Return Policies Are Key In Return Business

October 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A study just published this past April showed that a super strict return policy where the staff said “no receipt-no refund”, actually resulted in lost revenue.  It was a significant loss of over 8%.  The stores that had a more relaxed policy kept their sales at pace and did not experience any rise in number of refunds processed.   The stores that stayed business as usual did not really have any changes in number of returns or sales levels.  This is eye opening for sure, since many small business owners and managers are under the assumption that if they do not accept returns their sales are sure to be above budget.  The problem is that people do lose receipts, and customer service is what brings back loyal shoppers.  Our store certainly cannot afford to lose 8% of our sales, so we utilize a simple solution to help deter shoplifter/returners, and that is Checkpoint Labels.
The big box store down the street from us has the reputation that they will accept just about any returned item, with or without a receipt, as long as it rings up in their system.  That has been a huge frustration for the rest of us in the surrounding area.  Our store has a pretty standard return policy.  If the customer has a receipt, then we take care of their returns with no questions asked.  If they do not have a receipt it can get a little tricky.  Those are done strictly at the manager’s discretion.   Checkpoint Labels have made a big dent in some of the attempts that we know are fraudulent.
We have the occasional knucklehead that tries to return high retail merchandise without proof of purchase.   Sometimes I think they work at competitors and are actually stealing these items from them, instead of us, since it’s mainly OTC items like high retail CoQ10 vitamins.  But I do not want to encourage them to continue, so we have had to get more creative in protecting some of these more targeted items.   We have adhered Checkpoint Labels to all of the strengths of this particular item, and without it still attached, we will deny any refunds for them.   They actually have our store location printed on them, so we are easily able to determine whether or not they did come from our store.  We also sell salon brand hair care items, and these are actually source tagged by the vendor.  It’s even better that our store location number is pre-printed on the label as well.  Without that still attached in legible, we have the ammunition we need to prove or disprove the person’s story of where they bought the item.  We never want to just say no across the board to all refunds and returns without receipts.  We also never want to use any bias or discrimination in our decisions.  We have Checkpoint Labels  and we have common sense.  No normal person purchases five packs of lithium camera batteries and then gets home to discover they were the wrong one!
For more information contact us 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net

A study just published this past April showed that a super strict return policy where the staff said “no receipt-no refund”, actually resulted in lost revenue.  It was a significant loss of over 8%.  The stores that had a more relaxed policy kept their sales at pace and did not experience any rise in number of refunds processed. The stores that stayed business as usual did not really have any changes in number of returns or sales levels. This is eye opening for sure, since many small business owners and managers are under the assumption that if they do not accept returns their sales are sure to be above budget.  The problem is that people do lose receipts, and customer service is what brings back loyal shoppers.  Our store certainly cannot afford to lose 8% of our sales, so we utilize a simple solution to help deter shoplifter/returners, and that is Checkpoint Labels.

The big box store down the street from us has the reputation that they will accept just about any returned item, with or without a receipt, as long as it rings up in their system.  That has been a huge frustration for the rest of us in the surrounding area.  Our store has a pretty standard return policy.  If the customer has a receipt, then we take care of their returns with no questions asked.  If they do not have a receipt it can get a little tricky.  Those are done strictly at the manager’s discretion. Checkpoint Labels have made a big dent in some of the attempts that we know are fraudulent.

We have the occasional knucklehead that tries to return high retail merchandise without proof of purchase.   Sometimes I think they work at competitors and are actually stealing these items from them, instead of us, since it’s mainly OTC items like high retail CoQ10 vitamins.  But I do not want to encourage them to continue, so we have had to get more creative in protecting some of these more targeted items.   We have adhered Checkpoint Labels to all of the strengths of this particular item, and without it still attached, we will deny any refunds for them.   They actually have our store location printed on them, so we are easily able to determine whether or not they did come from our store.  We also sell salon brand hair care items, and these are actually source tagged by the vendor.  It’s even better that our store location number is pre-printed on the label as well.  Without that still attached and legible, we have the ammunition we need to prove or disprove the person’s story of where they bought the item.  We never want to just say no across the board to all refunds and returns without receipts.  We also never want to use any bias or discrimination in our decisions.  We have Checkpoint Labels  and we have common sense.  No normal person purchases five packs of lithium camera batteries and then gets home to discover they were the wrong one!

For more information contact us at Anti Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: ,

Using Anti-Shoplifting Devices On Laundry Detergent

September 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Laundry detergent. Pretty much every person in the country purchases this at least once per month. Think about all the times in the past that you personally have purchased a gallon of liquid detergent. 5 years ago, you more than likely had it on your list of things to buy, ran to the store, threw it in the basket and went about your trip without ever giving it a second thought. Now, walk into any mass retailer and I can almost guarantee that you will see some type of anti-shoplifting device attached to the bottle. Why?
Organized retail theft affect every retailer, big or small. These criminals target the small business just as much as they do the big box retailer. The only difference being the mass merchant can probably absorb more shrink than that family business around the corner. These thieves, who target stores with surgical precision do so for a living. From the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep, their entire day is spent organizing their route, planning their hits and stealing. Laundry detergent has emerged as a quick resell, thus making it a prime target for these organized groups. It can easily be resold on the street, at flea market and even in people’s homes. Large retailers have all begun utilizing anti-shoplifting devices to stem the losses, and as a small business owner who carries the same product, you should too. 
It wasn’t that long ago when I caught one of my first organized retail crime busts. I had been working an investigation at a store and had come upon a group of females who were eventually busted for stealing a large quantity of denim jeans. When the police arrived, they gained a warrant to search the vehicle, as it matched the description of a vehicle involved in a theft earlier in the day. When the search was executed, large quantities of soap, detergent, deodorant and other household items filled the truck from side to side and top to bottom. A subsequent police investigation led detectives to a home not too far away from my store. In their home, was a garage that was set up like a small retail store. It was literally a one stop shop for stolen goods. These ladies would steal product and resell from their home. It was the very definition of organized retail crime. They also took orders and would recruit others to boost for them. We learned that they were giving classes on how to defeat anti-shoplifting measures in the stores. One of the most commonly requested and sold items in their store was of course, laundry detergent. 
If your store sells laundry detergent, and it’s not protected by an anti-shoplifting solution, there are several things you can do to immediately start to reduce losses. There are several types of tags and labels out there that can be easily and affordably attached to your merchandise to stop a thief. My personal favorite is the iS Shackle Tag. These one piece hard tags can attach directly to the handle of the detergent and are pretty difficult to defeat, even if a shoplifter is using a tool. They provide a very clear deterrent to the theft to begin with, coupled with the low impact it creates on merchandising, gives you a great anti-shoplifting tool to combat theft. 
For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547

Laundry detergent. Pretty much every person in the country purchases this at least once per month. Think about all the times in the past that you personally have purchased a gallon of liquid detergent. Five years ago, you more than likely had it on your list of things to buy, ran to the store, threw it in the basket and went about your trip without ever giving it a second thought. Now, walk into any mass retailer and I can almost guarantee that you will see some type of anti-shoplifting device attached to the bottle. Why?

 Organized retail theft effects every retailer, big or small. These criminals target the small business just as much as they do the big box retailer. The only difference being the mass merchant can probably absorb more shrink than that family business around the corner. These thieves, who target stores with surgical precision do so for a living. From the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep, their entire day is spent organizing their route, planning their hits and stealing. Laundry detergent has emerged as a quick resell, thus making it a prime target for these organized groups. It can easily be resold on the street, at the flea market and even in people’s homes. Large retailers have all begun utilizing anti-shoplifting devices to stem the losses, and as a small business owner who carries the same product, you should too. 

 It wasn’t that long ago when I caught one of my first organized retail crime busts. I had been working an investigation at a store and had come upon a group of females who were eventually busted for stealing a large quantity of denim jeans. When the police arrived, they gained a warrant to search the vehicle, as it matched the description of a vehicle involved in a theft earlier in the day. When the search was executed, large quantities of soap, detergent, deodorant and other household items filled the truck from side to side and top to bottom. A subsequent police investigation led detectives to a home not too far away from my store. In their home, was a garage that was set up like a small retail store. It was literally a one stop shop for stolen goods. These ladies would steal product and resell from their home. It was the very definition of organized retail crime. They also took orders and would recruit others to boost for them. We learned that they were giving classes on how to defeat anti-shoplifting measures in the stores. One of the most commonly requested and sold items in their store was of course, laundry detergent. 

 If your store sells laundry detergent, and it’s not protected by an anti-shoplifting solution, there are several things you can do to immediately start to reduce losses. There are several types of tags and labels out there that can be easily and affordably attached to your merchandise to stop a thief. My personal favorite is the iS Shackle Tag. These one piece hard tag can attach directly to the handle of the detergent and is pretty difficult to defeat, even if a shoplifter is using a tool. They provide a very clear deterrent to the theft to begin with, coupled with the low impact it creates on merchandising, gives you a great anti-shoplifting tool to combat theft. 

For more information, contact us: Anti-Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With:

Boosters Take The Easy Bait

August 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Shrink controls and Antishoplifting action planning have been at the top of my priorities list since I have been in the retail pharmacy business for almost fifteen years.  I worked at the same store for about seven years before transferring to a different location.  Last week I got a call from one of my former employees.  The first thing out of her mouth was “We just got hit again”.  I asked if it was the same lady, and she said it was. 
The Setting: A small pharmacy out in the middle of nowhere.  The store has additional space with about ten aisles of over the counter medications, cosmetics and health/beauty aids.  No other businesses within a mile either way.  Easy access to a couple major highways, one of which leads to an interstate.
  
The store used to be in a strip mall, but relocated a few years ago to this building.  Since there is no competition close, the store is quite profitable and popular with the surrounding neighborhoods.  Unfortunately it also became a very popular target for professional shoplifters, or as we call them: “boosters.”   The booster activity has ramped up in the last couple of years since I left that location to work at another one about twenty minutes away.  They were bothersome when I was there, but we identified their targets, and put Antishoplifting measures into place.  Most of those tools are still being implemented even now.  
All of the razor cartridge refills are merchandised in Alpha Keepers.  Brand name teeth whitener kits are kept in them as well.  Plus our company has a standard list of items that each store is required to tag with Checkpoint Labels at the time of delivery.  These ideas work, and over time have almost put a stop to the rampant theft in many categories.  But the boosters have learned and changed too.  Now they have new shopping lists, and they have decided to go after the low hanging fruit rather than the usual higher retail items.  This store has been hit four times in the last month, and each time the same one or two women come in and wipe out the shelves.  
It doesn’t seem that any of the staff’s Antishoplifting efforts have worked so far, so now we have to figure out what is going to stop them or we have to catch them.  
The problem the staff is having is that they keep coming on different days, at different times, in different vehicles, alternating which woman comes in or stays in the car, or they both come in but separate, and they keep stealing from different sections.  First they wiped out all of the deodorant body sprays.  Next time they took every box of sensitivity toothpaste.  Then they went after salon hair care items.  This last time they went back to the toothpaste section and cleaned out the shelves again.  They average less than five minutes in the store, but they have gotten away with about $700 worth of inventory in these four hits.  
It is very frustrating for them to discover these wipe-outs over and over, but the staff is fully aware they can’t just wait and hope it stops.  The employees know what the thieves look like, and they are definitely changing their Antishoplifting plans and utilizing different tools so they can get the advantage back in their court.  I have faith in them and I am patiently waiting for the call from my former assistant saying “We got them!”
If your store is experiencing this type of maddening theft over and over, there are steps you can take to stop it in it’s tracks.
For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net 

Shrink controls and Antishoplifting action planning have been at the top of my priorities list since I have been in the retail pharmacy business for almost fifteen years.  I worked at the same store for about seven years before transferring to a different location.  Last week I got a call from one of my former employees.  The first thing out of her mouth was “We just got hit again”.  I asked if it was the same lady, and she said it was. 

The Setting: A small pharmacy out in the middle of nowhere.  The store has additional space with about ten aisles of over the counter medications, cosmetics and health/beauty aids.  No other businesses within a mile either way.  Easy access to a couple major highways, one of which leads to an interstate.  

The store used to be in a strip mall, but relocated a few years ago to this building.  Since there is no competition close, the store is quite profitable and popular with the surrounding neighborhoods.  Unfortunately it also became a very popular target for professional shoplifters, or as we call them: “boosters.”   The booster activity has ramped up in the last couple of years since I left that location to work at another one about twenty minutes away.  They were bothersome when I was there, but we identified their targets, and put Antishoplifting measures into place.  Most of those tools are still being implemented even now.  

All of the razor cartridge refills are merchandised in Alpha Keepers.  Brand name teeth whitener kits are kept in them as well.  Plus our company has a standard list of items that each store is required to tag with Checkpoint Labels at the time of delivery.  These ideas work, and over time have almost put a stop to the rampant theft in many categories.  But the boosters have learned and changed too.  Now they have new shopping lists, and they have decided to go after the low hanging fruit rather than the usual higher retail items.  This store has been hit four times in the last month, and each time the same one or two women come in and wipe out the shelves.  

It doesn’t seem that any of the staff’s Antishoplifting efforts have worked so far, so now we have to figure out what is going to stop them or we have to catch them.  

The problem the staff is having is that they keep coming on different days, at different times, in different vehicles, alternating which woman comes in or stays in the car, or they both come in but separate, and they keep stealing from different sections.  First they wiped out all of the deodorant body sprays.  Next time they took every box of sensitivity toothpaste.  Then they went after salon hair care items.  This last time they went back to the toothpaste section and cleaned out the shelves again.  They average less than five minutes in the store, but they have gotten away with about $700 worth of inventory in these four hits.  

It is very frustrating for them to discover these wipe-outs over and over, but the staff is fully aware they can’t just wait and hope it stops.  The employees know what the thieves look like, and they are definitely changing their Antishoplifting plans and utilizing different tools so they can get the advantage back in their court.  I have faith in them and I am patiently waiting for the call from my former assistant saying “We got them!”

If your store is experiencing this type of maddening theft over and over, there are steps you can take to stop it in it’s tracks.

For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net 

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With:

Even Honest Looking Employees Steal Too

July 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment

EAS tags can help indicate a problem and let you know if the tags aren’t being deactivated at the register. Tags can fail to deactivate for one of two reasons: theft or malfunctioning deactivator.  Too often, store owners and managers give the benefit of the doubt when EAS pedestals go off at the door and fail to realize that employee theft is a rapidly growing problem!

About two years ago, I was working in one of my stores and I began to notice something strange.  Every time a certain employee left, the alarm at the door would go off.  This employee had been with the company for over 20 years, had pictures of her grandchildren hanging in her locker and had been given numerous awards.  No one would have ever suspected her of stealing.  To be honest, if I hadn’t seen the alarms go off every time she left, even I wouldn’t have thought of her as a potential thief.  She was the grandma everyone loved to chat with and laugh with.

I started to investigate her by reviewing her shift logs and watching the cameras every time she left the store after her shift.  Even though there was no sound on the camera, I watched to see if the EAS pedestals were lighting up every time she left for the night and sure enough, they were.  Determined to get to the bottom of this, I started by reviewing as far back as the cameras would go and watching this employee during her entire shift. 

Much to my dismay, I found out that she was stealing things nearly every shift. She always carried a large purse and periodically through her shift she would hide Crest strips, Tide, frozen pizzas, batteries and other grocery items. She would carefully store them in the back stock rooms or under her cash register. As soon as she thought no one was watching, she would stuff the items into her purse. I was surprised that she would steal at a cash register, surely she knew there was a camera there! After watching her for a while, I realized that she was so used to stealing and hadn’t ever been caught that she didn’t care about the cameras.  I continued to document each theft, making a list of the items I could identify on camera.  My tally for the month (our CCTV only went back a month) was: nearly $1000 worth of merchandise that had been stolen, including: 2 bottles of Tide, 3 bottles of wine, 14 DVDs, an entire carton of cigarettes, 2 boxes of dish detergent, frozen pizzas (I lost count of how many), 11 packages of cosmetics and many, many other things.

To say I was stunned was an understatement. Even my manager, when I took him this information, immediately thought that there was some mistake. He was very hesitant to cast doubt on such a dedicated employee who had been with the company so long. I showed him the evidence and he reluctantly allowed me to interview her.  I arrived the next day for the interview and found that the room was crammed full of HR personnel and store management.  I wasn’t the only one in shock about these allegations. The store manager called the employee in and I began the interview. At first she denied everything, saying that there had to be some mistake. She kept asserting that she was a long time employee and would NEVER do such a thing. Finally, I showed her the camera footage and she admitted to the thefts. I asked her how long this had been going on and she said she started stealing approximately 2 years ago. If she had stolen $1000 in the month we had on CCTV, then over two years of stealing she had taken an average of nearly $24000 of merchandise from the store! I asked the employee why she had been stealing and she said that she was looking for a little excitement in her life and got a “high” from stealing. She also stated that her grandchildren liked the things she brought home so some of it was for them.  I got a written statement from her, suspended her and turned all of the evidence over to the police.

EAS tags can help pinpoint potential criminal activity. Even if you think someone would never steal, EAS pedestals don’t discriminate and will alarm on any stolen merchandise that has an active EAS tag.  Sadly, this situation taught me never to trust anyone no matter how honest they appear. Loss prevention tools don’t lie.

 

“For more information on EAS TAGS, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547”

 

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting

Antishoplifting Or Court: You Make the Choice

July 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
There is nothing I truly hate to see more than the deputy coming in to serve me with a subpoena for shoplifter court.  It’s not that I don’t like the man; he’s nice enough and it’s not his fault.  I know deep down it is my own fault for not having any Antishoplifting tools and measures in place when the thefts occurred.  In the reactive world we live in, we are more apt to fix theft problems after they happen the first time.  So just this week I looked up to see my deputy friend walking in the door with that dreaded paper in his hand.  I haven’t had any issues in a while so I actually thought he must have been looking for someone in the pharmacy.  (I’m the front end manager of a small retail pharmacy, and we do have the occasional fake prescription or some other issue back there.)  But to my dismay, I was the intended receiver of his summons.  
This particular one is for superior court, instead of the usual lackluster criminal court shoplifter proceedings.  Apparently, one of our incidents was bigger than we thought.  A couple came in a year and a half ago on a night near closing, pushing a baby stroller.  It was November so the fact that there was a blanket covering “the baby” was no red flag.  My staff paid no mind to them, and continued vacuuming and other nightly recovery duties they were assigned to.  Unfortunately, when I came into work the next morning I discovered a huge empty space in my razor section.  On reviewing the camera footage, I had that gut feeling that the couple were the culprits in the near $1,000 theft.   I got a call a month or so later that they had been caught in another state using the same method.  The detective called me because my stores labels were found on some items in their trunk.
That was the  only Antishoplifting tactic I was using on the razor cartridges at that time.  I did not get back near what I lost, but at least it was something.  Of course, as previously stated, I reacted to the theft and after brainstorming with my staff, chose a different course of action to stop it from happening again.  We now utilize Alpha Keepers to display the cartridges, so they are still available for the customer to see and choose from.  For simple peace of mind, we also still attach the store identification stickers to the outside of the boxes.   Now my inventory is safe and secure, without discouraging my honest customers, by making them jump through hoops figuring out some complicated dispensing system or “beg” for them at the checkout counter.  Anthishoplifting should never impede your sales.  
So in a month or so, I’ll have to go to court and get on the witness stand to testify about what I discovered that morning.  All I have to go on is my camera footage, so there are no eye witnesses to the crime.  This is usually not a good thing in criminal court, so I do wonder how it will pan out in superior court.  The camera does not lie, but judges seem to prefer someone actually being there and swearing out what they saw with their own eyes.  Who knows why?  Well, wish me luck, and know that it taught me and my staff that Antishoplifting tools should be used in a proactive manner.  Then I can avoid long days on very hard benches.  
For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net

There is nothing I truly hate to see more than the deputy coming in to serve me with a subpoena for shoplifter court.  It’s not that I don’t like the man; he’s nice enough and it’s not his fault.  I know deep down it is my own fault for not having any Antishoplifting tools and measures in place when the thefts occurred.  In the reactive world we live in, we are more apt to fix theft problems after they happen the first time.  So just this week I looked up to see my deputy friend walking in the door with that dreaded paper in his hand.  I haven’t had any issues in a while so I actually thought he must have been looking for someone in the pharmacy.  (I’m the front end manager of a small retail pharmacy, and we do have the occasional fake prescription or some other issue back there.)  But to my dismay, I was the intended receiver of his summons.  

This particular one is for superior court, instead of the usual lackluster criminal court shoplifter proceedings.  Apparently, one of our incidents was bigger than we thought.  A couple came in a year and a half ago on a night near closing, pushing a baby stroller.  It was November so the fact that there was a blanket covering “the baby” was no red flag.  My staff paid no mind to them, and continued vacuuming and other nightly recovery duties they were assigned to.  Unfortunately, when I came into work the next morning I discovered a huge empty space in my razor section.  On reviewing the camera footage, I had that gut feeling that the couple were the culprits in the near $1,000 theft.   I got a call a month or so later that they had been caught in another state using the same method.  The detective called me because my stores Checkpoint Labels were found on some items in their trunk.

That was the only Antishoplifting tactic I was using on the razor cartridges at that time.  I did not get back near what I lost, but at least it was something.  Of course, as previously stated, I reacted to the theft and after brainstorming with my staff, chose a different course of action to stop it from happening again.  We now utilize Alpha Keepers to display the cartridges, so they are still available for the customer to see and choose from.  For simple peace of mind, we also still attach the store identification stickers to the outside of the boxes.   Now my inventory is safe and secure, without discouraging my honest customers, by making them jump through hoops figuring out some complicated dispensing system or “beg” for them at the checkout counter.  Anthishoplifting should never impede your sales.  

So in a month or so, I’ll have to go to court and get on the witness stand to testify about what I discovered that morning.  All I have to go on is my camera footage, so there are no eye witnesses to the crime.  This is usually not a good thing in criminal court, so I do wonder how it will pan out in superior court.  The camera does not lie, but judges seem to prefer someone actually being there and swearing out what they saw with their own eyes.  Who knows why?  Well, wish me luck, and know that it taught me and my staff that Antishoplifting tools should be used in a proactive manner.  Then I can avoid long days on very hard benches. 

For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With:

Five Strategies to Stop Shoplifting in Your Business

July 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

You walk around the endcap and the “customer” standing in front of your DVD display stands up quickly.  “What was he doing?” you ask yourself.  It looked like he might be trying to put that movie down his pants.  You can’t be everywhere.  Just how are you supposed to stop shoplifting?  It is costing you a fortune by all accounts and retail theft prevention is becoming even more discussed as organized retail crime comes to the forefront with law enforcement and retailers.  Retail theft prevention is every retailer’s business and there are five anti-shoplifting strategies one can employ:  (1) awareness; (2) merchandising; (3) customer service excellence; (4) zero tolerance; and (5) technological countermeasures.

            Awareness is the least expensive solution that the retailer has available to them to stop shoplifting.  People …your staff … are the key to retail theft prevention.  Ensuring that your staff understand pricing, store policies and are trained in what to look for in potential shoplifting behavior as well as what to do and what NOT TO DO when they see a shoplifter is important in anti-shoplifting strategy.  It is important that staff be reminded they are not to be heroes and never are to risk their safety or the safety of your customers for your merchandise.

            Merchandising – everything in its place – is important as well in making it difficult for that shoplifter to make off with your merchandise.  Is your high dollar merchandise too close to the exits?  Are your small, easily concealable trinkets located away from main isles and stacked together on displays so a would-be shoplifter can grab a handful and conceal them?   Are your displays so high that your staff can not see over them or around them?  Are you exits so open without displays moving traffic away from the exits that a shoplifter or a group of shoplifter can push a shopping cart load of merchandise right out the door into a waiting van or car?  If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions, you need to take a look at your merchandising plan and consider anti-shoplifting merchandising strategies.

            Customer service excellence pays you dividends in many ways other than ensuring you a happy returning customer.  It also plays a strong role in retail theft prevention.  No shoplifter likes to be noticed and when your staff is asking that shoplifter over and over, “Can I help you?” or “Let me show you our newest line of products that can save you money” they are making that potential shoplifter very nervous indeed – so nervous that he or she is likely to give up their mission and leave your store.  If your store has an excellence reputation for having staff on the floor and demonstrating excellent customer service, they undoubtedly have a strong reputation to the shoplifter of being the place to avoid.

            Zero tolerance is a key to that reputation.  Your store must have a reputation that if one shoplifts there and gets caught they are going to jail and be prosecuted.  This is a conscious policy decision that needs to be discussed with your management team and agreed up in order to ensure there is no deviation from this zero tolerance for shoplifting and you will stop shoplifting.  Shoplifters are like water:  they flow to the area of least resistance.

            Technological countermeasures is the fifth strategy and is the one that is likely to have you do some return-on-investment analysis.  It is often worth the investment, however, if one really wants to stop shoplifting in his or her store.  Checkpoint Systems, for example, has numerous solutions available at different price points to place labels on merchandise that can be detected by Checkpoint Systems’ devices located at your exits should a shoplifter try to leave with the merchandise without paying.  There are other vendors besides Checkpoint systems that provide such devices as well.  Closed-circuit television is often a strategy one thinks about as a potential strategy.  This much be clearly thought out, however, because if one should not monitor the systems live or have them monitored, they are only good at detecting who stole your merchandise and when.

               When multiple strategies are used together, including awareness, merchandising, excellent customer service, zero tolerance, and technological countermeasures; it is then when you have strong retail theft prevention in place that can actually stop shoplifting in your store.  You actually don’t have to worry about being everywhere at once to prevent that person from walking out of your store with the DVD.  Your strategies will do it for you!

For more information about shoplifting, contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When Spider Wraps Aren’t Enough

July 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I began my retail loss prevention career in an area with rampant Organized Retail Crime and pawn shops on every corner. One pawn shop closed and another popped up out of nowhere. Any shoplifter knows that, when it comes to fencing (the sale of stolen merchandise), small appliances are where it’s at. They make great gifts and pawn shop owners are less likely to ask questions because they are so easily sellable. For that reason, every local shop that carried small appliances was lit up with the blinking red lights of Spider Wraps, except for mine, at the time. 
The first six months of my career I was plagued with the question “how do I stop my coffee makers from going out the door?” In my first holiday season I had lost 33. At $150-$200 each, it was a majority of my Houseware Department’s shortage in 2013. The real goal in loss prevention is to implement programs that protect your merchandise without impeding sales. Generally shortage goals are a percentage of annual sales, meaning the more you sell, the more loss is acceptable. Because Keurigs were the hot item of the season, my store displayed them directly in front of the main store entrance.  Without the option of moving the units further from the door, I had to find a way to protect them. I placed a phone call to my director and requested Spider Wraps. At the time, they were not approved in my store. The shortage had never been high enough to offset the cost of the equipment. It took a lot of pleading and a very informative and convincing PowerPoint presentation but my director finally approved. I was like a kid on Christmas morning when that box was delivered to my office. I worked overtime that day making sure that all the coffee makers, blenders, and juicers were wrapped in their glorious alarms. I worked overtime the next day making sure the associates all knew how to operate them. This is it, I thought to myself. No more running after appliances. They were great! My Housewares activity stopped and I was finally able to focus on other areas of my store. 
Then, two weeks later, I got a call from the store. “I know you’re on vacation but I really feel like you need to be informed that we’ve lost three coffee makers this week.” It didn’t take long for the shoplifters to realize that, if they ran fast enough, it didn’t matter that the alarm went off. The merchandise was so close to the door that they could grab it and run and, with or without the alarm, no one could get there quick enough. I went back to the drawing board. What else was out there that would protect my merchandise? I went through my inventory of tags and cables to no avail. Then, one day, there was another box delivered to my door with a note that said “I ordered too many for another store. Can you use these?” In the box were 2-alarm Alpha Cable Locks. These little locks were obviously too short to wrap around a coffee maker, but they were just the right length to attach the existing spider wraps to the wire shelving unit the merchandise was displayed on. So, that’s what I did. Absolutely, it seemed a little excessive at first but desperate times call for desperate measures! I do have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in my office watching suspected shoplifters walk up to the shelves, tug on the alarms and then leave, faces full of disappointment. 
In 2014, I only lost one coffee maker, and I’m pretty sure that was a shipping/receiving error, thanks to the combination of Spider Wraps and Alpha Cable Locks. Unfortunately, we live in a time where our all never seems to be enough when it comes to reducing shortage but, it’s not hopeless with a little creative thinking and the right resources. 
For more information contact us: Alpha Cable Locks or call 1.770.426.0547

I began my retail loss prevention career in an area with rampant Organized Retail Crime and pawn shops on every corner. One pawn shop closed and another popped up out of nowhere. Any shoplifter knows that, when it comes to fencing (the sale of stolen merchandise), small appliances are where it’s at. They make great gifts and pawn shop owners are less likely to ask questions because they are so easily sellable. For that reason, every local shop that carried small appliances was lit up with the blinking red lights of Spider Wraps, except for mine, at the time. 

The first six months of my career I was plagued with the question “how do I stop my coffee makers from going out the door?” In my first holiday season I had lost 33. At $150-$200 each, it was a majority of my Houseware Department’s shortage for that year. The real goal in loss prevention is to implement programs that protect your merchandise without impeding sales. Generally shortage goals are a percentage of annual sales, meaning the more you sell, the more loss is acceptable. Because Keurigs were the hot item of the season, my store displayed them directly in front of the main store entrance.  Without the option of moving the units further from the door, I had to find a way to protect them. I placed a phone call to my director and requested Spider Wraps. At the time, they were not approved in my store. The shortage had never been high enough to offset the cost of the equipment. It took a lot of pleading and a very informative and convincing PowerPoint presentation but my director finally approved. I was like a kid on Christmas morning when that box was delivered to my office. I worked overtime that day making sure that all the coffee makers, blenders, and juicers were wrapped in their glorious alarms. I worked overtime the next day making sure the associates all knew how to operate them. This is it, I thought to myself. No more running after appliances. They were great! My Housewares activity stopped and I was finally able to focus on other areas of my store. 

Then, two weeks later, I got a call from the store. “I know you’re on vacation but I really feel like you need to be informed that we’ve lost three coffee makers this week.” It didn’t take long for the shoplifters to realize that, if they ran fast enough, it didn’t matter that the alarm went off. The merchandise was so close to the door that they could grab it and run and, with or without the alarm, no one could get there quick enough. I went back to the drawing board. What else was out there that would protect my merchandise? I went through my inventory of tags and cables to no avail. Then, one day, there was another box delivered to my door with a note that said “I ordered too many for another store. Can you use these?” In the box were 2-alarm Alpha Cable Locks. These little locks were obviously too short to wrap around a coffee maker, but they were just the right length to attach the existing spider wraps to the wire shelving unit the merchandise was displayed on. So, that’s what I did. Absolutely, it seemed a little excessive at first but desperate times call for desperate measures! I do have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in my office watching suspected shoplifters walk up to the shelves, tug on the alarms and then leave, faces full of disappointment. 

That year I only lost one coffee maker, and I’m pretty sure that was a shipping/receiving error, thanks to the combination of Spider Wraps and Alpha Cable Locks. Unfortunately, we live in a time where our all never seems to be enough when it comes to reducing shortage but, it’s not hopeless with a little creative thinking and the right resources. 

For more information contact us: Alpha Cable Locks or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting

Don’t Be Creepy – The Art of Physical Surveillance and Retail Theft Prevention

May 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment
In the fight to stop shoplifting in retail stores, there are several retail theft prevention methods you can employ to accomplish the task. Of course, you will want to have a good security alarm system in your store to ensure that your business is protected after hours from burglars.  You will also need to get a good EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system for your entrance and exit doors, like a top of the line Checkpoint systems setup that works with different kinds of security tags and labels.  Last but not least, if you have the budget, it would be a good idea to hire someone that handles investigations on shoplifters and employees.  
If you are able to have a loss prevention or asset protection team member working in your store that looks for shoplifters, make sure they have the proper training so they don’t wind up scaring away your loyal customers.  After all, the goal is to stop shoplifting, not stop customers from purchasing your merchandise.  I have worked in the retail loss prevention field for several years, and know that if you aren’t mindful of your surroundings while you are watching someone in the store, you can turn out looking like a creep yourself.  
I remember several occasions that my coworkers and I have been mistaken for shady characters ourselves.   For example, I remember watching a person from across the store when another customer just happened to walk in the line of sight between myself and the shoplifter.  The customer thought I was watching her, and she became so nervous that she asked for a manager at the front of the store, and said that there was a strange man watching her.  The manager said that he would call “security” to safely escort her to her car.  To her surprise, I showed up and introduced myself.  After realizing the situation, the customer laughed and obviously no longer needed the escort to her vehicle.  Although I was well trained myself, things like this do tend to happen on occasion.   
Once you have watched shoplifters a few times, you start to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work.  You need to know the setup of the store and know where you can get a good vantage point when you are watching someone wherever they happen to be in the store.  You can also use your environment and the merchandise to blend in without being seen.  For instance, you can use peg holes in the shelving to look through, or adjust merchandise so that it hides your head and body as you are watching someone.  When a shoplifter is looking around to see if someone is watching them, they tend to look at eye level, so if you stay lower when you are looking at them from behind merchandise, they will be less likely to see you.  I’m not saying that you have to crawl around on the ground, but just try to stay below eye level.  With a combination of good retail theft prevention equipment and a team that is looking out for shoplifters in your store, you are sure to make a positive impact on your bottom line.
For more information contact us: (retail theft prevention) or call 1.770.426.0547

In the fight to stop shoplifting in retail stores, there are several retail theft prevention methods you can employ to accomplish the task. Of course, you will want to have a good security alarm system in your store to ensure that your business is protected after hours from burglars.  You will also need to get a good EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system for your entrance and exit doors, like a top of the line Checkpoint Systems setup that works with different kinds of security tags and labels.  Last but not least, if you have the budget, it would be a good idea to hire someone that handles investigations on shoplifters and employees.

If you are able to have a loss prevention or asset protection team member working in your store that looks for shoplifters, make sure they have the proper training so they don’t wind up scaring away your loyal customers.  After all, the goal is to stop shoplifting, not stop customers from purchasing your merchandise.  I have worked in the retail loss prevention field for several years, and know that if you aren’t mindful of your surroundings while you are watching someone in the store, you can turn out looking like a creep yourself.

I remember several occasions that my coworkers and I have been mistaken for shady characters ourselves.   For example, I remember watching a person from across the store when another customer just happened to walk in the line of sight between myself and the shoplifter.  The customer thought I was watching her, and she became so nervous that she asked for a manager at the front of the store, and said that there was a strange man watching her.  The manager said that he would call “security” to safely escort her to her car.  To her surprise, I showed up and introduced myself.  After realizing the situation, the customer laughed and obviously no longer needed the escort to her vehicle.  Although I was well trained myself, things like this do tend to happen on occasion.

Once you have watched shoplifters a few times, you start to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work.  You need to know the setup of the store and know where you can get a good vantage point when you are watching someone wherever they happen to be in the store.  You can also use your environment and the merchandise to blend in without being seen.  For instance, you can use peg holes in the shelving to look through, or adjust merchandise so that it hides your head and body as you are watching someone.  When a shoplifter is looking around to see if someone is watching them, they tend to look at eye level, so if you stay lower when you are looking at them from behind merchandise, they will be less likely to see you.  I’m not saying that you have to crawl around on the ground, but just try to stay below eye level.  With a combination of good retail theft prevention equipment and a team that is looking out for shoplifters in your store, you are sure to make a positive impact on your bottom line.

For more information contact us at Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: , ,

Shark Tags Can Stop Habitual Refunding

April 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I read an article recently about about people that will try to return just about anything.  The best anecdotes were the ones from the horrified children of the habitual “returners” of clothing and how embarrassing it was to stand there and listen to their parent try to justify the need for a full refund.  Of course, it is not funny when it is your business having to deal with this type of person.  Your store needs to have a policy that puts a stop to this type of return, but just having a written policy posted at the register may not be enough.  Adding Shark Tags could have a huge impact on the unnecessary return of clothing and accessories.
There are people out there that do this every day; they buy an item they really cannot afford, wear it for some big event, then return it to the store with the claim the item did not fit properly, or they just changed their mind after they got home.  Taking back used clothing is a no win situation though.  In many cases the items cannot be resold for full value.  The original price tags have likely been removed.  Add in possible sweat or makeup stains, or even strong perfume or cigarette smoke odors, and you have to mark it down drastically or “damage it out” of your inventory.  Your sign on the door or at the register that says “Used Clothing Will Not Be Refunded” is useless if you really have no proof it was worn.  The person can simply claim those were on the items when they bought them, and even use that as their excuse for wanting to return the item.  Shark Tags can give you a rock solid reason to deny a refund for an obviously used garment.
These brightly colored devices attach to any article of clothing or accessory.  They can be simply pinned on or attached with a lanyard.  They are meant to be put on in very visible locations of the items, such as the neckline of a dress or blouse, or the strap of a purse.  There is no damage to the item, and they are designed to be easily removed at home with a simple pair of scissors.  Also, the Shark Tag does not impede your customer from trying the item on in the store or even at home.  
The main function of the Shark Tag is to let people know that once it is removed, the item belongs to them, and cannot be returned.  They are the “You Break It, You Buy It” sign for the clothing industry.  Because they are pinned onto a prominent location of the garment, they cannot just be hidden or tucked in so the person can wear it with it still attached, or they are going to look ridiculous.  The majority of fraudulent refund offenders want to appear as though they can afford to buy this type of clothing, and would never let others know of their intention to take it back.  
Act now and your store can save future generations of humiliated children by adding Shark Tags to your return policy.  
For more information contact us at Clothingsecurity.net or call 1.770.426.0547

I read an article recently about about people that will try to return just about anything.  The best anecdotes were the ones from the horrified children of the habitual “returners” of clothing and how embarrassing it was to stand there and listen to their parent try to justify the need for a full refund.  Of course, it is not funny when it is your business having to deal with this type of person.  Your store needs to have a policy that puts a stop to this type of return, but just having a written policy posted at the register may not be enough.  Adding Shark Tags could have a huge impact on the unnecessary return of clothing and accessories.

There are people out there that do this every day; they buy an item they really cannot afford, wear it for some big event, then return it to the store with the claim the item did not fit properly, or they just changed their mind after they got home.  Taking back used clothing is a no win situation though.  In many cases the items cannot be resold for full value.  The original price tags have likely been removed.  Add in possible sweat or makeup stains, or even strong perfume or cigarette smoke odors, and you have to mark it down drastically or “damage it out” of your inventory.  Your sign on the door or at the register that says “Used Clothing Will Not Be Refunded” is useless if you really have no proof it was worn.  The person can simply claim those were on the items when they bought them, and even use that as their excuse for wanting to return the item.  Shark Tags can give you a rock solid reason to deny a refund for an obviously used garment.

These brightly colored devices attach to any article of clothing or accessory.  They can be simply pinned on or attached with a lanyard. They are meant to be put on in very visible locations of the items, such as the neckline of a dress or blouse, or the strap of a purse.  There is no damage to the item, and they are designed to be easily removed at home with a simple pair of scissors.  Also, the Shark Tag does not impede your customer from trying the item on in the store or even at home.  

The main function of the Shark Tag is to let people know that once it is removed, the item belongs to them, and cannot be returned.  They are the “You Break It, You Buy It” sign for the clothing industry.  Because they are pinned onto a prominent location of the garment, they cannot just be hidden or tucked in so the person can wear it with it still attached, or they are going to look ridiculous.  The majority of fraudulent refund offenders want to appear as though they can afford to buy this type of clothing, and would never let others know of their intention to take it back.  

Act now and your store can save future generations of humiliated children by adding Shark Tags to your return policy.  

For more information contact us at Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting

This Is A Test- Checkpoint Systems

February 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
When is the last time you ran a test on your Checkpoint Systems alarm? If the answer is – never- then you might want to reconsider having a test done. At the very least, an alarm test should be conducted once every six months, or biannually.
While Checkpoint Systems alarms are very reliable, conducting a test ensures that all of the physical components are working properly. That means the motion sensors are alarming when they should and all of the door sensors register when they are opened.
The alarm test is actually pretty simple to conduct and should not take more than about twenty to thirty minutes, depending on the size of your store and the amount of access points to test.
Step one is to call the alarm monitoring company and tell them you are going to conduct a test of your Checkpoint Systems. They will place the system on test for you. This is extremely important to do first. If your system is not on test mode, the alarms that you trigger will notify the police. You may be charged a false alarm fee if the police have to respond.
Next walk through your store. Make sure you walk past all motion sensors and open all doors that have an alarm. When you are done, call the alarm company back to have your system taken off of test mode. You should have a detailed list of all points that triggered. Any point that did not alarm that should have needs to have maintenance done immediately.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.
For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547 

When is the last time you ran a test on your Checkpoint Systems alarm? If the answer is – never- then you might want to reconsider having a test done. At the very least, an alarm test should be conducted once every six months, or biannually.

While Checkpoint Systems alarms are very reliable, conducting a test ensures that all of the physical components are working properly. That means the motion sensors are alarming when they should and all of the door sensors register when they are opened.

The alarm test is actually pretty simple to conduct and should not take more than about twenty to thirty minutes, depending on the size of your store and the amount of access points to test.

Step one is to call the alarm monitoring company and tell them you are going to conduct a test of your Checkpoint Systems. They will place the system on test for you. This is extremely important to do first. If your system is not on test mode, the alarms that you trigger will notify the police. You may be charged a false alarm fee if the police have to respond.

Next walk through your store. Make sure you walk past all motion sensors and open all doors that have an alarm. When you are done, call the alarm company back to have your system taken off of test mode. You should have a detailed list of all points that triggered. Any point that did not alarm that should have needs to have maintenance done immediately.

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

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

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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