A loss prevention agent can be an employee of your business that is out on your sales floor, watching for shoplifters. They can be a valuable resource in your efforts to reduce shrink.
Agents should be trained to know what specifically to watch for when they are looking for suspicious activity. Agents should never profile based on the way a customer looks, their gender, race, etc. Shoplifters do not fit into a specific category and can be anyone – young or old, wealthy or poor, male or female.
Some customers that come into your business may not realize that their actions appear suspicious. I have seen customers put $100 worth of small merchandise right on top of their open and empty purses, just to go to the register and pay for it all. Some customers will conceal items in their coat pockets, then later take it out and pay for it at a register.
These customers know that they are honest, so they do not take into consideration that their actions appear dishonest. A loss prevention agent will encounter this type of behavior, and must learn how to differentiate between it and the actual shoplifters that will come into your business.
A loss prevention agent must be completely sure of the acts that they have witnessed fall within your policy of detaining shoplifters. The agent must know that the merchandise is from the store, is unpaid for, and is not going to be paid for. A loss prevention agent should detain a shoplifter only past the last point of sale, to rule out the possibility that the customer will pay for the merchandise. The agent must also maintain constant surveillance of the suspected shoplifter after he or she has concealed the merchandise. If the agent does not, there is the chance that the customer actually went to a register and paid for the concealed merchandise.
A loss prevention agent can be a valuable asset to reducing shrink in your store, as long as policies and guidelines are followed so customers are not unlawfully detained.
For more information about loss prevention consultants , loss prevention investigator contact us: loss prevention agent or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia
