Staff Editor — Page 137

Criminal Background Checks and known risks

April 1, 2013 by Staff Editor

A crucial step in the hiring process is employee background checks. Prevent future theft in the workplace by taking extra precautions now! Pre-employment screening which includes criminal background checks is vital in the process of protecting your store and hiring the most excellent employees.

I received a tip from a manager when working as an LP detective; apparently one of his associate’s friends visited him and shopped in the store frequently. This particular associate’s register consistently turned up short as well.

I began to work a case on this associate. I watched him and built my case over the course of several weeks. His friend came to visit one evening. The two of them shopped together around the store, choosing merchandise from the associate’s department. The friend ended up with six shirts and three pairs of jeans.

The associate rang the friend for one shirt and one pair of jeans but bagged the other seven unpaid for items at the register. The associate walked his friend to the exit where my fellow detective was waiting. Needless to say, we pulled both suspects into the LP office and notified the police.

When the police arrived, they ran the associate in their system to check for priors. The associate carried an alias which was linked to two charges of robbery. He had a bench warrant out for his arrest. We estimated a total of $2,000 in register shortage over his six months of employment. We never obtained a cash theft admission from him, but the shortage ended after his termination.

This entire debacle could have been avoided by the simple process of conducting pre-employment screening along with background checks. $2,000 of cash and an unknown amount of merchandise theft would have never occurred if only criminal background checks had been implemented by the background check company, the background check experts.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to learn about retail anti-theft devices and Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems as well as to find more information on the background check expert, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks and pre-employment screening. You may also contact us at the background check company or call 1.770.426.0547.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks

Learn to build off of someone else’s legwork – Internal Theft

April 1, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

I received a phone call recently from a friend of mine who works for a national retail chain as a district level investigator. She observed an undercover police officer escorting someone back to his patrol car as she was leaving a store. She also noticed that the parking lot was suddenly filled with squad cars surrounding the area.

Needless to say, she was rather intrigued by these events and decided to stay and observe what was unfolding before her eyes. One of the store employees who had been sitting in his car was handcuffed and taken away moments later.

She immediately went into the store to let the store managers know that there was a very distinct possibility that this employee would not be returning from his lunch break.

Although the protocol of innocent until proven guilty is vital to our legislative system, it does not follow that we should be negligent in regard to our due diligence.

Initiating a valid employee theft investigation when doubt exists about an employee’s integrity in the workplace is vital in protecting assets, reducing losses and assuring that only trustworthy employees remain employees in one’s business.

An employee theft investigation yields no evidence of wrong doing if the employee under suspicion is clean. However, if you have an employee selling drugs, or conducting other illicit activities on his or her lunch break in the store’s parking lot, odds are good that something will be found when conducting an employee theft investigation on such an employee.

We like to think as investigators that we are on top of every employee theft incident. We don’t ever want to think that we overoked or weren’t smart enough to catch every instance of employee theft or internal theft happening right under our nose.

It is wisdom to set aside our pride and allow someone else’s investigation open the door to conducting the employee theft investigation indicated as a result of another’s expertise and good fortune.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help deter employee theft and internal theft challenges and facilitate employee theft investigation.

For more information about employee theft, employee theft investigation and internal theft please contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: employee theft, employee theft investigation, internal theft

Simplify Everything- Retail Theft Prevention

March 31, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Anti Shoplifting and retail theft prevention is often overcomplicated. Elaborate plans and programs are dreamt up and put into place only to fail time and time again.

Using Checkpoint security tags are still one of the most effective deterrents to stop shoplifting. This visual cue tells the potential thief that the merchandise is not an easy target. No shoplifter ever wants to be noticed! This is one of the biggest reasons why Checkpoint systems are so effective.

In order to stop shoplifting, you have to provide a reason why a shoplifter should not steal from your store. Retail theft prevention using Checkpoint security tags give the shoplifters that reason to go elsewhere.

The tags provide a visual deterrent as well as an audible one. Long are the days where the tags only sound an alarm at the door. Now Checkpoint systems will alarm inside the department or store if a tag is tampered with. Because the alarms are built into the tags, the alarms can even follow a perpetrator outside of the store if the stolen merchandise they are carrying has a tag that was not deactivated.

This simplifies the need for elaborate plans in retail theft prevention. Just apply the tags and watch your incidents of theft drop.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.

For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint labels, checkpoint security system, Checkpoint security tags, checkpoint systems, Checkpoint tags, retail theft prevention, stop shoplifting

Fun at Work with Clothing Security

March 29, 2013 by Staff Editor

I had the opportunity to be on the flip side recently. After spending years trying to prevent losses and impart excellent clothing security measures for my stores, I recently had a partnership with one of the managers at a neighboring retailer.

We called each other frequently to share ORT information and discuss trends. One day he asked me to help him do some shoplifter awareness training for his store. He asked me to play the part of a customer and commence stealing. He wanted to discover if his associates were paying attention to what was going on in their respective departments.

I entered the store on the scheduled date and time. The first things I did was approach their accessories department and choose a large handbag. I quickly found one without the Checkpoint tags attached. As I rode an escalator to the clothing department upstairs, I pulled the price tags, etc. off. It now looked like the bag was mine to everyone on the second level.

I spent the next thirty minutes stuffing the bag with as much merchandise as I could fit into the bag. I used as many shoplifter-warning signs as I could think of. I scrutinized the items to find which ones did not have any clothing security tag attached and began selecting multiple pieces of clothing without regard to size or color. My goal was to get out the door without sounding a clothing alarm.

I shopped the top five shrink areas and made it out the door with approximately $4,000 of merchandise. My colleague recounted later some of the phone calls from associates as they observed my actions. I don’t feel too badly about being found out by some of the associates – they all learned a great deal that day. Not only did they learn more about how a shoplifter operates, but they also learned how critical Checkpoint tags and clothing security are to the process of controlling shrink.

Please note: This training exercise was conducted in an extremely controlled environment. We had approval from both corporate headquarters and all parties signed a written agreement. The associates were also aware that the test would be conducted on that day; and the entire test was filmed as well. All merchandise was returned in mint condition immediately after I exited the store.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase clothing alarm and clothing security tags.

For more information on Checkpoint tags, clothing security, clothing alarm or clothing security tags please contact us via security tags on clothes or call 1.770.426.0547.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Checkpoint tags, clothing alarm, Clothing Security, clothing security tags, security tags on clothes

Prom and Shark Tags

March 26, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Can you believe that Prom for most schools is only a few months away? Unfortunately, Prom season can be both profitable and costly for many retailers who sell formal gowns. Many customers (especially in this down economy) buy the dress and then return it after the dance. Wouldn’t you consider returning the dress after it has been worn as theft? How do you prevent shoplifting of this type?

This creates multiple problems. The staff invests a lot of time and energy to sell the product and the store doesn’t need these refunds hitting the bottom line. It is even more costly when many dresses are returned damaged with the claim that the dress has never been worn. To combat this shrinkage, I suggest retail anti-theft devices like Shark Tag manufactured by Alpha Security.

There are many choices of retail anti-theft devices designed to deter and ultimately prevent shoplifting as the goal. Most retail anti-theft devices are sensor tags which sound an alarm when a customer attempts to steal them. These are great tools with which to prevent shoplifting; however, they do not prevent the “wear and return” issue.

A Shark Tag offers the solution to this issue. Shark Tag, a plastic tag that pinches (not punctures) into place on clothing, is best used in conspicuous places – like the middle of the chest area. The customer must remove it (or look ridiculous) before wearing the product. Since most stores’ refund policy excludes taking back worn items, this tag offers proof that the item has been worn. One can simply point out that without the Shark Tag in place the store can’t do the refund instead of arguing over whether or not the customer is lying about wearing the product. Voila! Problem solved!

Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti-theft devices which can prevent shoplifting and increase profits in your business.

For more information on how you can utilize retail anti-theft devices in your store and prevent shoplifting, please contact us by calling 770.426.0547 or peruse our website at www.LossPreventionSystems.com.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Prevent Shoplifting, Shark Tag

Internal promotions still require background checks

March 25, 2013 by Staff Editor

I recently interviewed with a company for a loss prevention position. Right from the beginning they made it clear that they were well aware of the fact that I was overqualified for the position they were offering me.

They wanted me a step down although the next level position was open. Their reasoning was the fact that they prefer to promote from within. It was extremely rare for this company to hire external candidates for upper level positions.

This is a very smart business move for many reasons. Several advantages persist when promoting from within over hiring from the outside. Some factors simply cannot be tracked – such as work ethic – even with the use of pre- employment screening.

Pre-employment screening simply cannot provide information revealing how a candidate responds in unpredictable situations. This information is quite significant and helps to determine (with first-hand knowledge of skill sets) when or if a promotion is justified. Promoting from within is also a great motivator for existing employees once they recognize that advancement opportunities are attainable.

Taking care to conduct further employee background checks is also crucial when a company promotes from inside its ranks. Passing all of the pre-employment screenings does not guarantee that a further employee background check is an insignificant step in the validation process.

Further criminal employee background checks will screen for any negative events that may have occurred since an employee’s start date. It is also an opportunity to screen for factors that may not have been necessary upon hiring. It is crucial to consider if a promotion will give an employee access to restricted files, cash or other assets, or possibly a new set of potentially liable situations. Knowing of criminal activity revealed by processing criminal background checks is an important step in the process.

For more information on background check experts, background checks, criminal background checks, employee background checks, or pre-employment screening please contact us at background check company or call 1.770.426.0547.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, background check experts, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks

Lock and Key- Bottle Locks

March 25, 2013 by Staff Editor

Have you ever gone into a liquor store and stood in the aisle for what seems to be a seriously long amount of time? Yeah, I’ll admit, I have. It is usually when I am trying to decide between a few brands of a particular type of liquor I am not completely familiar with.

It is even harder to decide when the store’s liquor bottle security is keeping the bottles behind a locked glass case.

There is no longer a need to keep the bottles behind a locked case when they are using the Alpha Security EASy Bottle locks. These bottle locks keep the liquor on the shelf when it needs to be sold. These same bottle locks also keep the contents of open bottles secured when they are being used for tasting purposes.

While most people are reasonably aware of the need for liquor bottle security, there are limits to what they will endure while shopping. Anything that impedes what they are trying to accomplish is a reason to shop in one store or to not shop there ever again.

When bottles are hidden under lock and key you and your customers fate are in the hands of your staff. If your employees are top notch and are ready to jump at the needs of every person that walks in your doors- no matter how busy you are- then keep the cases and keys.

If you realize that you and your staff have limitations to the level of service you can provide. I would suggest bottle locks for your liquor bottle security. It lets you leave the bottles on the shelf and your customers in good spirits.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Security Tagged With: Alpha Security, bottle lock, bottle locks, bottle security, easy bottle, liquor bottle security

Love The Dickens Out of Them – An Unfortunate Case of Employee Theft

March 25, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

If you have ever had to sit through loss prevention seminars or loss prevention workshop on employee theft, you would probably hear about stealing merchandise or cash. You may not have been taught about other types of employee caused losses.

I had the most charming, elderly grandmother working in one of my clothing stores. There were two things she loved above all sewing, and her grandchildren.

To a lesser degree, she loved her job in the children’s department too, and would frequently buy little items of clothing and trinkets for her grandkids. Most of the items came from the clearance racks, as she did not have a lot of disposable income.

Several months after she was with us, I started to notice that there were major discounts on her employee purchases. These were not the normal percentage off discounts for clearance items. These were major discounts being taken on brand new items.

I started snooping around, and one day, I stumbled across two brand new Halloween costumes out of place in a stockroom. As I picked the costumes up, the grandmother in question hurried to tell me what a shame it was that the zippers were broken on them. She had set them aside to buy them later, figuring she could just sew them up and fix them. She even showed me where there was a little rip in the seams of the zippers.

It was no coincidence that these costumes just happened to be in her grandchildren’s sizes. It was also no coincidence they were the only two costumes with zipper issues we had all season.

Did I mention our store policy was to take 40% off for a broken zipper?

Was grandmother shoplifting? No! My supervisor had to walk me through proper handling of that case. Sad as it was, granny was let go for employee theft via discount abuse and vandalism. Loss prevention training books alone can’t show you how to handle a case like this. This is a situation that having a mentor to talk you through makes all the difference.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Filed Under: Seminar Tagged With: Employee Theft, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, shoplifting

Sodas are on me today- Employee Theft

March 25, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

We recently had a situation with one of our soda vendors. These are commission-based positions that are paid based off of how much product we invoice from them. If they take away bad/ old product, it is deducted from their monthly totals, and of course from their commissions. While they are not specifically employees of our store, this form of vendor theft falls into the category of employee theft.

This vendor had been stealing back his own product for about five years. He would drop off and invoice for ten cases of soda. After sitting and chatting for a bit, the manager would go off to attend to other things. The vendor would then put cases back in boxes and wheel them back out. Anyone who saw him just assumed it was old product that he was supposed to take back. No one ever thought to check for an expiration date on the drinks, much less to see if the cases were properly documented on an invoice.

The store was not reconciling their invoices with each shipment, like they were supposed to, and the vendor knew it. That is why this internal theft was so easy to do. No one noticed, and no one paid attention or questioned what was going on.

It wasn’t until my first set of inventories that I noticed huge quantities of sodas missing. When I saw this same trend in several stores in the district, I knew I needed to start an employee theft investigation.

After noticing the lack of credits on the invoices in several stores, and seeing the same vendor in each store I knew something was going on. It didn’t take long to figure out what had been happening. The vendor’s company was notified and the vendor was terminated immediately.

For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase CCTV Systems that can help you stop Employee Theft and Internal Theft problemsand helpwith your Employee Theft Investigation.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: employee theft, employee theft investigation, internal theft

Dive On In – Stop Shoplifting

March 24, 2013 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

For many retailers, it is time to think about swimsuits. The winter’s coats and sweaters are slowly but surely being replaced with warm weather merchandise and apparel. This change in merchandise needs to bring a change in our retail theft prevention ways.

Swimsuits are small and easy to conceal. They are just begging to be taken. It is common that they are stolen in a fitting room. Sometimes they are simply concealed in a purse or pocket on the sales floor. So what’s a progressive retailer to do? Well, look no further than Checkpoint systems.

Chances are you already have a Checkpoint Security System in place that uses the basic soft labels or hard tags. That means you already have a step in the right direction for retail theft prevention. The simple applications of anti shoplifting devices are sure to make the right splash in your swimwear sales this year!

I frequently see retailers avoiding the use of hard tags because they are afraid they will damage the stretchy material of the suit. The Lycra easily snags on the metal pins.

There are other alternatives to the traditional pin tags that do not damage the material. They make sure your retail theft prevention doesn’t do a cannonball this year.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.