Alpha Nano Gate — Page 32

Providing Valuable In Stock Positions- Retail Anti Theft Devices

October 23, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

When customers can walk into a retail location, find the merchandise items they want, and the quantities they need, sales will increase increase. Taking it one step further, you also get the advantage of repeat business. The customer knows they can rely on your retail location to be in stock for their consumer needs. When you prevent shoplifting, you assure your customers that you will consistently have the right in stock availability to satisfy your customer’s needs.

Industry leader Alpha Security products are tried and true retail anti theft devices specifically created to decrease shoplifting, while maintaining better inventory accuracy.

As shoplifting decreases, our inventories become more accurate and more plentiful (due to a lack of missing merchandise). We, as retailers, spend significantly less time worrying about whether or not we have a particular item in stock, and more time getting the customers to actually buy them.

By providing our customer base with valuable in stock positions, sales are maximized and profits are increased. As a customer, it is very frustrating to shop for a specific item and have it be out of stock. It is even more frustrating if the entire shopping trip had been centered on an advertisement or a specifically needed item and the store was all out.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store for Alpha 2Alarm, Alpha 3Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Shark Tag, Alpha Spider Wrap and other retail anti-theft devices from Alpha Security to use in conjunction with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system that can help you prevent shoplifting in your business.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

When customers can walk into a retail location, find the merchandise items they want, and the quantities they need, sales will increase. Taking it one step further, you also get the advantage of repeat business. The customer knows they can rely on your retail location to be in stock for their consumer needs. When you prevent shoplifting, you assure your customers that you will consistently have the right in stock availability to satisfy your customer’s needs.

Industry leader Alpha Security products are tried and true retail anti theft devices specifically created to decrease shoplifting, while maintaining better inventory accuracy.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Shark Tag, Alpha Spider Wrap, Fashion2, Jewel Lok, Nano Gate, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices, Shark Tag, Spider Wrap

Don’t Discount Organized Retail Crime- Prevent Shoplifting

October 16, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

An old colleague recently sent me a news article about his city’s crackdown on repeat shoplifting offenders. In the article, the shoplifters had been stealing so much merchandise that they had enough to sell to local restaurants and corner stores.

As I read further into the article, I realized that I recognized one of the names. It was a habitual shoplifter that we had been trying to apprehend almost ten years ago. This particular shoplifter was stealing from several locations and would sometime return the items without receipt- using multiple aliases to get around our refund system.

Eventually we did apprehend her and ban her from our stores in addition to having her prosecuted. I guess that didn’t mean much to her, since she has continued with her life of crime all of these years.

What we didn’t understand at the time was that this shoplifter we had assumed was just a small time problem, was actually a major part of a local crime ring. Her entire life was dedicated to stealing product from retailers to later resell to other local businesses. She set herself up as a local distributor with lower than average pricing- making it an attractive low cost solution for these local businesses.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Profile of A Shoplifter

October 14, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It doesn’t matter if you make 20,000 thousand or a half million dollars a year. It doesn’t matter if you are Caucasian, black, Hispanic or any other race. Shoplifters come from all types of life. Some shoplifters have college degrees while some others did not finish high school. Men, women and children shoplift from all types of stores, and the amounts they steal can vary dramatically. If you think you can spot a shoplifter right away, think again. For more news about shoplifting, follow the links below.

Cowboys RB arrested for shoplifting cologne and underwear
Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle was arrested by police in Frisco, Texas on Monday night on charges of shoplifting a bottle of cologne and underwear from a Dillard’s store at the Stonebriar Centre shopping complex.

Lt. Jason Jenkins of the Frisco Police Department told For The Win that Randle was arrested for stealing a tester bottle of Gucci Guilty Black cologne and a two-pack of Polo underwear.Frisco PD released a statement Tuesday morning with further details:

“Upon arrival at the location, Frisco police officers made contact with Joseph Randle who had been detained by in-store loss prevention. Upon further investigation it was found that Randle had removed items from Dillard’s without purchasing them. Randle was subsequently arrested for theft 50/500, which is a class B misdemeanor. Randle was transported to the Frisco City Jail where he was booked in. Randle was released from custody at 1:20 a.m. after a bond was posted.”

Man charged with habitual shoplifting

HICKORY, N.C. – A man charged with shoplifting – police say he committed the offense at Rugged Warehouse on Monday – was charged with habitual shoplifting Thursday afternoon.

James Maurice Wilson, 44, of Taylorsville, was charged with one count of felony habitual shoplifting, according to an arrest report. He was given a $5,000 secured bond.

Wilson was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting Monday after officers said they found items stolen from Rugged Warehouse on him in a search.

Wilson was convicted on nine larceny charges – five felonies, four misdemeanors – between 1987 and 2003, according to the North Carolina Public Offenders website.

Amanda Bynes allegedly tries stealing from NYC boutique 1 hour before being accused of shoplifting at Barneys

The actress has returned to New York City and supposedly tried to swipe merchandise from Pookie & Sebastian before heading to the high-end department store where she attempted to leave wearing a $200 hat.

Amanda Bynes has sticky fingers.

Back in New York City and the troubled star is already wreaking havoc.

Just one hour before trying to steal merchandise from the upscale department store Barneys on Wednesday, Bynes reportedly tried to swipe items from the clothing store Pookie & Sebastian, reports TMZ.

The “Hairspray” star was being followed by the store’s employees due to suspicious activity, sources told the gossip site.

Filed Under: Shoplifting Prevention Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, EAS Devices

A Better Sell Through- Retail Anti Theft Devices

October 13, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Every time an item of inventory is broken, damaged or stolen, a new item has to be purchased to replace the unusable one. As a result, the products that are actually sold need to pull more clout to be able to compensate for the missing item.

Of those three losses, theft is the most common, and the most financially devastating to businesses. It is more likely that a thief would steal multiple of an item, than it is to have multiple of the same items damaged. Even if they are, those can typically be traced back to a shipping problem and either the carrier or the manufacturer can be charged back, mitigating some of the potential financial losses.

Shoplifters, on the other hand, are harder to get a financial recourse from. Even when a shoplifter is apprehended, it can be very hard to charge them with prior incidents. Unless you have evidence that cannot be contested, you will only be able to claim the loss that was incurred during current incident that the shoplifter was apprehended during. That means you may have stopped the cause of the losses, but are still out the inventory from those prior incidents.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Make Your Money Count- Prevent Shoplifting

October 10, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Before you start to look at electronic article security systems and other inventory security, you need to have an idea of what you have and what you are missing.

When you guess at your inventory levels, stopping theft is actually only one part of your worries. You need to be concerned also with how your business capital is being spent and where that money is going.

Accurate inventory is about making sure you have the right products at the right time. I worked for a company once that only allowed bags to be purchased once a month. I am not talking about a woman’s accessory here; I am talking about the plastic bags used to by the customers when they make a purchase. It was embarrassing to run out, not be able to order more, and then tell customers they have to carry an arm full of items out without bags. It was poor customer service, at the very least.

What we later found out is that the company was spending too much money on inventory they thought they needed, but really didn’t. That tied up the funds that could have been spent on checkout bags, maintenance repairs, and inventory that was actually selling well.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Before you start to look at electronic article security systems and other inventory security, you need to have an idea of what you have and what you are missing.

Accurate inventory is about making sure you have the right products at the right time. I worked for a company once that only allowed bags to be purchased once a month. I am not talking about a woman’s accessory here; I am talking about the plastic bags used by the customers when they make a purchase. It was embarrassing to run out, not be able to order more, and then tell customers they have to carry an arm full of items out without bags. It was poor customer service, at the very least.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Employee Theft

October 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The figures for employee theft are staggering. According to a report by the ACFE the loss for fraud in a typical organization is 5% of its revenues. That amount corresponds to losses of more than $3.5 trillion worldwide.

Employee theft is an ever growing social and economical issue that is affecting everyone. The retail industry alone losses are in the billions of dollars every year. Employee theft can be done by employees with seniority or low level employees that find an opportunity to commit the crime. More than three quarters of employee theft is done by employees with no previous record, or that have not been charged with a theft related incident before. To read more about employee theft, follow the links below.

Former Barnes & Noble employee accused of stealing $46,000 in merchandise from Mandeville store

A former Barnes & Noble employee was recently arrested for allegedly stealing about $46,000 in merchandise from the store over a three-year period, Mandeville Police reported Tuesday (Sept. 30). Tomas Santamaria, 32, is accused of selling more than 700 stolen items, mostly DVD’s and novels, on eBay and funneling the proceeds into his bank account, police said.

Santamaria, of 19246 Antenor St. in Mandeville, was booked Sept. 23 with money laundering, computer fraud and theft.

An investigation began July 31 of this year after the bookstore on U.S. 190 reported a suspected employee theft, the police department said in a news release. Detectives determined Santamaria stole about $46,000 in merchandise between September 2011 and July of this year, the release said.

Retail employee accused of stealing cash over time

A retail store employee was arrested Tuesday and accused of stealing thousands of dollars from her register over a period of several weeks.

Alexis W. Causey, 22, of 507 Church St., West Monroe, faces one count of theft.

An arrest report said Monroe Police were sent to Target at 4103 Pecanland Mall Drive in reference to employee theft. Once there, an officer spoke with an employee who said Causey took $2,000 from her register from the first part of September through Monday.

After being questioned, Causey reportedly said she took the money. Causey reportedly said she would remove the cash from her register and place it in a trash can. At the end of her shift, she would remove the money before emptying the can.

A&P Employee From Ossining Charged In Theft Of Meat From Store

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. — An Ossining man was charged with grand larceny on Tuesday after he was accused of stealing goods from his employer, according to State Police from the Cortlandt barracks.

Gregory Rodriguez, 46, was accused of stealing $1,200 worth of meat from the Cortlandt A&P where he worked, by hiding the meat on himself before attempting to leave, police said.

Rodriguez was arraigned before the Town of Cortlandt Court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday, Oct. 3, police said.

Out Of Control- Prevent Shoplifting

October 7, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Do you feel like you are slowly (or quickly) loosing control of your business? If your stores were once profitable, but now you are having unexplained decreases in profit, or revenue, you might be having a shoplifting problem.

Shoplifting is an extremely common problem that affects every retailer and shop at some point. Depending on how bad the theft is, how rapidly or how high of a dollar loss per incident, makes a difference in how fast you can respond to preventing theft.

Sometimes, when losses are of a small dollar per incident, it makes it harder to track or identify where the problem is coming from. You end up racking your brain to find out why your inventory numbers are off, or why revenue is starting to take a slight decrease.

If you are experiencing minimal shortages, it could take several months, or even a year to determine that theft is taking place. In that amount of time, all of the small losses add up to a bigger financial decrease. Preventing theft takes a look at ways to prevent even the smallest of losses before they become a big problem.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Preventing theft takes a look at ways to prevent even the smallest of losses before they become a big problem.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Not Quite The Right Size- Alpha Spider Wrap

October 4, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

On a recent consultation, I was talking to a small business owner who wanted to add colognes and fragrances to their product assortments. They thought it would be a great way to increase their ticket averages, and not needing significant retail space to merchandise the product effectively. The question was which of the Alpha Security products to use.

This particular group of stores was already using the Alpha Security Alpha Spider Wrap to secure several of their other boxed products. What they wanted to know was if they could use the same Alpha Spider Wrap to protect the boxes of fragrances. Since the wraps are designed for boxes, the business wanted to save some money by using the retail anti theft devices that they already had in stock.

Even though it sounds like it should work, I cautioned against it. The Alpha Spider Wraps are much bigger than what will work effectively for these small boxes.

I recommended using the Alpha Security Keeper Boxes. There are several styles to choose from, and the Keeper Boxes are designed specifically to prevent shoplifting of fragrances and cologne products.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Even though it sounds like it should work, I cautioned against it. The Alpha Spider Wraps are much bigger than what will work effectively for these small boxes.

I recommended using the Alpha Security Keeper Boxes. There are several styles to choose from, and the Keeper Boxes are designed specifically to prevent shoplifting of fragrances and cologne products.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

You Are in Charge

October 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

There is a video of a shoplifting apprehension that has been making its way across the internet. The video is not a company sanction video or even surveillance based off of CCTV coverage. It is a video that some bystander started to record on their cell phone. Within the video, you see two employees making a shoplifting apprehension. The suspect is refusing to comply, and a physical altercation is ensuing. At some point, one of the employees is stabbed, the suspect ends up on the ground and the second employee starts to hit the suspect in the face.

The video is an interesting mix of several things that were done correctly, and several things that absolutely were not. Even more interesting are the comments that were posted that very clearly showed two completely opposite line of thought around not only what the video showed, but the interpretation of the events as well.

In the video, we do not see what happened at the start. We do not see what the merchandise is, or where it’s at, or even if there actually was stolen merchandise. All we see is the apprehension taking place in the parking lot between two cars. The suspect is clearly fighting off the employees and refusing to comply. One employee verbally states that he is (company name) loss prevention and to stop fighting. He says this a few times, clear enough that it is caught on the video.

This is a very important part of the apprehension process. The employee needs to make sure the suspect is aware that they are store employees, not random people that are assaulting him. Without a verbal identification, a shoplifting suspect can say they ran, or fought because they didn’t know who was coming after them. If an employee carries and shows some form of badge or employee identification, it only strengthens the employee’s clout during an apprehension.

This particular employee is also seen wearing a set of handcuffs, and later puts them on the shoplifting suspect. This is one of the points of confusion during the reader’s comments. Many believed that the store employee had no legal right to carry or use handcuffs. While each jurisdiction can be different, it is actually legal in most places for the use of handcuffs in a shoplifting apprehension by store employees.

The biggest part to remember is that handcuffs are used only to keep the employees and the suspect safe. There is a right and a wrong way to put the handcuffs on. They can be put on too tight or too loose, and the employee needs to execute the application correctly. Shoplifters should not be handcuffed to objects like tables or chairs. Shoplifters must also be protected from harm while they are wearing handcuffs. Needless to say, hitting a shoplifter with the cuffs, or throwing them at them is not legally or morally acceptable. All of this is the responsibility of the employee and the company if handcuffs are to be used.

Back in the video, as the suspect was finally on the ground being handcuffed, the second employee takes a few punches to the suspect’s head. What I see, based off of years of experience, is an employee who has not been properly trained, and is mentally and physically worn out from the fight and the adrenaline surge during the apprehension. This is not excusable, and the employee and the company could be held liable for assault. It is a sad reminder that employees who are to be used as a witness need to be selected carefully, and properly trained well before they act as a witness. This role should not be performed by the closest available employee as you are going out the door to make an apprehension.

Finally, it was shocking to see how many people commented about how employees and stores are not allowed to make apprehensions; that they should have let the suspect go and called the police. Again, it is important to check with your specific codes for your location. However, it is commonly acceptable for a retailer to stop a shoplifter. It falls under Merchant’s Privilege of the shopkeeper’s code. Basically, it is a citizen’s arrest.

If your stores do allow for apprehensions of shoplifters, it is important to make sure your employees are acting completely within their rights, and are well informed of what they can and cannot do. With this many people oblivious to the fact that apprehensions are legal, don’t take it for granted that your shoplifters understand they can be apprehended and prosecuted. A shoplifter who thinks that only police can stop them will be more brazen to steal, and also much more difficult to convince to surrender peacefully.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Nano Gate, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Prevent Shoplifting, Retail Anti Theft Devices

Move The Marker Forward- Retail Anti Theft Devices

October 1, 2014 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Many retailers, in an effort to reduce operational expenses, have started to employ fewer full time employees and more part time workers. While this move makes initial financial sense for many small businesses, it does not always move the marker forward in the challenge to prevent shoplifting.

Part time employees might make for a better financial situation, but this is generally a case of you get what you pay for. Because part time employees are less likely to have guaranteed hours or might not be eligible for benefits, they are also less likely to be truly engaged in your business.

Retail anti theft devices are more likely to be used inconsistently when the responsibility falls onto part time employees. It is a tedious task of applying them, and then removing the retail anti theft devices during the check out process. They simply do not care if a customer is inconvenienced by an alarm or if they actually contribute to prevent shoplifting incidents.

While I am a firm believer that all employees need to be held to the same accountability and responsibility standards, it is critical to your business that full time or more engaged part time employees need to gate keep the process to ensure its success.

For more information on how you can use Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547