Make Preparations For Your End Of The Year Wrap Up

November 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

December is the month when retailers are focused on driving those end of the year sales. We push as much merchandise as possible out of the stockrooms to fill the floors. Empty salesfloor spaces should be “no-no’s” during this time of the year. We re-merchandise our fixtures to get gift ideas in front of our customers. We also take steps to increase impulse buys by filling check lanes with snacks, batteries, magazines, gift cards, etc. Managers should also be looking at last year sales information to plan schedules around peak times of the day in order to avoid long lines at the registers. While all of this is important it is just as important to start planning for your end of the year wrap up.

Much of December into January is the same as the rest of the year but there are some differences that need to be considered. It is the end of the year and that means you will have to consider inventory will be coming up in the next few months (depending on when you take inventory of course).  Even if you take your inventory later in the year you should still be thinking about it and starting to prepare now. As your team is pushing merchandise out of the stockroom it should be emptying out. It is the perfect time to look for merchandise that has fallen from hangers or dropped into a nook or cranny that is usually hard to see. Scouring the building for merchandise that has been hidden away is another step to be taken. Sometimes customers will hide merchandise intending to come back for it later or employees may do so to avoid re-stocking it. Merchandise may also be under base decks or fall behind registers and regardless of how it gets there, it will result in shortage if not accounted for at inventory time. 

You may have hired seasonal employees for the holidays. You will need to start making decisions on who you will release and who you may decide to keep on your staff. If you have other managers working for you seek their input. It is not uncommon for us to have a skewed view of what an employee’s work and productivity may be. You may see someone occasionally and think they are performing well. You then speak with their immediate supervisor and find out this employee is really a problem to their work center. Decisions must be made as to when cuts will be made and offers of permanent employment provided. Whether you like the employee or not it is only fair to give them time to start looking for other work or have the knowledge they won’t need to do so.

Review any vendor supplied items your store may carry. Are vendors maintaining their products and filling their allocated space? Conduct spot audits of vendor merchandise and make sure if there are products soon to expire they are on the front of the shelf. Be diligent that you are receiving the appropriate credits for merchandise the vendor is removing from your store. You or a delegated manager should look at vendor credits to be sure they are being given to you in a timely manner now and through the entire year.

The end of the year is also the time to look at building maintenance issues. Parking lot lighting, exterior lights, fire, and burglary alarm tests should have all been done at the start of the 4th quarter. Now is the time to look for facility problems, are restroom sinks and toilets operating correctly? Are there any roof leaks that have not been previously reported? Are fitting room doors opening, closing and locking? Some repairs may be a landlord’s responsibility to cover, be sure those are reported and taken care of.

Finally, as you wrap up your year take time to celebrate your wins with your team and also take a look at opportunities for improvement. Make it a group effort and give everyone a chance to comment on what they thought went well and what could have gone better. Getting everyone’s insight can be enlightening and provide ideas for making the coming year even better than this year and that is how businesses stay successful.

     

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New Year’s Resolution’s To Improve Shortage This Year                                              

November 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

A New Year is just around the corner and once again resolutions are going to be made and many of those will fall by the wayside. Why does that happen? Are goals too big to achieve? Sometimes we all start off with good intentions and we just get caught up in our normal routines and we can’t seem to focus on what it was we wanted to get done. There may be a manager out there who resolves that this is the year they will meet quarterly with each employee and discuss performance. They might do well the first quarter but then as the demands of the job take up more and more time something gives and it was the meetings. I recall one of my resolutions was to be more organized at work. I had a filing system, it was called my desktop and I knew where everything was at. I would make my resolution, create a filing system and you guessed it by the end of January I was back to my old habits. My intentions were good I just wouldn’t stay focused on it and made excuses.

      Retail shortage can be a problem for a store and if not addressed it gets worse and severely impacts the profitability of a business. Resolving to fix shortage is admirable but it requires a knowledge of where the shortage is taking place and methods that can improve problem areas. Below are some tips that can help with your resolution:

  • Know what causes the shortage. There are generally four areas that will impact shortage. Shoplifting, Employee Theft, Vendor Shortage and Administrative Errors. According to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer, Dishonest employees accounted for 45% of shortage, Shoplifters 36%, Vendor/Supplier Fraud 6% and Administrative and Non-Crime Loss 13% (pg. 53).
  • Rather than try to fix all areas of shortage, pick one that will give you the most bang for the buck. For example, if you were to focus on preventing shoplifting you could probably reduce your losses by almost one-third!
  • Once you decide what you want to focus on, find experts who will be happy to assist you. Go to a resource that has people experienced in the field of shortage reduction such as Loss Prevention Systems Inc. and look at their blogs and media pages and resource information. Contact them for help.
  • Educate yourself and your managers on shoplifting and employee theft. Find out how to identify and prevent both (combined this is almost 80% of your shortage). Schedule a training seminar with experts from Loss Prevention Systems Inc. who will give you the information to make your business successful. There are a number of training sessions they provide and you can find the one(s) that will be most effective at this time. You may even consider partnering with other retailers in your area to hold a group session.
  • Invest in a retail anti-theft system that will have an immediate impact on employee theft, shoplifting, AND non-crime loss. You can still focus on that one area of shortage but benefit from the impact it can have on preventing other losses.
  • Create an action plan for the area you decide to focus on. It doesn’t need to be big but it does need to have specific objectives, goals, and measures. You will also need due dates when an action item is to be complete. Set aside time each month on your calendar to review your plan. Do NOT allow anything to interfere with that time. Once you start rescheduling that time it is no longer a priority and will fail.  An example would be planning to install a Checkpoint System. If you set a date of March 1st to have it installed you need to have the date and times to schedule appointments, calls, service visits, and follow-ups if a deadline looks like it won’t be met. All of these would be on your calendar and you have to ensure they get done.

The best plans are the simple plans with achievable goals. Too many action items, trying to do too much at once or lofty or unreasonable expectations are a recipe for failure.

     As you make your resolution to reduce shortage be sure to have objective dates in place and measures you can celebrate as you accomplish them. Celebrating a small victory will lead to the achievement of other victories. It may take a little time but you will see the result of your efforts at the end of the year in increased sales and lower shrinkage.

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Fitting Room Theft

October 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment

You know the drill. At the end of the day, you find your merchandise tags on the floor or hidden in your fitting rooms. Shoplifters bring your merchandise into a fitting room and put it on under their clothes. Sometimes many layers of your apparel are under the clothes they wore in.

One in ten people that walk through your doors is there to steal. It is a fact of retail life. Studies show that a large percentage of these thieves are female and under the age of thirty. This feeds into the fact that the average retailer’s inventory shrink from shoplifting is approximately 35%.

Shoplifters conceal your merchandise in a variety of ways, in a stroller, pockets, a booster bag, booster clothing or like mentioned above, simply wearing your merchandise out of your store under their clothing. All of these methods require one thing, privacy, even if only for a few seconds. What better place to get privacy in a retail store than a fitting room. Shoplifters can take their time. And because some fitting rooms are handicap accessible, it is not a problem to bring that shoplifting vehicle (stroller) right in with them.

What can you do to protect yourself from theft that a fitting room helps to facilitate? Start with fitting room design:

  • Fitting rooms should not be located in out of the way areas. I prefer high-traffic areas.
  • Walls should be smooth and continuous with no decorations, picture frames, signs… that a shoplifter can hide or dispose of a price tag.
  • Mirrors should be permanently attached to the wall and the edges should be caulked to keep the thieves from hiding labels behind them.
  • Avoid carpeting in the fitting room. Carpet can be pulled up and labels can be hidden there. If you have to use carpet, ensure it is one piece and the edges are securely glued to the flooring.
  • Doors should not go all the way to the floor.  This still provides privacy but does not give the shoplifter a complete feeling of privacy.
  • Doors should have a lock that is called a “storeroom” style. This means that a key is always required to unlock the door and that cannot be changed by turning the knob on the other side.
  • Bright lighting helps your legitimate shopper but gives the shoplifter less of a feeling of privacy.
  • CCTV cameras in plain sight outside of the fitting room doors. The area outside of a fitting room is the perfect place for a public view monitor so customers see that the system is live.
  • Chimes that alert staff when a fitting room door opens.
  • Seating such as benches should be fixed or built in. Any seams, cracks should be sealed. The underside of the bench should be a smooth surface that will not facilitate the hiding of tags.
  • Cove base and shoe mold should be securely mounted, the edges glued and caulked.

Of course, all of this is worthless without proper procedures and a trained staff:

  • Consider fitting room attendants that count garments in/out.
  • Key control. Staff must never leave a key in the fitting room door.
  • For high volume and multiple fitting rooms use a number tag system.
  • Consider limiting the number of items a customer can take into the fitting room at one time.
  • Staff should be trained to keep an eye on anyone who they have let into a fitting room. This is not just a theft concern but also customer service. Your staff can keep track of merchandise and help the customer with different sizes.
  • Do not allow merchandise to build up outside the fitting room. Besides presenting a sloppy appearance, a disorganized area allows shoplifters to more easily conceal merchandise and tags.
  • Customer service, customer service, customer service…

Make sure that when you do have an incident that you bring it to the attention of all staff members so everyone can learn from it. Even though the key to preventing this kind of theft is customer service, you may still have more than acceptable losses. At that point, it is time for a Checkpoint System. The tags on the merchandise are working 24/7 and will alarm even if the stolen merchandise is under the shoplifters clothing.

Contact us at 770-426-7593 if you have any questions about this topic, would like our help or if you would like a quote on a Checkpoint System.

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The Best Gift Boxes and Wraps

October 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment

When we think of gift boxes and wraps during this time of the year we would probably think of robe boxes, shirt boxes or jewelry boxes. Wraps would bring to mind those colorful papers and foils that we use to hide the boxes and try to camouflage the gifts inside. Then there are the ribbons that tie everything together and make the packages beautiful. The whole purpose is to protect the items we have purchased from prying eyes and snoops.

     Retailers have to protect their merchandise against more than just prying eyes, nosey relatives, and curious kids. Store owners have to think about theft issues that will be impacting them during the holidays. It is an unfortunate fact of life that during this time of the year criminal activity, especially shoplifting rises significantly. The harm that is inflicted by these criminals is more than simply the loss of a piece or two of merchandise. The business owners, store employees, and customers are all impacted by the actions of those who enter a store and steal from it.

     The obvious effect theft has on the business owner is that a stolen piece of merchandise eats into the profit margin of the store. We use to estimate in Loss Prevention that for a big box retailer it required selling approximately 10 units of something to make up for the loss of one unit of the product. The small or medium retail owner is trying to be careful in how much to markup goods in order to stay competitive with the national chain stores. Consequently, these owners may have to sell a bit more to make up for a stolen item.

     Employees are impacted by shoplifters because it could mean a storekeeper may not be able to hire an additional worker for the holidays, never mind for an entire year. Merchandise shortage may mean seasonal hires have to be let go a little earlier than a business owner truly wanted to release them. Shoplifting also means that shortage has to be considered when a store owner is deciding on employee pay. Knowing that theft is going to happen and it will hurt profits, a business owner has to keep expenses lower and one of the biggest expense areas to a store is payroll.

     Customers are affected by thieves because many of the store markups are a direct result of shoplifter activity. Customers don’t want to pay more than they have to for an item and so they may take their business to a big box competitor or to online shopping if prices increase. Mom and Pop shop owners can’t afford to mark-up goods too much or they risk losing business. Not marking up to make up for losses means Mom and Pop stores have to sell more to customers. Customers they are already fighting to keep. To top it off, the shoplifters take merchandise that may have been available to a paying customer to purchase. The customer can’t buy what isn’t there and a vicious cycle ensues.

     In order to combat shoplifting and larceny at all times of the year, the small retail owner should be using retail anti-theft devices.  This is where the best boxes and wraps come into play and they aren’t the type we use for our gifts. The ones store owners should be using are those that will keep thieves and criminals from stealing in the first place. Small items can be protected in Alpha Keeper boxes while larger items are securely surrounded in Spider Wrap. Both devices allow owners to leave merchandise in the open and accessible to customers who can then carry items in the store or to a register. By the same token, the anti-theft devices keep criminals from being able to get access to merchandise and prevent them from getting products out of the store without causing alarm activations.

     Business owners, you don’t need to experience empty shelves and cash drawers on the account of theft. Don’t allow crooks to victimize you, your employees and your customers. Box and wrap your products with retail anti-theft devices so your shoppers can have the merchandise they want at affordable prices. Your customers can enjoy more green in their pockets and you will see more green in your registers.

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Dash Through The Snow But Not After Shoplifters

October 31, 2017 by Leave a Comment

“Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh…” OH BOY, this is one of my favorite times of the year! Christmas time and the other holidays just make it special for me. The television specials, the music, the foods and treats and the decorations all combine to just give a warm feeling. I even feel like people tend to be friendlier and more helpful to each other. Then there is the shopping to do, going out to window shop or find that perfect gift for someone(s) special in our lives. Living in the South we don’t often get to dash through the snow but when you live up in the northern states you can add the winter frolicking to your holidays. Even if we haven’t experienced it almost all of us have seen pictures or movies with reindeer dashing through the snow pulling Santa’s sleigh. There’s something about it that evokes a bit of childhood magic.

While dashing may be magical and exciting when it comes to playing in a winter wonderland it isn’t good when the dashing involves the pursuit of shoplifters. The holidays may bring out the best in most of us but somehow it brings out other things too, like thieves and criminals. The holidays are a notorious time of the year for the increases in shoplifting. Professional shoplifters often use the crowds in stores to hide their activity. Casual shoplifters or spontaneous shoplifters come in and steal to get a thrill or because they want to impress their friends. It may be greed that drives these people because they want something they can’t afford. Whatever the reasons shoplifters make up for their crime the fact is they are still stealing and it makes no difference if they are professionals or amateurs. It is important for store managers and employees to try to deter the theft before it takes place. The use of retail anti-theft devices like a Checkpoint Security System and promoting excellent customer service are two ways to accomplish this.

When that deterrence fails however the objective becomes one of trying to get a shoplifter to dump the merchandise before they get to an exit door. Loss Prevention professionals have some tricks they may try to employ, pulling out radios, talking about the merchandise that is concealed, making it apparent they are following the person towards the door. The one thing they can’t (or shouldn’t) do is make an accusation they cannot support. It also may depend on the laws of a state about whether concealment alone and walking past cash registers is enough to constitute shoplifting. In any situation, care has to be taken on how much store personnel does to try to get a shoplifter to dump merchandise.

     When all of these steps fail and a shoplifter refuses to drop merchandise they have concealed there is a good chance they will dash out the door and run to get away. It is a natural reflex for the store employee to have the urge to chase after the criminal. Having been in this situation more times than I can count as a Loss Prevention Associate and Manager, I know the feeling. It takes restraint and self-control not to follow the perpetrator when they run. Associates must understand that chasing can lead to someone being injured and that can turn into a lawsuit. A dash to catch a shoplifter can take an employee into a dangerous situation where they may end up facing a weapon. A shoplifter who runs has little or no regard for others and may trample someone, push them down or worse, get to their car and run into someone. Some people have gone so far to try to grab a shoplifter from their car and have wound up getting dragged by the vehicle. Believe me when I tell you there is nothing your store sells that is worth anyone getting hurt over.

     Be smart and safe this holiday season. Use retail anti-theft devices on the merchandise you sell. Make customer service training a priority as you are training seasonal and even older staff members. Let them know how their service makes a positive impact on sales and prevents theft. Finally, make a point of emphasizing the dangers involved in dashing after a criminal. The only running to be done by employees is the running of cash registers as your cashiers are ringing up holiday sales. 

     

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Employee Theft And The Hiring Process

September 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Are you hiring someone who has the tendency to steal from their employer?  Hiring new employees for the season and for permanent positions is a difficult task in and of itself. But do you consider employee theft in the hiring process?

With little additional effort, you can screen out candidates that are prone to, or even have an ambivalent attitude towards theft from your company. The folks that are ambivalent tend to be the ones that will look the other way while others, both internal and external, steal from you and will not tell you that they suspect or see theft occurring. The normal excuse they give themselves and you, if confronted after the fact, is “I did not want to get involved” or “I am not a rat”. Both of these are copouts. But what you need to consider is that you, the owner or manager have probably set the foundation for this attitude.

To keep employees from stealing from you, you must start at the very first step in the employment process. When someone applies for a job, they need to understand that you will check their criminal background. You should have a separate background check release document from your company’s application. That sets the beginning of theft prevention.

During the interview process are you asking questions about employee theft and the candidate’s attitude towards it? If not, you are missing out on a very simple step that will reveal much more than you expected. These are questions that you can and should be asking. Loss Prevention Systems offers to our customers live, online training that is FREE of charge about this very subject. The seminar is titled “Pre-employment hiring: What they don’t tell you will HURT you”. This training teaches you and your staff how to ask better questions regarding loss prevention areas. Do you want to find out more about not only the candidate’s involvement in and attitude about employee theft but also what they have stolen from previous employers and their use of illegal drugs? This session will teach you those techniques.

Next, when you make the offer of employment and conduct their orientation, are you explaining your policy and procedures regarding theft? Do you let them know that it is THEIR obligation to bring any suspicion or actual theft to your attention immediately? It is a job requirement. They are getting paid by you for a job you hired them for. This includes loyalty to you and the company. But if you do not discuss it, how can you expect them to do what you ask?

Do you have a theft policy document or handbook that they must read and then they sign an acknowledgment receipt that is placed in their HR file? Again, if you are a customer of Loss Prevention Systems, we will provide you with a draft LP handbook that you can modify to fit your company. It lets the new employee know that the only thing they may take from the company is the air in their lungs. It also helps them to understand what they are to do for suspected or witnessed theft. If you are a Retailer, it also covers shoplifting.

Your next step is to reinforce this message with all employees at company meetings. This can be as simple as asking questions. Ask for a show of hands to a question like “Have you ever worked at a company where someone was caught stealing?” follow up with “how did that make you feel?’ or “How would you feel if you found out that a co-worker was stealing from the company?”. Most of the time employees respond with a feeling of betrayal, disbelief, shock, anger… You should then expand on those feelings with a discussion. Instead of you “preaching”, let them express their thoughts. You should simply guide the conversation. Ask employees what they think should happen to someone who was caught stealing from the company. You are likely to hear harsh terms like jail, arrest, fired, shot at sunrise and more. But just as important, observe the employees that take a disinterested, joking or mild approach. If they themselves are stealing, they are more likely to use softer words such as “get in trouble, lose their jobs, disciplined…” That does not mean that everyone who reacts in a more mild fashion is stealing. That may simply be their personality or they are uncomfortable talking about conflict type situations. But this does give you more insight into their thinking. Employees that mock or make fun of the conversation should, in my experience, be watched closely.

This process shows everyone that you are not afraid to discuss the topic and are prone to take action if it does occur. It also shows employees that have or will think about stealing from you that other employees will not tolerate their actions.

Start this process now! Do not wait. You want a good, profitable selling season. Contact us if you have questions or need assistance.

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The Scary Truth About Not Preparing For Holiday Foot Traffic

September 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Black Friday morning and we had lines of customers jockeying for position at 16 front end cash registers, two pharmacy registers, a jewelry counter register and 2 registers at our electronics counter. Sure, there were a lot of people, hundreds if not a thousand at one time but we were handling it. I had our Loss Prevention team monitoring cameras, checking receipts at the front doors and walking the floor with “Security” jackets on to deter theft and prevent fights. The store management team had good plans in place for replenishing freight on the floor and giving employees breaks. I had worked with the Store Manager to control the flow of customers into our building and all had gone off without a hitch, no pushing, shoving or fights. I even had a number of police officers at our front doors aiding us with crowd control. We had really planned for every contingency, or so we thought. The one thing that we had not planned for happened and it was a major problem, our register system went down! The audible sighs, snide remarks, and expressions of anger and frustration were heard in one collective voice. All of our managers jumped into action trying to reboot registers and get systems back online. Ever so slowly we got things moving again but it was a nightmare and it made us realize the scary truth, we had not really prepared for everything as well as we thought we had. A number of shopping carts had been abandoned with Black Friday specials in them and no salesfloor staff available to re-shelve the merchandise.

Can stores prepare for every contingency? Quite honestly, no but that is not to say there should not be a significant amount of time spent planning for holidays and holiday foot traffic. The hard part is knowing what you should plan for and have a contingency plan if something “breaks” which will most certainly happen. What kind of things can you prepare for?

  • Are you hoping for increased foot traffic or planning for it? Hoping is wishful thinking something will magically occur. Small and medium-size retailers have to make good things happen. Big Box retailers are planning months in advance for what their “Doorbuster” items will be for Black Friday. They do bulk purchases of merchandise that will be one-time sellers. LCD televisions are one of the big promos I see each year. These are often not top of the line name brands and they are bargain priced to bring in foot traffic. Get people in the door and hit them with other sale items and promotions. The nasty surprise with this type of gimmick? What do you tell your customers when you run out? Were you fair in how you advertised quantities would be limited, no holds would be permitted, first come/first serve and no rain checks or substitutions will be given out? Be clear in your advertising and let customers who are waiting for that item know how many there really are. You may give out a ticket to each person in line who is waiting for that “Doorbuster” so no one else feels “duped”. You can save a lot of headaches for yourself.
  • Test your equipment. Have a professional come in and test your point of sale registers, your computers, and even your electronic article surveillance pedestals and deactivation pads. Do you normally run two registers during the year? Consider having a third for an increase in customers or as backup if one of your two breaks.
  • Are you intending to run your holiday season with the same number of employees you have all year? That can be a scary decision. If you are planning out your sales and promotions you will see more customers. Failing to have enough staff means you are not giving the level of customer service you need to and people will be put-off with poor assistance, abandon merchandise and leave the store. Not adding staff also means you will run your full-time crew ragged and they may quit. Holiday seasons can be stressful enough without feeling like you’re stretched too thin by your boss.
  • Finally, consider promotions for each of the major holidays coming up in the final quarter of the year. Candy giveaways for those who celebrate Halloween, a drawing for a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, or a raffle promotion to get people into your building for Christmas shopping, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.

Holiday shoppers can make your financial year but you must be prepared. Careful planning will pay off in the end. Don’t be scared to step outside your comfort zone to reach new customers and drive profitable year-end sales. 

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The Importance Of Expressing Your Thanks For The Staff You Have

September 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought it would be an appropriate time for me to ask the employers out there how thankful are you for the staff you have? I don’t mean are you just thankful you have people who work for you in a general sense but how thankful are you for what they bring to the workplace every day? Maybe you have never thought about it like that. I’m certain you are thankful that Bobby showed up on time today or Mary Jane rang up customers without a customer complaint. But have you ever looked at how you express your thanks to your team? Maybe your attitude is that you pay them and that should be enough. Perhaps you give your employees a birthday card when their birthday rolls around each year. But is that really sufficient? Is it fair for your employees to expect more from you in terms of recognition?

In an article in forbes.com titled, “66% Of Employees Would Quit if They Feel Unappreciated”, by Victor Lipman, April 15, 2017, the author references, “…a study from Office Team examining the impact of appreciation, or lack thereof, in the workplace.” Quoting the study Mr. Lipman points out two startling findings:

  • 66% of employees say they would “likely leave their job of (sic) they didn’t feel appreciated.”
  • Among millennials, the number of employees who’d leave if unappreciated jumps to 76%.

The author states, “So what does all this mean? I’d call it a short message with a powerful takeaway: Appreciation matters.”I agree with the author’s sentiments. People need to feel like their efforts are appreciated by the supervisors/managers.

What are some of the ways managers can express their appreciation towards their employees? Below are some ideas that can be easy and meaningful:

  • Greet your employees when they arrive to work and say goodbye when they leave. I don’t mean you should say, “Glad you’re here, it’s been a crazy day” or “Oh, you made it on time, what a pleasant surprise!” Be genuine, say hello, hi or it’s good to see you when they come in and have a good afternoon or a great weekend when they leave.
  • Some large retailers have recognition cards they hand out to employees for performance and then have a monthly drawing for a gift card or monetary prize. It may not be practical for a smaller retailer but you can give a Thank-You card out from time to time
  • I work for a business where my superiors have expressed their appreciation with a company travel coffee mug, candy, greeting cards and a gift card at various times on top of emails expressing appreciation for my contributions. All of these make my efforts feel like they are worth the effort. Sometimes it’s the little things that mean a lot.
  • Appreciation may be demonstrated with the assignment of a special project or task that shows trust or gives more responsibility. With that assignment, there must be a verbal acknowledgment by the manager of how the employee’s work performance has merited the responsibility. It would be appropriate to also give some additional incentive if the assignment would merit it.

Aside from the possibility of employees quitting due to feeling unappreciated, it is also possible their performance is tied to how appreciated they feel working for you. According to an article in apa.org (American Psychological Association) from March 8, 2013, titled, “APA Survey Finds Feeling Valued at Work Linked to Well-Being and Performance”; “Almost all employees (93 percent) who reported feeling valued said they are motivated to do their best work and 88 percent reported feeling engaged.”  Clearly, it is in your best interest to find ways to express appreciation to your employees for the work they do for your business. Happy employees will want to make the company they work for successful and that means YOU will be successful.

This holiday season as you consider all the things you are thankful for, don’t forget those who make your business the success it is. Express your thanks and find ways to recognize them, now and all throughout the year. You won’t regret it.

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Late Night And Overnight Store Operations Make It Difficult To Prevent Shoplifting And Robbery

September 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment

I watched a video shared with me by a former Loss Prevention Manager colleague. The video showed three subjects enter a retail store and all appeared to be wearing masks and at least one looked to be carrying a rifle of some type. There were several employees at the front entrance when the subjects walked in and one of the employees seemed to say something to the one who was carrying what I will refer to as a rifle. The video was not the greatest and the camera is pointing into the store from the exterior door so for the most part, the backs of the perpetrators are seen.

The employee who approached the subject standing at the doorway may have said something and in the video, it appears the employee was hit and knocked to the floor. Two of the bad guys raced into the store and shortly afterward ran out and it seems they were carrying bags. I did not inquire as to what was stolen from the store but one person did inquire why this particular retailer was open after midnight (an unusual time of the evening for this company to have the doors to their stores open). It turns out they were open late for a special sale of “Star Wars” toys being released.

The idea of remaining open late into the night has always disturbed me. In my opinion, it invites all sorts of problems. How do you prevent robberies this late at night? How do you prevent shoplifting? What about the protection you should be offering your customers who come to your store so late? All of these are things that retailers should be considering before they make a decision to try to get one more sale or add one more dollar to the register.

 One thing that Loss Prevention departments can do little about is stopping a robbery while it is in the act of occurring. They also cannot control who is coming into a store. This brings me back to the point about store leadership that decides to leave a store open late at night. The idea is that sales are going to surge (for that night or event) and the store has to beat the competition. If a store is going to be open late at night, and the owner/manager believes this is the best business decision my first recommendation is that the store is fully staffed. More employees are a deterrent to thieves and robbers not to mention shoplifters than a skeleton crew.

Customer safety has to be considered and so it is the obligation of management to make sure parking lot lights are all on and working properly. Several weeks prior to the event(s) a thorough inspection of parking lot lighting should be completed and ALL issues fixed by the property owner prior to the event. All exterior building lights must be working to take away areas where criminals may try to lurk. Camera (closed-circuit television systems) installation would be a good idea and today it can be done for relatively little money. Fixed cameras can be installed to monitor front entrances and exits, cash registers, a cash office and even sidewalks and parking lots. Finally, and this can be controversial, hire an armed security officer or off-duty police officer to work the front door of the store.

There are people who have a concern with an armed security officer or off-duty police officer for store protection. This is where the controversy comes in. What if someone(s) enters the store to commit an armed robbery? If that officer draws their weapon to intervene the possibility of innocent customers or employees being injured increases exponentially. On the other hand, an armed officer may be a strong deterrent to would-be robbers and their visibility may prevent shoplifting by being stationed at the front doors. The question remains, what if that one robbery attempt happens and everything goes bad? Store owners and managers MUST take that into consideration before taking that step.

I am not a fan of the late night or overnight store operation. I believe the risks associated with these events along with the possibility of robbery and increased theft, far outweigh the financial gain. Instead, drive profits with great customer service, great values and sales and reduced shortage with the use of retail anti-theft devices. Make safety and security a priority and your employees will appreciate it and customers will reward you by spending money in your store.

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Ashleigh’s 2 Year Anniversary!

August 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment

By Bill Bregar, CEO Loss Prevention Systems, Inc.

We have just celebrated our very own Ashleigh Berry’s two year mark with Loss Prevention Systems. Ashleigh is a perfect fit for the duties she performs. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice she has the mind set to read between the lines when she conducts our client’s employee background checks. Many times perspective employees will omit or distort information on their application regarding their background. Ashleigh works very hard at spotting these discrepancies. In one case, an applicant completed the release form and did not list any convicted crimes. Upon reviewing his criminal history, the applicant was convicted of 2 traffic misdemeanors, 1 violent crime and 1 felony. The applicant has admitted to 4 convictions and was applying for a job that would allow access to the public and vehicles! It’s important to know of a prospective employee’s background. What they don’t tell you will hurt you.

Ashleigh has championed our quick turnaround speed. Same day or next day for many criminal records checks is our target and standard.

Generally Ashleigh is also the first person a new customer to Loss Prevention Systems talks to about their shoplifting problems and the use of a Checkpoint System. She takes the time to understand what an individual retailer is going through and gathers the information necessary to allow us to solve his/her shoplifting problem once and for all. This goes hand in glove with LPSI’s consultative sales approach.

As CEO, I am very proud of her work and accomplishments. But more importantly, Ashleigh’s unwavering positive attitude and charming demeanor, is a joy to have here at LPSI. If you need something from us, do not hesitate to ask for Ashleigh and experience real Southern Charm at its best.

Ashleigh is also a Ford Mustang car enthusiast.

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