Why Quality Background Checks Matter: The Benefits Of Using AMC

October 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Hiring employees is hard enough for retail owners without the pressures of hiring seasonal staff during the holidays as many stores are now doing. Under normal circumstances, managers and owners of retail businesses are stretched thin keeping a store operating efficiently. When turnover occurs more time is taken up as those managers are forced to focus their energies on filling holes in the weekly schedule. Job ads are posted and often paper applications are handed out as interested persons come in to respond to the ad or a “Help Wanted” sign posted in a window. Then there is the security risk that is involved in the hiring of new employees whether they are seasonal or to be a regular member of a team. A new hire carries an unknown quality and there is always the off chance that with even the best interview a criminal can slip between the cracks, the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

     At Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. we are well aware of the challenges the hiring process poses, especially in the small to mid-size store market. In order to streamline the Human Resources piece of your business and to significantly reduce the chances that criminals will be brought on board in the process, we have introduced the Applicant Management Center (AMC). Here are some of the featured benefits we offer to employers that use our AMC to fill positions regardless of the tenure of that position:

  • Employers that rely on paper applications or in-store job kiosks limit applicants to hours of store operating hours. The Applicant Management System offered by LPSI provides interested parties 24/7 access your job application.
  • With the AMC employers can advertise an unlimited number of positions.
  • Have you dealt with sifting through untold numbers of applications, many of which are from people with none of the qualifications you are looking for in an employee? By using the AMC services of LPSI you have the ability to create qualifying questions that will flag responses. By doing so you can eliminate unqualified candidates from your applicant pool and streamline the hiring process.
  • Enjoy the benefit of communicating with applicants directly through the Applicant Management System. No more sorting through applications, typing in email addresses or risking emailing the wrong person.
  • Then there are those very real concerns over increased security risks that come with hiring. The Applicant Management Center assists store owners with mitigating concerns of hiring someone who may pose safety and/or security related problems. Owners can initiate pre-employment background checks on applicants directly through the AMC. Taylor those background checks to include what is important to you, driving records, education, criminal history, sex offender registries and so much more.
  • Drug Screening can also be initiated through the AMC helping you to eliminate illegal substance users who may cause accidents to themselves or customers. They can also be potential thieves trying to support a habit. LPSI can reduce the chances you hire someone with a drug use problem.
  • How about credit checks? Who wants to take a chance of hiring a person with a poor credit history to work around cash or a point of sale for that matter? All consent and agreement forms to conduct credit checks, background checks and drug screenings can be maintained, signed and stored in one central location in the AMC.
  • Last but not least the AMC is affordable! There is no need to break the bank to improve your hiring process.

For those readers still feeling unsure about the AMC and the background check process Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. is offering free demos of our product. LPSI recognizes that there is a direct relationship between the hiring process and store profitability. We can help you avoid hiring pitfalls. Use the Applicant Management Center and save yourself time, money and unnecessary shortage during this holiday season and throughout the year.

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Employees are harder to find should this impact the way you conduct seasonal hiring?

October 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment

As of September 2018, the national unemployment rate is down to 3.7% according to ncls.org. As a retail store owner thinks about what this means for you in terms of trying to hire to fill job openings including seasonal hiring for the holidays. With an employment rate of 96.3% that leaves a sparse workforce as a hiring pool. I have read articles by those who think that with a dwindling number of people seeking work employers are going to have to forego pre-employment background checks. They seem to believe that the need to hire outweighs any baggage the job candidates bring with them.

     Not only are employment background checks being called into question for the reasons stated above there is also a school of thought that pre-employment drug screening may be a bad idea. This line of reasoning includes the limited availability of candidates in the workforce but also suggests that the increased legalization of marijuana use in some states is negating the reasons for having applicants take the tests.

     When taken together think about what it means to the retail employer. Store owners are required to rely on the information supplied by a candidate to make hiring decisions. Screening consists of the responses of the candidate to your questions during an interview and perhaps a couple of recommendations from their list of references. How confident are you in the references provided? Do you know if they are going to be honest about the character of the person you are considering for the job? How many of us really put down a reference who we think will not speak well of us? You also bet on the roll the dice whether your new hire is a drug user. Fail to a drug screen and the chances increase for accidents and even theft. Both theft and accidents can be costly in the long term, whether the employee is a seasonal worker or regular hire. Employee accidents can result in workers compensation claims. Accidents involving a customer as a result of an employee’s negligence can result in a lawsuit against your business.

     The question you need to answer is whether it is worth changing your hiring practices to ramp up your seasonal staffing needs? The short answer is no, you should not modify or change tried and true methods of hiring. Those methods help you bring in new help and reduce your exposure to safety and shortage risks. Pre-employment background screenings can be tailored to meet the criteria you want them to assess so you may review what you are screening for and eliminate some of the categories that may not be as important for a part-time worker. For instance, if a driving record check is part of your normal pre-employment screening is that necessary for someone who will work in your stockroom for a few months? You might not really need to validate someone’s education level if you are only hiring them for the season and they do not intend to apply to stay after that.

      Likewise, a credit history, criminal background check, and review of the sex offender registry are the minimum three searches I recommend every store owner require of applicants regardless of the amount of time they will work for you. The credit history should be checked in case your prospective employee is in dire financial trouble. He/she may see this job as a means of extricating themselves from their problem. The criminal history should be checked because it could include everything from assaults to theft. You don’t want someone prone to violence working around other employees or customers and have them lose control. Nor would you want a convicted thief working around merchandise and/or cash. The sex offender registry check speaks for itself. You are responsible for the safety of all of your employees and your customers and the risk of hiring a person on the sex offender registry is too great to consider.

     Seasonal hiring may be a bit more of a challenge when the economy is strong but it is no reason to discard proven methods of shortage reduction. Holidays also tend to be times of increased safety issues. Drug testing and pre-employment screenings are an effective means of maintaining a safe work environment. Don’t lose sight of the fact that there are a lot of people who are looking for a seasonal job simply for a little extra spending cash. There are also young people looking for that first job experience and a paycheck. You may have to find new ways to get the word out about your positions but don’t fret, there is always an honest person looking for a job (or a second one).

     

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Thanksgiving – Pros and Cons of the shift of Thanksgiving sales from Friday to Thursday

October 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Traditionally Black Friday has been the kick-off of the holiday shopping season. Families spent Thanksgiving together dining, celebrating, catching up with each other and maybe even watching a football game on television. Early Friday following Thanksgiving store employees would start reporting to work preparing for early openings which often took place at 6:00 am. Retailers had advertised their Black Friday specials (Door Busters) and customers would start queuing up at the doors ready to find bargains. The shopping would then continue into Saturday and even Sunday patrons continued to look for bargains to stretch their dollars further. Then something began to happen, stores started competing for those dollars by opening their doors earlier and earlier. We ( I did this for quite a few years) would report to work and 3:00 am for a 5:00 am store opening. The next year we moved to 2:00 am arrival for a 4:00 am opening. Today stores are opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day. There are Pros and Cons to this shift that I think is worth exploring in a bit more depth.

Pros to an opening on Thanksgiving Day:

  • Shoppers are going to stores on Thanksgiving, according to the balance.com in a story, “What Is Black Friday? Sales and Trends” by Kimberly Amadeo, updated June 20, 2018, 29 million people went shopping on Thanksgiving Day, 2016. That is a significant number of shoppers to just ignore.
  • According to bestblackfriday.com, 16.22% of Americans said they are in favor of stores opening on Thanksgiving and 5.60% were strongly in favor of it. “Thanksgiving Day 2017 Shopping Survey and Analysis”, Nov 4, 2017, by Phil Dengler. Americans may say they are against it but go out shopping anyways.
  • Bestblackfriday.com also reported that “younger Americans favor stores being open on Thanksgiving more than older Americans do.” Appealing to younger shoppers could be a way to increase their patronage on Thanksgiving Day.

Con’s to an opening on Thanksgiving Day:

  • Being open on Thanksgiving can create problems for retailers trying to generate sales on Black Friday as well as Thanksgiving. According to a New York Times article, “More Retailers Are Choosing to Close on Thanksgiving”, by Rachel Abrams, Nov 15, 2016, there are problems in keeping store shelves full for Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day.
  • The same article points out that stores can give a bad impression to customers if they come in on Black Friday and shelves are empty and employees seem to be exhausted. Joel Alden a partner in a retail consulting firm is quoted as saying, “If you do a lousy job over the Thanksgiving period, it may be a while before those customers come back and visit you again.” 
  • “…retailers that open Thanksgiving risk backlash from consumers who would rather the day be preserved for family get-togethers” according to a story in Richmond.com, written by Tammie-Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nov 23, 2016, “Retail employees working Thanksgiving as stores offer customers some of the biggest sales of the year”

There is finally a mix of feelings about working on Thanksgiving from the employees who have to work when their company chooses to be open on this day. Some are unhappy that they are expected to work when they would prefer to be enjoying the time with their families. There are those employees who prefer to work the holiday for the extra pay they receive. An article from floridatoday.com “Working retail on Thanksgiving: Here’s the scoop”, by Ilana Kowarski, Nov. 26, 2014, provides a glimpse at this split between retail worker opinions. One employee was quoted as saying she wanted “…to make more money for my family, and that’s on me.” A bit further in the article though another employee said, “Corporate greed drives the business to stay open and, therefore, forces us to work on holidays.”

     So what’s the answer? It would seem there is no right or wrong answer, only pros, and cons for the retail owner to consider. Balance the benefits of opening on Thanksgiving with the potential problems that may arise from doing so. Perhaps the best answer you can get is to talk with your employees and find out what their thoughts are on the subject. If enough workers are on board to open the store and run it each day of the holiday weekend and do so with a great attitude you may have the winning solution to the problem!

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Strategies to Keep Black Fridays From Becoming Bleak Fridays (A Focus on Sales, Safety and Security)

October 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Black Friday and the holiday shopping weekend has generally been the time of the year that most retailers are excited about. This is the time when shoppers are going to pull out their wallets and spend money. Deep discounts, doorbusters, even gift bags for the first customers, have been used to entice shoppers to visit stores early. It has been so successful as a marketing tool that stores have even advertised early Black Friday sales in JULY! Unfortunately, it seems that there has been a dark cloud overshadowing this weekend and it is more ominous each year. This cloud is one that can turn a Black Friday into a Bleak Friday if a store owner isn’t prepared for it.

     The black cloud involves the safety and security of customers and retail sales for the store owners. There are factors owners must take into account to keep that cloud from raining on a weekend that should be making shoppers happy and keeping registers ringing. As a Loss Prevention Manager, I have seen to it that my stores have remained safe during the Black Friday weekend but I have followed incidents at other stores where things turned ugly. Customers have gotten hurt rushing into stores. People have fought over doorbuster items that were limited in quantity. I have had to intervene when shoppers argued over not receiving a raincheck for a one-time purchase item. I have also worked a Black Friday when all of the registers went off-line and customers became angry and abandoned shopping carts. All of these can have a negative impact on sales and hamper the weekend that should be one of significant profits for a store.

     Here are some suggestions for preparing your store and employees for the event:

  • One of the things that set customers off is waiting in a line only to find out that a particular doorbuster is sold out. If you have some item you expect will draw in customers but there is a limited quantity, have a ticket for each item. Have someone go through the line as it forms and ask who is there for that item. Pass out the tickets and set aside enough to fill those orders. Continue to do this until you open the doors. If you run out of tickets before you open the doors be honest with the customers who are continuing to walk up and let them know you are out of that item.
  • Consider hiring a security company to provide a presence at the front of the stores to help keep order. A lot of altercations begin outside when people who have formed orderly lines and have waited patiently believe others are cutting in front of them. They are also a great presence to keep shoppers safe as they leave with their purchases to go to their cars. If you don’t want to hire security you can see if local police are willing to make frequent drive-by’s. Another alternative is to have two or three employees mingle with the line, talk about the sale items and even hand out store maps where specific sale items are located.
  • Check all of your point of sale equipment at least a week in advance to try to ensure there are no equipment failures on Black Friday.
  • Have a technician test all of your electronic article surveillance equipment to minimize false alarms and reduce the opportunity for theft to take place.
  • A lot of cash transactions take place on this holiday weekend and it is a good time for counterfeit bills to be passed. Be sure cashiers are using counterfeit pens for $50 and $100 bills. If possible a counterfeit bill detector for each point of sale is a better solution. Know that if you take counterfeit bills your store is not reimbursed or covered by your financial institution.
  • If your store happens to use display cases for some high ticket items, be sure more than one employee is carrying keys to assist customers and minimize wait times (also consider all of the retail anti-theft options available from Sensormatic that can improve security while enhancing sales).
  • Think about offering free coffee or tea to patrons who may be waiting outside for the store to open. You would be surprised at the positive response you will get from shoppers.

By taking the time to prepare in advance and plan out your Black Friday weekend you can minimize safety and security risks. The same planning will boost sales and ensure that your business truly experiences a very profitable holiday.

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Combating Shoplifting In Your Business

October 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment

One of the most prevalent crimes in the United States is shoplifting.  While many state governments and lawmakers have taken a strong approach to combat shoplifting, it is a battle that keeps the retail industry checking their loss prevention measures, and their ability to combat this crime.

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, (NASP) the retail industry loses approximately $35 million per day. Even when advances in technology have aided the loss prevention team in combating this crime, figures about shoplifting has shown an increase in the average inventory shrink rate to 1.44 percent. 

The average shrink rates take into consideration shoplifting, internal theft, vendor or merchant errors and administrative errors.  And although shoplifting accounts for more than a third of the losses, internal or employee theft is pretty close behind.  An employee that is using the cash register as their personal piggy bank, or an employee that steals merchandise worth hundreds of dollars in one incident can be as detrimental as the shoplifter entering the store and stealing merchandise from the shelves.

How can you prevent or combat shoplifting in your store?

Training – One of the best measures for the prevention of shoplifting is training the loss prevention team and management of the store to spot and react accordingly when witnessing a theft. If a theft is happening and a trained employee is a witness to the incident, merchandise can be salvaged and the shoplifter can be apprehended without having the incident escalate to violence.

Hiring – Background checks before hiring an employee can save you time and money.  An employee with a clean employment record can be hired and trained and become an asset to the business right away. According to the 2014 Industry Training Report, small companies with less than 1,000 employees spent an average of $1,238 per training per employee that year. If the new employee is not properly checked or interviewed, the company might lose money and labor that eventually translates into loses for the business and their ability to grow.

Customer Service – The research regarding this important area in the retail industry is unanimous in their findings.  Better customer service means less theft.  Not only that, but better customer service translates into more profits.  Happy customers can be an asset to any business.  Good PR can mean more sales, more customers and more profits.

Shoplifting System – Installing a shoplifting system in your store is part of a solution to the problem, not a whole solution by itself.  The system will discourage thieves and employees from taking merchandise out of the store without paying, and that is an advantage you cannot do without.

If you are interested in installing a shoplifting system, training your personnel, or using background checks to perfect hiring, call us.  We are a company dedicated to providing stores and other businesses the tools necessary to succeed.

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Sidewalk Sales Short-Circuit Sensormatic Security Systems

October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Maybe I’m too old school but I really wonder what store managers are thinking when they have a perfectly good Sensormatic security system and they put merchandise outside the store to display. I see this done in malls and strip malls and it annoys me greatly. I know it is because of my years as a Loss Prevention Manager but I do recognize that theft can result from these displays. In many cases the merchandise is marked down and the business is trying to unload their old merchandise before bringing in the new product lines. I saw something the other day and it was an ice machine used to store bagged ice for sale. The gas station probably does not have adequate space inside for this container but I observed what I thought was a theft of a bag of ice and it bothered me. A car pulled up to the building and the passenger got out. I did turn briefly but the next thing I knew she was putting a big bag of ice in the car while looking in my direction. I didn’t report it because I could not be sure she hadn’t quickly slipped into the store to pay but her actions said she hadn’t. It reminded me of all of those stores that put on sidewalk sales. If no one is outside monitoring the tables and racks or if the merchandise is spread out over a distance how do stores stop shoplifting from taking place?

The purpose of the Sensormatic security system is to deter theft and prevent criminals from spiriting products out of a store. When stores have tagged merchandise with anti-shoplifting devices such as hard tags and electronic article surveillance labels those items are going to trip the alarm pedestals as the thief nears the doors. Because the Sensormatic line of devices are sturdy and reliable they are nearly impossible to defeat. Shoplifters are not in the habit of spending a lot of time trying to remove security tags. They are concerned with concealing merchandise and getting out with as little interaction with employees as possible. Pedestal alarms draw unwanted attention that bad guys want to avoid. When store managers make the decision to take merchandise outside the protection of towers at the doors they are inviting theft. There is nothing left to impede shoplifters from simply picking up and walking off with anything displayed outside.

This is the simple kind of training a good Sensormatic Dealer should provide. Loss Prevention Systems does train your staff after we install a system.

I am not saying that the bags of ice should have been tagged even if they were in the building. Some items may not be worth the effort to tag when we think about how bags are tossed into an ice cooler. It did serve to demonstrate that people will steal just about anything if an opportunity presents itself. In fact one of the factors we talk about in Loss Prevention in terms of how to stop shoplifting and employee theft is to eliminate opportunity. If stores are putting merchandise on the salesfloor without protection or if they are placing merchandise outside of the protective barrier of an electronic article surveillance tower they are providing opportunities for criminals. Bill Bregar, founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. knows that opportunity is a requirement for shoplifters to get away with their crime. That is why his company recommends a Sensormatic security system to clients in order to remove opportunity and substantially impede a crook’s ability to steal.

If store owners find a need to move seasonal merchandise or older merchandise to make room for new product lines do it within the confines of the building and security protection. Merchandise should already be protected with security tags so the challenge is to get it in view of customers. I have seen larger businesses that seem reluctant to put clearance merchandise front and center in a store. They relegate them to rear endcaps or the back of a store. I believe if you really want to move merchandise, mark it down at least 25%, place it in a prominent location when customers walk in and have ample signage. Don’t play games, if you really want to make space then do it with enthusiasm. Don’t provide the opportunity crooks look for by having a “sidewalk sale”.

Let your electronic article system stop shoplifting as it is intended to do and tag as much merchandise as possible. Sell your clearance merchandise with vigor just do it so it makes sense. Don’t short circuit your Sensormatic security system by circumventing it, trust Sensormatic to help drive sales while removing theft opportunity.

 

Get more information on Sensormatic security systems, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

 

 

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Can Emotions Affect Efforts To Stop Shoplifting? Part 1

October 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment

 

Stop Shoplifting-3                                                                                                                       WC Blog 666
Sensormatic Labels-3
Can Emotions Affect Efforts To Stop Shoplifting? Part 1
     Coming from a retail background in Loss Prevention I am accustomed to having to stop shoplifting by all types of people. I have caught everyone from the young to somewhat old (a few years ago I would have said elderly, but I am getting up in years myself and it seems those people are younger than I would have imagined back then!). I have caught those who are dressed in stereotypical shoplifter attire, unseasonable jackets, hats pulled low over the eyes, baggy clothing. I have caught people stealing while wearing business meeting attire. I have apprehended the people I imagined were going to resist and fight and turned out to be compliant. I have stopped people I thought would be compliant who became extremely combative. So when I can prevent a theft through aggressive customer service I feel no sympathy for the person. I also forget that my experiences have opened my eyes to the fact that anyone can be a shoplifter. This makes it all the more important to me that store owners are placing Sensormatic labels on even the smallest of merchandise when possible. I will tell you more about why I write on this subject in a moment but I want to digress and talk about tagging of small items.
     There are some pieces of merchandise that are just too small to protect with any type of security tag and I understand that. Take for instance a pack of chewing gum it just doesn’t lend itself to any type of protection. On the other hand there are pieces of merchandise such as cosmetics that have been too difficult to tag in the past because they were just too thin. There are Sensormatic labels on the market now that can be placed on this type of product. The label I am talking about is the HBC Sheet Label. At only 6.0mm wide and 45.21 mm in length this little tag can provide a big result in theft reduction. Because of the small size of a cosmetic such as a lipstick, the merchandise was a favorite among shoplifters and cosmetics were always on my store and my company’s top shortage department list. They were easy for thieves to conceal and always risky for Loss Prevention personnel to try to make an apprehension on unless it was a significant amount of merchandise. Applying a security label to merchandise ensures an alarm pedestal will activate if a theft is attempted. Frankly, the label itself acts as a deterrent because criminals know it is going to set off that alarm and elicit a response from store employees.
     Cosmetics are just one example of small items that can now be protected in your efforts to stop shoplifting. I had a situation just the other night when a suspicious woman with a large handbag entered our store, grabbed a handful of single markers from a display and carried them into the store. Unfortunately the merchandise was not tagged but could have been with the HBC Sheet Labels. I saw her with them in her hand and offered her assistance but her fidgety and nervous behavior told me she was looking for an easy theft. I called the manager on duty, alerted him and together we did not allow her an opportunity to conceal the markers or other merchandise she was looking at. Based on my experience this woman was looking for something to steal to try to trade or sell for narcotics. Eventually a cashier walked up and asked her if she needed assistance and the woman put the markers down and left. After she was gone the cashier started talking about how she felt sorry for the woman and wouldn’t have thought she would try to take anything. That was when I reflected on the difference in our perspectives and how it can affect our efforts to stop shoplifting. If an employee does not know what clues can indicate someone may be a thief or the tools a criminal will use that employee’s judgement can be clouded by emotion. Sympathy or concern may override judgement as to when a manager should be alerted to a suspicious person. It may also dissuade more focused customer service to deter theft. The use of security labels can mitigate some of the human emotion factor in deterrence efforts.
     In Part 2 we will explore what to train employees to look for in order to identify shoplifters. We will also talk more about how Sensormatic labels can help create barriers to crooks so they won’t want to come to your store in the first place. Employees can feel sorry for the circumstances criminals find themselves in but they can’t allow emotions to interfere with theft prevention.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

Coming from a retail background in Loss Prevention I am accustomed to having to stop shoplifting by all types of people. I have caught everyone from the young to somewhat old (a few years ago I would have said elderly, but I am getting up in years myself and it seems those people are younger than I would have imagined back then!). I have caught those who are dressed in stereotypical shoplifter attire, unseasonable jackets, hats pulled low over the eyes, baggy clothing. I have caught people stealing while wearing business meeting attire. I have apprehended the people I imagined were going to resist and fight and turned out to be compliant. I have stopped people I thought would be compliant who became extremely combative. So when I can prevent a theft through aggressive customer service I feel no sympathy for the person. I also forget that my experiences have opened my eyes to the fact that anyone can be a shoplifter. This makes it all the more important to me that store owners are placing Sensormatic labels on even the smallest of merchandise when possible. I will tell you more about why I write on this subject in a moment but I want to digress and talk about tagging of small items.

There are some pieces of merchandise that are just too small to protect with any type of security tag and I understand that. Take for instance a pack of chewing gum it just doesn’t lend itself to any type of protection. On the other hand there are pieces of merchandise such as cosmetics that have been too difficult to tag in the past because they were just too thin. There are Sensormatic labels on the market now that can be placed on this type of product. The label I am talking about is the HBC Sheet Label. At only 6.0mm wide and 45.21 mm in length this little tag can provide a big result in theft reduction. Because of the small size of a cosmetic such as a lipstick, the merchandise was a favorite among shoplifters and cosmetics were always on my store and my company’s top shortage department list. They were easy for thieves to conceal and always risky for Loss Prevention personnel to try to make an apprehension on unless it was a significant amount of merchandise. Applying a security label to merchandise ensures an alarm pedestal will activate if a theft is attempted. Frankly, the label itself acts as a deterrent because criminals know it is going to set off that alarm and elicit a response from store employees.

Cosmetics are just one example of small items that can now be protected in your efforts to stop shoplifting. I had a situation just the other night when a suspicious woman with a large handbag entered our store, grabbed a handful of single markers from a display and carried them into the store. Unfortunately the merchandise was not tagged but could have been with the HBC Sheet Labels. I saw her with them in her hand and offered her assistance but her fidgety and nervous behavior told me she was looking for an easy theft. I called the manager on duty, alerted him and together we did not allow her an opportunity to conceal the markers or other merchandise she was looking at. Based on my experience this woman was looking for something to steal to try to trade or sell for narcotics. Eventually a cashier walked up and asked her if she needed assistance and the woman put the markers down and left. After she was gone the cashier started talking about how she felt sorry for the woman and wouldn’t have thought she would try to take anything. That was when I reflected on the difference in our perspectives and how it can affect our efforts to stop shoplifting. If an employee does not know what clues can indicate someone may be a thief or the tools a criminal will use that employee’s judgement can be clouded by emotion. Sympathy or concern may override judgement as to when a manager should be alerted to a suspicious person. It may also dissuade more focused customer service to deter theft. The use of security labels can mitigate some of the human emotion factor in deterrence efforts.

In Part 2 we will explore what to train employees to look for in order to identify shoplifters. We will also talk more about how Sensormatic labels can help create barriers to crooks so they won’t want to come to your store in the first place. Employees can feel sorry for the circumstances criminals find themselves in but they can’t allow emotions to interfere with theft prevention.

 

Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

We Installed A Sensormatic System. Our Shoplifting Problems Are Over, Right?

October 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment

NO! not yet. Before we begin patting ourselves on the back you must remember that your Sensormatic System is only part of your shoplifting solution. Your Sensormatic System will protect your merchandise however, many shoplifters are determined and will try to steal anyway. The Sensormatic System itself is a deterrent. Its mere presence will dissuade many shoplifters.

There are TWO PARTS to the shoplifting solution. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) did not invent them, we simply perfected them both. So in your case:

✓  Sensormatic System installed by Loss Prevention Systems.

 √ Staff training by Loss Prevention Systems. LPSI includes FREE anti-shoplifting training with every Sensormatic system you purchase from us, as often as you reasonably need it.

Let’s discuss the training to teach your staff how to deter shoplifters. First, we have to get our heads straight about your Sensormatic System. The system is there protecting your tagged merchandise 24/7. It is critical to have but you must realize that to fully stop shoplifters, the first line of defense must be customer service. Shoplifters hate customer service. They do not want you near them and need privacy to conceal your merchandise even if only for a moment.

We want to teach your staff to approach every customer and at a minimum greet them. Did you know that over half of all shoplifters are classified as “impulse” shoplifters? An impulse shoplifter is someone who has entered your store and will only shoplift if you give them the opportunity. Many studies over the years have shown that most impulse shoplifters will not shoplift in your store, during that visit if they are properly greeted! Wow, that means that if you or your staff greet them when they walk in the door with a verbal greeting such as “welcome to xxxx” and as important use good eye contact that it is likely that the impulse shoplifter will not steal from you during that visit! So you have put a serious dent in your shoplifting losses by just greeting customers.

Of course, greeting customers also helps us to achieve higher sales. It gives the legitimate customer a chance to ask a question and makes them feel more at home. Think about it, good customers love customer service, shoplifters hate it. Customer service everyone to death and increase your sales and reduce your shoplifting losses all with one technique.

 

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Advantages of AM over RF EAS Systems

October 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have to make a decision on a purchase and you have to determine what is going to be best for your situation? I know that car shopping is one of those purchases where I have to take multiple factors into consideration and it isn’t always just about cost. I have to be able to accommodate at least 5 adults and perhaps even 6 if my mother-in-law is included in a ride. I need to get decent gas mileage because I never know who may have to use it and all of our work so I don’t want to fill it every day. I need dependability, I’ve had too many vehicle break-downs and I don’t want a breakdown on my wife if I can help it. Before I make a purchase I search customer reviews of vehicles and automotive expert ratings on websites such as Edmunds or Kelly Blue Book. The vehicle has to meet my requirements or I have to pass on it regardless of how good the deal may appear to be. The same thing can be true for a retailer when determining the best Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) System and tags to use to combat theft related shortage.

     There are two choices that a store owner will have when deciding on an EAS system, a radio frequency (rf) system or an acousto-magnetic (am) system. But how do you choose? What are the advantages of one over the other?

RF Tags:

  • RF tags (labels) are easier to deactivate at the point of sale. These tags can be passed over a deactivation pad and the tags will not cause an alarm when the merchandise is carried out the doors.
  • RF label deactivation pads are less expensive to operate since the pad only “activates” when a label passes over it. The AM deactivation pad continually runs and uses more power (Wikipedia)
  • RF labels tend to be a bit less expensive to purchase than AM tags.
  • RF labels have made improvements over the years. Small, clear labels have been developed that can be placed on smaller packages without concealing as much important information. Wikipedia does state that small RF tags do cause problems with consistency in deactivation. This can be a cause for false alarms that can hinder the effectiveness of EAS systems.

AM Tags:

  • The highest detection rate in the industry.
  • The standard AM label has a smaller footprint than the standard RF label.
  • Based on their design AM tags have less interference from outside the detection band frequency they operate on.
  • These tags and labels have a greater detection range than RF labels.
  • Where RF labels may be affected by foils, metals, and liquids, AM labels are less susceptible to making them more effective against booster devices. (“Genuine Sensormatic Labels”, Tyco White Paper)
  • Where a metal shopping cart may interfere with the detection performance of an RF label the same shopping carts have no effect on AM tags and labels.

As you can see for yourself there are advantages to both types of systems and tags. The question is going to be which is the best fit for you?  We have worked with both systems and are a nationwide sensormatic dealer and we have worked with both types of technology extensively.

     From a Loss Prevention perspective, the biggest concerns involve professional shoplifters who use devices to try to circumvent a store EAS system and false alarms. Knowing that foiled lined bags and clothing can disrupt RF systems and having apprehended shoplifters using these devices I would tend to favor the AM tags. False alarms can be annoying to customers and have a negative impact on shopper attitudes and RF systems do tend to have a higher rate of false alarm problems. Whether a store manager chooses the RF system or the AM system the most important part is to make sure a system is purchased. It is a proven method of theft deterrence and shortage reduction.

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Children shoplifting: how parents are using kids to steal for them and/or kids shoplifting on their own

October 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment

I was once asked why I kept toys on my desk in my Loss Prevention office. I had two reasons, the first was they were collectible superhero figurines (The Tick to be precise) and the other was to keep children entertained. It is a sad fact in Retail Loss Prevention but there are children who shoplift, there are parents who shoplift and there are parents who use their children to help shoplift. As a Loss Prevention professional, it is not hard to handle an adult who steals. There may be anger, tears, and pleading but these are adults and they made a choice to steal so there should be consequences. What is not so easy to cope with is the child who has to sit in the office while the parent is being processed and does not understand what is taking place. There were many instances when I had to try to keep these young ones entertained as mom or dad were answering questions about the crime, providing personal information or trying to contact a family member or friend who would be willing to pick up the child. Add to the mix a parent who is throwing a conniption fit or making the scenario worse by bawling and wailing in front of the child begging you to let them go “Just this one time and it won’t ever happen again, I promise.” It becomes quite annoying. It also upsets the child who becomes a prop for the parent. The toys were my prop to entertain the children in a pinch.

Not everyone can be a model parent, after all.

     It may be hard to comprehend but aside from just shoplifting with their kids in tow, there are parents who use their children as tools or props to commit their crimes. What is worse than a parent who removes a price tag from a purse, straps it over their daughter’s shoulder and walks out with her and the purse? Well, it could be worse when the parent scolds the child and tells her she shouldn’t have done that when the parent is caught by Loss Prevention. Then there are the parents who walk through the store pushing a baby in an infant stroller with the little baby covered by a blanket. What can these doting mothers and fathers do with a cute little baby you may ask? It turns out baby strollers with blankets make great hiding places for designer blue jeans…MANY pairs of designer jeans. Aw gee, let’s not forget one of my all-time favorites, the pregnant mommy who gets more pregnant simply by walking through the store gathering clothing.

     If you aren’t shocked by now it could shake you up to know that some parents not only use their children as props or to disguise their own theft, some will steal while the children steal too. I caught two mothers and their combined five children ALL stealing in my store. The children wandered around areas of the store that interested them and the mothers did likewise. Everyone took their turn cleaning house. I once caught a father and his teenage son stealing jeans in a department store I worked in. It really gave perspective to the term, “Like father like son”… although I think the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” also came to mind. The unfortunate reality is, those cute, cherubic faces and tiny tots may not be just little cutie pies accompanying their mom or dad in your store. It is not uncommon for these youngsters to be covers for theft or potentially cranky crooks themselves.

     So how should retailers handle situations like these to prevent shoplifting family frolics? The number one deterrent to all shoplifters is customer service for everyone. Adults, as well as children, should be acknowledged and assistance offered. Electronic Article Surveillance systems will discourage adults from stealing. And while the systems may help prevent teenaged terrors from 5-finger discounts they will probably not have the same effect on young kids. It is probably not a good idea to try to stop a shoplifter if you do not have trained Loss Prevention Personnel working for you. Bad stops and aggressive shoplifters can lead to costly and/or dangerous situations. Aggressive, non-stop customer service is in order if you have a strong suspicion someone is stealing. Most importantly don’t let yourself be duped by those cute-chubby cheeked darlings. Those families might not be as charming as they look.

      

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