Things Not To Overlook For Inventory: Tips For L.P. Managers

March 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Sometime this year you will most likely be conducting an inventory. Some stores even conduct multiple inventories when they have high stock shortage results. While it does not necessarily translate to poor results, a lack of adequate preparation can have an impact on the final shortage numbers.  Occasionally, it is easy to overlook things that can cause an unnecessary stock shortage. Here are some things to look at as you prepare for your next store inventory that may prove helpful in obtaining the best possible results:

  • If you have shoplifting or employee theft cases you are prosecuting you need to account for the merchandise. A Loss Prevention Department should have an evidence locker with recovered merchandise in it if a case has not come to trial yet. Some police departments retain the evidence and supply a chain of custody form that lists the merchandise they are holding. Ensure the evidence, in either case, is included in your inventory. It may not seem like a lot but if you are the owner of a small or medium retail business a few hundred dollars here and there can be a big deal.
  • Look underneath and behind fixtures or cases that may have gaps where merchandise can drop. It does not always occur to people to look under register scan belts but small pieces of merchandise can be pulled in as the belt rolls. Items such as greeting cards and jewelry can find their way underneath and will be missed during a count.
  • Check-in desk drawers and in offices for merchandise being used for store purposes. There are at times a need to “store use” merchandise such as pens, trash bags, tape, etc. These should be marked with some type of marker or tag to show that they have been accounted for at some point. If an item is not marked out for store use and is not counted during the inventory process it becomes a shortage.
  • Take a look at the sales floor and if your store uses gondolas and shelving for displaying merchandise, lift up baseplates of the gondolas and look for stray merchandise. If you look closely there is a gap between the base of the gondola and the pegboard wall. Small items can find the way down these nooks and crannies. It should also be noted that shoplifters and dishonest employees will hide merchandise under here on occasion.
  • If your store sells purses, luggage, diaper bags, etc. unzip them and look inside for merchandise that has been concealed. It is not unusual for a shoplifter to hide merchandise inside and get scared away leaving the hidden items behind.
  • If your store sells live units used as displays, be sure they are tagged and ready to be counted. On the flip side of that be sure inactive or non-functional displays are tagged as DNI (Do Not Inventory). These types of displays are often in housewares and may include microwave ovens, blenders, coffee makers, etc. In electronics, it could be a printer, computer, phone and so on.
  • Ensure furniture units that may be sold as two separate pieces are counted properly. For example, a desk may have a hutch attached to it on display but the hutch and desk are two unique sku’s.
  • Check that all case packs are separated appropriately for sale and counting. For example, I work in a store that sells individual binders and 12 pack cases of binders (each of the binders in the case has a barcode but are intended for sale as part of the case). Be sure your merchandise is counted in the appropriate quantity it is to be sold in.
  • Minimize your pre-counts. Some stores will spend an excessive amount of time counting merchandise that they are paying an inventory service to count. These companies are very good at what they do. Have a pre-inventory visit with the representative of the inventory crew and discuss areas that might best be pre-counted but get their input. If they are confident they can count everything allow them to do so. You should be auditing the work on inventory night and catching significant mis-counts.

Hopefully, you have been using Checkpoint equipment to minimize losses due to theft. It is also going to be beneficial to your stock shortage dollars and percent if you have had sound operational plans in place including vendor controls. The last piece to the shortage puzzle is the inventory itself. Follow these suggestions and you can rest easy knowing you have done all you can to improve your chances for a great inventory number for the year.

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What Is A Reasonable Request Of An Employee Not On The Clock?

March 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

In a recent article published in LPM Insider, “Security Footage Sinks Employee Lawsuit Targeting Employee Bag Checks” by Garrett Seivold, Feb 7, 2018, they discussed a lawsuit brought against Nike by an employee who complained that he was being required to have package checks done when he was off the clock. His argument was that he was not being compensated for the time he is delayed. For the time being Nike has not been found to be excessive in its demands. They were able to demonstrate that employees were only being stopped for an average of 18 seconds for an inspection. This is hardly excessive by any measure. However, courts have a tendency to be inconsistent or a higher court may overturn a lower court decision. While one court may uphold the decision in favor of Nike there is no guarantee this will be true should a similar lawsuit be brought against other retailers.

This case brings up some interesting questions for retailers. No one should ever work off the clock (unless of course the employee is classified as “exempt” in which case there is no time clock per se) but what constitutes reasonable requests? Can an employer “ask” employees to bring in a shopping cart from the parking lot if they are coming to work or returning from a break? It seems like an innocuous request. It helps the store keep the parking lot clear of hazards and saves the time of sending someone out to gather buggies and the employee is already on the way in. The problem in this situation is that the suggestion may not be perceived as a suggestion. The request is coming from a person in authority so there could be the sense that the request is a requirement and if it is not done, will the staff member get in trouble or be perceived as a non-team player? This type of request has been made of employees and does fall into a gray area. To prevent it from becoming a problem it is probably best to err on the side of caution and not do it.

Is it reasonable to ask a closing employee(s) to clock out and wait to exit the building with the closing manager who still has to set the alarm system for the store? Again, the process of setting the alarm may only take an extra minute but having been a closing manager I have had alarm panels that won’t set properly due to a faulty alarm sensor. Those take time to clear or shunt so the rest of the system can be set. How much time is reasonable? There may not be a clear answer.

Last but certainly not least what about delays due to electronic article surveillance alarm activations? Unlike a package check at the end of the shift in which a quick peek is all that is required to look for obvious unpaid merchandise, an electronic article surveillance alarm requires more attention. Something is in the possession of the person and that has to be resolved. This also means more time will be required for inspecting receipts and items the person has in their possession. Until the cause for the alarm is determined there is reasonable cause for a delay but should that employee be paid for the time? What if the cause for the alarm is due to faulty equipment that did not de-tune a Checkpoint tag? What if the cause is due to cashier error and the failure to remove a hard tag at the time of purchase? Would any of these factors shift a court decision in favor of an employee suing for the same reasons?

It appears for the time being that courts will allow reasonable time demands from employees for things that impact the security and safety of a store. What makes one requirement reasonable while another is not could become problematic. Conduct package checks and ask your closing employees to wait a minute to enable the group to leave together for safety reasons. Consider making the expectation clear and why you are doing it in a release form signed by the employee during the hiring process. If you still have concerns then manually adjust timecards to reflect the additional time. At least the employees will know they are being compensated for that 18-second bag check.    

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Knowledge Of Anti-Theft Devices Can Help Others Prevent Shoplifting; Your Management Knowledge Can Help Others Improve Their Future Part 1

March 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment
     Opportunity knocks so they say and we want to think we are ready to answer that door and invite it in. When we hear the saying, “Opportunity Knocks” I wonder just how many of us think of it in terms of something that can benefit US if we accept it? I think back to my early years in Retail Loss Prevention. I was a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store and doing well in that role catching a lot of shoplifters and assisting in a few internal investigations. Opportunity for me knocked when a new big box retail store was coming to our area and was looking for Loss Prevention Associates. I applied only for the opportunity for a little better pay. I figured I had an advantage with my knowledge of retail anti-theft devices such as an Alpha ink tag and how to prevent shoplifting. I also had my U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement experience as a key part of my resume. Well, I was interviewed for the position and due to some unforeseen circumstances the person who was going to transfer for the L.P. Manager position changed his mind. Based on my interview, Loss Prevention experience and college degree I was offered the Loss Prevention Manager position. I say I was blessed with the opportunity and when it was presented I accepted.  While I use this example of an opportunity that was presented to me, I also like to look for opportunities when I can give to others. It may be my knowledge of retail anti-theft devices or my years of experience as a manager. I want to help other retail managers understand that there are times when they can be the agent of presenting opportunities to others.
     Before I do that I do want to be sure to clarify what I mean by retail anti-theft devices like the Alpha ink tag. As the name implies retail anti-theft devices are tools used by retailers to deter and prevent shoplifters from stealing merchandise. The types of devices I am specifically referring to utilize radio frequency technology that passes a radio wave between a tag and an electronic article surveillance tower. If a tagged item is carried too close to a tower alarms are set off and employees are alerted that someone is approached the doors with unpaid product. Some devices use an additional security feature to deter theft. The Alpha ink tag is one such device incorporating the radio frequency technology AND ink. If a shoplifter attempts to force an ink tag off of an item it will spread the ink and stain the merchandise rendering it useless to the criminal. This will prevent shoplifting since bad guys tend to leave protected merchandise alone not wanting to chance being noticed or caught when attempting to steal.
     As I was saying I would like to suggest that instead of looking for opportunities that will benefit ourselves what if we as managers made opportunities knock for others? Let me give an example from my own experiences. I work part-time as a sales associate for an office supply store. I use my knowledge of Loss Prevention and shortage prevention to make suggestions to the store manager that I think would enhance security or drive profitable sales. .  I have made suggestions that could help prevent shoplifting such as adding additional security measures to some items.  I have made suggestions to change forms that would make researching out of stocks more efficient. The suggestions might not be very beneficial to me but for my manager they could be extremely beneficial in terms of efficiency.
     I also had a conversation with a young co-worker recently. He was hired in a temporary seasonal position and started to tell me about how he was not sure he would be hired back when the opportunity arose. I asked if he had been given any feedback regarding his performance and he said he had. I used this time to give him some unsolicited suggestions for future jobs he might hold. I let him know that the suggestions were based on my experiences as a manager. Whether he chooses to use the feedback or not is his prerogative but he has been provided an opportunity that can aid him in future success if he is open to it.
     In part 2 of this article I will give some additional suggestions for how you as a manager or store owner can be the instigator of opportunity for someone else. It may be as simple as suggesting the use of an Alpha ink tag to a clothing store owner to improve shortage or giving feedback to a young employee.
Get more information on retail anti-theft devices, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today

Opportunity knocks so they say and we want to think we are ready to answer that door and invite it in. When we hear the saying, “Opportunity Knocks” I wonder just how many of us think of it in terms of something that can benefit US if we accept it? I think back to my early years in Retail Loss Prevention. I was a Loss Prevention Associate for a department store and doing well in that role catching a lot of shoplifters and assisting in a few internal investigations. Opportunity for me knocked when a new big box retail store was coming to our area and was looking for Loss Prevention Associates. I applied only for the opportunity for a little better pay. I figured I had an advantage with my knowledge of retail anti-theft devices such as an Alpha ink tag and how to prevent shoplifting. I also had my U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement experience as a key part of my resume. Well, I was interviewed for the position and due to some unforeseen circumstances the person who was going to transfer for the L.P. Manager position changed his mind. Based on my interview, Loss Prevention experience and college degree I was offered the Loss Prevention Manager position. I say I was blessed with the opportunity and when it was presented I accepted.  While I use this example of an opportunity that was presented to me, I also like to look for opportunities when I can give to others. It may be my knowledge of retail anti-theft devices or my years of experience as a manager. I want to help other retail managers understand that there are times when they can be the agent of presenting opportunities to others.

Before I do that I do want to be sure to clarify what I mean by retail anti-theft devices like the Alpha ink tag. As the name implies retail anti-theft devices are tools used by retailers to deter and prevent shoplifters from stealing merchandise. The types of devices I am specifically referring to utilize radio frequency technology that passes a radio wave between a tag and an electronic article surveillance tower. If a tagged item is carried too close to a tower, alarms are set off and employees are alerted that someone approached the doors with unpaid product. Some devices use an additional security feature to deter theft. The Alpha ink tag is one such device incorporating the radio frequency technology AND ink. If a shoplifter attempts to force an ink tag off of an item it will spread the ink and stain the merchandise rendering it useless to the criminal. This will prevent shoplifting since bad guys tend to leave protected merchandise alone not wanting to chance being noticed or caught when attempting to steal.

As I was saying I would like to suggest that instead of looking for opportunities that will benefit ourselves what if we as managers made opportunities knock for others? Let me give an example from my own experiences. I work part-time as a sales associate for an office supply store. I use my knowledge of Loss Prevention and shortage prevention to make suggestions to the store manager that I think would enhance security or drive profitable sales. I have made suggestions that could help prevent shoplifting such as adding additional security measures to some items.  I have made suggestions to change forms that would make researching out of stocks more efficient. The suggestions might not be very beneficial to me but for my manager they could be extremely beneficial in terms of efficiency.

I also had a conversation with a young co-worker recently. He was hired in a temporary seasonal position and started to tell me about how he was not sure he would be hired back when the opportunity arose. I asked if he had been given any feedback regarding his performance and he said he had. I used this time to give him some unsolicited suggestions for future jobs he might hold. I let him know that the suggestions were based on my experiences as a manager. Whether he chooses to use the feedback or not is his prerogative but he has been provided an opportunity that can aid him in future success if he is open to it.

In part 2 of this article I will give some additional suggestions for how you as a manager or store owner can be the instigator of opportunity for someone else. It may be as simple as suggesting the use of an Alpha ink tag to a clothing store owner to improve shortage or giving feedback to a young employee.

 

Get more information on retail anti-theft devices, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today

 

 

 

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Preventing Shoplifting and Retail Shrink

March 9, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Many small and big chain businesses across the country are fed up with the amount they lose due to shoplifting and employee theft.  The solutions are seemingly unavailable for these businesses and they are teaming up with local police departments to address this issue.

The Chico Police Department, The Chico Chamber of commerce and the Chico Business Association are teaming up in an effort to prevent shoplifting in their community.  This is not the only joint effort, many other states’ police departments and communities are getting together to form a coalition to find a solution to shoplifting. 

Shoplifting puts an additional strain on these businesses that in some cases are already having difficulty staying afloat and the losses incurred due to this crime make it an impossible business to sustain.

One the many ways they lose to shoplifting is to organized retail theft that involves many individuals and can cost a store thousands of dollars in a single day.  Home Improvements stores targeted by individuals can damage the bottom line of these stores even though they are big retail chains that can offset the cost due to shoplifting better than the small business owner.

In some states, theft legislation has put many business owners scratching their heads. The losses they incurred due to shoplifting, they see as a direct consequence to the legislation government officials passed in their states.  Preventive measures are not enough, youth programs to prevent shoplifting and violent crimes are not enough for these businesses because they do not see it happening soon enough for the well being of their stores.

What are some other alternatives to prevent shoplifting?

  1. Training – Trained personnel can make a big difference in your store. Recent reports in the UK have shown a dramatic increase in violent incidents from the previous year due to shoplifting.  The difference between a trained employee and one that is not can be the difference between life and death
  2. Shoplifting prevention systems – If you do not have one and rely solely on your employees, the losses your store is suffering may be staggering.  A shoplifting prevention system is a necessity for a retail business, and the amount invested in such system may be the best investment you can make for the success of your store.
  3. Software that works together with the loss prevention system and the trained personnel in your store are pivotal to the success of your retail business.  It is a process that needs all the parts to work together to be successful and to achieve its purpose.

Shoplifting is a crime that affects society in general, and the prevention of such crime seems to be the only alternative retail businesses have. Prevention includes training your personnel, investing in a loss prevention system and software that can help you mitigate the losses due to this crime.  Those three preventive measures cannot work if your employees are not engaged and are not willing to work with you in the prevention of this crime.  Happiness in the workplace is important but if you are dealing with disgruntled employees, preventing shoplifting may be very hard to achieve.  Talk to your employees and find out if you need to address that issue first and foremost.

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Coincidental Encounters That May Not Have Taken Place If Clothing Security Tags Were Used

March 9, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Checkpoint Tags –4                                                                                                                              wc blog 448
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Coincidental Encounters That May Not Have Taken Place If Clothing Security Tags Were Used
     When you work in Retail Loss Prevention as long as I have, you collect a few funny stories to tell from your experiences. One of the funnier moments I had was as a Loss Prevention Officer for a department store chain. I was actually off-duty and was with my wife shopping at one of our neighboring stores a few miles down the road from my assigned location. We were in the mall but popped into this branch where my good friend and fellow Loss prevention Officer was working. As my wife and I were browsing in clothing I saw this young couple looking around suspiciously and looking at clothing tags rather than the merchandise. The woman was standing behind a clothing fixture and I saw a tell-tale jerk of the young woman’s shoulder which indicated to me she was pulling off hang tags. At the time our company was using few clothing security tags to protect merchandise though we did have some high priced coats and dresses with Checkpoint Tags on them. This couple was not in that area. When I saw the arm movements and the shady looks I called my friend who was in the camera room and he began observation.
     I need to briefly interrupt my story so I can bring some of our readers up to speed on what Checkpoint Tags are since not everyone may be familiar with them. Checkpoint Tags are hard plastic devices that are pinned to clothing. They serve to deter theft and prevent shoplifting when applied to merchandise and in this case clothing specifically. The clothing security tags are designed to be attached in a visible location so criminals know that if they try to steal the item(s) an alarm in an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tower is going to be activated. The tags also stop shoplifters because the security tags do activate alarms in an EAS tower and that gets a response from store personnel who then conduct receipt checks. Whether concealed in a bag or hidden under clothing an EAS tag will still set off a tower alarm when someone tries to smuggle stolen goods past it. Employees responding to an alarm can conduct receipt checks and root out the cause for the alarm without causing a scene when they do it properly.
     So getting back to my adventure, my friend began watching the couple on closed circuit television. The woman took a number of pieces of clothing into the fitting room while her partner waited outside on the salesfloor. My partner could not confirm how many pieces were taken in so we worked together to get the couple to dump any merchandise they were going to try to steal. I walked over to the fixture where the woman had been standing and started picking up manufacturer tags from the floor. The guy watched me and when his friend came out I sent an associate in to look for empty hangers. The couple looked nervous and when the employee brought out empty hangers she handed them to me. The woman scurried back in the fitting room and quickly came back out. The salesfloor employee went back in and came out with an armful of merchandise that had not been there previously.
     I spoke with my friend for a few minutes and my wife and I left the store and moved to another department store further down the mall. To my surprise there was the same couple and they were doing the same thing. I approached an employee of that store and started to tell him about the couple and the guy saw me and we made eye contact. He said something to the woman and they left the store. Another deterred theft! The story doesn’t end there however. After shopping for a while my wife and I were finally done in the mall and started on our way home but had a grocery store stop to make. Guess who we bumped into? Yup, that same couple. The male made eye contact with me, his mouth dropped open and he whispered to the woman and they left. It made my day.
     Since then the company I worked for has increased the use of clothing security tags on merchandise. In my career I have used Checkpoint Tags on numerous items and can testify to their effectiveness in preventing theft. While we were fortunate to stop those cases of shoplifting it makes me wonder whether I even would be able to tell that story today had we used tags more aggressively back then. Probably not but the world may never know.
Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

When you work in Retail Loss Prevention as long as I have, you collect a few funny stories to tell from your experiences. One of the funnier moments I had was as a Loss Prevention Officer for a department store chain. I was actually off-duty and was with my wife shopping at one of our neighboring stores a few miles down the road from my assigned location. We were in the mall but popped into this branch where my good friend and fellow Loss prevention Officer was working. As my wife and I were browsing in clothing I saw this young couple looking around suspiciously and looking at clothing tags rather than the merchandise. The woman was standing behind a clothing fixture and I saw a tell-tale jerk of the young woman’s shoulder which indicated to me she was pulling off hang tags. At the time our company was using few clothing security tags to protect merchandise though we did have some high priced coats and dresses with Checkpoint Tags on them. This couple was not in that area. When I saw the arm movements and the shady looks I called my friend who was in the camera room and he began observation.
   

 I need to briefly interrupt my story so I can bring some of our readers up to speed on what Checkpoint Tags are since not everyone may be familiar with them. Checkpoint Tags are hard plastic devices that are pinned to clothing. They serve to deter theft and prevent shoplifting when applied to merchandise and in this case clothing specifically. The clothing security tags are designed to be attached in a visible location so criminals know that if they try to steal the item(s) an alarm in an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tower is going to be activated. The tags also stop shoplifters because the security tags do activate alarms in an EAS tower and that gets a response from store personnel who then conduct receipt checks. Whether concealed in a bag or hidden under clothing an EAS tag will still set off a tower alarm when someone tries to smuggle stolen goods past it. Employees responding to an alarm can conduct receipt checks and root out the cause for the alarm without causing a scene when they do it properly.
     

So getting back to my adventure, my friend began watching the couple on closed circuit television. The woman took a number of pieces of clothing into the fitting room while her partner waited outside on the salesfloor. My partner could not confirm how many pieces were taken in so we worked together to get the couple to dump any merchandise they were going to try to steal. I walked over to the fixture where the woman had been standing and started picking up manufacturer tags from the floor. The guy watched me and when his friend came out I sent an associate in to look for empty hangers. The couple looked nervous and when the employee brought out empty hangers she handed them to me. The woman scurried back in the fitting room and quickly came back out. The salesfloor employee went back in and came out with an armful of merchandise that had not been there previously.
     

I spoke with my friend for a few minutes and my wife and I left the store and moved to another department store further down the mall. To my surprise there was the same couple and they were doing the same thing. I approached an employee of that store and started to tell him about the couple and the guy saw me and we made eye contact. He said something to the woman and they left the store. Another deterred theft! The story doesn’t end there however. After shopping for a while my wife and I were finally done in the mall and started on our way home but had a grocery store stop to make. Guess who we bumped into? Yup, that same couple. The male made eye contact with me, his mouth dropped open and he whispered to the woman and they left. It made my day.
     

Since then the company I worked for has increased the use of clothing security tags on merchandise. In my career I have used Checkpoint Tags on numerous items and can testify to their effectiveness in preventing theft. While we were fortunate to stop those cases of shoplifting it makes me wonder whether I even would be able to tell that story today had we used tags more aggressively back then. Probably not but the world may never know.

 

Get more information on Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With:

Proper Clothing Security Can Defeat ORC Groups Part 1

March 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Clothing Security-4                                                                                                                        WC Blog 486
Clothing security tags-3

Proper Clothing Security Can Defeat ORC Groups Part 1

     I read a story recently about a shoplifting ring that bypassed store clothing security efforts and in the process got away with over 20 million dollars of clothing.  The article discussed how the group’s reached extended across the entire nation hitting a variety of retail establishments. The members of this group are accused of having stolen more than $3,000 of merchandise in one store in a single day and more than $4,000 from a Victoria’s Secret on another occasion. Consumerist.com “Feds Break Up $20M Shoplifting Ring that Stole Clothing From Coast To Coast”, 9/7/17 by Chris Morran.   https://consumerist.com/2017/09/07/feds-break-up-20m-shoplifting-ring-that-stole-clothing-from-coast-to-coast/. The writer goes into detail on how the group operated but I was especially interested in the methods the group used to defeat clothing security tags and other efforts to stop shoplifting by the stores that were victimized. 

     Clothing security tags, for readers who may not be familiar with them, are tags that can be pinned to clothing and have electronic article surveillance technology embedded in them.  The electronic article surveillance or EAS is a radio wave that the tags send out and if picked up by a receiver known as an EAS tower an alarm is set off. The tower alarm serves as a warning to store employees that merchandise with a security tag on it is about to leave the store. Staff members trained on how to respond to an alarm go to the doors and conduct receipt checks and either get a person to buy merchandise or turn it over to them. In many instances a would-be shoplifter is scared off and will drop the items they intended to steal. So a reader is not confused, the tags used for clothing security are not the same or even similar to manufacturer hang tags. The devices I am referring to are made of an extremely hard plastic material. They are durable enough to withstand years of use. One side of the tag has a pin that is inserted through the material and the other piece is a clip that covers the exposed pin on the other side of the garment. The seal is tight and prevents someone from trying to remove the device without tearing into the clothing. In order to remove a tag without damaging to product a store associate must use a removal tool designed to do this.

     Getting back to the story I was telling you about, as a Loss Prevention Manager with nearly 17 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience, I was interested in the tactics used by the group. I know first-hand that clothing security when done properly can defeat even Organized Retail Crime Organizations such as the one in the article. One of the methods described was that the group would scout a store in advance to see if Loss Prevention Officers or police were present. It did not say of these stores were avoided only that they wanted to know If they were utilized. Not all stores can afford Loss Prevention or police but that does not mean a store cannot protect merchandise. Training employees on providing great customer service and how to recognize signs of potential shoplifters can be almost as effective. Then I noted that the story went on to say that the group would use “blockers”. I have encountered this trick and it can be countered but store teams have to understand how they work. Blockers are usually not the actual shoplifters. The job of a blocker is to distract employees, prevent them from seeing the actual thief or in extreme cases block an employee from following a shoplifter. 

     To identify if this ploy is being used store employees must be in contact with one another preferably by radio. If it seems there are multiple shopliftings or suspicious people in the store at the same time they may be “blockers” and trying to spread out the employees. This can be effective if a store has a small staff since they can’t be at the registers and covering all areas of the floor. If a small or medium sized store has an EAS system and is using clothing security tags the best method to combat these groups is to pull two or three staff members to the doors where the EAS towers are located. Before the shoplifter can exit, tagged merchandise will set off the tower alarm and receipt checks can be conducted.

     In Part 2, I will review other means used by the group in the article and discuss how your store can avoid being a victim. It is important to remember that your first priority in clothing security is to get an EAS system. The best protection programs revolve around that.
Clothing security is important and we can help you with it. Call1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

I read a story recently about a shoplifting ring that bypassed store clothing security efforts and in the process got away with over 20 million dollars of clothing.  The article discussed how the group’s reached extended across the entire nation hitting a variety of retail establishments. The members of this group are accused of having stolen more than $3,000 of merchandise in one store in a single day and more than $4,000 from a Victoria’s Secret on another occasion. Consumerist.com “Feds Break Up $20M Shoplifting Ring that Stole Clothing From Coast To Coast”, 9/7/17 by Chris Morran.   https://consumerist.com/2017/09/07/feds-break-up-20m-shoplifting-ring-that-stole-clothing-from-coast-to-coast/. The writer goes into detail on how the group operated but I was especially interested in the methods the group used to defeat clothing security tags and other efforts to stop shoplifting by the stores that were victimized. 
     

Clothing security tags, for readers who may not be familiar with them, are tags that can be pinned to clothing and have electronic article surveillance technology embedded in them. The electronic article surveillance or EAS is a radio wave that the tags send out and if picked up by a receiver known as an EAS tower an alarm is set off. The tower alarm serves as a warning to store employees that merchandise with a security tag on it is about to leave the store. Staff members trained on how to respond to an alarm go to the doors and conduct receipt checks and either get a person to buy merchandise or turn it over to them. In many instances a would-be shoplifter is scared off and will drop the items they intended to steal. So a reader is not confused, the tags used for clothing security are not the same or even similar to manufacturer hang tags. The devices I am referring to are made of an extremely hard plastic material. They are durable enough to withstand years of use. One side of the tag has a pin that is inserted through the material and the other piece is a clip that covers the exposed pin on the other side of the garment. The seal is tight and prevents someone from trying to remove the device without tearing into the clothing. In order to remove a tag without damaging to product a store associate must use a removal tool designed to do this.
     

Getting back to the story I was telling you about, as a Loss Prevention Manager with nearly 17 years of Retail Loss Prevention experience, I was interested in the tactics used by the group. I know first-hand that clothing security when done properly can defeat even Organized Retail Crime Organizations such as the one in the article. One of the methods described was that the group would scout a store in advance to see if Loss Prevention Officers or police were present. It did not say of these stores were avoided only that they wanted to know If they were utilized. Not all stores can afford Loss Prevention or police but that does not mean a store cannot protect merchandise. Training employees on providing great customer service and how to recognize signs of potential shoplifters can be almost as effective. Then I noted that the story went on to say that the group would use “blockers”. I have encountered this trick and it can be countered but store teams have to understand how they work. Blockers are usually not the actual shoplifters. The job of a blocker is to distract employees, prevent them from seeing the actual thief or in extreme cases block an employee from following a shoplifter. 
     

To identify if this ploy is being used store employees must be in contact with one another preferably by radio. If it seems there are multiple shopliftings or suspicious people in the store at the same time they may be “blockers” and trying to spread out the employees. This can be effective if a store has a small staff since they can’t be at the registers and covering all areas of the floor. If a small or medium sized store has an EAS system and is using clothing security tags the best method to combat these groups is to pull two or three staff members to the doors where the EAS towers are located. Before the shoplifter can exit, tagged merchandise will set off the tower alarm and receipt checks can be conducted.
     

In Part 2, I will review other means used by the group in the article and discuss how your store can avoid being a victim. It is important to remember that your first priority in clothing security is to get an EAS system. The best protection programs revolve around that.

 

Clothing security is important and we can help you with it. Call1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.

 

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20 WAYS TO STOP SHOPLIFTING AND OTHER COMMON FORMS OF LOSS – PT1

March 1, 2018 by

 

20 WAYS TO STOP SHOPLIFTING AND OTHER COMMON FORMS OF LOSS – PT1
It’s easier than you think to Stop Shoplifting. With some common-sense type approaches, basic policies and a little work, there are a few easy steps that you can take right now to start improving your bottom line. I’ve compiled a list of 20 for you to review. Which one applies most to your store?
1. Unattended keys
Seriously, this is my biggest pet peeve. You spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on showcases to display those really expensive items and you leave the keys laying around, in plain view. Drives me absolutely up the wall. Retail Theft Prevention strategies are only as good as the weakest link. Here’s a quick story. I was in one of my stores this past week and found the keys to the electronics in plain sight near a desk. There’s not some magical barrier that would prevent a thief from walking into our office! Let’s not also believe that we don’t have dishonest employees working for us, either. So, I took the keys and completely emptied out the case. I asked a manager if they were having a good sale since they were all out of product. I think I gave her a mini-heart attack, but I made my point. Keys should be secured to your person, or in a lock box. Nowhere else.
2. Protect valuable merchandise
You would think that I would not have to say this, but I do. If you have extremely valuable merchandise, then protect it! I’m not talking about candy bars, I’m talking about your high dollar sunglasses, designer purses, $100+ cologne, etc. If it’s valuable to you, it’s valuable to a thief. Never sit back and just accept a loss as a part of “doing business”. You can and should be proactive in order to prevent losses. Your bottom line depends on it. If your Retail Theft Prevention tools and security cameras aren’t doing the trick, look into purchasing security fixtures, or locked showcases. There is an endless array of Loss Prevention solutions on the market aimed to Stop Shoplifting and retain profits. 
3. Got a dressing room? Monitor it.
This one goes out to all my apparel retailers. How many of you have a dressing room, but no employee assigned to it? All of you? That’s what I thought. You probably have said to yourself countless times that you simply can’t afford to hire a person to be in your fitting room all day, every day. Well, you my friend are 100% wrong. You can’t afford not to. We did a study a few years back (and I’ll admit my company is still stubborn and our dressing rooms aren’t staffed) and we found that we lost about $250 a day to theft. That’s only one store. You’re not paying an hourly employee $250/day. You may not lose that much, or you may be losing more, but you get the point. An employee monitoring the fitting room will Stop Shoplifting, especially if you limit the number of garments and count them when they enter and when they exit. 
4. Take returns? Have a policy. 
If you hadn’t realized that your return policy can cost you money yet, then you’ve got some work to do. With return fraud becoming the biggest scam on earth, wardrobing and customer’s returning bricks in boxes, a loose return policy can spell trouble for your bottom line. First, you should be very clear on what can be returned and what cannot. Second, you have to train your staff to meet your expectations and to look for those clues that they are being taken advantage of. Of course, you’ll need to bend your policy every now and then for a legitimate customer, but don’t ignore your gut. If you don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling, your instincts are probably right. 
5. Overhead PA announcements
One of my favorite things to do to shoplifters and it’s also the most low-tech Retail Theft Prevention tool out there. Sometimes, if I want to have a little fun with a known thief, I’ll use the overhead PA to my advantage. Let’s say the thief is in Men’s activewear. I’ll page “the customer in blue needs assistance in men’s”. When the thief hears that, chances are they will quickly move to another location. When they do, I’ll repeat the process. If I really want to have some fun, I’ll page “The police officer that was looking for ‘item X’, please come to ‘x location’. Of course, the location is where the shoplifter is at. This usually does the trick and your thief will usually haul-tail out the door. Who says retail has to be boring? It’s your store, have some fun!
 
For more information about Retail Theft Prevention contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

It’s easier than you think to stop shoplifting. With some common-sense type approaches, basic policies and a little work, there are a few easy steps that you can take right now to start improving your bottom line. I’ve compiled a list of 20 for you to review. Which one applies most to your store?

1. Unattended keys

Seriously, this is my biggest pet peeve. You spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on showcases to display those really expensive items and you leave the keys laying around, in plain view. Drives me absolutely up the wall. Retail Theft Prevention strategies are only as good as the weakest link. Here’s a quick story. I was in one of my stores this past week and found the keys to the electronics in plain sight near a desk. There’s not some magical barrier that would prevent a thief from walking into our office! Let’s not also believe that we don’t have dishonest employees working for us, either. So, I took the keys and completely emptied out the case. I asked a manager if they were having a good sale since they were all out of product. I think I gave her a mini-heart attack, but I made my point. Keys should be secured to your person, or in a lock box. Nowhere else.

2. Protect valuable merchandise

You would think that I would not have to say this, but I do. If you have extremely valuable merchandise, then protect it! I’m not talking about candy bars, I’m talking about your high dollar sunglasses, designer purses, $100+ cologne, etc. If it’s valuable to you, it’s valuable to a thief. Never sit back and just accept a loss as a part of “doing business”. You can and should be proactive in order to prevent losses. Your bottom line depends on it. If your retail theft prevention tools and security cameras aren’t doing the trick, look into purchasing security fixtures, or locked showcases. There is an endless array of Loss Prevention solutions on the market aimed to Stop Shoplifting and retain profits. 

3. Got a dressing room?

Monitor it.This one goes out to all my apparel retailers. How many of you have a dressing room, but no employee assigned to it? All of you? That’s what I thought. You probably have said to yourself countless times that you simply can’t afford to hire a person to be in your fitting room all day, every day. Well, you my friend are 100% wrong. You can’t afford not to. We did a study a few years back (and I’ll admit my company is still stubborn and our dressing rooms aren’t staffed) and we found that we lost about $250 a day to theft. That’s only one store. You’re not paying an hourly employee $250/day. You may not lose that much, or you may be losing more, but you get the point. An employee monitoring the fitting room will stop shoplifting, especially if you limit the number of garments and count them when they enter and when they exit. 

4. Take returns?

Have a policy. If you hadn’t realized that your return policy can cost you money yet, then you’ve got some work to do. With return fraud becoming the biggest scam on earth, wardrobing and customer’s returning bricks in boxes, a loose return policy can spell trouble for your bottom line. First, you should be very clear on what can be returned and what cannot. Second, you have to train your staff to meet your expectations and to look for those clues that they are being taken advantage of. Of course, you’ll need to bend your policy every now and then for a legitimate customer, but don’t ignore your gut. If you don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling, your instincts are probably right. 

5. Overhead PA announcements

One of my favorite things to do to shoplifters and it’s also the most low-tech retail theft prevention tool out there. Sometimes, if I want to have a little fun with a known thief, I’ll use the overhead PA to my advantage. Let’s say the thief is in Men’s activewear. I’ll page “the customer in blue needs assistance in men’s”. When the thief hears that, chances are they will quickly move to another location. When they do, I’ll repeat the process. If I really want to have some fun, I’ll page “The police officer that was looking for ‘item X’, please come to ‘x location’. Of course, the location is where the shoplifter is at. This usually does the trick and your thief will usually haul-tail out the door. Who says retail has to be boring? It’s your store, have some fun!
 

For more information about retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

 

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Why Should I Care If An Employee Uses Illegal Drugs On Their Own Time?

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Because like alcohol abuse, both legal and illegal drug use, affects your bottom line. This issue never has a happy ending and it will never go away unless you meet it head-on.

Drug abuse affects your bottom line through poor performance, high numbers of no call/no shows, risk to customer and employee safety, high workers comp claims, bad elements frequenting your business, customers shying away from your business and much, much more.

If you operate in a State that has essentially de-criminalized marijuana use, you have an even bigger exposure. Employees that feel empowered to get high on a frequent basis and come to work in that condition, are a threat to your livelihood. State law does not relieve you of liability. Marijuana use and possession are still illegal under Federal law. Even if the Federal law was to change, you would still be liable for your employee’s actions while they are at work. It is just the same as an employee that is under the influence of alcohol while at work.

But you probably suspected or knew this already. What you cannot do is look the other way. Your plan should start with hiring, as competently as you can. I teach pre-employment interviewing live, via webinar to LPSI customers free of charge. A candidate will likely tell you if they abuse drugs, you simply need to know how to ask the question. These techniques also apply to employee theft from their previous employers. You just need to know how to ask.

A solid Applicant Management Center (AMC) will allow you to keep track of the application and their information. We have an excellent AMC that is also so inexpensive that it is a no-brainer. No more paper applications to keep up with.

Next, you must conduct a background investigation (okay, we do that too). A search of the candidate’s criminal record, credit (if necessary), education and a drug screen will give you a much better idea of who you are hiring.

Drug testing is simple and inexpensive. Our customers approve the candidate for the drug test and our online system allows the candidate to locate and schedule the test at a lab near them. Our nationwide system then tracks the progress. Results are given to you automatically. We can advise you on what substances you should include in your testing. Tests that come back positive are automatically reviewed by an M.D.

So now that this is out of the way, we need to return to the reason why you should require drug testing. Imagine this: one of your employees in the process of doing their job, is under the influence of a substance, and they injure one of your customers, accidentally. In today’s climate that incident will be known far and wide. None of us want to be on the five o’clock news with the headline “Customer injured at insert your company’s name here by an employee that was high”.

Need more? People who use illegal drugs attract other people who use illegal drugs. The whole birds of a feather, flock together scenario. And in my 40+ years of Loss Prevention and Law Enforcement experience, I can tell you that the financial pressure that illegal drugs puts on a person will make them likely to steal to support their needs. Illegal drugs WILL lead to employee theft regardless of how well you think your employees like you and company.

Fix the issue before it becomes a financial drain and a liability to YOUR business and livelihood. Contact us today for more information.

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Employee Dishonesty Is Not Always Easy To Identify

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

I recently read an article entitled “How to spot a liar in your inbox” by Vanessa Van Edwards. The article discussed the nuances of how to tell if someone is lying to you in an email. The writer made some interesting observations on the lack of personal pronouns in the body of an email, inconsistency in tense usage and vague language. It dawned on me that often this is the same thing supervisors handle on a regular basis with employees. Think back to a phone call you have taken from an employee calling out of work. Often the conversation goes something like this, “I don’t feel well, I think I am going to have to call out today.” The employee is using language that does not make sense. They “think” they have to call out. Either they do or they don’t have to call out, the decision is theirs to make. Saying “I think” sounds more like asking permission to call out than making a decision of their own. Avoiding responsibility is one way an employee may try to lie without feeling guilty about it.

Another method of avoiding responsibility especially when something has gone wrong is to avoid using “I”. In these situations, a person will often use “we” or “they” to transfer blame away from themselves. I recall a department manager that worked for me and I would ask about why our team was not done with their tasks by a certain timeline. This manager never took responsibility for the pace of the team or their failure to get the job done when the timelines were not met. Rather than have an honest discussion about where his focus had been or what impacted the workflow this manager would say “they weren’t moving quickly” or “there were small boxes and it took longer than “we” thought it would. There was no “we” it was his responsibility but by not using “I” he was trying to shift the blame. My conversations with him were about “MY” expectations and prior discussions “I” had conducted with him (not to mention the discussions I had with my boss). It is not comfortable to have to confront a situation but the only way to effectively deal with a problem is to own what is yours to own and find solutions to a problem. Deflection, avoidance, and excuses never fix anything.

In my role as a Loss Prevention Manager, I frequently encountered situations of people lying to me. Until the futility of their lies became obvious to them many shoplifters would try to shift blame or avoid responsibility for their actions. My friends made me do it or dared me to do it was a great example of this. Catching a dishonest employee and conducting an interview with him/her over their crime was another opportunity to catch someone lying. Rarely would someone admit to what they had done and rarer still was the person who would take outright ownership of their criminal activity. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” was an immediate response to being confronted about theft. It usually took a lot of effort to get to where someone would admit to what they had done. Sometimes the person has to have the facts placed before them to get them to acknowledge wrong-doing.

You may not be dealing with employee theft but you will certainly have to confront employees about incomplete or unsatisfactory assignments and projects. There will also be those times when you have customer service issues that you have to handle. If you do not have the confidence that your employees will be honest with you it may require you to be able to distinguish fact from fiction. Sometimes a manager owns some responsibility when an employee lies to them. The lie is not right but if the manager has made himself unapproachable or is overly critical and harsh in discussing opportunities it becomes understandable. Who wants to talk to a supervisor about a problem they are having if the impression is that they are going to get raked over the coals if they do something wrong? The environment of a workplace can make a difference in the actions of the employees.

Make sure you have an open door policy and are genuinely interested in your employees. If they are going to be deceitful with you make sure you have not contributed to the problem. Then make sure you can recognize some of the signals that someone is attempting to deceive you. The ability to identify deceitful workers can make identifying and dealing with workplace problems much easier for you in the long run.

     

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Management Communication And Cohesion Lead To Stronger Teams

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

 A unified leadership team for any business can be a catalyst for driving great results. When managers are all communicating with each other, sharing information and giving honest feedback an entire team benefits. Managers in those environments tend to see the big picture and can assist a peer in another department in their absence. As the staff members see this cohesion they understand that they can’t get one over on a supervisor or pit one against another. A management team that works well together can prevent situations where an employee may lie and not get caught or manipulate managers by playing what I call the “Mom vs. Dad” card.

Working in a library, I see student workers trying to manipulate one or two “nice” staff members on a somewhat regular basis. The students may not see what they are doing as lying or being dishonest, they just know that there are certain supervisors who will probably say “Yes” to almost any request. The request may be to leave early or they want to call out of work for silly reasons. I had one employee who wanted to leave early because her pet fish was sick, even though she had spent one hour of her two-hour shift at work when she made the request. Now seriously, was she going to take this fish to a veterinarian? She chose the wrong supervisor to approach because the supervisor came to me and told me of the request and asked me for my opinion. While I gave the student the option to stay she was reminded that requests for leaving early impacted hiring decisions for the next semester. She stayed for her next hour.

In another situation, I had to have a conversation with a worker over her behavior with co-workers and supervisors. I made it clear the behavior would have to change and steps on how to improve. I did let her know I wanted her to be successful but I would not allow the behavior to continue if she was going to work for us. The employee came back later and attempted to give her resignation and turn in her equipment to one of our nicer staff members. The staff member was super sweet and was going to let it go with a, “I’m sorry to see you go.” The supervisor who was with me when I spoke with the employee walked in on the conversation and the mood changed. The employee tried to lie about the conversation and what was said to her. This supervisor cut off her excuses and reminded her what was really said during our talk. The employee left in a huff but the blame game was shut down. When the first supervisor was asked why she was just going to let the employee make her complaints and leave the supervisor said she liked to give people the benefit of the doubt. It’s no wonder why employees like to go to her to get what they want.

While we have a great team of supervisors, I do have problems with some who do not like to be the “bad guy”. A management team needs to share the burden of holding employees accountable for their actions. It is unfair to expect one or two supervisors to conduct discussions involving poor performance or behavior problems and/or administer corrective actions. These supervisors are the ones who appear to be the mean ones to the team members and acquire an undeserved reputation as being “unfair” or “harsh”. The best management teams are those in which everyone participates in the corrective action process. They document talks with employees and record them in some form of record keeping so when review time comes around those notes play a part in the scoring. These teams also have supervisors taking partners with each other making it harder for one person to be pitted against another.

There will always be those employees who try to get away with something whether it is not working as hard as their co-workers to outright lying to a supervisor. Those management teams that communicate amongst themselves and share the responsibility for administering correction or discipline when necessary will find it easier to identify and keep the best workers. Build a great store team by creating a cohesive management team that communicates with each other and shares the responsibilities of leadership.

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