Act and Intent

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Two things generally determine employee theft: Act and Intent. These qualifiers show that a crime is truly being committed. The act of removing company merchandise or other property (without permission) causes a tangible loss. This provides a concrete dollar amount to attach to the theft. It provides a total for restitution or even criminal proceedings, if the case goes to court.

The reason why Intent is important is it provides for motive. It shows that this loss wasn’t just some operational error, or a mistake. Intent says “Hey! I meant to steal form you”! That is a critical distinction in a court of law. Did this person really mean to cause a loss? Often in employee theft investigations, time is spent determining the intent of the employee. Generally if (through employee theft) they benefited in some way, one can say that there is intent.

Sometimes an employee is terminated for theft even if they didn’t have any intention of stealing.  I know of an employee who gave a customer an item that was known to be defective and against policy to sell. They genuinely thought they were providing good customer service by not telling this customer they could not have the item.

Because the employee did not profit, (no intent) it is not a true employee theft case. Nevertheless, there is a zero tolerance for violating the company policy that no item is to leave the store without a corresponding sale. Because of that specific policy violation, the employee was coded for employee theft and dismissed.

In this particular scenario, no legal action or restitution was taken due to the circumstances. There was an act, but no intent to cause a loss. The employee regrettably learned a very difficult lesson in judgement.

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

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A few hows and whys regarding using Checkpoint security systems

February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Checkpoint Security Tags are among the most common forms of anti shoplifting devices currently being utilized in today’s retail environment.  They are easy to install, easy to upkeep, and are simple enough that anyone can implement it into their store.  The way it functions is the Checkpoint security tags are applied to product; the tags themselves clip on through the use of a large pin that snaps into place on the flat side of the sensor.  When a sensor passes near a Checkpoint system gate it triggers an alarm, the source of which is a feedback signal created by the sensor’s proximity to the gate.  The noise it creates is both familiar and noticeable.  However it is not fool-proof by any means.

The most important thing to ensure the effectiveness of a Checkpoint security system is that it is executed properly.  It will do no good if your employees are not attaching tags to over 95% of the product you are trying to protect.  In order to ensure those standards are kept I can only suggest that incoming product that fits your company’s protection guidelines are tagged as soon as they get off the shipment truck before they even hit the sales floor.  After that, doing regular checks on tag attachment rates will help you keep tabs on who in your store is not towing the line as the saying goes.

Just remember, even if you have a 100% tag attachment rate it does not guarantee absolute retail theft prevention.  The Checkpoint security system is merely an anti shoplifting tool that best serves as a supplement that gives your loss prevention team valuable time and even a little peace of mind.

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

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Background Checks: Never Assume…

February 8, 2012 by

Most people never see what goes on behind the closed doors of prominent hotel chains. It is assumed that all business matters especially the business of background checks have been addressed in the most professional ways possible and that any issues one might see is a minor glitch which is handled expeditiously. Even with my background in Loss Prevention this was also my mindset until I had a very good friend of mine open my eyes to the challenges of his job at a very large hotel located in the center of a huge city. My friend had worked as an operations manager for a few prominent businesses in the city and was valued as a manager who could assess talent and manage a large amount of people to complete numerous tasks which led to the business running smoothly in an urban busy setting. We were just enjoying a couple of drinks after a delicious holiday dinner with our families when he decided to run his latest job by me along with an alarming employee issue that had been dropped in his lap. Robert, my friend, had been hired by a prominent hotel to be the Director of restaurant operations. Robert immediately went to work assessing his team’s talent and what he found was a human resource nightmare. Even though this hotel was a very large and successful it was a family owned business which placed family members in key positions without the experience or credentials to fulfill those positions. One position in particular was the VP of Human Resources. Robert could not understand why many key positions in his team were filled with people who lacked the experience to fulfill their jobs until he started reviewing the hotel’s pre employment screening process.

The review of the pre-employment screening the hotel had in place was the beginning of the proverbial rabbit hole. You merely filled out a basic job application and submitted a resume, one interview later you knew whether you were hired or not. There were no background checks of any type conducted for any position. At this point the horrified look on my face had Robert a bit concerned, I almost passed out when he told me they did not have a background check company on retainer nor used criminal background checks and did not even make simple phone calls to verify resumes. I was simply astounded that they did not conduct any type of employee background check. At this point Robert clued me into the fact that the VP of Human Resources was a member of the hotel owner’s family and did not possess the necessary skills to employ a proper human resource program, including background checks.

At this point I had to stop Robert and start educating him on the basics of employing a preemployment screening strategy. I explained to him that if he did the homework and put together a solution that included a variety of background check experts to choose from that the VP of human resources would embrace the idea as her own. The VP wanted to do the right thing, she just did not have the experience nor the understanding to realize what needed to be done. I started explaining to Robert the importance of employee background checks by using his administration manager as an example. Robert realized just after he started that his administration manager was not communicating in a timely way via email nor was he getting the pertinent reports from this manager that he had requested. After meeting with the manager he discovered that this person who had an impressive resume could not adequately construct an email let alone use the spreadsheet program to file daily and weekly reports. During the meeting the manager admitted that he had purposefully used fraudulent information in his resume to obtain the position. A simple employee background check verifying previous employment would have stopped this person from even making it to the interview process. Upon further investigation Robert also found out that this employee had been convicted of retail theft and was currently on probation.

Once again, a simple criminal background check would have brought this information out in the open before this employee ever walked through the front doors of the hotel. It would have shown that he had in fact lied on his job application regarding whether or not he was convicted of a crime. As we delved deeper into the pre employment screening issue Robert was realizing that he needed to consult with background check experts to formulate a proper hiring process within the hotel.

In the end Robert was able to sit down with several members of the owners family including the VP of Human Resources and communicate the importance of retaining a reputable background check company. The good thing was Robert came out of the meeting with his job still intact and a budget to obtain the help of background check experts. Now Robert’s welcomed challenge is to choose the best suited background check company for the hotel. As a follow up I also explained the importance of conducting criminal background checks that encompass all of the potential employees former addresses and that as a suggestion to run state wide criminal background checks to ensure all counties are covered within a state. It was one heck of a roller coaster ride for Robert but in the end he was able to bring the pre employment screening problem to the forefront before anymore serious problems occurred.

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

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It’s A Snap!

February 8, 2012 by

Being a mentor to several managers and loss prevention employees within my company, I seem to field a lot of problem solving questions. Some of the questions that pop up are about liquor bottle security. What’s the best solution? What is cost effective? Will it be a drain on my payroll to implement and then maintain? I usually recommend the use of bottle locks for all around bottle security.

Alpha Security has a nice assortment of EASy Bottle Bottle Locks. They are designed to fit a variety of sizes and types of liquor bottles. By protecting the contents inside, the locks create an easy solution to liquor bottle theft and unauthorized usage. It’s a great addition to protecting your investments in both the retail sector and in restaurants or bars.

The bottle locks are easy to apply, easy to maintain, and easy to get results. I always recommend to my trainees that sometimes it is the easiest solution to a problem that garners the best results.

I know that cost effective liquor bottle security will always be a question. When you use a bottle lock, not only will it save countless hours of misspent payroll, but also it saves the headache of worrying about bottle security.

There are enough challenges out there that take up our time when it comes to customer service, merchandising, and driving sales. When you can eliminate the problems associated with shrink, it’s a snap to say EASy Bottles really are easy!

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

For more information on Bottle Security , liquor bottle security or EASy Bottle, Alpha Security , Bottle Lock , Bottle locks, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

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Tagging Children’s Clothing

February 8, 2012 by

When you work in soft line retail, shrink used to not be a huge concern in children’s clothing. Focus was on products like jewelry or leather coats, jeans and athletic shoes. Children’s clothes were never on any big watch list. Recently this is starting to change.

I don’t know if it is because more people are out of work, or because kids clothes are getting more expensive, but I am seeing a rise in the shrink dollars. If you haven’t already, I would suggest starting to use clothing security tags on children’s clothes.

For the baby and toddler clothes, it would be easy to use checkpoint tags for clothing security. Since these items typically are not tried on in the store (like adult’s clothing) a hard tag would not impede the shopping experience.

For bigger kid’s clothes, clothing security would be easy with a soft tag. The non-adhesive tags could be slid into a pocket. Soft tags can also be attached as a price tag or barcode.

Just about every kid I know likes stickers, so I would steer away from any sort of sticky soft tag that could be discovered by a child trying on an outfit. It is discouraging enough to suffer losses in the hands of a shoplifter. It would be even worse to have your security measures defeated by a 5 year old.

There are multiple Checkpoint tags to choose from to facilitate proper tagging based on the type of clothing.

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

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Use Shark Tags to prevent loss due to wear and return Prom Dresses.

February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe, but Prom for most schools is only a few months away.  This is a time that can be both profitable and costly for many retailers who sell formal gowns.  My experience has been that a lot of customers (especially in this down economy) follow the practice of buying the dress and then returning it after the dance.  This causes several problems.  One, the store spent a lot of time and effort to sell the product and doesn’t need the refunds hitting the bottom line.  Additionally, many dresses are returned (with the claim they have never been worn) and are damaged.  This is shrink that the stores will incur.  To combat this issue I suggest using retail anti theft devices, such as the Shark Tag from Alpha Security.

 There are many retail anti theft devices on the market today.  Most are designed to prevent shoplifting.  These retail anti theft devices are usually sensor tags that sound an alarm when a customer decides to steal them.  These are great tools to prevent shoplifting, but they can’t help the wear and return issue.  The Shark Tag is different.  The Shark Tag is a plastic tag that pinches (not punctures) into place on the clothes.  These are best when used in conspicuous places like the middle of the chest area.  The customer has to take it off (or look ridiculous) before they wear the product.  Since most store’s refund policy excludes taking back worn items, this helps you prove that the item as has been warn.  Instead of arguing over whether or not the customer is lying about wearing the product you can simply point out that without the Shark Tag in place the store can’t do the refund.  Problem solved.

 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 

 

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RF Labels for different kinds of thieves.

February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When a seasoned Loss Prevention agent thinks of Checkpoint security tags or RF labels he is not one to envision the be-all-end-all answer to retail theft.  Nothing is more effective than the steadfast vigilance and uncanny perceptive skills of actual agents.  But Checkpoint labels and RF security tags prove themselves as solid deterrents that stop shoplifting of a certain sort rather effectively.

There are two types of shoplifters that plague the retail world; the casual opportunist and the seasoned, organized veteran thief.  The seasoned thief, the one who makes their ‘living’ through such illicit acts, knows almost all the same tricks of the trade that loss prevention and law enforcement individuals use to catch them.  It doesn’t make them impossible to detect and apprehend but it does mean things like an RF label or checkpoint security tags will do nothing to stop them.  They have the knowledge to circumvent and defeat such things but in doing so it does open them up to being detected when they have to remove and dispose of defeated tags in a fitting room or when they need to skulk into a conspicuous corner.

As for casual shoplifters, they are the reason Checkpoint and RF labels are worth the implementation.  As many of us in the Loss Prevention profession have seen, once a casual thief finds evidence that the item they have selected won’t be an ‘easy grab’ they will generally back down.  By making the little fish quit before they start it gives us in LP the time we need to keep an eye out for those professional thieves.

 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 

 

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Employee Theft : “But What’s A Penny??”

February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The title itself led to one of the largest internal theft cases I have ever taken in a small box electronics retailer. One of the most frustrating things any executive can encounter is when money is spent on tools and training and the employees completely ignore them. One of those tools that many retailers have is the ability to track daily cash shortages. In fact many retailers have the capability to track the shortages to the exact register and employee. This is no easy task; it is a combination of technology and register handling policies that allow a business to track not only the overall daily cash shortages but to also track each employee’s cash shortages. The reason for this is two fold, one it will potentially catch employee theft and two it will pinpoint training opportunities for those having difficulties handling transactions. The company I worked for had a great way to track the cash shortages down to the employee which allowed loss prevention and district sales managers’ easy access to audit any potential internal theft trends.

A disturbing trend I began to notice in several stores was the “give a penny, take a penny” slush fund. I would conduct a loss prevention audit and when I came to the cash handling part of the audit I would review the cash shortages for the past quarter. A red flag would immediately go up when there were no cash shortages or overages at all. At that point I would go on the hunt for the “cup” or “dish” of change that ultimately was being used to cover losses or overages in the store. The management always viewed it at a minor issue saying “what does it matter if we were short a bit of change any way?? What’s a penny?” I would then have to sit down and counsel the staff on the pitfalls of covering even the smallest of losses.

I would start with “the case” example which began with a store bleeding massive amounts of product. Since this retailer’s losses were mostly a result (about 75%) of employee theft we knew it was more than likely an internal job. We began our employee theft investigation by auditing daily and weekly inventory counts as well as the over/short cash logs. We were attempting to narrow the focus of the employee theft investigation to ascertain how the product was leaving the store as well as who was responsible. We had to stop the bleeding as well as pinpoint the thief before they realized we were on to them. One thing this store manager made sure to do was to keep very detailed inventory counts and logs. There was no “slush” fund in this store. A review of the cash over/short log showed a very interesting trend. One employee was having consistent small shortages, a few pennies here, a little change there. This was nothing that an untrained eye would view as anything other than a training opportunity.

Another interesting fact was the inventory losses tended to happen when this employee was working. There were other employees in the store that also worked consistently when the inventory losses occurred. We knew this was a case of employee theft. I also had a very good idea of what was happening but decided to install a pinhole camera over the register to confirm my suspicions. Three days later the employee theft investigation was over. The employee in question was caught red handed doing what is typically called “drop sales”. He would sell an unsuspecting customer product for cash, accept the cash, use a “no sale” to open the cash register drawer issue change then close the cash drawer and never give the customer a receipt. After the customer left the store the employee did another no sale and took the cash the customer had given him for the product.

So I asked the store manager after he saw an example of this on video, “what are we short?” He immediately stated “the product”, I asked “what else?” , he was confused for a bit and then the light bulb went on over his head “We are short the change he gave the customer”. I asked the store manager how we would have been able to narrow the focus of the employee theft investigation to the product leaving via the register area if we had not had the cash over/short log. He had no answer. I assured him we would have been able to figure it out but the investigation would have gone on a heck of a lot longer and the losses would have been piling up while the investigation continued. The employee admitted to several thousand dollars in product theft via the drop sale method. This example of internal theft proved to be a very good training example for the entire company. “What’s a penny?” is a question store management learned NEVER to ask.

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

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Hard Tags can prevent concealment too?

February 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

After spending as much time as I have working in Loss Prevention, it is habit for me to take note of retail theft prevention at other retailers. I suppose it’s just an occupational fascination to see anti shoplifting tactics used. It’s really a great way for me to get ideas on what might be implemented in my own stores.

Recently, I purchased a new comforter set. Attached to the eyes of the zippers was what looked like a Checkpoint security tag. It was small in design with a loop connecting the two zippers pulls together.  I know Checkpoint systems carry an Alpha Fashion2 accessory tag, very similar to this.

This seemed to be a pretty great anti shoplifting device. The loop was big enough that I could unzip enough to feel the quality of the materials the comforter was made out of. The loop kept the zipper closed enough to avoid any other items from being stuffed into the bag and concealed from purchase.

When I worked for a middle market retailer years ago, I remember it being a big deal. Expensive items would be hidden deep inside of sheet sets or comforter bags. The other loss we incurred was from parts being switched out or taken, like the sheets or a decorative pillow from the set.  That rendered a huge margin loss because we had to sell off the rest of the set at a huge markdown.

Retail theft prevention sure has changed over the years. I would have loved to have access to a Checkpoint security tag like this. It would have saved a lot of investigative time as well as profit loss for the store.

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

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The ROI of Pre Employment Screening

February 6, 2012 by

The underlying motivation for conducting pre employment screening is to prevent a bad hire so it’s difficult to assess the ROI of incidents that do not occur.  I believe there are two ways to determine the ROI of pre employment screening.

First, employers need to establish the value of avoiding workplace violence, legal action or any other type of incident that could adversely impact productivity.  For example, background check experts argue that up to ten percent of all candidates have a criminal record.  Let’s assume background checks cost $50 USD per candidate and an employer outsources 10 background checks per month to a background check company.

The monthly cost of outsourcing background checks is $500 USD or $6000 USD per year.  Considering the impact a single bad hire can have each business must determine if the cost of employee background checks is worth avoiding the cost of hiring 10 problem employees.  Seems like a small price to pay to avoid costly litigation, workplace violence, employee theft or any other incident that could significantly cost more than $6000 USD per incident.

Second, employers must weigh the benefits of reducing turnover versus the cost of employee background checks.  Businesses can calculate the cost of each turnover by breaking down the line item costs associated with filling a vacant position.  A few associated costs to consider are; interviews, training and development or employee benefits.  The list goes on but rest assured once all of the expenses are itemized it’s easy to see how turnover costs start to mount.

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 

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