Return Fraud-5 WC Blog 258
Wardrobing-5
Alpha Shark Tags-5
Wardrobing Tags-3
The Lying Witch And Wardobing; A Sales Associate’s Story Of Dealing With Return Fraud
While I have many stories I have shared from my experiences in retail as a Loss Prevention Manager and a sales specialist, my wife also worked in retail for a long time and has her own share of stories to share. One of her problem customers was regularly engaged in return fraud. This particular fraud is now known as wardrobing but at the time the only term for it was return fraud because it involved returning clothing that had already been worn. On the surface that may not sound like an issue however, the condition of the clothes being returned often required them to be marked down or marked out of stock. This particular customer would purchase clothes but would not try them on in the store. She would tell my wife she had to take them home to see how they looked with her shoes and jewelry. Several days later this customer would bring the clothing back and it would sometimes smell of perfume and occasionally there would be make-up stains on them. This happened so regularly that my wife was certain the clothes were being worn out to events and then returned with the tags and receipt. The customer insisted she had not worn them and had only tried them on. My wife described her as a “witch” due to her smug attitude, knowing the return would be accepted. Because of store return policies my wife had to process the refund and give the woman her money back. Store owners still face the same problems today, but now they have Alpha Shark Tags available to them to prevent return fraud.
Alpha Shark Tags are one-time use, brightly colored wardrobing tags that are pinned to a piece of clothing in a prominent location. Unlike retail anti-theft devices that are removed by cashiers at a point of sale upon purchase, wardrobing tags remain on the item and are removed by the customer when the customer gets home. The purchaser tries on the clothing, makes sure they like them and once they have finalized their decision to keep the garments, THEN they cut off the Alpha Shark Tags. What if they don’t like the items once they try them on? As long as the wardrobing tags are intact they can return the items with the receipt and store hang tags and get a refund. The same applies if they were to give the items as gifts.
How do Alpha Shark Tags prevent the purchaser from wardrobing and wearing clothes on a night out? Do you recall I mentioned the tags are brightly colored and placed in a visible location? People engaged in wardrobing hide hang tags or carefully remove them and then wear the clothing and no one can tell the clothes are ready to be returned after the evening is over. Shark Tags can’t be cut off or the clothes can’t be returned and if they are in a prominent area of the clothes, they can’t be hidden. Those engaged in return fraud are trying to portray an image and can’t wear something that has a colored tag hanging from it.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Okay, so the customer returned some clothes, how much of a problem can one customer be?” The issue is not one customer and one return. There are people that make wardrobing a regular practice and do not see an issue with it. The problem retailers have to deal with is they frequently have to mark down the price of the clothes that are returned or remove them from stock completely. This affects the profit margin for a store and in some cases where employees work on a commission it negatively impacts them as well. That sales commission they were counting on after spending time with the customer selling them their outfit is gone once the return is processed.
Avoid the negative effects of dealing with return fraud as my wife had to do. Use Alpha Shark Tags on all of your clothing and watch your profits grow and your wardrobing witches melt away.
Wardrobing is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
While I have many stories I have shared from my experiences in retail as a Loss Prevention Manager and a sales specialist, my wife also worked in retail for a long time and has her own share of stories to share. One of her problem customers was regularly engaged in return fraud. This particular fraud is now known as wardrobing but at the time the only term for it was return fraud because it involved returning clothing that had already been worn. On the surface that may not sound like an issue however, the condition of the clothes being returned often required them to be marked down or marked out of stock. This particular customer would purchase clothes but would not try them on in the store. She would tell my wife she had to take them home to see how they looked with her shoes and jewelry. Several days later this customer would bring the clothing back and it would sometimes smell of perfume and occasionally there would be make-up stains on them. This happened so regularly that my wife was certain the clothes were being worn out to events and then returned with the tags and receipt. The customer insisted she had not worn them and had only tried them on. My wife described her as a “witch” due to her smug attitude, knowing the return would be accepted. Because of store return policies my wife had to process the refund and give the woman her money back. Store owners still face the same problems today, but now they have Alpha Shark Tags available to them to prevent return fraud.
Alpha Shark Tags are one-time use, brightly colored wardrobing tags that are pinned to a piece of clothing in a prominent location. Unlike retail anti-theft devices that are removed by cashiers at a point of sale upon purchase, wardrobing tags remain on the item and are removed by the customer when the customer gets home. The purchaser tries on the clothing, makes sure they like them and once they have finalized their decision to keep the garments, THEN they cut off the Alpha Shark Tags. What if they don’t like the items once they try them on? As long as the wardrobing tags are intact they can return the items with the receipt and store hang tags and get a refund. The same applies if they were to give the items as gifts.
How do Alpha Shark Tags prevent the purchaser from wardrobing and wearing clothes on a night out? Do you recall I mentioned the tags are brightly colored and placed in a visible location? People engaged in wardrobing hide hang tags or carefully remove them and then wear the clothing and no one can tell the clothes are ready to be returned after the evening is over. Shark Tags can’t be cut off or the clothes can’t be returned and if they are in a prominent area of the clothes, they can’t be hidden. Those engaged in return fraud are trying to portray an image and can’t wear something that has a colored tag hanging from it.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Okay, so the customer returned some clothes, how much of a problem can one customer be?” The issue is not one customer and one return. There are people that make wardrobing a regular practice and do not see an issue with it. The problem retailers have to deal with is they frequently have to mark down the price of the clothes that are returned or remove them from stock completely. This affects the profit margin for a store and in some cases where employees work on a commission it negatively impacts them as well. That sales commission they were counting on after spending time with the customer selling them their outfit is gone once the return is processed.
Avoid the negative effects of dealing with return fraud as my wife had to do. Use Alpha Shark Tags on all of your clothing and watch your profits grow and your wardrobing witches melt away.
Wardrobing is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
