Alpha Shark Tags – 5 WC blog 05
Return fraud – 4
Taking A Bite Out Of Return Fraud With Alpha Shark Tags
Retail theft is a major headache for any retailer. It may be an opportunist who takes a drink from a cooler and consumes it while shopping then drops it somewhere in the store and fails to pay for it. It could be a booster stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise then selling it on the street. Whatever the cause, all of it affects the profitability of the store. Retail theft prevention programs often focus on efforts to stop shoplifting, but neglect Return Fraud and the costly impact it has on businesses. While there are a myriad of tools available for deterring and preventing theft, preventing return fraud can be a daunting task. Using Alpha Shark Tags is one effective tool retailers may use to combat this activity.
Once upon a time I worked for a department store that sold higher end clothing lines. We had dye tags and electronic article surveillance tags on merchandise that assisted in theft deterrence, but were of little value in preventing return fraud. Since the merchandise was purchased through the point of sale the tags were properly removed or deactivated. I wish we had the Alpha Shark Tag available to us at that time. The Alpha Shark Tag is a small, brightly colored, plastic tag that is placed on clothing by the retailer. It is the purchaser who is required to remove it by cutting it off once they leave the store. It is a one-time use product and by forcing the customer to cut off the device after purchase the possibility of replacing it on the clothing and returning it is removed. The buyer can take it home, and try the merchandise on again or give it as a gift with the tag still intact. If the buyer or the gift recipient wants to return the item the tag should be required to be in place. Since the Alpha Shark Tag is so bright and visible, when properly attached to a garment, the attire cannot be worn with the intent of returning it later.
I recall the complaints of the sales associates and area managers who were responsible for processing returns of soft lines items. Often they suspected a dress or an outfit had been worn once or twice, but due to return policies of the company they were required to take the merchandise back. Now the issue was not that the item had been worn, it goes without saying there will be legitimate returns of clothing that may not fit, or simply are not a style someone prefers. The merchandise returns that angered the associates were the pieces of merchandise that smelled of perfume, cigarette smoke or other odors. The associates were well aware of items that had been purchased and worn to a party then refunded. My future wife worked in this store and educated me on what the perpetrators of the return fraud were doing. Depending on the placement of the merchandise tags, those committing the fraud would tuck the tag back in the clothing and tape it up inside the item. They might also carefully slide the tags off of the plastic attachment and when they were done wearing the item they would slip the tags back on, bring in the garment with the receipt and get their money back. I learned a lot from my wife and the other sales associates, but my hands were tied. As long as the “customer” followed the store policies, they were going to get their refund.
It is a fact that many who commit return fraud do not see themselves as doing anything wrong. They believe they are working within the guidelines established by the stores and therefore they think they are playing by the rules. The fact is, these “customers” are damaging merchandise and it is the retailer who is required to take a loss through a significant markdown or by being forced to defect the merchandise out of stock. It is a profit loss to the store either way. Companies large and small could minimize losses by implementing a strong fraud prevention program. Using Alpha Shark Tags and ensuring they are placed in a highly visible location on merchandise coupled with a clearly stated and enforced return policy will add to a store’s profit margin.
For more information about Alpha Shark Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Retail theft is a major headache for any retailer. It may be an opportunist who takes a drink from a cooler and consumes it while shopping then drops it somewhere in the store and fails to pay for it. It could be a booster stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise then selling it on the street. Whatever the cause, all of it affects the profitability of the store. Retail theft prevention programs often focus on efforts to stop shoplifting, but neglect return fraud and the costly impact it has on businesses. While there are a myriad of tools available for deterring and preventing theft, preventing return fraud can be a daunting task. Using Alpha Shark Tags is one effective tool retailers may use to combat this activity.
Once upon a time I worked for a department store that sold higher end clothing lines. We had dye tags and electronic article surveillance tags on merchandise that assisted in theft deterrence, but were of little value in preventing return fraud. Since the merchandise was purchased through the point of sale the tags were properly removed or deactivated. I wish we had the Alpha Shark Tag available to us at that time. The Alpha Shark Tag is a small, brightly colored, plastic tag that is placed on clothing by the retailer. It is the purchaser who is required to remove it by cutting it off once they leave the store. It is a one-time use product and by forcing the customer to cut off the device after purchase the possibility of replacing it on the clothing and returning it is removed. The buyer can take it home, and try the merchandise on again or give it as a gift with the tag still intact. If the buyer or the gift recipient wants to return the item the tag should be required to be in place. Since the Alpha Shark Tag is so bright and visible, when properly attached to a garment, the attire cannot be worn with the intent of returning it later.
I recall the complaints of the sales associates and area managers who were responsible for processing returns of soft lines items. Often they suspected a dress or an outfit had been worn once or twice, but due to return policies of the company they were required to take the merchandise back. Now the issue was not that the item had been worn, it goes without saying there will be legitimate returns of clothing that may not fit, or simply are not a style someone prefers. The merchandise returns that angered the associates were the pieces of merchandise that smelled of perfume, cigarette smoke or other odors. The associates were well aware of items that had been purchased and worn to a party then refunded. My future wife worked in this store and educated me on what the perpetrators of the return fraud were doing. Depending on the placement of the merchandise tags, those committing the fraud would tuck the tag back in the clothing and tape it up inside the item. They might also carefully slide the tags off of the plastic attachment and when they were done wearing the item they would slip the tags back on, bring in the garment with the receipt and get their money back. I learned a lot from my wife and the other sales associates, but my hands were tied. As long as the “customer” followed the store policies, they were going to get their refund.
It is a fact that many who commit return fraud do not see themselves as doing anything wrong. They believe they are working within the guidelines established by the stores and therefore they think they are playing by the rules. The fact is, these “customers” are damaging merchandise and it is the retailer who is required to take a loss through a significant markdown or by being forced to defect the merchandise out of stock. It is a profit loss to the store either way. Companies large and small could minimize losses by implementing a strong fraud prevention program. Using Alpha Shark Tags and ensuring they are placed in a highly visible location on merchandise coupled with a clearly stated and enforced return policy will add to a store’s profit margin.
For more information about Alpha Shark Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
HOW TO STOP SHOPLIFTING AT THE POINT OF SALE
One of the biggest areas of loss for any retail store is there cash register, or point of sale. Think about it… cashiers are an entry level position. Most people who’ve never worked a day in their lives will probably start off as a cashier. That’s scary to me. Someone with no experience, and in most cases, little maturity is now responsible for thousands of dollars every single day. Professional thieves know this, and will regularly target new cashiers to carry out theft/fraud at the registers. What are the common ways for theft to happen and what can you do to stop shoplifting at the point of sale?
It’s a busy Saturday afternoon. Your checkout lanes are wide open and your cashiers are trying their best to keep the crowd moving. A customer approaches a register operated by a brand new cashier and purchases a single bag of candy. He tenders his $.75 total with a $50 bill. Before you know it, he’s asked for change a few times and has really confused your cashier. The next thing you know, he walks out of the store $400 dollars richer. You’ve just been the victim of a quick change artist.
It’s late Friday night. You’re down to one cashier as the last of the customers filter out the store. A customer approaches the register with a $399 pair of wireless headphones. He hands it to the cashier and she passes it through the point of sale. She deactivates the checkpoint label and tells the customer his total. “That’ll be $39.99, sir”, She says with a smile. He smiles back, purchases the item and exits the store. Once again, you’re the victim of a theft. This time, the fraud scheme used is price switching.
It’s early Wednesday morning. It’s a historically slower sales day, so you start the day with only one or two cashiers. A customer approaches the register with several cases of water piled high in the basket. Your cheerful cashier scans one package and enters in the quantity. The customer gladly pays for a basket of water and exits the store. As he exits, the EAS towers sound. “It must be the basket sir, we don’t put checkpoint labels on water”, your door greeter says, waving the customer through. What both associates failed to see was the large quantity of razor blades the customer had hidden at the bottom of the basket.
You may think these incidents are few and far between, but I can guarantee you that this is happening in your store. It’s much easier and carries lower risk for a thief to operate in this manner. After all, if they are questioned by the cashier, they can just pretend that the item was out of sight. So what can you do to stop shoplifting at your registers? Training.
You don’t need the most advanced security system and you definitely don’t need a full time Loss Prevention staff. A group of well trained cashiers can put thousands of dollars back into your store each month. Do you have a solid training plan in place for each new hire? Or, does each new cashier receive about 15 minutes of “training” before they are thrown to the wolves? Unfortunately, most managers do not put enough emphasis on proper training and far too often, we see the second scenario take over. So what can you do?
You’ve been in the management business for a while now, I’m sure. You’ve seen all the ways people have tried to steal from you. Take that knowledge and build your training program around that. If your store is frequently targeted with price switches on certain products, provide initial as well as routine follow up training on how to identify pricing. It’s not good enough to give new cashiers a bunch of training and never follow up. My best stores provide training on a daily basis. There are always new theft trends and new products that arrive in the store each week, and it’s up to you as a manager to keep your cashiers one step ahead.
I mean this in the nicest way possible, but make LP awareness “dummy proof”. Let’s say you carry a wide assortment of headphones. They range in price from $3.99 to $499.99. Your cashier may never know the difference between any of them and thus, susceptible to being conned. Make a standard in the store that says that every headphone over $49.99 will have a checkpoint label. That way the cashier can identify the product as over X dollar amount if they see the label, making it easier for them to identify price switches.
You can take that example and go through your entire store. Not only are you helping your cashiers to identify the higher priced product, you’re in turn making it harder for thieves to steal it. Sometimes, to stop shoplifting, you have to take a holistic approach and attack the problem from several different angles. One of those should always be proper training on the cashier team.
For more information, contact us: Checkpoint Labels, or call 1.770.426.0547
One of the biggest areas of loss for any retail store is there cash register, or point of sale. Think about it… cashiers are an entry level position. Most people who’ve never worked a day in their lives will probably start off as a cashier. That’s scary to me. Someone with no experience, and in most cases, little maturity is now responsible for thousands of dollars every single day. Professional thieves know this, and will regularly target new cashiers to carry out theft/fraud at the registers. What are the common ways for theft to happen and what can you do to stop shoplifting at the point of sale?
It’s a busy Saturday afternoon. Your checkout lanes are wide open and your cashiers are trying their best to keep the crowd moving. A customer approaches a register operated by a brand new cashier and purchases a single bag of candy. He tenders his $.75 total with a $50 bill. Before you know it, he’s asked for change a few times and has really confused your cashier. The next thing you know, he walks out of the store $400 dollars richer. You’ve just been the victim of a quick change artist.
It’s late Friday night. You’re down to one cashier as the last of the customers filter out the store. A customer approaches the register with a $399 pair of wireless headphones. He hands it to the cashier and she passes it through the point of sale. She deactivates the Checkpoint label and tells the customer his total. “That’ll be $39.99, sir”, She says with a smile. He smiles back, purchases the item and exits the store. Once again, you’re the victim of a theft. This time, the fraud scheme used is price switching.
It’s early Wednesday morning. It’s a historically slower sales day, so you start the day with only one or two cashiers. A customer approaches the register with several cases of water piled high in the basket. Your cheerful cashier scans one package and enters in the quantity. The customer gladly pays for a basket of water and exits the store. As he exits, the EAS towers sound. “It must be the basket sir, we don’t put checkpoint labels on water”, your door greeter says, waving the customer through. What both associates failed to see was the large quantity of razor blades the customer had hidden at the bottom of the basket.
You may think these incidents are few and far between, but I can guarantee you that this is happening in your store. It’s much easier and carries lower risk for a thief to operate in this manner. After all, if they are questioned by the cashier, they can just pretend that the item was out of sight. So what can you do to stop shoplifting at your registers? Training.
You don’t need the most advanced security system and you definitely don’t need a full time Loss Prevention staff. A group of well trained cashiers can put thousands of dollars back into your store each month. Do you have a solid training plan in place for each new hire? Or, does each new cashier receive about 15 minutes of “training” before they are thrown to the wolves? Unfortunately, most managers do not put enough emphasis on proper training and far too often, we see the second scenario take over. So what can you do?
You’ve been in the management business for a while now, I’m sure. You’ve seen all the ways people have tried to steal from you. Take that knowledge and build your training program around that. If your store is frequently targeted with price switches on certain products, provide initial as well as routine follow up training on how to identify pricing. It’s not good enough to give new cashiers a bunch of training and never follow up. My best stores provide training on a daily basis. There are always new theft trends and new products that arrive in the store each week, and it’s up to you as a manager to keep your cashiers one step ahead.
I mean this in the nicest way possible, but make LP awareness “dummy proof”. Let’s say you carry a wide assortment of headphones. They range in price from $3.99 to $499.99. Your cashier may never know the difference between any of them and thus, susceptible to being conned. Make a standard in the store that says that every headphone over $49.99 will have a checkpoint label. That way the cashier can identify the product as over X dollar amount if they see the label, making it easier for them to identify price switches.
You can take that example and go through your entire store. Not only are you helping your cashiers to identify the higher priced product, you’re in turn making it harder for thieves to steal it. Sometimes, to stop shoplifting, you have to take a holistic approach and attack the problem from several different angles. One of those should always be proper training on the cashier team.
For more information about Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Checkpoint Systems-3
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Checkpoint Systems Deter Theft
When I hire a new employee, whether a cashier or a supervisor, part of their initial training involves how to handle shoplifters. Most of the time, they look at me in disbelief when I tell them about the theft issues we battle in our small retail pharmacy. All I have to do is show them the pages of detail sheets where I have scanned empty packages into our pilferage file. Or , depending on the day of the week, I can show them the basket of empty packages under my desk waiting to be scanned. After we go through our apprehension rules, we walk the store and I show them our antishoplifting tools, like our Checkpoint Systems, all the different size Alpha keepers, spider wraps, etc. We go over each tool, how it is applied, how it is removed, and what items are more likely to be used with the tools because they are commonly targeted.
Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes in the country. People generally don’t look at it as a “big deal.” Most incidents of theft can be chalked up as simple greed. They want something and they don’t want to pay for it. Many retailers are trending away from apprehension and going with lenient policies. Their employees are paid more per hour than the item that was stolen is even worth, so they don’t see prosecution as worth the trouble. The justice system is flawed in how it handles shoplifters. There’s no denying that. I see it over and over; we call the police, have them cuffed and stuffed, go to court five or more times, and then the thief gets a slap on the wrist. I have had the officer not show up, or even worse, I forgot the court date and didn’t show up, and the charges get dismissed. This is all really frustrating for any retailer. But I still want to stop shoplifting. I don’t give up, and I don’t ever let my guard down. I abide by my companies policies, but I also educate my staff.
Statistically speaking, one in eleven people will steal something today. Those people are caught less than half of the times they do it, and will be prosecuted even less than half of those times. This just perpetuates the problem.
I am a store manager, not a baby sitter. I don’t have time to monitor every single person that walks through the store in order to keep them from stealing. Loss prevention is not so much about catching thieves and putting them behind bars. That’s where a lot of stores get confused. They want to put up threatening signs, hassle every person coming through their front door, and inconvenience their customers. You can’t keep honest cash paying customers loyal to your store by treating them like criminals. Loss prevention is about truly preventing the loss from happening in the first place. Deterrence is the key to loss prevention. That’s why I rely on my antishoplifting tools. In my store, Checkpoint Systems is always ready and on patrol. My staff knows our mandatory list of items that must have an EAS label adhered before being put out for sale. There are items that must be encased in Alpha keepers and or wrapped in an Alpha spider wrap as well. Honestly, the empty packages add up, and those probably only reflect a quarter or what is really stolen. However, I do know that the tools we utilize are making a difference. With the addition of these valuable security measures, our shrink results have been cut in half. Fraudulent refunds have gone down dramatically since they can’t steal the stuff in the first place. Word has gotten out in the community, and incidents of theft have dropped off considerably. The numbers don’t lie; we are winning the battle and we have our Checkpoint Systems and all the gadgets that work with it to thank for that.
For more information on Checkpoint Systems, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
When I hire a new employee, whether a cashier or a supervisor, part of their initial training involves how to handle shoplifters. ost of the time, they look at me in disbelief when I tell them about the theft issues we battle in our small retail pharmacy. All I have to do is show them the pages of detail sheets where I have scanned empty packages into our pilferage file. Or , depending on the day of the week, I can show them the basket of empty packages under my desk waiting to be scanned. After we go through our apprehension rules, we walk the store and I show them our antishoplifting tools, like our Checkpoint Systems, all the different size Alpha keepers, spider wraps, etc. We go over each tool, how it is applied, how it is removed, and what items are more likely to be used with the tools because they are commonly targeted.
Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes in the country. People generally don’t look at it as a “big deal.” Most incidents of theft can be chalked up as simple greed. They want something and they don’t want to pay for it. Many retailers are trending away from apprehension and going with lenient policies. Their employees are paid more per hour than the item that was stolen is even worth, so they don’t see prosecution as worth the trouble. The justice system is flawed in how it handles shoplifters. There’s no denying that. I see it over and over; we call the police, have them cuffed and stuffed, go to court five or more times, and then the thief gets a slap on the wrist. I have had the officer not show up, or even worse, I forgot the court date and didn’t show up, and the charges get dismissed. This is all really frustrating for any retailer. But I still want to stop shoplifting. I don’t give up, and I don’t ever let my guard down. I abide by my companies policies, but I also educate my staff. Statistically speaking, one in eleven people will steal something today. Those people are caught less than half of the times they do it, and will be prosecuted even less than half of those times. This just perpetuates the problem.
I am a store manager, not a baby sitter. I don’t have time to monitor every single person that walks through the store in order to keep them from stealing. Loss prevention is not so much about catching thieves and putting them behind bars. That’s where a lot of stores get confused. They want to put up threatening signs, hassle every person coming through their front door, and inconvenience their customers. You can’t keep honest cash paying customers loyal to your store by treating them like criminals. Loss prevention is about truly preventing the loss from happening in the first place. Deterrence is the key to loss prevention. That’s why I rely on my antishoplifting tools. In my store, Checkpoint Systems are always ready and on patrol. My staff knows our mandatory list of items that must have an EAS label adhered before being put out for sale. There are items that must be encased in Alpha keepers and or wrapped in an Alpha spider wrap as well. Honestly, the empty packages add up, and those probably only reflect a quarter or what is really stolen. However, I do know that the tools we utilize are making a difference. With the addition of these valuable security measures, our shrink results have been cut in half. Fraudulent refunds have gone down dramatically since they can’t steal the stuff in the first place. Word has gotten out in the community, and incidents of theft have dropped off considerably. The numbers don’t lie; we are winning the battle and we have our Checkpoint Systems and all the gadgets that work with it to thank for that.
For more information on Checkpoint Systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
Checkpoint Systems- 4 , Checkpoint Labels- 1 , Stop Shoplifting-1 , Checkpoint Tags-1 , Retail Theft Prevention-1
What Kind Of Store Benefits From Checkpoint Systems?
What kind of store benefits from Checkpoint Systems? The short answer is any type. If you sell to the public and you allow people to freely browse in your building, then you will certainly see a return on your investment after installing genuine Checkpoint Systems. I see threatening signs hanging in convenience stores, thrift stores, upscale boutiques, grocery stores, and even gift shops. Just yesterday at a fall festival, I ventured inside a little shop that had a sign up that read: Free Ride In A Police Car If You Are Caught Stealing. What do you get if you don’t get caught? Free stuff. That’s the difference in stores that use signs and stores that use real tools for retail theft prevention.
I have been in convenience stores that utilize the signs too. They get tired of their novelty lighters and beef jerky disappearing, so they resort to using these scare tactics. Unfortunately, these stop very few people. When greed drives people to cross to the dark side, a sign is useless. Adhere some Checkpoint Labels to these items and then you send the message that you mean business. Most people are aware that in many states it is an automatic felony if they remove a tag. Boom. Then there are the expensive gift shops and boutiques. If you are the owner of a shop that sells retail inventory, then you have already shelled out plenty of money. When your merchandise walks out the door, you lose what you’ve already paid for plus the profit you would have gained from the sell. Your loss can be huge, depending on your mark-up percentage. With all the options available to you, it’s a no-brainer to take the plunge and take a look at what Checkpoint Systems can do for you.
In order to stop shoplifting, you have to be willing to put in the time and research to see what tools you need. There are Checkpoint Labels, as mentioned above. These are versatile labels that can be adhered to almost any package. They are available in many shapes, sizes, and colors. For the grocery store battling meat theft, there are labels for you too and they are even microwavable. If you are in the clothing and accessory business, they can be attached to the price labels, or even sewn into a pocket of seam. Of course, you may decide to go with the Checkpoint Tags. These can be attached as pins or even via lanyard. They are made to be strong, and their seams are tight so they reduce the temptation for the shoplifter to attempt to pry them apart. The pins do not harm the merchandise, and they are easily detached.
Either option you choose is going to work hard to deter theft from your operation. There is little training required for your store staff to become loss prevention experts. They will get to know what specific items in your store are targeted the most and they can then employ the tools you have to stop it from happening. When your customers come in they will immediately be greeted by the Checkpoint Systems pedestals and they will see the tools you use throughout the store. It sends a silent message that you are aware of the threat and you take it seriously. They will more than likely decide it’s not worth it to steal from you. That’s better than a free ride in a police car any day.
For more information on Checkpoint Systems, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
What kind of store benefits from Checkpoint Systems? The short answer is any type. If you sell to the public and you allow people to freely browse in your building, then you will certainly see a return on your investment after installing genuine Checkpoint Systems. I see threatening signs hanging in convenience stores, thrift stores, upscale boutiques, grocery stores, and even gift shops. Just yesterday at a fall festival, I ventured inside a little shop that had a sign up that read: Free Ride In A Police Car If You Are Caught Stealing. What do you get if you don’t get caught? Free stuff. That’s the difference in stores that use signs and stores that use real tools for retail theft prevention.
I have been in convenience stores that utilize the signs too. They get tired of their novelty lighters and beef jerky disappearing, so they resort to using these scare tactics. Unfortunately, these stop very few people. When greed drives people to cross to the dark side, a sign is useless. Adhere some Checkpoint Labels to these items and then you send the message that you mean business. Most people are aware that in many states it is an automatic felony if they remove a tag. Boom. Then there are the expensive gift shops and boutiques. If you are the owner of a shop that sells retail inventory, then you have already shelled out plenty of money. When your merchandise walks out the door, you lose what you’ve already paid for plus the profit you would have gained from the sell. Your loss can be huge, depending on your mark-up percentage. With all the options available to you, it’s a no-brainer to take the plunge and take a look at what Checkpoint Systems can do for you.
In order to stop shoplifting, you have to be willing to put in the time and research to see what tools you need. There are Checkpoint Labels, as mentioned above. These are versatile labels that can be adhered to almost any package. They are available in many shapes, sizes, and colors. For the grocery store battling meat theft, there are labels for you too and they are even microwavable. If you are in the clothing and accessory business, they can be attached to the price labels, or even sewn into a pocket of seam. Of course, you may decide to go with the Checkpoint Tags. These can be attached as pins or even via lanyard. They are made to be strong, and their seams are tight so they reduce the temptation for the shoplifter to attempt to pry them apart. The pins do not harm the merchandise, and they are easily detached.
Either option you choose is going to work hard to deter theft from your operation. There is little training required for your store staff to become loss prevention experts. They will get to know what specific items in your store are targeted the most and they can then employ the tools you have to stop it from happening. When your customers come in they will immediately be greeted by the Checkpoint Systems pedestals and they will see the tools you use throughout the store. It sends a silent message that you are aware of the threat and you take it seriously. They will more than likely decide it’s not worth it to steal from you. That’s better than a free ride in a police car any day.
For more information on Checkpoint Systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
RWHBLOG23
“Pants Steaks” to Cattle Rustling: Think Outside the Box on Retail Theft Prevention
I was reading with interest today about the return of the great “pant steak” capers. No, a pant steak is not a special cut of meat like a flatiron. It is the old shoplifter scheme where someone stuffs a pack of T-bones down their pants and heads for the door. Grocers have suffered from this brazen technique for years and often retailers would forgive and allow the person to take the steaks, thinking that they were trying to feed a hungry family (Steaks? Really? What about some cold cuts?). The interesting part of this article was that shoplifters in Austin, Texas would then sell the meet to local unsuspecting bar-b-que restaurants where it would end up on your plate. The local authorities didn’t appreciate that as much as I wouldn’t. This also started me thinking. Why couldn’t some good old retail theft prevention strategy help alleviate some of this problem?
Others have already thought of the solution but it is important to revisit it since meat prices are increasing, even causing cattle rustling to make a reappearance as a favorite criminal pastime. Many grocery stores already have electronic article surveillance such as the Checkpoint security system to stop shoplifting. The EAS could be incorporated into Checkpoint labels that are visible to the consumer as well as hidden Checkpoint tags inserted inside the meat package. The shoplifter might tear off the label but think nothing of the Checkpoint tag being inside the package. When he or she goes to leave your store, bells and whistles announce his or her crime to the world.
This will not only thwart the shoplifter who tries to make a “pants steak” but also the shoplifter who stuffs it into her purse or grabs it and puts it into a paid bag of groceries. Equally as important, it will also act as strong retail theft prevention for your employees taking your meat packages home without paying for them. The key is to keep the number of people who know on a “need to know, right to know” basis as you do all your retail theft prevention strategies that are covert in nature.
I have not worked retail grocery loss prevention; however, I have worked as a police officer who used to respond to these shoplifting incidents when they were very common. Stores that had these issues did not leverage their retail theft prevention strategies to the fullest, such as the utilization of Checkpoint security system and Checkpoint tags. They were fortunate to catch the shoplifting by observations of other customers or their own floor staff. The shoplifter would often sing the tale of woe, trying to get the empathy of the manager, saying that he or she was stealing to feed his or her family. Almost without fail, we would find that they had the money in their pocket to pay for it or were going to sell it or had also shoplifted beer or cigarettes as well (everyone knows they go with steak). It took some education of the managers before they figured out that most people who were fighting to feed their families would not steal to do it and would find other ways.
I give that little short primer on motivation just so we understand and agree that shoplifting meat and food is still shoplifting and is also subject to organized retail crime. Just ask those Austin bar-b-que restaurants who were cited for improperly sourcing their meat. In writing this, I also wanted to just remind retailers as well as myself that the Checkpoint security system can be used in a variety of applications outside of what comes to mind immediately and we must think wide and far to determine new ways to use Checkpoint tags to protect our merchandise of all kinds. Hmm…cattle rustling…are you thinking what I am thinking?
For more information about the Checkpoint security system contact us at www.antishoplifting.net or call 1-770-426-0547.
I was reading with interest today about the return of the great “pant steak” capers. No, a pant steak is not a special cut of meat like a flatiron. It is the old shoplifter scheme where someone stuffs a pack of T-bones down their pants and heads for the door. Grocers have suffered from this brazen technique for years and often retailers would forgive and allow the person to take the steaks, thinking that they were trying to feed a hungry family (Steaks? Really? What about some cold cuts?). The interesting part of this article was that shoplifters in Austin, Texas would then sell the meet to local unsuspecting bar-b-que restaurants where it would end up on your plate. The local authorities didn’t appreciate that as much as I wouldn’t. This also started me thinking. Why couldn’t some good old retail theft prevention strategy help alleviate some of this problem?
Others have already thought of the solution but it is important to revisit it since meat prices are increasing, even causing cattle rustling to make a reappearance as a favorite criminal pastime. Many grocery stores already have electronic article surveillance such as the Checkpoint security system to stop shoplifting. The EAS could be incorporated into Checkpoint labels that are visible to the consumer as well as hidden Checkpoint tags inserted inside the meat package. The shoplifter might tear off the label but think nothing of the Checkpoint tag being inside the package. When he or she goes to leave your store, bells and whistles announce his or her crime to the world.
This will not only thwart the shoplifter who tries to make a “pants steak” but also the shoplifter who stuffs it into her purse or grabs it and puts it into a paid bag of groceries. Equally as important, it will also act as strong retail theft prevention for your employees taking your meat packages home without paying for them. The key is to keep the number of people who know on a “need to know, right to know” basis as you do all your retail theft prevention strategies that are covert in nature.
I have not worked retail grocery loss prevention; however, I have worked as a police officer who used to respond to these shoplifting incidents when they were very common. Stores that had these issues did not leverage their retail theft prevention strategies to the fullest, such as the utilization of Checkpoint security system and Checkpoint tags. They were fortunate to catch the shoplifting by observations of other customers or their own floor staff. The shoplifter would often sing the tale of woe, trying to get the empathy of the manager, saying that he or she was stealing to feed his or her family. Almost without fail, we would find that they had the money in their pocket to pay for it or were going to sell it or had also shoplifted beer or cigarettes as well (everyone knows they go with steak). It took some education of the managers before they figured out that most people who were fighting to feed their families would not steal to do it and would find other ways.
I give that little short primer on motivation just so we understand and agree that shoplifting meat and food is still shoplifting and is also subject to organized retail crime. Just ask those Austin bar-b-que restaurants who were cited for improperly sourcing their meat. In writing this, I also wanted to just remind retailers as well as myself that the Checkpoint security system can be used in a variety of applications outside of what comes to mind immediately. We must think wide and far to determine new ways to use Checkpoint tags to protect our merchandise of all kinds. Hmm…cattle rustling…are you thinking what I am thinking?
For more information about the Checkpoint security system, contact us or call 1-770-426-0547 or www.antishoplifting.net
