Hit One Out Of The Park; Prevent Shoplifting Of Baseball Bats By Protecting Them With An O Tag

January 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment

 

Retail Anti-Theft Device -3                                                                                                     WC Blog 399
Prevent Shoplifting – 4
O Tag – 5
Hit One Out Of The Park; Prevent Shoplifting Of Baseball Bats By Protecting Them With An O Tag 
     As per my usual routine I was browsing the internet today to see what criminals are up to these days. My goal was to see if there was something new and hot for thieves. From my own experience as a Loss Prevention Manager I already know that sporting goods are always a popular item for criminals. They are hard to trace, can be easily traded for drugs or sold on the internet. I have had problems with shoplifters swapping out golf clubs in boxed sets, ticket switching baseball gloves, stealing bikes and I knew that baseball bats could be a potential problem but I dealt with one case of it. A shoplifter put one down the front of his pants and tried to walk out of the store (hobble out was more like it). At the time I did not have many options to prevent shoplifting of baseball bats other than lock them up which was not an option at all. Electronic article surveillance soft tags were the only retail anti-theft devices we had to use.  Well apparently there is a lot more bat theft that goes on than I knew after my search of the internet. Here are a few examples:
• From abc30  Feb. 7, 2015 – Clovis police were looking for two grand theft suspects who had stolen about $1400 worth of baseball bats from a sporting goods store.
• From NJ .com, Apr., 6, 2015 – A couple was charged with stealing nearly $3,000 worth of high-end baseball bats from a sporting goods store in Mount Laurel, N.J.
• My Coast Now reported on May 5, 2017 that thieves broke into a Nanaimo, British Columbia store and stole at least 6 rare bats and 3 Louisville Slugger bats in addition to 12 pair of football receiver gloves. http://www.mycoastnow.com/30809/unique-baseball-bats-stolen/ 
• AlbuquerqueJournal reported on April 24, 2015, that a man stole 2 baseball bats worth $300 each from a sporting goods and batting cage store.
While there is more theft than I thought there is also another device to prevent shoplifting and that is the O Tag from Alpha Security.
     The O Tag is a superior choice for protecting baseball bats because they are designed specifically to fit around the handle end of the bat shaft. Since it is designed and built by Alpha High Theft Solutions it has built in electronic article surveillance technology that works in conjunction with EAS towers from Checkpoint. The O Tag sends out radio frequency waves that can be detected by the towers when the tagged merchandise is carried to close to the doors where the towers are located. When the detection takes place a 95 decibel alarm sounds and warning lights in the towers flash. This alerts store associates to go to the doors, conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise that has not been paid for yet.
     While retail anti-theft devices on the baseball bats does prevent a theft, it is also effective in deterring one since the shoplifters often choose to avoid the risk of walking out with tagged products. Preventing a theft is great but deterring the would-be thief from even considering stealing from your store is better. The knowledge that a store tags ALL of their merchandise sends the shoplifters to other locations. No, we don’t want them to steal, ever, but if other store owners choose not to protect their goods with retail anti-theft devices that becomes their issue. If you are investing in it you will reap ALL of the benefits that result from your foresight.
     Use an O Tag on all of your baseball bats and you will improve your instock percentages and that in turn will result in increased sales and profits. Shrinkage, empty fixtures from theft and decreased profits all fit together. The converse is true also, use the O Tag, prevent shoplifting and watch profits rise.
The O Tag is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
     
 

As per my usual routine I was browsing the internet today to see what criminals are up to these days. My goal was to see if there was something new and hot for thieves. From my own experience as a Loss Prevention Manager I already know that sporting goods are always a popular item for criminals. They are hard to trace, can be easily traded for drugs or sold on the internet. I have had problems with shoplifters swapping out golf clubs in boxed sets, ticket switching baseball gloves, stealing bikes and I knew that baseball bats could be a potential problem but I dealt with one case of it. A shoplifter put one down the front of his pants and tried to walk out of the store (hobble out was more like it). At the time I did not have many options to prevent shoplifting of baseball bats other than lock them up which was not an option at all. Electronic article surveillance soft tags were the only retail anti-theft devices we had to use.  Well apparently there is a lot more bat theft that goes on than I knew after my search of the internet. Here are a few examples:

• From abc30  Feb. 7, 2015 – Clovis police were looking for two grand theft suspects who had stolen about $1400 worth of baseball bats from a sporting goods store.

• From NJ .com, Apr., 6, 2015 – A couple was charged with stealing nearly $3,000 worth of high-end baseball bats from a sporting goods store in Mount Laurel, N.J.

• My Coast Now reported on May 5, 2017 that thieves broke into a Nanaimo, British Columbia store and stole at least 6 rare bats and 3 Louisville Slugger bats in addition to 12 pair of football receiver gloves. http://www.mycoastnow.com/30809/unique-baseball-bats-stolen/ 

• AlbuquerqueJournal reported on April 24, 2015, that a man stole 2 baseball bats worth $300 each from a sporting goods and batting cage store.

While there is more theft than I thought there is also another device to prevent shoplifting and that is the O Tag from Alpha Security.

 

The O Tag is a superior choice for protecting baseball bats because they are designed specifically to fit around the handle end of the bat shaft. Since it is designed and built by Alpha High Theft Solutions it has built in electronic article surveillance technology that works in conjunction with EAS towers from Checkpoint. The O Tag sends out radio frequency waves that can be detected by the towers when the tagged merchandise is carried to close to the doors where the towers are located. When the detection takes place a 95 decibel alarm sounds and warning lights in the towers flash. This alerts store associates to go to the doors, conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise that has not been paid for yet.

 

While retail anti-theft devices on the baseball bats does prevent a theft, it is also effective in deterring one since the shoplifters often choose to avoid the risk of walking out with tagged products. Preventing a theft is great but deterring the would-be thief from even considering stealing from your store is better. The knowledge that a store tags ALL of their merchandise sends the shoplifters to other locations. No, we don’t want them to steal, ever, but if other store owners choose not to protect their goods with retail anti-theft devices that becomes their issue. If you are investing in it you will reap ALL of the benefits that result from your foresight.

 

Use an O Tag on all of your baseball bats and you will improve your instock percentages and that in turn will result in increased sales and profits. Shrinkage, empty fixtures from theft and decreased profits all fit together. The converse is true also, use the O Tag, prevent shoplifting and watch profits rise.

 

The O Tag is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
      

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Food Safety And Food Security; Addressing Two Concerns By Using Checkpoint Labels

January 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment

A friend of mine in my office was talking about wanting to try eating Fugu Sushi…I am not a fan of eating raw fish anyways but I had to ask what Fugu Sushi is. My friend explained it is sushi made from…wait for it…Puffer fish! Yup, he wants to try eating poisonous fish. First of all, on my bucket list of things to do before I die, eating something that may expedite my need to complete my bucket list early is not one of them. Second it seems to me this is a food safety issue (or lack of one). Geez, why not just undercook your pork and try eating that to see if you can kill yourself? I have an idea, cut up raw chicken on your countertop and then prepare other foods.  Why travel all the way to Japan to commit hari kari? My friend is a little odd. When it comes to food safety I have another take on it and one more palatable to grocery retailers. How about the safety in not worrying about meat being stolen from the cooler shelves? Thieves coming in to steal meat cost a store extraordinary amounts of money and pose a safety risk to other customers and employees. Checkpoint Systems has Checkpoint labels that are safe for food AND can stop shoplifting.

     Checkpoint Systems has a wide range of tools to assist stores in reducing shortage caused by theft, fraud and even operational errors. Checkpoint labels are one of the tools offered to protect merchandise. The labels are designed to interact with electronic article surveillance towers touching off a tower alarm when merchandise tagged with a label is carried too close to the detection field of the tower. I have used Checkpoint Systems products as a Loss Prevention Manager and have seen how effective they are in their ability to stop shoplifting. The labels are extremely difficult to pull off of merchandise once put in place. They are also easy to conceal in merchandise when you don’t want the bad guys to know where a tag is placed. As a side note it can be funny watching shoplifters trying to locate hidden tags then finding them and trying to peel them off. Often they get frustrated and just leave the merchandise which is the whole point of merchandise protection.
     Okay, now you’re thinking what does food safety have to do with security and Checkpoint labels? Good question. One of the most expensive items a grocery store sells is meat. I was just looking at roasts in my favorite grocery store and a roast beef was $18, a package of steaks $25 and a very large pork roast was half price at $32! I have watched shoplifters stuff steaks down their pants and hide roasts under their coats. The losses can crush a small grocery retailer especially when it is estimated the profit margins for a grocery store range from 1%-3%. That does not leave much room for loss due to theft.  That is a financial security issue and one which I have discussed in other articles. There is a safety concern as well because frequently shoplifters will conceal merchandise and run out of a store or if approached by a manager or employee about a suspected theft they will push past anyone in their way. I have seen young children almost pushed to the floor as a shoplifter was desperate to run from a store. 
     To solve this food safety and security issue Checkpoint Systems has created two labels that can be used to stop shoplifting. One label can be placed on packaging or under meat soaker pads to hide them. Another label is safe for food packaging.  Both are food safe and microwave safe. Since they are from Checkpoint both have electronic article surveillance protection designed in them so they will set off towers even if a protected steak is concealed in a shoplifter’s pants. 
     Yes, this is a bit of a different way of looking at food safety but using Checkpoint labels will stop shoplifting and the safety concerns associated with shoplifter actions. They also keep profits in the store where they need to be. 
Checkpoint labels are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
     

A friend of mine in my office was talking about wanting to try eating Fugu Sushi…I am not a fan of eating raw fish anyways but I had to ask what Fugu Sushi is. My friend explained it is sushi made from…wait for it…Puffer fish! Yup, he wants to try eating poisonous fish. First of all, on my bucket list of things to do before I die, eating something that may expedite my need to complete my bucket list early is not one of them. Second it seems to me this is a food safety issue (or lack of one). Geez, why not just undercook your pork and try eating that to see if you can kill yourself? I have an idea, cut up raw chicken on your countertop and then prepare other foods.  Why travel all the way to Japan to commit hari kari? My friend is a little odd. When it comes to food safety I have another take on it and one more palatable to grocery retailers. How about the safety in not worrying about meat being stolen from the cooler shelves? Thieves coming in to steal meat cost a store extraordinary amounts of money and pose a safety risk to other customers and employees. Checkpoint Systems has Checkpoint labels that are safe for food AND can stop shoplifting.

Checkpoint Systems has a wide range of tools to assist stores in reducing shortage caused by theft, fraud and even operational errors. Checkpoint labels are one of the tools offered to protect merchandise. The labels are designed to interact with electronic article surveillance towers touching off a tower alarm when merchandise tagged with a label is carried too close to the detection field of the tower. I have used Checkpoint Systems products as a Loss Prevention Manager and have seen how effective they are in their ability to stop shoplifting. The labels are extremely difficult to pull off of merchandise once put in place. They are also easy to conceal in merchandise when you don’t want the bad guys to know where a tag is placed. As a side note it can be funny watching shoplifters trying to locate hidden tags then finding them and trying to peel them off. Often they get frustrated and just leave the merchandise which is the whole point of merchandise protection.

Okay, now you’re thinking what does food safety have to do with security and Checkpoint labels? Good question. One of the most expensive items a grocery store sells is meat. I was just looking at roasts in my favorite grocery store and a roast beef was $18, a package of steaks $25 and a very large pork roast was half price at $32! I have watched shoplifters stuff steaks down their pants and hide roasts under their coats. The losses can crush a small grocery retailer especially when it is estimated the profit margins for a grocery store range from 1%-3%. That does not leave much room for loss due to theft.  That is a financial security issue and one which I have discussed in other articles. There is a safety concern as well because frequently shoplifters will conceal merchandise and run out of a store or if approached by a manager or employee about a suspected theft they will push past anyone in their way. I have seen young children almost pushed to the floor as a shoplifter was desperate to run from a store. 

To solve this food safety and security issue Checkpoint Systems has created two labels that can be used to stop shoplifting. One label can be placed on packaging or under meat soaker pads to hide them. Another label is safe for food packaging.  Both are food safe and microwave safe. Since they are from Checkpoint both have electronic article surveillance protection designed in them so they will set off towers even if a protected steak is concealed in a shoplifter’s pants. 

Yes, this is a bit of a different way of looking at food safety but using Checkpoint labels will stop shoplifting and the safety concerns associated with shoplifter actions. They also keep profits in the store where they need to be. 

 

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

     

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: , ,

BOOSTERS LEAVE BUSINESS EMPTY HANDED, AFTER ATTEMPTING TO STEAL MERCHANDISE EQUIPPED WITH CLOTHING SECURITY TAGS!

January 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Clothing Security Tags deter boosters from stealing your assets on a daily basis. As a Loss Prevention Manager, I often find empty packaging or tags in my store. This helps my store track theft trends, in order to see what security devices to use. You gain extensive knowledge based on your own personal experiences with the devices. You learn by experimenting with different styles, finding out what actually stops merchandise from leaving the building. My store invests in security tags on clothes, in order to reduce their amount of loss each year. This sends boosters to your competitors, keeping your merchandise on your shelves to sell! Why not invest your money on what has been proven to stop shoplifting in other retailers?!

         It’s 7:00pm on a Friday, and the store is only an hour away from closing. The store team is busy getting the store ready for the next day, while I am scanning the cameras looking for shoplifters before we close. It may not look busy to the associates, but I see something on camera that catches my eye. I see 3 subjects scoping the store suspiciously for cameras. I keep CCTV on the subjects, due to their odd behavior. Within minutes of seeing their behavior, all 3 subjects walk into our men’s department, right into our popular sportswear section. I keep a close eye on the subjects, due to this department increasing in known theft the last few months. Just 3 weeks prior, I had the store team place Clothing Security Tags on this entire fixture because of the current theft issues. The subjects walk up to one of our high dollar fixtures, which are loaded with several of our popular brands.  Subject 1, quickly pulls out 2 large, empty shopping bags out of their pant pocket. Subject 2 & 3 began rapidly stuffing half of the fixture of clothing into the empty bags, while Subject 1 holds the bags open! While concealing, the Subjects stop as if something is wrong. I see on camera, one of the Subjects show the others the Clothing Security Tags!  They start panicking and remove all of the concealed product out of the shopping bags. Next, all of the Subjects try to break the tags off of the clothing, but fail miserably! On camera, I can see the frustration on their faces as they try to figure out a new plan. They end up dropping the clothing on the floor, and leave out of our exit doors with just their empty bags. They left my store and never came back. After totaling how much these boosters would have left my store with, if I did not have the security devices present: a grand total of $2,181.78! Within minutes it went from over $2,000 going right out the door, to the boosters leaving immediately with NOTHING. However, think about how many times per week this happens when I am not there to observe? My store could not stand to see any more known loss out of the men’s sportswear section, leading us to take action by placing security tags on clothes. It is such a small task, for such a big win. In this day and age, it is not realistic for associate awareness on the sales floor to be enough in deterring the thieves. Retailers have to use more advanced protection devices that really deters the thieves from coming into the store. The shoplifters will purposely wait till associates are busy with customers and use that perfect opportunity to steal when no one is around. Associates cannot observe everything that is going on. Even a Loss Prevention team cannot observe everything that is going on. So what are you going to do to stop the theft madness?!
        In my several years of being a Loss Prevention Manager, I see a massive amount of these same incidents happening on camera due to security tags on clothes. The shoplifters panicking, after seeing what devices we use. Clothing Security Tags should be required in every retailer to deter daily theft walk outs. This is the route to go, if you are looking for an inexpensive fix that truly deters. 
For more information about Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.                                                        

Clothing Security Tags deter boosters from stealing your assets on a daily basis. As a Loss Prevention Manager, I often find empty packaging or tags in my store. This helps my store track theft trends, in order to see what security devices to use. You gain extensive knowledge based on your own personal experiences with the devices. You learn by experimenting with different styles, finding out what actually stops merchandise from leaving the building. My store invests in security tags on clothes, in order to reduce their amount of loss each year. This sends boosters to your competitors, keeping your merchandise on your shelves to sell! Why not invest your money on what has been proven to stop shoplifting in other retailers?!

It’s 7:00pm on a Friday, and the store is only an hour away from closing. The store team is busy getting the store ready for the next day, while I am scanning the cameras looking for shoplifters before we close. It may not look busy to the associates, but I see something on camera that catches my eye. I see 3 subjects scoping the store suspiciously for cameras. I keep CCTV on the subjects, due to their odd behavior. Within minutes of seeing their behavior, all 3 subjects walk into our men’s department, right into our popular sportswear section. I keep a close eye on the subjects, due to this department increasing in known theft the last few months. Just 3 weeks prior, I had the store team place Clothing Security Tags on this entire fixture because of the current theft issues. The subjects walk up to one of our high dollar fixtures, which are loaded with several of our popular brands.  Subject 1, quickly pulls out 2 large, empty shopping bags out of their pant pocket. Subject 2 & 3 began rapidly stuffing half of the fixture of clothing into the empty bags, while Subject 1 holds the bags open! While concealing, the Subjects stop as if something is wrong. I see on camera, one of the Subjects show the others the Clothing Security Tags!  They start panicking and remove all of the concealed product out of the shopping bags. Next, all of the Subjects try to break the tags off of the clothing, but fail miserably! On camera, I can see the frustration on their faces as they try to figure out a new plan. They end up dropping the clothing on the floor, and leave out of our exit doors with just their empty bags. They left my store and never came back. After totaling how much these boosters would have left my store with, if I did not have the security devices present: a grand total of $2,181.78! Within minutes it went from over $2,000 going right out the door, to the boosters leaving immediately with NOTHING. However, think about how many times per week this happens when I am not there to observe? My store could not stand to see any more known loss out of the men’s sportswear section, leading us to take action by placing security tags on clothes. It is such a small task, for such a big win. In this day and age, it is not realistic for associate awareness on the sales floor to be enough in deterring the thieves. Retailers have to use more advanced protection devices that really deters the thieves from coming into the store. The shoplifters will purposely wait till associates are busy with customers and use that perfect opportunity to steal when no one is around. Associates cannot observe everything that is going on. Even a Loss Prevention team cannot observe everything that is going on. So what are you going to do to stop the theft madness?!

In my several years of being a Loss Prevention Manager, I see a massive amount of these same incidents happening on camera due to security tags on clothes. The shoplifters panicking, after seeing what devices we use. Clothing Security Tags should be required in every retailer to deter daily theft walk outs. This is the route to go, if you are looking for an inexpensive fix that truly deters. 

 

For more information about Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.                                                        

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Employee Training And Shoplifting

January 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment

After the holidays, you probably have a whole array of chores you must do to decide whether you had a good or bad year.  The holidays are behind us, and if you seem eager to have new strategies to put in place, it is not uncommon, and you are not alone.  New year resolutions are abundant during this time of year, and even though many of them are related to exercise, eating and health issues, yours can be directed completely to the business side of your life.

For a retail business owner, employee training is always an important issue they should not neglect.  There are many aspects of every business that owners must take care of to ensure a well-run business and employee training is one of those important issues they must keep in mind.

Employee training has been shown to help businesses keep more of the profits, and to reduce the shoplifting happening at their stores.  Paying for employee training is one way of investing in your business, and seeing the return of investment right away.

One of the many benefits of employee training is the certainty your employees will know what to do in case a shoplifting incident occurs.  From the way they approach the suspected shoplifter, to the way they apprehend them, their training can be the difference between a lawsuit for your store or not.  The guidelines they are supposed to follow are clear for trained employees when dealing with a difficult situation, and a dangerous situation is clearly assessed and dealt with before lives are endangered.

Employee training can also be a deterrent to shoplifters.  Shoplifters will be less eager to enter your place of business if they know they will be approached and even questioned or apprehended if they do something illegal.  Making your business a place where shoplifting is hard can get around to other shoplifters.  Sharing the names of “easy” places to shoplift is well known among them, make yours the “hard” place shoplifters are unwilling to try.

Trained employees know how shoplifters behave and how they try to get away with stolen merchandise.  They know which items may be a target for shoplifters, and which ones if the opportunity presents itself will be stolen without a second thought.

 

 

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Don’t Let The Dark Days Of Winter Catch You Unsecure

January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

With darker daylight hours comes the need for more coffee, the use of lights earlier and a plan to keep crime away from your store or business. Have you considered that one of the following types of crime could affect you?

Burglary – This is where a bad guy, low life scum type, breaks into your property when you and your staff are gone for the day. First and foremost you must have an alarm system. Not just the $99 special either. Invest enough that you have ALL exterior doors contacted. Yes, this also should apply to doors that are not used frequently or at all. Add glass break detectors on all exterior glass that can be easily reached. Enough motion detectors to create a trap effect. In other words so that no one can move around very far without a motion detector seeing them. Bad guys do not like light and sound, so add several sirens and strobe lights with at least one strobe on the front exterior and the back exterior. This will help to draw attention to your property by other citizens and the Police. You should always have an alarm control that uses cellular to communicate instead of phone or internet lines which can be cut or compromised.

Leave select lights on in the store to make it easy for the Police to see movement. The bad guys would prefer it to be dark. Are your doors and windows secure, I mean REALLY secure? Check the locks and make sure they operate correctly and are not simply cheap hardware that will give with a push or kick.

Robbery – This is the nightmare situation where someone presents you with a gun. Not as a present either. I have been involved in many shooting situations and have looked down the barrel of a few from the wrong side. It’s kind of funny how a barrel of a 9mm pistol looks like the opening of a 55 gallon barrel.

The key here is being prepared. Deterrents include well-lit stores and alert employees. Keep the cash drawers drained. Only keep the minimum amount of money in the till, the rest needs to go into a drop safe below the register or to the safe in the office. The lower form of life that commits robberies in many cases will make small purchases even a day or two ahead to see how much money is in the drawer. And yes, they know all about larger, excess bills being kept under the till tray in the drawer.

This is where a CCTV system that is adequately covering your point of sale comes in. The DVR should never be in plain sight at the point of sale; preferably in the office. Cameras should look at the point of sale from several different angles. Invest a couple of hundred dollars in a camera that mounts on the door frame at eye level. This will get a great face shot of anyone leaving.

All cameras should record 24/7 since hard drive space is cheap. You should easily get 30 to 60 days of recording. Another awesome deterrent is a Public View Monitor (PVM). A PVM is a monitor that is placed so that everyone entering the store sees themselves as they come in. It lets everyone know the system is active. A larger monitor in the 27+” range is preferred.

Employee Theft – I do not think employee theft picks up any more than other times of the year but it should get an honorable mention. Make sure you have adequate key and door control. Trash should be inspected by a manager before it goes out. Employees that steal will use the trash to get merchandise out picking it up later or have a friend get it. Employee bags should be inspected when they leave. I can send you a policy draft if needed.

Shoplifting – Shoplifters thrive and seek out concealment. Darkness adds to their psychological comfort. This is another reason for a well-lit store. Replace any burned out bulbs. Walk your store when it is dark outside to help discover any areas such as back corners that will provide aid and comfort to the shoplifting enemy. Make sure your Checkpoint system is operating correctly. If not call us for a service call. Ensure that your staff knows how to approach potential shoplifters with customer service techniques. I teach a live seminar on this for our customers, free of charge, whenever they need it.

Existing customers can call us at 770-426-7593 x103 to schedule a seminar. I also suggest that you pick up a copy of my new book: “Protect Your Store! The shoplifting prevention guide for small to medium retailers”. It is available online at Amazon and Kindle. The book has tools to shut off shoplifters right away.

Of course, these tips are good practice year round. However, take a hard, objective look at your store as it is better to prevent than recover from an incident. If we can help you, please reach out to us since we are only a call or email away.

 

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Store Safety Impacts Profits: Keep Your Store Safe During The Winter Months

January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Accidents can be costly to businesses. In fact, according to the OSHA website, “It has been estimated that employers pay almost $1 billion dollars a week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone. Direct costs include workers’ compensation payments, medical expenses and costs for legal services.”

This does not take into consideration expenditures on general liability claims made by customers against businesses for accidents. The impact of a customer claim can be significant as well and according to thehartford.com “The Hartford Reports: More Than 40% Of Small Businesses Will Experience A Claim In The Next 10 Years,” March 30, 2015, the average cost of a customer injury or damage claim is $30,000 while a customer slip and fall incident is $20,000. A struck by object claim not identified as being specific to a customer or employee is listed at an average cost of $10,000. Consider then that the risk of these accidents taking place during the winter months increases significantly. What steps can you take to reduce the possibility you may have to pay out on a claim, especially during the winter months?

Slips and Falls

Slips and falls are not uncommon all year round, however, winter increases the chances of a slip on icy sidewalks and parking lots. Additionally, people will track ice and snow into the building leaving puddles of water that contribute to slip accidents. It is necessary for store employees to be diligent in placing wet floor signs near entrances and drying those areas too. Allowing standing water to remain because “people just keep tracking it in” is not an excuse that will hold water in an accident settlement case (pun intended). It is worth investing in wet area or all weather mats for the front doors to aid in the drying of shoes as customers enter the building. Have umbrella bags available for wet umbrellas. Bure sure to have deicers and anti-icers on hand for unexpected snow and ice storms to help keep sidewalks and curbs safe for patrons and employees. Stores located in traditionally warmer climates must be even more diligent because ice and snow are not as common; finding shovels and proper equipment when that rare snow or ice storm strikes can be a difficult task. Hardware stores run out of necessary items quickly as people without the tools come in at the sudden threat of storms.

Strains and Sprains

You or one of your staff may go outside to shovel snow from your sidewalks. Be careful! Not only is there the danger of being exposed to the cold too long, there is also a chance of a strain injury resulting from the shoveling of snow and ice. In an article in webmd.com titled, “Shoveling Snow Injures Thousands Each Year,” Jan 20, 2011, by Kelli Miller, the author points out that shoveling sends on average 11,000 adults and children to the hospital each year. She continues in her article, “The American Journal of Emergency Medicine details the most common health hazards associated with shoveling snow. Snow shoveling can lead to bad backs, broken bones, head injuries and even deadly heart problems.” Carefully watch those you may send out to shovel and rotate them in and out. Look for signs of excessive stress or pain and if necessary contact a local EMS station.

Parking Lots

Ensure your employees are safe if you send them outside to collect shopping carts or clear snow from parking spaces. Have orange or yellow reflective safety vests on hand and require those working outside to wear them. Moving vehicles in a parking lot may not stop quickly enough on the icy pavement if they don’t see the employee in time. The safety vest provides additional visibility to help alert drivers. While it should go without saying make sure weather appropriate clothing such as jackets, gloves and even scarfs are available for employees to help them avoid frostbite or other cold-weather ailments.

Struck-by’s

Don’t overlook the risk of ice falling from a rooftop. Too much weight from accumulated snow and ice or a slight increase in temperatures may result in ice and snow sliding off an overhang or roof. Be sure to monitor for such hazards and take proactive measures to clear potential problems before they result in an injury.

Accidents can happen anytime but winter offers unique challenges. Be pro-active and make sure you and your managers are doing all you can to make your employees and customers safe when they visit the store to work or shop.

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Should They Stay Or Should They Go? What To Consider With Seasonal Hires

January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year when all store owners and managers start to make personnel decisions. Remember those people you hired in late August, maybe in September or even as late as October or November? Remember the conversations you may have had with them discussing how this was a “seasonal” position? You may have really dangled the carrot in front of them and told them that if they worked hard and showed initiative they might be retained on your staff after the holidays. Guess what? It’s time now for you to start taking a hard look at your staff and making some decisions and that isn’t always pleasant. Now you have to evaluate those employees and consider whether you want to keep them or you may have to decide if you can afford to keep them.  What should you be thinking about at this point with regard to employee retention decisions?

Performance

You may have told the employee that retention after the holiday season would be based on their performance. Did you take time periodically to watch how this person interacted with customers or other employees? Did you ever get any customer complaints about how this employee treated them or compliments about their service? Did you keep track of those complaints or compliments so you would have something to fall back on should you choose to end their employment? Having documentation in hand makes it easier to have those conversations. The other resources you need to rely on are your supervisors. It is wise to have a management meeting to discuss each person’s opinion about a seasonal worker. One person may like the way the employee performed on a cash register while another had issues with sales floor performance. Getting several perspectives will give a better picture of an employee during the season.

Punctuality

Review an employee’s time sheets or attendance record. If you don’t keep track of tardiness or call-outs you should start. Just because a supervisor or manager says someone was always late or always called out does not mean it was so. It often happens that during a busy time or when everything seems to be going wrong that if someone shows up late to work it is inflated in our minds. We are prone to feeling like this is a regular occurrence when in fact it only took place the one time. The employee may have called out another time but the heat of the moment distorts the reality of the employee’s attendance record. Review documentation so you know whether punctuality or attendance was really a problem.

Attitude

I shouldn’t have to include this one but sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious. What kind of attitude was displayed while this person worked? Did they arrive to work with a negative attitude? Perhaps they were always negative about customers or even talking about other employees. A poor attitude can rub off on others and become a drain on morale. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting rid of someone who displays a poor attitude. I should also mention that it is worth giving consideration to someone who always has a sunny disposition. Just as a negative attitude spreads a black cloud over the other workers and can be sensed by customers a positive attitude can have the same impact. Shoppers like feeling welcomed and that their business is appreciated. Co-workers enjoy being around a fellow employee who makes work fun or knows the value of a warm greeting. This does not mean this worker does not have to be able to perform but they may not need to be a superstar if they bring something of value to the table.

Honesty and Integrity

Has this staff member demonstrated an impeccable record of honest behaviors? Are you confident this person has proven to be honest? If you track register overages and shortages take a look back at this employee’s daily register tallies. Be sure there is no concern over shortages or overages either of which could be an indicator of theft. Has there been any question about a purchase or a package check inspection? Is this person always upfront about issues they have encountered? Even something as seemingly small as having a friend punch a time clock for them indicates an integrity issue at the least. If you have a concern it would be in your best interest to cut this person from your roster.

Ending a seasonal employee’s job isn’t always easy but it is necessary. Make sure you use sound criteria and good judgment when deciding if you will keep or release someone after the holidays.

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Now that the holidays are over does that mean theft is too?

January 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

 Whew! You made it through the holidays and hopefully, you were successful in deterring shoplifters and survived the fraudulent return attempts but does that mean you can rest on your laurels? Unfortunately, the answer is “No”. Criminals do not take a break because you do. As a matter of fact, you could find that this is a prime time for criminal activity to increase. Why would that be? It is during these next few weeks and months that traditionally retail owners and managers begin to tighten up payroll. They release their seasonal employees and reduce the hours budgeted to the various work centers. This leads to several theft concerns:

  • If given too much advance notice that the end of their employment is imminent there are workers that may get angry and justify stealing because of a perceived injustice. This person may think they worked hard enough to earn a permanent spot on the team or assumed they would be retained based on what they thought they were told when hired. Some managers feel a bit guilty for having to let seasonal employees go and feel an obligation to give a significant amount of advance notice so the person can look for new work. The best way to avoid this situation is to give a seasonal employee a date they will work up to and no later than during the interview process. By doing so the employer can give a reminder a week out that the last day is approaching. This gives the worker time to start looking for other employment and does not give too much lead-up time for them to start stealing if they may be so inclined.
  • As sales decline after the holiday season, managers and owners have to make budget decisions on payroll expenditures. It is not reasonable to spend the same amount of money on sales floor coverage with reduced customer counts. Where you had three or four cashiers during the last few months to ensure customers were served quickly you may now have only one cashier. The staff members that were getting 32 hours a week may be down to 25 hours a week. If the employee is dependent on that income to make ends meet and their hours are cut they may decide that stealing is a way to make up for what they have lost. 
  • When seasonal employees are released and hours reduced to cut back on payroll expenses, sales floor coverage starts to wane. This means there are fewer people to provide customer service that is one of the critical components in theft deterrence. Shoplifters know when there are fewer employees present and find it easier to avoid those few workers that are on the floor. Remember that one of the three things needed to shoplift is the opportunity and with less chance at discovery, more opportunities to steal present themselves.
  • There are operational functions that may suffer due to a reduction of payroll hours. Specifically, merchandise protection strategies including electronic article surveillance tagging of merchandise may not be as thorough. As an example, if a freight pusher is responsible for tagging products with retail anti-theft devices but they are struggling just to get freight stocked on the floor in the allotted period tagging could be a secondary issue. The focus may be on filling the floor in order to sell rather than protecting it to prevent theft.

Criminals are not going to take a vacation after the holidays. They will look for stores that lower their defenses and then take advantage of them. Be on guard as you come out of the busy season and things seem to slow down. Be wise in how you reduce seasonal employee staff and do what you can to encourage the people you are keeping. Make plans to identify and address potential problems that may arise from those decisions. Strategic planning and follow-up can minimize the chances thieves will try to target your store.

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PREVENT SHOPLIFTING BY EMBRACING NEW ALPHA TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR BUSINESS!

December 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment

 

PREVENT SHOPLIFTING BY EMBRACING NEW ALPHA TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR BUSINESS! 
 Prevent Shoplifitng-3                                                                     ML Blog 10
  Alpha Hang Tag- 3
        Shrinkage takes a massive bite out of your stores bottom line.  Shoplifters are one of the highest contributors to shrinkage for the retail industry.  Retailers have a myriad of ways to protect their assets from thieves. We have to think smarter than the thief and stay one step ahead of them at every turn to prevent shoplifting.  We accomplish this goal by using the most advanced security devices available and embracing new technology. Most stores will place spider wraps and large tags on their products for theft prevention. That is an excellent deterrent for boxed items and clothing, but what about our clamshell packaged merchandise?  In the stores that I have worked Loss Prevention for, we can easily have over 50 percent of our products hanging on a peg hook.   With such a large quantity, why wouldn’t you protect that product as well? Many stores are forgetting about those areas, which leads to a trending high amount of loss each year.
 
        In one of my stores, my expert Loss Prevention team apprehended 132 shoplifters in 1 year.  60% of those shoplifting cases had product that was selected from peg hooks versus off fixtures.  I would place the merchandise on a locking peg hook thinking it was protected and that the merchandise could not be removed unless an associate unlocked the peg.  However, it never failed that a thief would come through with a knife and cut the top of the plastic off.  This was so they could get the product off of the locking peg and steal it easily.  I watched one morning via CCTV, a shoplifter come through an aisle of high dollar product on pegs. I noticed the subject quickly pulling an item out of his pocket. I saw on camera that he pulled out his own box cutter, and then cut a whole row of product off. After getting the merchandise off, he concealed it all into an empty shopping bag! After concealing, he had a get away driver waiting and fled the scene. It all happened extremely fast. Not only did he get away with 10 expensive items, but it could have been a harmful situation for associates. We had to change the culture! We had to put a stop to the thieves from coming in, using knives/box cutters to steal items regularly. After figuring out where the issue was, I was able to get approval to order the Alpha Hang Tag. I had no idea these existed in the Loss Prevention world. I received a shipment in and place them on our highest theft products to prevent shoplifting in that area. I would complete counts daily to track if the Alpha Hang Tag was truly working. After 4 weeks of usage and tracking, I found 0 product was cut off by thieves. The only product that was missing, was the product that was sold to customers. This was a huge win for my store! 
 
        After noting the success rate, I was able to obtain approval to order more and place it on other products as well. The feedback I received from associates was likewise positive. The Alpha Hang Tag is extremely small, so it is very customer friendly. It is also easy to put on, so it does not take inordinate amounts of time for the associates to put on before putting the merchandise on the sales floor. The best part for the store was not finding tons of empty packaging daily any longer, knowing that we were able to prevent shoplifting!
Get more information on how to prevent shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today. 

Shrinkage takes a massive bite out of your stores bottom line. Shoplifters are one of the highest contributors to shrinkage for the retail industry.  Retailers have a myriad of ways to protect their assets from thieves. We have to think smarter than the thief and stay one step ahead of them at every turn to prevent shoplifting. We accomplish this goal by using the most advanced security devices available and embracing new technology. Most stores will place spider wraps and large tags on their products for theft prevention. That is an excellent deterrent for boxed items and clothing, but what about our clamshell packaged merchandise?  In the stores that I have worked Loss Prevention for, we can easily have over 50 percent of our products hanging on a peg hook. With such a large quantity, why wouldn’t you protect that product as well? Many stores are forgetting about those areas, which leads to a trending high amount of loss each year.        

 

 In one of my stores, my expert Loss Prevention team apprehended 132 shoplifters in 1 year. 60% of those shoplifting cases had product that was selected from peg hooks versus off fixtures. I would place the merchandise on a locking peg hook thinking it was protected and that the merchandise could not be removed unless an associate unlocked the peg. However, it never failed that a thief would come through with a knife and cut the top of the plastic off. This was so they could get the product off of the locking peg and steal it easily. I watched one morning via CCTV, a shoplifter come through an aisle of high dollar product on pegs. I noticed the subject quickly pulling an item out of his pocket. I saw on camera that he pulled out his own box cutter, and then cut a whole row of product off. After getting the merchandise off, he concealed it all into an empty shopping bag! After concealing, he had a get away driver waiting and fled the scene. It all happened extremely fast. Not only did he get away with 10 expensive items, but it could have been a harmful situation for associates. We had to change the culture! We had to put a stop to the thieves from coming in, using knives/box cutters to steal items regularly. After figuring out where the issue was, I was able to get approval to order the Alpha Hang Tag. I had no idea these existed in the Loss Prevention world. I received a shipment in and place them on our highest theft products to prevent shoplifting in that area. I would complete counts daily to track if the Alpha Hang Tag was truly working. After 4 weeks of usage and tracking, I found 0 product was cut off by thieves. The only product that was missing, was the product that was sold to customers. This was a huge win for my store!         

After noting the success rate, I was able to obtain approval to order more and place it on other products as well. The feedback I received from associates was likewise positive. The Alpha Hang Tag is extremely small, so it is very customer friendly. It is also easy to put on, so it does not take inordinate amounts of time for the associates to put on before putting the merchandise on the sales floor. The best part for the store was not finding tons of empty packaging daily any longer, knowing that we were able to prevent shoplifting!

 

Get more information on how to prevent shoplifting, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today. 

 

 

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Innovative Solutions To Stop Shoplifting In Stores

December 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment

In Retail Loss Prevention we are always trying to find new and innovative methods to stop shoplifting. I have a few personal ideas I have wanted to implement:

  • Armed guards in watch towers at the front entry doors (similar to a prison tower) in order to intimidate potential thieves.
  • Snarling Doberman Pinschers or German Shepherds, trained to smell stolen merchandise chained at the store exits.
  • Tiger pits with a trap door that Loss Prevention Officers can open up when a shoplifter leaves the building, thereby avoiding the inevitable fleeing criminal. And think about it, no more shoplifter speeding out of the parking lot potentially injuring people in order to get away!
  • Drones flying around the store with cameras monitoring all of the customers. When someone starts to conceal merchandise store loudspeakers come on and announce what the suspect is wearing and warning him/her to put the merchandise down.
  • On the extreme end of the spectrum every customer entering the store receives a personal shopper for the duration of the time they are in the store.
  • Require everyone entering the store to pay a $5.00 cover charge. If they purchase something the $5.00 is deducted from the purchase amount.

For some odd reason none of my ideas has been picked up by a retailer. I don’t understand it. Despite this there is a method to stop shoplifting that is a little less extreme than my ideas and that is the use of Checkpoint tags on merchandise.

 

Checkpoint tags are an electronic article surveillance retail anti-theft device that deters and prevents theft. It deters theft in several ways. First, shoplifters who enter the store will recognize the Checkpoint towers at the front doors and may decide against trying to steal from the store. Second, if a crook is still considering stealing after seeing the towers he/she will get a dose of reality if they see that the store tags all of their merchandise not just select items. Tagging everything eliminates the possibility a shoplifter will grab even a cheap item just to get the thrill or the stolen item. Checkpoint tags will stop shoplifting because they are nearly impossible to remove from merchandise without the proper detachment key. It also has radio frequency technology built into it which acts in unison with the tower at the front door. Tagged merchandise carried too close to a tower sets off alarms causing store employees to respond and conduct receipt checks, usually resulting in recovered merchandise. Shoplifters simply don’t want to take a chance on being arrested so they tend to go to those stores where there are few protected items OR no electronic article surveillance at all.

 

     This brings me back to my original point of finding innovative ways to stop shoplifting and theft. They have made different styles of electronic article surveillance towers. Some have been made smaller to take up of less space for smaller retail businesses, some now have the ability to have advertising panels placed in them and others have the ability to detect radio frequency jammers. Tags have also changed from larger hard tags to sleek, disc-shaped tags designed to be less detracting to higher end merchandise such as suits, gowns, and expensive jackets. Alarms at the towers can send alerts to managers and there is software that can assist managers with evaluating alarm response times.

 

     While I am still in favor of cages dropping from the ceiling on someone who has set off an alarm tower at the doors, I recognize that my idea of innovation is not suitable to everyone. In case you fall into that group of people who would call my ideas extreme, I am recommending another innovative solution to stop shoplifting, install an EAS system and use Checkpoint tags on ALL of your merchandise. You will see shortage decline and profits rise.

 

Need information on Checkpoint Tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.  

 

 

 

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: ,
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