Shoplifters’ Paranoia

February 17, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

When I first began working in Loss Prevention, I was always curious why most shoplifters removed the packaging from items they were stealing, whether it was a video game, pair of earrings, or eyeliner pencil. At first I naively believed the main motivation was to be able to claim that the merchandise was theirs if they were detained for the theft. Over time, I began questioning shoplifters I had detained about why they had removed the plastic wrap from a fragrance or took the DVD out of the case and placed it in their pocket.

The surprising answer I received consistently was that they knew that retailers and vendors often hid RF security labels in product packaging; however, they didn’t know what they may look like, where they were placed, or what items they were reserved for. Instead of taking the time to examine the item or question if it would be cost-effective to place an RF label on a pack of gum, they tend to err on the side of caution and rid themselves of the risk of setting off those EAS towers when they leave the store.

While nothing can replace a vigilant and dedicated Loss Prevention associate in the mission to stop shoplifting, RF security tags are most beneficial in deterring the category of shoplifters referred to as “the opportunist.” They’re not familiar with merchandise protection measures and have no idea what makes the door beep when some people walk out. The professional shoplifter may not be daunted by the sight of RF labels, but there is nothing more obvious than spotting a customer in an empty aisle ripping off the packaging on a product. Also, it buys Loss Prevention time to get in place for an apprehension.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, and other RF labels that can help you stop shoplifting in your business.

For more information on Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, RF labels, RF security labels, RF security tags, and how to stop shoplifting contact us at RF label or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, RF label, RF labels, RF security labels, RF security tags, stop shoplifting

Establishing a Known Theft Tracking System

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

One of the best ways for any retail store to enhance their retail theft prevention program is to establish a known theft tracking system. A good known theft tracking system is essential to anti shoplifting efforts. The greatest thing about known theft tracking is it shows you the areas that need to be watched. It will also let you know high priced, high theft items that should have checkpoint security tags that may not previously be integrated into your checkpoint security system.

The known theft tracking method I developed for my store’s retail theft prevention program is percentage based. I broke up the store into numerous blocked sections based on the type of product in that given area. Any time employees find known theft packaging they log it for area it originated, area found, and day of the week. On a weekly basis I go through the log and find percentages for each section previously stated. Knowing where your product is being taken from and concealed gives your retail theft prevention team an insurmountable advantage in their anti shoplifting efforts.

Adding to the advantage of knowing where your theft is coming from, tracking known theft allows you to see the individual merchandise being stolen in a straight forward, organized manner. This allows you to take defensive steps in protecting your merchandise by protecting high theft items with checkpoint security tags. Using your known theft to enhance your checkpoint security system will in turn decrease your known theft and increase profits. Checkpoint systems can only truly be successful if the correct merchandise is protected. The only way to protect the right merchandise is to know what the correct merchandise is.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting, Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

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

Critical Thinking

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor

Critical thinking is defined in the 2009 Pearson Education as follows: A business leader who thinks clearly, sorts through the clutter and anticipates well is using his or her critical thinking skills. A large amount of companies are using a critical thinking assessment prior to hiring or promoting candidates for management positions. Using this definition, it is not so far fetched that background checks should be just as important as a soft skill like critical thinking.

Pre employment screening is critical to successfully hiring a candidate. Running a thorough and comprehensive background check lays the foundation for what you as a company require from your personnel. You are sending a message to all potential candidates that you expect and will only accept the best. Good behaviors in both professional and personal lives are required for your open position.

I always recommend following up pre employment screening with an additional background check before an employee is promoted. It continues to reinforce your acceptance of only the best person for the position. No one can loosen the reigns on their personal lives, just because they have been hired on to your company.

Going back to that definition of a critical thinker, each of those traits will shine through in a background check. Did they anticipate well for their financial future and stay out of uncontrollable debt? Did they think clearly in difficult or stressful situations and avoid run ins with the law? Were they able to sort through personal clutter to stay gainfully employed versus termination?

Use your assessments to find critical thinkers. Use background checks to reiterate their level of success.

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

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

Clothing Security: Are You Seeing Every Facet?

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor

Having a clothing alarm in your store is obviously the best clothing security device you can employ. That being said the system is only as good as the people and policies that work and are enforced within those same four walls. Being a multi unit loss prevention manager allowed me to see how good or how bad a clothing alarm could work depending on the store staffs. In the good stores the employees were trained from day one on the importance of clothing security, how to place security tags on clothes, how the clothing security tags functioned and how to properly react to a clothing alarm.

Knowledgeable store managers knew that having a Checkpoint system was a benefit that if worked with properly could reduce the store’s shrink. They also understood that the weakest employee would be their weakest link in shrink reduction. An inept employee could affect the clothing alarm system a number of ways; for example, they could improperly place security tags on clothes causing damage to the product or offering little or no deterrence to the potential shoplifter, they could simply forget to apply the checkpoint tags and they could improperly react to a clothing alarm by overreacting or not reacting at all. The good store managers are always on top of training and auditing compliance of the consistency and proper application of the checkpoint tags.

One of my stores was constantly having issues with attempts and successful defeats of the clothing security tags. This is a huge red flag that there are much larger problems within a store. I immediately called my district sales counterpart to review and crunch some numbers. We sat down and reviewed inventory counts as well as daily, weekly and monthly sales trends and quickly realized that shrink was trending up and sales were trending down. I knew this would be the case but I wanted my sales partner to be there when I put the two trends together so that he could see how I came about that conclusion from a few defeated checkpoint tags.

To forcibly attempt to defeat security tags on clothes you bring a lot of attention to yourself as well as make a lot of noise. Having this many repeated offenses within one store told me that the staff was not employing good customer service and had become task oriented as opposed to paying attention to their surroundings and more importantly to the customer. I invited my sales partner to sit in the LP office and watch the performance of his staff. Within an hour we had concluded that indeed a mass training effort was needed, and as a side note he helped me and one of my store detectives apprehend a shoplifter who had cut a couple checkpoint tags and stuffed shirts down his pants.

My sales partner could not believe we had found poor sales numbers and poor customer service practices as a result of finding defeated clothing security tags. I explained to him that the checkpoint system is helpful on many levels and every piece if studied can give you insight as to the entire business not merely loss prevention. From that point on we shared a great partnership that opened many insights for both of us into either side of the business. That type of partnership allows for deeper understanding of business decisions that on the surface you with which you may not agree. Clothing security is imperative and necessary but one must never forget to utilize every facet of the checkpoint system. I always tell my peers never doubt what a checkpoint system can do for your business.

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

For more information on Checkpoint tags, clothing security, clothing alarm, or clothing security tags contact us at 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

Retail anti theft devices for hardline product stores

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

If you have a retail store, no matter what its primary product line is, you have shoplifters. Just as sheep herders have to worry about wolves and fish in the ocean have to worry about sharks, store owners have to worry about thieves. It is sad that it is such a hard fact of life but despite the consequences that thieves face they still seek to prey on people trying to make an honest living. Therefore, to ensure you can keep the wolves at bay and try and keep your inventory secure there are dozens of viable options at your disposal to prevent shoplifting.

When it comes to protecting hardline items, things such as tool sets and televisions, there aren’t as many options out there as there are for clothing or fabric items. Chief among the hardline retail anti theft devices are Spider Wraps, 2 Alarm tags, and 3 Alarm tags, of course partnered with Nano Gates at the door.

Spider Wraps are best utilized on items with rectangular or boxy shapes like televisions, tool sets, power tools, vacuums, et cetera. Once the wrap has been tightened to form the only way to remove it is with the appropriate key, or to cut one of the cables securing it, which of course sets of a rather loud and irritating alarm. The 2 Alarm and 3 Alarm tags are actually just that; tags. They are fitted to the protected product using a braided metal cable which, like the Spider Wrap, if it is cut sounds an alarm. On top of that, all units are hardened which protects them from thieves trying to pry them open or worse, chew them apart.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices that can help you prevent shoplifting in your business.

For more information on how you can use retail anti theft devices to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 2 Alarm, 3 Alarm, Nano Gate, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, Spider Wrap

Shrink Losses in Baby Formula

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

What do you do if you carry a popular theft item that is lightweight relatively small and easy to conceal? That is the question a lot of grocers and retailers are asking to stop shoplifting items like baby formula.

Baby formula remains one of the high shrink (or merchandise loss) items. There is a huge resale market for baby formula. Due to its price, it is also big for personal use thefts. Parents and caregivers who use baby formula for their babies and infants require mass quantities (over time) to nourish their child.

Checkpoint labels can help stop shoplifting in a couple of ways. The first being a visual deterrent of having a visible adhesive RF security label on the baby formula. If you worry that the RF labels may be removed, you can hide them in a variety of ways.

The RF security labels could be hidden under the lid of the container. They can also be disguised as bar codes or price labels. All of the labels are designed with superior adhesion to stick to a wide variety of materials, like the one on a baby formula canister.

While there is no less of a need for baby formula, using items like the Checkpoint security labels can dramatically reduce losses. The numbers will provide the proof you need that RF labels can stop shoplifting.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, and other RF labels that can help you stop shoplifting in your business.

For more information on Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, RF labels, RF security labels, RF security tags and how to stop shoplifting contact us at RF label or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, RF label, RF labels, RF security labels, RF security tags, stop shoplifting

Up In Smoke

February 15, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many years ago, I heard this tale of employee theft when I had just started with a new company. I was working for a retailer that had night stocking. There was a small crew and a manager. They worked a typical Monday through Friday shift about 10 PM to 6 AM.

The store had been suffering some strange losses in high dollar products. These high dollar items were big, bulky and extremely heavy. They were also kept under lock and key 24 hours a day. The Loss Prevention team was beside themselves trying to figure out what was going on.

After countless hours of digging through receiving reports and cross checking invoices, there was only one conclusion they could see. This was an internal theft situation. The only problem was they didn’t know who to start their employee theft investigation on.

In a seemingly unrelated issue, they noticed things being moved in their office. Papers would be slid aside on the desk, or pens would be missing. So the LPs installed a night sensitive camera in the office.

It wasn’t long before they saw the night manager come into the LP office in the middle of the night. He shoved the papers aside, and threw his feet up on their desk. Low and behold, this manager then pulled out a pipe and started to smoke (and it wasn’t tobacco).

Well, this was just the beginning. After the LPs opened their employee theft investigation on this manager, all the pieces started to fit. They watched as the manager would open the doors at night and roll the merchandise out to a waiting truck. As it turns out, the manager was trading stolen store merchandise for drugs.

This manager confessed to tens of thousands of dollars in losses. He also confessed to a drug habit that he had been in rehab previously for, and was battling again. Without the covert camera installed, it would have been a long road to discovering the source of the losses in this employee theft case.

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

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

Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel

February 13, 2012 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

For years I worked in a high theft market. Co-workers would joke that catching a shoplifter was like shooting fish in a barrel. Some days it seemed like there were more thieves running around the store than there were shoppers. It took a long time, but my anti shoplifting directives finally started to pay off.

After conducting many post shoplifting interviews, I picked up on a common thread. The shoplifters all said it was easy to steal from our store. The word had spread that retail theft prevention was a joke here. Even though we had a Checkpoint security system in place, no one ever responded to the alarms.

I finally had it one day. I took this news to my next managers meeting at told them that we were a laughing stock in the community. We were the town’s big joke. My managers, being very prideful people, finally got the message. They vowed to start focusing on retail theft prevention.

The first step was proper execution of the Checkpoint security system. Not only were alarms responded to in a timely, professional manner, but also receipts were validated, as per company policy.

My employees started to notice customers with high theft items and call us. They made sure we knew every movement the merchandise made. It wasn’t long before I noticed the amount of times that shoplifters would dump the product instead of stealing it.

The store’s moral was elevated knowing they were taking control and would never be laughed at again.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

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

Preventing Possible Theft

February 13, 2012 by Staff Editor

When you think about employee background checks, you don’t often think about how they might stop internal theft. I had an issue a few years ago with a group of my employees who were stealing from our company.

There was one associate who would make his purchases with his friend at the customer service desk. That was all within policy. What wasn’t in policy was the additional merchandise that was not rung up. It was thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. After we questioned him, he told us it was all being shipped back to his native country.

When we went to question the other three associates involved, we could not locate them. They quit or walked out of the store while we questioned the first employee. We took the case to our local law enforcement who then began to search for these individuals.

After several individuals were brought into the police station, it was clear that the employees we had hired used fake IDs with stolen information. We have yet to locate our ex- employees.

Had we been background check experts, we might have been able to catch the discrepancy when these individuals first applied for jobs. Had we hired background check experts, they would have done what we could not. Running adequate employee background checks aren’t just about did they have any prior convictions. It is a way for pre employment screening to do its job and tell you the person you are hiring is EXACTLY who you think it is.

If we had done this in the first place, we might have saved us thousands in stolen merchandise and valuable resources in tracking them down.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check, employee background checks, pre employment screening

Can You Pay for Sitting Ducks?

February 13, 2012 by Staff Editor

While previously working as an agent, my location was seeing an increase shrinkage from theft in our liquor department and needed to tackle the issue of bottle security. The store I was working in was one of many locations for a national corporation and based on shortage and locality we had been classified as a “low-exposure” store. Consequently, merchandise protection strategies such as EASy Bottle and bottle locks were not available to our location, which were reserved for “high-exposure” stores.

Due to the absence of a bottle lock solution, liquor bottle security incidents were occurring daily. One subject regularly came into the store on her lunch break to drink a couple of bottles of high-priced wine before returning to work. A group began targeting Hennessy liquor, which disappeared off the shelves and into their pant legs and jackets. My team dedicated our efforts to reducing this loss even if the company wasn’t providing us with solutions from Alpha security. We performed perpetual inventory of “hot” liquor items twice a day and spent the majority of our shifts monitoring the aisle via CCTV.

Our efforts resulted in the reduction of theft in the liquor department, but other departments were now seeing an increase. There just weren’t enough agents to dedicate their shifts to sitting in front of monitors and staring at the cameras of high theft areas. I believe our liquor bottle security dilemma could have been avoided had the company been willing to provide all of its stores with EASy Bottle bottle locks, a theft solution from Alpha security. Whether a store is able to have a security team on its payroll or not, a bottle lock prevents the item from being opened before they are removed at the point of sale. With this peace of mind, store personnel can keep their merchandise on an open display without worrying about bottle security.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, liquor bottle security, or EASy Bottle 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