaks. Leave enough cash registers operating to serve customers and don’t power down your Checkpoint Security Systems until absolutely necessary. If patrons are still in the store potential shoplifters are too and you need it to stop shoplifting while running through our preparations.
• For emergencies that give little time to prepare, have an emergency binder and make it a daily task to review how to respond to a different contingency and once you have reviewed everything, start over. Repetition helps reinforce information and makes it easier to respond.
• Have Flashlights located near an emergency binder in multiple locations in the store. One at the service desk, one at a fitting room, and one in your stockroom. Place a first aid kit at each location and if possible an AED kit (Automated External Defibrillators). I would also recommend a small fire extinguisher at each of these places too.
• Have a pre-planned safe place where you will send your customers and employees in the event of a tornado. If you have a lot of people to protect, find an interior room or location that is away from doors and windows.
• For building evacuations due to fire, gas leaks, earthquakes, etc. have a pre-planned rally point that all employees know about. This allows the manager on duty to account for everyone or identify if someone is missing and report it to authorities.
• If at all possible have an emergency generator hooked up to a natural gas source that can run a few registers and lights if power goes out so you can run your business and not lose all business.
These are only a few suggestions to put include in a plan. It is important to keep in mind that a store should have a more detailed action plan in place. Just remember customer and employee safety is first but don’t forget that it is important to try to stop shoplifting at the same time, if at all possible.
Need information on Checkpoint Security Systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Alpha Ink Tag-3 WC Blog 353
Retail Anti-Theft Devices – 3
An Odd Encounter With A shoplifter That Could Have Been Avoided By Using Alpha Ink Tags On Clothing
Most of the time shoplifters dress, act and look like you and me. There is nothing that necessarily stands out about them except the behaviors they are exhibiting. They may be looking at the ceiling for cameras, they shoot glances at employees who walk nearby or they seem to be overly friendly with staff. There are also shoplifters who dress unseasonably for the weather, they wear multiple layers of clothes or coats and jackets when it is far too warm. Some will wear ball caps and sunglasses into the store to keep from being recognized or to prevent Loss Prevention from catching their face on cameras. In my early days as a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store chain I had two different shoplifting incidents when the perpetrators went in the opposite direction. In the first instance the suspect was ‘shopping’ in our misses department and looking closely at the tags. It was obvious she was trying to locate retail anti-theft devices that would prevent shoplifting. It so happened our store used some soft tags but the only hard tags we used were similar to the Alpha Ink Tags on the market now. At the time this was a brand new protection item on the market. When my thief did not find a tag she would ball an item up and put it in her purse. If she was suspicious that an electronic article surveillance (EAS) soft tag was present she would generally leave the item alone.
To clarify for those who may not be familiar with them. EAS tags come in hard and soft versions and both work with EAS towers, usually located near entrances/exits of stores. Tags operate using a radio frequency signal that transmits from the tag and is detected by the tower. When a tag is carried too close to a tower an alarm in the tower sounds and employees are alerted and respond to conduct receipt checks and recover merchandise. Some tags, like the Alpha Ink Tag have the EAS capability AND dye packs in them. If a shoplifter attempts to pry a dye tag off, the packets of dye break and stain the merchandise rendering it useless. This was one of the retail anti-theft devices our store had started to use on some high theft clothing like ball caps, swimwear and blue jeans.
Back to my story. So the shoplifter was being selective, looking for any retail anti-theft devices and filling her purse with items that were not protected. My supervisor maintained camera surveillance and I went to the salesfloor to be closer and to observe. When the would-be thief was done she walked towards the exit doors. I stopped her and identified who I was and asked a female area supervisor to meet me at the security office where I was taking the suspect. We arrived at the room and entered and I told the woman to take the stolen merchandise out of her purse. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes and trying to deny she had anything she said she had to go to the bathroom. Often shoplifters will try to use this ploy as an excuse to run or dump merchandise in the restroom. When I told her she would have to wait for the police she started to squat over a trash can and threatened to use it. The supervisor I had with me and I were both shocked but I told her I would add additional charges if she did (I’m not sure what I would charge her with but I was flabbergasted at that point). She stood back up (thank goodness) and I finally got her to give me the clothes out of her purse. It was at that point my boss, still in the camera room called over my radio and said he thought she had also put merchandise under her clothes and to make sure I had the police check when they arrived. Well, that set the shoplifter off and she lifted her dress all the way over her head and yelled, “I don’t got nothing else!” Well, she wasn’t lying about that. I told her to put the dress down and sit in a chair. The police did arrive and took her to jail without further incident. She was a known crack addict and had multiple shoplifting charges on her record. Needless to say this was one of the strangest shoplifting incidents I have ever dealt with.
To store managers and owners today, I recommend you use Alpha ink tags on ALL of your clothing items to stop shoplifting. You’ll deter thieves and you will avoid strange and awkward encounters like mine.
Alpha Ink Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Most of the time shoplifters dress, act and look like you and me. There is nothing that necessarily stands out about them except the behaviors they are exhibiting. They may be looking at the ceiling for cameras, they shoot glances at employees who walk nearby or they seem to be overly friendly with staff. There are also shoplifters who dress unseasonably for the weather, they wear multiple layers of clothes or coats and jackets when it is far too warm. Some will wear ball caps and sunglasses into the store to keep from being recognized or to prevent Loss Prevention from catching their face on cameras. In my early days as a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store chain I had two different shoplifting incidents when the perpetrators went in the opposite direction. In the first instance the suspect was ‘shopping’ in our misses department and looking closely at the tags. It was obvious she was trying to locate retail anti-theft devices that would prevent shoplifting. It so happened our store used some soft tags but the only hard tags we used were similar to the Alpha Ink Tags on the market now. At the time this was a brand new protection item on the market. When my thief did not find a tag she would ball an item up and put it in her purse. If she was suspicious that an electronic article surveillance (EAS) soft tag was present she would generally leave the item alone.
To clarify for those who may not be familiar with them. EAS tags come in hard and soft versions and both work with EAS towers, usually located near entrances/exits of stores. Tags operate using a radio frequency signal that transmits from the tag and is detected by the tower. When a tag is carried too close to a tower an alarm in the tower sounds and employees are alerted and respond to conduct receipt checks and recover merchandise. Some tags, like the Alpha Ink Tag have the EAS capability AND dye packs in them. If a shoplifter attempts to pry a dye tag off, the packets of dye break and stain the merchandise rendering it useless. This was one of the retail anti-theft devices our store had started to use on some high theft clothing like ball caps, swimwear and blue jeans.
Back to my story. So the shoplifter was being selective, looking for any retail anti-theft devices and filling her purse with items that were not protected. My supervisor maintained camera surveillance and I went to the salesfloor to be closer and to observe. When the would-be thief was done she walked towards the exit doors. I stopped her and identified who I was and asked a female area supervisor to meet me at the security office where I was taking the suspect. We arrived at the room and entered and I told the woman to take the stolen merchandise out of her purse. After hemming and hawing for a few minutes and trying to deny she had anything she said she had to go to the bathroom. Often shoplifters will try to use this ploy as an excuse to run or dump merchandise in the restroom. When I told her she would have to wait for the police she started to squat over a trash can and threatened to use it. The supervisor I had with me and I were both shocked but I told her I would add additional charges if she did (I’m not sure what I would charge her with but I was flabbergasted at that point). She stood back up (thank goodness) and I finally got her to give me the clothes out of her purse. It was at that point my boss, still in the camera room, called over my radio and said he thought she had also put merchandise under her clothes and to make sure I had the police check when they arrived. Well, that set the shoplifter off and she lifted her dress all the way over her head and yelled, “I don’t got nothing else!” Well, she wasn’t lying about that. I told her to put the dress down and sit in a chair. The police did arrive and took her to jail without further incident. She was a known crack addict and had multiple shoplifting charges on her record. Needless to say this was one of the strangest shoplifting incidents I have ever dealt with.
To store managers and owners today, I recommend you use Alpha ink tags on ALL of your clothing items to stop shoplifting. You’ll deter thieves and you will avoid strange and awkward encounters like mine.
Alpha Ink Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Employee Theft -4 WC Blog 389
Stop Shoplifting -5
Looks Can Be Deceiving And Criminals May Be Stealing Without Your Knowledge; Training To Prevent Employee Theft And Stop Shoplifting Is Available
Quiz time! You are watching your checkout lanes and you see a customer checking out with one of your cashiers. They seem to know each other from their friendly banter. The customer pays with cash, receives change and takes several bags and leaves. A few days later you see the same customer going through the same cashier’s line again. There are several available registers but he waits for this cashier. After everything is rung up the customer pays cash, gets change and leaves with his bags. Do you see anything wrong with this picture? Let’s try another one, a couple of young women come in the store with a baby stroller and a baby is in the stroller. They walk around for a bit and begin picking out clothing in the young women’s department. One young lady picks up the baby and carries him in her arms. They don’t have a shopping cart and they have a lot of clothes they have picked up. They place the clothes in the baby stroller rather than bothering with a shopping cart. Do you see anything that bothers you about this? Last one, a customer is looking at merchandise in a display case. He asks an associate to show him a piece of merchandise. He is allowed to hold the item and asks to look at another item. The employee selects a second item. All the while he is chatting with the associate. The customer asked to look at a third item from the showcase and the employee reaches for it to show the customer. Is this okay or not? The answer for each of these is they were real types of theft that I dealt with as a Loss Prevention Manager. Store managers and owners running small businesses rarely have the experience or training to deal with employee theft or stop shoplifting. Those small retail store owners also don’t have budgets for trained Loss Prevention Associates. In order to address this problem Loss prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) offers training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting.
With training designed to teach managers how to protect merchandise, identify vulnerabilities and develop programs to reduce shrinkage smaller stores can keep up profits in a world of ever-increasing criminal activity. Additionally, employers often don’t consider all of the ways employees may be stealing from them or from their customers. They also don’t know that there are signals that they can look for that may be warnings that an employee intends to or is stealing. LPSI’s programs will instruct owners and managers on various methods employees use to steal, from giving merchandise to friends, under charging family members for merchandise to keeping receipts from customers for fraudulent returns. Armed with the right tools and knowledge, managers can stop shoplifting and employee theft.
So what happened in each of the scenarios I presented earlier? In the first one, the cashier was having a friend come to the checkout line and would ring up the merchandise presented. Some of the merchandise was voided from the transaction and still bagged for the friend. Other items were rung up but then the price was changed to a lower amount. Because there was a balance to pay and it looked like the customer was charged and paid properly. Looks were deceiving. Live surveillances then showed the same friend coming back over the course of several days, establishing for my case that it was not a fluke or an accident. In the second scenario two young women were in the department store where I worked, pushing a baby stroller. One girl was holding the baby and they were filling the carriage with blue jeans and covering them up with a blanket inside the stroller. As a Loss Prevention Officer I was trained on identifying suspicious signs or signals shoplifters give off so I had a reason to watch them, otherwise I would not have caught them. In the final scenario the suspect was a known iPod thief and was clever at distracting employees and getting them to take too many items out of a showcase. The employee lost track of how many iPods he had removed from the case and the suspect was able to conceal one in his waistline while the employee was reaching for a third iPod. We lost that one. Unfortunately I was not working so I could not stop shoplifting in that instance. It was found on video review after an audit of the i-Pods found a discrepancy.
Can’t afford a trained Loss Prevention staff? Need more training for you and your managers to prevent shortage? Get LPSI training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting.
Need information on employee theft? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Quiz time! You are watching your checkout lanes and you see a customer checking out with one of your cashiers. They seem to know each other from their friendly banter. The customer pays with cash, receives change and takes several bags and leaves. A few days later you see the same customer going through the same cashier’s line again. There are several available registers but he waits for this cashier. After everything is rung up the customer pays cash, gets change and leaves with his bags. Do you see anything wrong with this picture? Let’s try another one, a couple of young women come in the store with a baby stroller and a baby is in the stroller. They walk around for a bit and begin picking out clothing in the young women’s department. One young lady picks up the baby and carries him in her arms. They don’t have a shopping cart and they have a lot of clothes they have picked up. They place the clothes in the baby stroller rather than bothering with a shopping cart. Do you see anything that bothers you about this? Last one, a customer is looking at merchandise in a display case. He asks an associate to show him a piece of merchandise. He is allowed to hold the item and asks to look at another item. The employee selects a second item. All the while he is chatting with the associate. The customer asked to look at a third item from the showcase and the employee reaches for it to show the customer. Is this okay or not? The answer for each of these is they were real types of theft that I dealt with as a Loss Prevention Manager. Store managers and owners running small businesses rarely have the experience or training to deal with employee theft or stop shoplifting. Those small retail store owners also don’t have budgets for trained Loss Prevention Associates. In order to address this problem Loss prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) offers training to reduce employee theft and training to stop shoplifting.
With training designed to teach managers how to protect merchandise, identify vulnerabilities and develop programs to reduce shrinkage smaller stores can keep up profits in a world of ever-increasing criminal activity. Additionally, employers often don’t consider all of the ways employees may be stealing from them or from their customers. They also don’t know that there are signals that they can look for that may be warnings that an employee intends to or is stealing. LPSI’s programs will instruct owners and managers on various methods employees use to steal, from giving merchandise to friends, under charging family members for merchandise to keeping receipts from customers for fraudulent returns. Armed with the right tools and knowledge, managers can stop shoplifting and employee theft.
So what happened in each of the scenarios I presented earlier? In the first one, the cashier was having a friend come to the checkout line and would ring up the merchandise presented. Some of the merchandise was voided from the transaction and still bagged for the friend. Other items were rung up but then the price was changed to a lower amount. Because there was a balance to pay and it looked like the customer was charged and paid properly. Looks were deceiving. Live surveillances then showed the same friend coming back over the course of several days, establishing for my case that it was not a fluke or an accident. In the second scenario two young women were in the department store where I worked, pushing a baby stroller. One girl was holding the baby and they were filling the carriage with blue jeans and covering them up with a blanket inside the stroller. As a Loss Prevention Officer I was trained on identifying suspicious signs or signals shoplifters give off so I had a reason to watch them, otherwise I would not have caught them. In the final scenario the suspect was a known iPod thief and was clever at distracting employees and getting them to take too many items out of a showcase. The employee lost track of how many iPods he had removed from the case and the suspect was able to conceal one in his waistline while the employee was reaching for a third iPod. We lost that one. Unfortunately I was not working so I could not stop shoplifting in that instance. It was found on video review after an audit of the i-Pods found a discrepancy.
Can’t afford a trained Loss Prevention staff? Need more training for you and your managers to prevent shortage? Get LPSI training to reduce employee theft and stop shoplifting.
Need information on employee theft? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
