Sometimes people just buy the wrong item, they get the wrong size, or the product doesn’t work the way it says it will. Refunds and exchanges are part of retail, whether you’re a giant supercenter or a small specialty shop. Customers want a hassle free return process, especially if they have their receipt for the purchase. Unfortunately, there is the downside of fraudulent customer refunds for stolen merchandise, and refunds also give dishonest employees a way to steal cash from their employers. There are some ways to stop employee theft and stop shoplifting by using some different techniques to track your refunds.
If you want to stop some of your shoplifting problem, you may need to change the way you deal with customer refunds. When I was first assigned to the store I am managing now, the refunds were through the roof. Most of the merchandise was refunded without receipts. A competitor had opened down the street and the former manager thought it better to process the refunds rather than turn them away in order to keep the business. My problem with this thought process was that word was getting out, and I suspected many of the items were being stolen minutes before the return. I had to figure out how to stop the shoplifting, and keep customer service as my priority. First, I now require a photo ID for all refunds without a receipt. Second, I verify the item was actually sold. It may take a few extra minutes, but I have cut down on these refund transactions, and now that the dishonest customers know they can’t get a refund they haven’t got any reason to steal the merchandise in the first place.
Now, putting some extra work into verifying refunds will also help stop employee theft. I have a “refund” basket behind the counter. All returned merchandise is kept in this basket until I verify it and then I put it back on the shelf. Refunds are such a small percentage of the day’s work and it lets your employees know you are aware of what’s happening in your business. When I check these returns, I check the item’s sales and balance on hand. If the computer thinks I have five widgets, and there’s one in the refund basket, there should be four more on the shelf. If there are only three widgets on the shelf for a total of four, then the cashier may have fraudulently returned that one just to pocket the cash. We had four as we should have, but when the cashier returned one, the computer gained one to make it five. If I check this cashier’s refunds on a regular basis and there’s always one or more than the computer thinks I have, then this could indicate a problem. One time wouldn’t really mean anything, but if the problem is repeated over and over, you need to believe you have an issue.
I don’t want to be the refund police. I just want customers to have positive experiences and I want cashiers that give me an honest day’s work. You can cut down on two problems with more diligence around refunds, stopping shoplifting and stopping employee theft.
For more information contact us: Stopemployeetheft.net or Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
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