CP Hard Tags-3, Stop Shoplifting-1 , EAS-3, EAS Tags-1
The Lesson Never Learned
A few months ago I stopped a shoplifter at a store I don’t even work at. I wondered what they did when they discovered the pile of nail polishes in the floor after we left. The answer is: *drum roll please* nothing at all. To be clear, this store does not employ any product protection tools such as Checkpoint Systems. My daughter and I went to the same little beauty supply store yesterday and there were two employees there. When we walked in, they were both standing in an aisle chatting. When we were ready to check out, that’s where we found them still. So here is my summary of our shopping trip.
We walk in the front door, and neither of the ladies bothers to speak, much less even look away from their conversation with one another. My first observation is that they have no type of electronic article surveillance that I can see. You may not want your cameras in visible locations, but having some sort of deterrence system in plain sight is important. It sends the message that your business is serious about its plan to stop shoplifting. The next thing I noticed was some bags hanging right at the door. They weren’t shopping bags; they were free with the purchase of a hair appliance that was also being displayed beside the door. I wonder who thought “let’s put these $80 hair straighteners right here on a table next to the front door”. Since there was no type of EAS tags on those boxes, I imagine those bags come in pretty handy for shoplifters. As I kept walking around the store, it became clear that this place is the ultimate nightmare of every loss prevention employee I know. There are implements and accessories that retail upwards of $20 each, and are merely packaged in thin plastic. They are so small and thin, a person could easily clean off the entire peg in just a moment. If you keep walking down the aisles, you come to a huge selection of expensive nail polishes. I cannot even begin to imagine how many bottles of these they lose on a daily basis. Then you come to another big section of expensive air appliances. As if putting them right beside the front door isn’t a bad enough idea, putting them in the back of the store is so much worse. Your inventory can’t defend itself. It’s such a bad store layout, and not having any kind of product protection in place, like Checkpoint Hard Tags, is just beyond imagination to me.
The really bad thing about this visit was talking to my daughter about it. I said this place makes blogging too easy. She said “I’ll send you some links to all the lifting sites that write about it.” It turns out this little chain store is famous. They tell all the shoplifters-in-training that this is the place to start your new career. Practice at the beauty supply store because they have no EAS system, they don’t use any type of Check Hard Tags or labels, and the minimal staff on duty has better things to do than watch or interact with shoppers. No store can thrive or even survive with this type of business model. This type of store sells high margin merchandise, so not only are they losing the inventory they paid for, they are also losing all the profits they would be making from the sales. When businesses make the decision to not invest in an EAS system, or utilize tools such as Checkpoint Hard Tags and labels, they set themselves up for failure and huge shrink results. Don’t be that business.
For more information on Checkpoint Hard Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
A few months ago I stopped a shoplifter at a store I don’t even work at. I wondered what they did when they discovered the pile of nail polishes in the floor after we left. The answer is: *drum roll please* nothing at all. To be clear, this store does not employ any product protection tools such as Checkpoint Systems. My daughter and I went to the same little beauty supply store yesterday and there were two employees there. When we walked in, they were both standing in an aisle chatting. When we were ready to check out, that’s where we found them still. So here is my summary of our shopping trip.
We walk in the front door, and neither of the ladies bothers to speak, much less even look away from their conversation with one another. My first observation is that they have no type of electronic article surveillance that I can see. You may not want your cameras in visible locations, but having some sort of deterrence system in plain sight is important. It sends the message that your business is serious about its plan to stop shoplifting. The next thing I noticed was some bags hanging right at the door. They weren’t shopping bags; they were free with the purchase of a hair appliance that was also being displayed beside the door. I wonder who thought “let’s put these $80 hair straighteners right here on a table next to the front door”. Since there was no type of EAS tags on those boxes, I imagine those bags come in pretty handy for shoplifters. As I kept walking around the store, it became clear that this place is the ultimate nightmare of every loss prevention employee I know. There are implements and accessories that retail upwards of $20 each, and are merely packaged in thin plastic. They are so small and thin, a person could easily clean off the entire peg in just a moment. If you keep walking down the aisles, you come to a huge selection of expensive nail polishes. I cannot even begin to imagine how many bottles of these they lose on a daily basis. Then you come to another big section of expensive air appliances. As if putting them right beside the front door isn’t a bad enough idea, putting them in the back of the store is so much worse. Your inventory can’t defend itself. It’s such a bad store layout, and not having any kind of product protection in place, like Checkpoint Hard Tags, is just beyond imagination to me.
The really bad thing about this visit was talking to my daughter about it. I said this place makes blogging too easy. She said “I’ll send you some links to all the lifting sites that write about it.” It turns out this little chain store is famous. They tell all the shoplifters-in-training that this is the place to start your new career. Practice at the beauty supply store because they have no EAS system, they don’t use any type of Checkpoint Hard Tags or labels, and the minimal staff on duty has better things to do than watch or interact with shoppers. No store can thrive or even survive with this type of business model. This type of store sells high margin merchandise, so not only are they losing the inventory they paid for, they are also losing all the profits they would be making from the sales. When businesses make the decision to not invest in an EAS system, or utilize tools such as Checkpoint Hard Tags and labels, they set themselves up for failure and huge shrink results. Don’t be that business.
For more information on Checkpoint Hard Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Stop Shoplifting-4, Checkpoint Systems-4, Checkpoint labels-2, retail anti-theft device-1
Either Watch The Door Or Set Up A Checkpoint
I work for a small retail pharmacy, and we utilize many different forms of electronic article surveillance. We really have to. Cameras are great, but they are generally for reactive purposes. When you find a section wiped out, you go back and review footage to see if you can find the culprits. When you make the choice to use tools like Checkpoint security tags and Checkpoint labels, Alpha keepers, and Alpha spider wraps, you are actively engaging in theft deterrence. Otherwise your choices are to lock everything up behind glass in cases. You can’t logically stand at the front door and monitor each and every person entering and exiting, while still ringing people up and providing customer service. In one particular store I went into today, they had no type of retail anti-theft device and the lone employee in the store was doing absolutely nothing to stop shoplifting.
I had just worked ten hours, and then went home to a teenager begging to go to the local beauty supply store. I agree, of course, because I am a sucker. It’s a small place, but they have a lot of very expensive items. Salon brand nail polishes, cosmetics, hair colors and professional hair salon tools are just a small sampling of the merchandise this place carries. When we walked in the front door, the loss prevention guru in me noticed there was no sign of Checkpoint Systems. I hear a voice come from the rear of the store asking if we need any help. The woman is at the back of the aisle closest to the wall, pricing inventory. She cannot see the front door; she can only hear the bell ring when it opens. We tell her we are fine, and she puts her head back down to work on whatever she’s got herself into. I think right then, if it’s up to this employee to stop shoplifting, the manager or owner of this store may as well throw in the towel. So we are looking around, and the bell over the door dings again, the employee offers help from her corner in no man’s land, and the young woman that entered says she is fine just like we did. The good thing for the store employee is that I had a bad feeling about this fellow shopper.
I walked around the corner while my daughter lost herself in the hair color aisle, and I watched the newcomer. She went to the most expensive nail color rack, the good ones you find in the way too expensive nail salons, and looked around. She didn’t see me watching her, and she started shoving bottle after bottle into her bag. No Checkpoint Systems and no one at the register or even near the front door, for that matter, meant she was going to get a big haul. Unfortunately for her, even when I am not at work, I will step in and stop shoplifting in it’s tracks. I was still in my store uniform shirt and still had on my nice official looking name tag. I was not about to let this lady stuff her bag full of $12 each nail polishes and run out the door. I walked right up behind her and said quietly that she had until the count of two to put her bag down on the floor and step away from it. Her shoulders slumped and without turning around, she followed the orders. (I know, right!!) She turned around then and saw me; her face was ghost white and her eyes were huge. She stammered out she was going to pay for those. I just looked her right in the eyes and told her to bend down, pick up the bag, dump it and leave. She complied, and she never even questioned the other store emblem sewn onto the sleeve of my shirt or printed on my name tag. I do wonder what that employee thought when she found that pile of nail polishes in the floor.
I hate to think about how much inventory this store is losing. It literally makes me shiver. With the addition of Checkpoint Systems, they could be protecting their valuable merchandise. They could identify what they lose the most of and tack on some Checkpoint labels and tags. Then when these yahoos come in there to wipe them out, they will get a big loud surprise as soon as they get too close to the door with unpaid items. If you have employees like this, holding keys to your business and running the show while you’re gone, you need to see what Checkpoint Systems can do for you.
For more information on ways to Stop Shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I work for a small retail pharmacy, and we utilize many different forms of electronic article surveillance. We really have to. Cameras are great, but they are generally for reactive purposes. When you find a section wiped out, you go back and review footage to see if you can find the culprits. When you make the choice to use tools like Checkpoint security tags and Checkpoint labels, Alpha keepers, and Alpha spider wraps, you are actively engaging in theft deterrence. Otherwise your choices are to lock everything up behind glass in cases. You can’t logically stand at the front door and monitor each and every person entering and exiting, while still ringing people up and providing customer service. In one particular store I went into today, they had no type of retail anti-theft device and the lone employee in the store was doing absolutely nothing to stop shoplifting.
I had just worked ten hours, and then went home to a teenager begging to go to the local beauty supply store. I agree, of course, because I am a sucker. It’s a small place, but they have a lot of very expensive items. Salon brand nail polishes, cosmetics, hair colors and professional hair salon tools are just a small sampling of the merchandise this place carries. When we walked in the front door, the loss prevention guru in me noticed there was no sign of Checkpoint Systems. I hear a voice come from the rear of the store asking if we need any help. The woman is at the back of the aisle closest to the wall, pricing inventory. She cannot see the front door; she can only hear the bell ring when it opens. We tell her we are fine, and she puts her head back down to work on whatever she’s got herself into. I think right then, if it’s up to this employee to stop shoplifting, the manager or owner of this store may as well throw in the towel. So we are looking around, and the bell over the door dings again, the employee offers help from her corner in no man’s land, and the young woman that entered says she is fine just like we did. The good thing for the store employee is that I had a bad feeling about this fellow shopper.
I walked around the corner while my daughter lost herself in the hair color aisle, and I watched the newcomer. She went to the most expensive nail color rack, the good ones you find in the way too expensive nail salons, and looked around. She didn’t see me watching her, and she started shoving bottle after bottle into her bag. No Checkpoint Systems and no one at the register or even near the front door, for that matter, meant she was going to get a big haul. Unfortunately for her, even when I am not at work, I will step in and stop shoplifting in it’s tracks. I was still in my store uniform shirt and still had on my nice official looking name tag. I was not about to let this lady stuff her bag full of $12 each nail polishes and run out the door. I walked right up behind her and said quietly that she had until the count of two to put her bag down on the floor and step away from it. Her shoulders slumped and without turning around, she followed the orders. (I know, right!!) She turned around then and saw me; her face was ghost white and her eyes were huge. She stammered out she was going to pay for those. I just looked her right in the eyes and told her to bend down, pick up the bag, dump it and leave. She complied, and she never even questioned the other store emblem sewn onto the sleeve of my shirt or printed on my name tag. I do wonder what that employee thought when she found that pile of nail polishes in the floor.
I hate to think about how much inventory this store is losing. It literally makes me shiver. With the addition of Checkpoint Systems, they could be protecting their valuable merchandise. They could identify what they lose the most of and tack on some Checkpoint labels and tags. Then when these yahoos come in there to wipe them out, they will get a big loud surprise as soon as they get too close to the door with unpaid items. If you have employees like this, holding keys to your business and running the show while you’re gone, you need to see what Checkpoint Systems can do for you.
For more information on ways to Stop Shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Alpha Cable Lock-5 WC blog 22
Prevent Shoplifting-5
Shoes Walking Out On You? Alpha Mini Cable Locks Can Bring Theft To A Screeching Halt!
How do you stop shoplifting in a department like shoes? This was one of those departments where I found it difficult to prevent theft when I was an Assets Protection Manager. We regularly found old shoes in a box sitting on a shelf…YUCK! I was fairly certain they were not donations to the store. Of course we also had the regular shoplifters who would steal shoes, box and all without leaving anything behind. We didn’t have a lot we could do except place soft EAS tags on the shoes, but generally this was restricted to higher priced shoes. Soft tags were problematic because they were pulled off with the hang tags. Alpha Security products include a mini Alpha Cable Lock as an effective means to prevent shoplifting of shoes (as well as other hard to tag merchandise).
Larger hard tags tend to be too big and bulky to place on shoes and can interfere with trying the shoe on. Soft EAS tags on a box or on hang tags make no sense because hang tags can be pulled off and when on a box, the shoes are just removed from the box. The mini Alpha Cable Lock has a steel cable that can be run through a shoe eyelet or around a sandal strap. The cable is secured in an alarmed locking mechanism. The alarm device will sound if the cable is cut and store staff will be alerted that someone is attempting to steal a pair of shoes. If a shoplifter attempts to leave the store with a pair of shoes secured by a cable lock, the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm will be triggered. Because the device is secured through the shoe eyelet, the shoe is not damaged from pins holes. The cable of the Alpha Cable Lock is small enough to fit through the eyelet while the Alarm mechanism is large enough to provide a visual deterrent to prevent shoplifting
Why is it such a big deal to focus on shoe theft? Because it is a very real issue and with the prices of shoes being what they are, one pair of shoes walking out of a store can be a significant loss. There is a particular brand of athletic shoe that has prices over $300.00 for a single pair of shoes. A name brand hiking/outdoors boot has styles well over $200.00 a pair. There are women’s dress shoes advertised for over $150 for a pair of high heeled shoes. If a shoe has laces, straps, clasps or buckles, the mini Alpha Cable Lock offers the retailer the protection needed to prevent shoplifting. Certainly not ALL shoes can be tagged if they don’t have a place to secure the tag, but there are methods to help stop the shoplifting of those styles, such as displaying a single shoe or as an alternative, using the soft EAS tags (at least for lower priced shoes).
The question arises, “Why not display one shoe of every style and prevent shoplifting altogether?” I would argue that there are two reasons for not doing this. From a customer service stand point a merchant has to personally assist every customer that wants to try on shoes. On a busy day this may not be practical. I believe every customer should be greeted and made to feel welcome, however not every customer wants one on one attention the entire time they are in a store. This can actually drive customers away if they feel “crowded”. The second reason not to display shoes like this is that customers will find a shoe they want and try it on, but if they like it they want to try on the other shoe also. Not having the second shoe available, a customer has to find an employee and then the employee has to go to the stockroom and find the other shoe. I have been one of those customers, with one sales person in the department trying to assist three or four families and I had to wait for assistance to allow my son to try on the second shoe. No retailer should be willing to risk losing a customer because of a lack of service.
Don’t let shoplifters walk all over you. Use Alpha Cable Locks to prevent shoplifting of your shoes. You will improve the level of customer service you can provide without adding payroll and your customers can make selections, take them to a point of sale without waiting for additional assistance and this translates to more profit!
For more information on Alpha Cable Locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
How do you stop shoplifting in a department like shoes? This was one of those departments where I found it difficult to prevent theft when I was an Assets Protection Manager. We regularly found old shoes in a box sitting on a shelf…YUCK! I was fairly certain they were not donations to the store. Of course we also had the regular shoplifters who would steal shoes, box and all without leaving anything behind. We didn’t have a lot we could do except place soft EAS tags on the shoes, but generally this was restricted to higher priced shoes. Soft tags were problematic because they were pulled off with the hang tags. Alpha Security products include a mini Alpha Cable Lock as an effective means to prevent shoplifting of shoes (as well as other hard to tag merchandise).
Larger hard tags tend to be too big and bulky to place on shoes and can interfere with trying the shoe on. Soft EAS tags on a box or on hang tags make no sense because hang tags can be pulled off and when on a box, the shoes are just removed from the box. The mini Alpha Cable Lock has a steel cable that can be run through a shoe eyelet or around a sandal strap. The cable is secured in an alarmed locking mechanism. The alarm device will sound if the cable is cut and store staff will be alerted that someone is attempting to steal a pair of shoes. If a shoplifter attempts to leave the store with a pair of shoes secured by a cable lock, the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm will be triggered. Because the device is secured through the shoe eyelet, the shoe is not damaged from pins holes. The cable of the Alpha Cable Lock is small enough to fit through the eyelet while the Alarm mechanism is large enough to provide a visual deterrent to prevent shoplifting
Why is it such a big deal to focus on shoe theft? Because it is a very real issue and with the prices of shoes being what they are, one pair of shoes walking out of a store can be a significant loss. There is a particular brand of athletic shoe that has prices over $300.00 for a single pair of shoes. A name brand hiking/outdoors boot has styles well over $200.00 a pair. There are women’s dress shoes advertised for over $150 for a pair of high heeled shoes. If a shoe has laces, straps, clasps or buckles, the mini Alpha Cable Lock offers the retailer the protection needed to prevent shoplifting. Certainly not ALL shoes can be tagged if they don’t have a place to secure the tag, but there are methods to help stop the shoplifting of those styles, such as displaying a single shoe or as an alternative, using the soft EAS tags (at least for lower priced shoes).
The question arises, “Why not display one shoe of every style and prevent shoplifting altogether?” I would argue that there are two reasons for not doing this. From a customer service stand point a merchant has to personally assist every customer that wants to try on shoes. On a busy day this may not be practical. I believe every customer should be greeted and made to feel welcome, however not every customer wants one on one attention the entire time they are in a store. This can actually drive customers away if they feel “crowded”. The second reason not to display shoes like this is that customers will find a shoe they want and try it on, but if they like it they want to try on the other shoe also. Not having the second shoe available, a customer has to find an employee and then the employee has to go to the stockroom and find the other shoe. I have been one of those customers, with one sales person in the department trying to assist three or four families and I had to wait for assistance to allow my son to try on the second shoe. No retailer should be willing to risk losing a customer because of a lack of service.
Don’t let shoplifters walk all over you. Use Alpha Cable Locks to prevent shoplifting of your shoes. You will improve the level of customer service you can provide without adding payroll and your customers can make selections, take them to a point of sale without waiting for additional assistance and this translates to more profit!
For more information on Alpha Cable Locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
AutoPeg Tag-5 WC blog 35
Stop Shoplifting-3
Electronic Article Surveillance-4
Are Empty Pegs A Problem? Auto Peg Tags Can Improve Product In-Stocks
Sometimes there are things I see in the area of merchandise protection that make me just scratch my head and wonder, “What was the point of this?” For example, when locking peg hooks were first introduced in a store I worked for, I really thought someone had lost their mind. We put the peg hooks in place and then we hung the merchandise on the peg. The head scratcher was that the merchandise we locked on the pegs mostly had flimsy cardboard or plastic hangtags! Now I don’t pretend to be all that smart but I was certainly able to see that these peg hooks were probably not going to do a lot to stop shoplifting. It was not going to take much effort to tear the product hang tab and remove the merchandise from the peg. Sure enough, the bad guys figured out that cardboard and plastic hang tabs were pretty easy to defeat. It took some time but eventually someone else in the company also noticed that inventory continued to disappear from stores, in spite of the fact we were using locking peg hooks. Soon we were receiving shipments of hard, plastic hang tab reinforces. Checkpoint hard tags has taken the idea of a tab reinforcer a step further and they have introduced the iS Auto Peg Tag.
The iS Auto Peg Tag attaches to the portion of the product packaging that has the peg hook tab. The tag works with an electronic article surveillance system so it will cause an antenna to alarm if someone attempts to leave the store with the tag still on the product. The tags are easy to apply in the store and easy to remove at the register with the S3 hand key. Another benefit is that the tag does not increase the product packaging size so it does not reduce the quantity of product on a peg hook. Limiting product on a shelf or on a peg hook has the potential for reducing sales because fewer products are immediately available to the customer.
Electronic Article Surveillance products such as Checkpoint hard tags can’t stop shoplifting altogether, but they can deter a significant portion of theft. The casual shoplifter who steals on an impulse may be deterred simply by seeing the tag and the “Security Protected” wording on an iS Auto Peg Tag. These shoplifters tend to steal for a thrill or a dare or they just have an urge to take something they want. They aren’t necessarily willing to take serious risks if they think it may result in an alarm alerting store personnel when they leave the store. For professional boosters, those who come in to steal large quantities of products in a single trip, electronic article surveillance may not be enough to stop them from shoplifting. Electronic article surveillance does, however, cause them to consider other factors such as whether or not the store has additional security measures in place such as closed circuit television cameras or store Loss Prevention employees. Often boosters are looking for peg hook merchandise such as razor blades and batteries. These items tend to be somewhat expensive but are easily resold online, at flea markets or to individuals who will buy the product for a few cents on the dollar and resell it in a small “Mom and Pop” shop. iS Auto Peg Tags used with anti-theft tools such as locking peg hooks can make it hard for boosters to get product off of the peg quickly.
The ability to controlling inventory starts with putting measures in place to stop shoplifting. Checkpoint’s iS Auto Peg Tag is one tool that will work with your store EAS system to deter thieves and keep your store profitable.
For more information on AutoPeg Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Sometimes there are things I see in the area of merchandise protection that make me just scratch my head and wonder, “What was the point of this?” For example, when locking peg hooks were first introduced in a store I worked for, I really thought someone had lost their mind. We put the peg hooks in place and then we hung the merchandise on the peg. The head scratcher was that the merchandise we locked on the pegs mostly had flimsy cardboard or plastic hangtags! Now I don’t pretend to be all that smart but I was certainly able to see that these peg hooks were probably not going to do a lot to stop shoplifting. It was not going to take much effort to tear the product hang tab and remove the merchandise from the peg. Sure enough, the bad guys figured out that cardboard and plastic hang tabs were pretty easy to defeat. It took some time but eventually someone else in the company also noticed that inventory continued to disappear from stores, in spite of the fact we were using locking peg hooks. Soon we were receiving shipments of hard, plastic hang tab reinforces. Checkpoint hard tags has taken the idea of a tab reinforcer a step further and they have introduced the iS Auto Peg Tag.
The iS Auto Peg Tag attaches to the portion of the product packaging that has the peg hook tab. The tag works with an electronic article surveillance system so it will cause an antenna to alarm if someone attempts to leave the store with the tag still on the product. The tags are easy to apply in the store and easy to remove at the register with the S3 hand key.
Another benefit is that the tag does not increase the product packaging size so it does not reduce the quantity of product on a peg hook. Limiting product on a shelf or on a peg hook has the potential for reducing sales because fewer products are immediately available to the customer.
Electronic Article Surveillance products such as Checkpoint hard tags can’t stop shoplifting altogether, but they can deter a significant portion of theft. The casual shoplifter who steals on an impulse may be deterred simply by seeing the tag and the “Security Protected” wording on an iS Auto Peg Tag. These shoplifters tend to steal for a thrill or a dare or they just have an urge to take something they want. They aren’t necessarily willing to take serious risks if they think it may result in an alarm alerting store personnel when they leave the store. For professional boosters, those who come in to steal large quantities of products in a single trip, electronic article surveillance may not be enough to stop them from shoplifting. Electronic article surveillance does, however, cause them to consider other factors such as whether or not the store has additional security measures in place such as closed circuit television cameras or store Loss Prevention employees. Often boosters are looking for peg hook merchandise such as razor blades and batteries. These items tend to be somewhat expensive but are easily resold online, at flea markets or to individuals who will buy the product for a few cents on the dollar and resell it in a small “Mom and Pop” shop. iS Auto Peg Tags used with anti-theft tools such as locking peg hooks can make it hard for boosters to get product off of the peg quickly.
The ability to controlling inventory starts with putting measures in place to stop shoplifting. Checkpoint’s iS Auto Peg Tag is one tool that will work with your store EAS system to deter thieves and keep your store profitable.
For more information on AutoPeg Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
CP Labels-3 , EAS-1 , Stop Shoplifting-1
The Moose Is Loose
We dealt with a booster a couple months ago that was using an accomplice nicknamed Moose. After we talked to him and got some information and names from him, the rampant thefts stopped. Now he’s back. We made some gains with what he gave us though. He said their group was aware of our electronic article surveillance methods, and they generally chose to avoid our stores because of them. He said when they came in the front door they always looked for the telltale Checkpoint pedestals, and would even go so far as checking to see if the power lights were on. The lady that boosts with him has even stopped carrying a foil-lined purse since many versions of Checkpoint Systems can detect those and sound an alarm as the suspects enter. They know what they can defeat and what they don’t stand a chance against. If retailers want to stop shoplifting, they have to use the tools that are available and know which ones really work to deter thieves.
When Moose and his friend entered my store Monday night, they were greeted and offered help. After that, they used the next six minutes to explore the aisles and steal $75 worth of merchandise. I type that with a smile on my face because it could have been so much more. They walked down the side and went to the hair regrowth formulas. That was what they stole from us on their first visit a few months ago. Now, however, they are wrapped up tight with Alpha Spider Wraps and they know they can’t get them off. Then they went to the oral hygiene section and checked the teeth whitening kits. Since those are encased in Alpha Keepers, they paused only for a moment there too. Then they ventured over to the denture creams. That is where they stopped and stuffed her bag full. All ten boxes are gone. When I get those items back next week in our delivery, we will have to do something different. Otherwise, I know they will just keep taking them every week. First of all, they will definitely have Checkpoint Labels adhered to them before they go on the shelves. We have our store name and city printed on our stock of Checkpoint Labels, so in addition to the obvious protection they also offer a source of identification for the police if they are stolen. After they left that aisle, they went over to the cough and cold section. They stopped in front of the nose strips that help people breathe, but those are all in Alpha Keepers too.
My store was not her first victim of the week though. I had just had an alert sent to my store from one of our stores that is in a town about half an hour away. The same woman had been there but with a different guy the day before. She swiped all their hair regrowth boxes and stuffed them down in the same purse she brought to my store. I asked that store manager what she had been using on the packages, and she said nothing. I asked her if she planned to continue that plan or if maybe she was considering adding Checkpoint Labels or some other tool to prevent the couple from wiping her out again. The thing is this woman will keep coming back every week, usually with that same huge bag, but many times with a different guy. We can’t count on her to change her ways, but we can make changes and take the necessary steps to stop her. We have too many tools at our disposal to let her get away with this.
For more information on Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
We dealt with a booster a couple months ago that was using an accomplice nicknamed Moose. After we talked to him and got some information and names from him, the rampant thefts stopped. Now he’s back. We made some gains with what he gave us though. He said their group was aware of our electronic article surveillance methods, and they generally chose to avoid our stores because of them. He said when they came in the front door they always looked for the telltale Checkpoint pedestals, and would even go so far as checking to see if the power lights were on. The lady that boosts with him has even stopped carrying a foil-lined purse since many versions of Checkpoint Systems can detect those and sound an alarm as the suspects enter. They know what they can defeat and what they don’t stand a chance against. If retailers want to stop shoplifting, they have to use the tools that are available and know which ones really work to deter thieves.
When Moose and his friend entered my store Monday night, they were greeted and offered help. After that, they used the next six minutes to explore the aisles and steal $75 worth of merchandise. I type that with a smile on my face because it could have been so much more. They walked down the side and went to the hair regrowth formulas. That was what they stole from us on their first visit a few months ago. Now, however, they are wrapped up tight with Alpha Spider Wraps and they know they can’t get them off. Then they went to the oral hygiene section and checked the teeth whitening kits. Since those are encased in Alpha Keepers, they paused only for a moment there too. Then they ventured over to the denture creams. That is where they stopped and stuffed her bag full. All ten boxes are gone. When I get those items back next week in our delivery, we will have to do something different. Otherwise, I know they will just keep taking them every week. First of al, they will definitely have Checkpoint Labels adhered to them before they go on the shelves. We have our store name and city printed on our stock of Checkpoint Labels, so in addition to the obvious protection they also offer a source of identification for the police if they are stolen. After they left that aisle, they went over to the cough and cold section. They stopped in front of the nose strips that help people breathe, but those are all in Alpha Keepers too.
My store was not her first victim of the week though. I had just had an alert sent to my store from one of our stores that is in a town about half an hour away. The same woman had been there but with a different guy the day before. She swiped all their hair regrowth boxes and stuffed them down in the same purse she brought to my store. I asked that store manager what she had been using on the packages, and she said nothing. I asked her if she planned to continue that plan or if maybe she was considering adding Checkpoint Labels or some other tool to prevent the couple from wiping her out again. The thing is this woman will keep coming back every week, usually with that same huge bag, but many times with a different guy. We can’t count on her to change her ways, but we can make changes and take the necessary steps to stop her. We have too many tools at our disposal to let her get away with this.
For more information on Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
