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Tips To Prevent Shoplifting and Employee Theft

February 13, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Shrinkage and employee theft cost the retail industry an approximate $42 billion a year according to recent industry studies. Businesses around the globe lose less than merchants in the United States, but the quantity lost is still a tremendous amount that put retailers in a precarious position. In the United States, the study suggest that close to half of revenue lost is due to employee theft. The retail industry is aware that while shoplifting accounts for a lot of lost revenue, employee theft can be so much more devastating for their business.

To read more about this and other topics, follow the links below.

Law column: Dealing with employee theft

Policies, record keeping can help protect employers.

There recently has been a spate of news articles regarding theft and embezzlement from Iowa cities. Former city clerks in Delhi, Garwin and Vining are all alleged to have embezzled or improperly spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

In another instance, a former city clerk in Casey was even indicted on charges of burning down City Hall to hide her alleged theft.

As the above stories revealed, an employer may not discover the crime until years after it has begun during an official audit or when someone follows a hunch or notices an irregularity. The Iowa State Auditor warned cities to “trust but verify” employees that handle money.

Public employers are not alone. One study by a national supermarket organization found that its employees were responsible for around 56 percent of supermarket thefts.

Such theft included shoplifting, taking cash from registers and/or providing unauthorized customer discounts. Theft should always be a terminable offense.

Top safety tips to prevent shoplifting

Despite the prevalence of security cameras and high-tech alarm systems, shoplifting continues to be a concern for retailers across the country, with well-versed thieves easily able to outwit these technological barriers.

For business owners this alarming trend is especially unnerving, given their reliance on stock and increasing competition from online retail sites. Rather than simply accepting theft as part of business ownership, it is important that storeowners remain vigilant, enforcing appropriate preventative measures and learning to identify some of the key signs that could give a criminal away.

Here are a few top tips to bear in mind to avoid falling victim to shoplifting:

1. Know the signs

While not all shoplifters employ the same modus operandi, a few key behavioural traits should raise the alarm. Shoppers trying not to be noticed or walking around nervously are obvious candidates, as are those who loiter purposefully, picking up and putting back the same items repeatedly.

4 Home Depot workers in Palm Coast fired after helping nab suspected shoplifter

PALM COAST — Four Home Depot employees in Palm Coast say they are shocked, saddened, and left wondering why they were fired this week after helping to recover almost $1,000 in stolen store merchandise.

Jeffrey Miller, 59, of Palm Coast said he’d been working at the store on Garden Street for 10 years when he was fired Wednesday over a November incident in which he tried to help other employees stop a suspected shoplifter.

He said his help landed an already-wanted thief in jail, but a company spokesman said the interference was against national corporate policy.

“I was really shocked,” Miller said Thursday about being fired. “I never confronted this individual. Even if I saw him in a lineup I wouldn’t be able to show you what he looked like. All I was doing is getting a license plate (number).”

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Starting A Better Year

February 6, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention-NASP-there are 27 million people that shoplift in the United States today. That is 1 in 11 people, and 75% of those people are adults. Women shoplift as much as men, and in case you were getting ready to profile an individual, there is no such thing as a profile of a typical shoplifter.

The busiest shopping season has passed, and if you haven’t taken inventory or are in the process of conducting one, you will realized the losses you suffered. For many stores across the country, the holiday season is the busiest season for sales and hopefully profits, but is also the busiest time for shoplifters. One will hope that shoplifting stops when the holiday season ends, but as always, shoplifting is a year long crime that never ends.

What is there to do then? Vigilance and preparation can help you prevent some of the shoplifting that happens at your store.

Did you know that good customer service can help you prevent some of the shoplifting at your store?

Greet every customer that enters your store and ask them if they need any help
Place high value items behind registers or locked up. If they want the item, they need to have a person helping them unlock it.
Have visible signs alerting the customer you will prosecute in case of shoplifting.
Make the promise of prosecuting true. Believe it or not, shoplifters know which stores are easy target. Which stores have poor security, and which stores cannot really prosecute the shoplifter.
If you check social media platforms, you will realize that there are groups of individuals that ask advice about which store they should target. The help from other shoplifters is amazing, but you can learn whether your store is targeted and how they go about it.

Prevention, trained personnel, and clear policies and procedures can help your store and profits stay afloat. The policies and procedures from store to store will change, but the underlying goal is the same. Prevent losses or at least minimize the amount your store losses to shoplifting and employee theft by having clear goals and exceptionally well trained employees.

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-theft training, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, Customer Service, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention systems, Periodic inventory, preventing shoplifting in your store, Prosecuting shoplifters, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security and monitoring, RF Electronic Article Surveillance, security devices, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance, Yearly inventory

How Businesses Are Combating Shoplifting

February 1, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Inventory, policies and procedures, and every aspect of how you run your store should be checked regularly. Implementing policies, or business procedures in your store and never checking whether they are working or not is not profitable. Is your return policy being carried out as it was implemented? Are you letting employees go unsupervised when it comes to returns? There are many employees that are exceptional workers and work diligently and honestly, but it’s always better to maintain an atmosphere where they know the owner or management of the store are on top of things.

For more news about this and other topics, follow the links below.

Businesses rally to prevent shoplifting

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – Serial shoplifters cost business owners in Pima County $5.91 million a year. On Wednesday, the Pima County Attorney, law enforcement, and local retailers partnered together for the new “We Watch, We Prosecute” campaign to stop thieves.

2016 was the first year ever that 100% of retailers say they were victims of organized retail theft, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.

Police say 80% of organized shoplifters steal because of drug addiction.

The Tucson Metro Chamber brought together retailers, law enforcement and prosecutors to form the Coalition Against Retail Theft (CART).

CART’s “We Watch, We Prosecute” campaign will:

Educate retailers and consumers on protecting themselves from organized theft through workshops.

Increase tools for retailers to identify and help prosecute organized retail thieves by working more with law enforcement.

Westport police capture serial shoplifter

Detectives from the Westport Police Department have arrested a man they say is responsible for a number of shoplifting incidents at Lee’s Supermarket.

Police arrested Gutemberg Freitas of Westport for allegedly shoplifting more than $150 during a number of visits to the supermarket. Freitas was dubbed the “gassy bandit” after taking a package of Beano food enzyme supplements out of its packaging and leaving the store without paying for the supplements.

Police say Freitas, on a number of occasions, removed the Universal Product Code (UPC) labels from items then swapped them out with less expensive items. His thefts trace back as far as November 2016.

Diebold Nixdorf debuts world’s smallest self-checkout at National Retail Federation’s BIG show

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Imagine heading to your favorite supermarket and having the store know not only that you’re coming in, but what you plan to buy. Then as you walk through the aisles putting items in your cart, you’re also scanning them with your phone, which keeps a running tally of how much you’re spending as you go.

When you’re ready to check out, you bypass the lines at the registers and head straight to the self-checkout terminal, where you pay for your purchases with cash or a credit card swipe, and walk out.

That’s the kind of scenario that Diebold Nixdorf, the Summit County-based ATM and bank security company, envisions as it unveils what it calls “the world’s smallest self-checkout concept” at the National Retail Federation’s NRF BIG Show in New York on Jan. 15-17.

Diebold Nixdorf’s latest innovation lets customers withdraw cash or pay for their purchases at a kiosk that’s less than 10-inches wide, or the length of one and a half dollar bills. The kiosks take up a fraction of the floor-space of current ATMs and self-checkout registers and combines those abilities within a single unit that can fit almost anywhere, the company said.

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, Background checks, CART, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, National Retail federation, organized theft, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, Serial shoplifter Westport, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, smallest self-checkout, surveillance

Set The Tone For Your Business In 2017

January 31, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

How did your retail business do in 2016? Face it, regardless of how well you did or did not do, you could have done much better. The key is to keep your cash, assets and merchandise on YOUR bottom line not someone else’s. Thieves take the money you could have had away, easily in some cases.

The problem is that thieves like shoplifters and employees that steal from you, are attracted to you like flies to honey. Only your assets are the honey. And once one finds you and your weakness, then here they come. Shoplifters talk to each other. They are no different from anyone else. Shoplifters associate with, well other like-minded people… other shoplifters. They share ideas, techniques and discuss the best places to score. If you make their list, then you become the honeycomb not just the honey.

The key is to set the right tone. For example, with shoplifters you must have a two prong attack. First, excellent customer interaction; every customer must be recognized when they enter your store. One out of ten people that walk through your doors is there to shoplift. That is an established fact, yes, even in YOUR store. It is also well established that over 50% of those shoplifters will not shoplift during that visit if greeted.

But what about the other nine people? They are your legitimate customers that you depend on. Greeting them is also critical. It lets them you know you appreciate them and their very presence. This type of interaction also tends to close more and better sales. Why are they in YOUR store as opposed to a big box retailer? You may even sell some of the same merchandise. For the most part they are looking for that interaction, give it to them!

The second piece is electronic protection. You and your staff cannot be everywhere, with every customer all the time. Shoplifters seek out this situation and in many cases will create it. An Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) system such as a Checkpoint System is actively working 24/7 and tells the one out of ten shoplifters “go away” even as they enter your store. Shoplifters know what a Checkpoint System is and will shy away. They will go down the street to someone who is “easier”. Your other 9 customers will not care or in most cases even know what the system is for.

2017 is time to kick butt in sales. By all indications the economy will start to pick up. Let that work for you, not the shoplifter. Contact us today. We can help you with BOTH pieces, customer interaction and a Checkpoint Systems solution and help you make ALL of 2017 a great retail sales and profit year.

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, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Ask A Trusted Friend To Look At How You Conduct Inventory And Receiving Processes; You Could Improve Profitability

January 31, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

It is human nature, we have a way we do things, we get comfortable and someone comes along with a suggestion and we get defensive. We think to ourselves, “My way works, why change it?” When asked why we do something the way we do, we may resort to using the old, “Because we’ve always done it this way” excuse to answer an inquiry. On occasion we may not want to try something new because it involves new technology we may not be familiar with. I remember when (no laughing) Loss Prevention moved from recording on VHS tape recorders to digital recording. New technology does not come easy to me and I had to learn how to use it or get passed by. In the long run, it was a better method of storing video overall. We could search transactions more easily for suspected employee passing incidents or cash theft. We could narrow searching to specific times and we could create recording “zones”. Recording only activated when someone walked into the “zone” we were concerned with due to missing merchandise. Electronic Article Surveillance anti-theft devices became more prevalent with new and improved capabilities. Learning to trust the technology to prevent shoplifting and allow stores to take more merchandise out of lock-up cases and put them on store shelves for customer access was a difficult transition for an old school Loss Prevention Manager. In the long run these changes were for the better. We improved time management with digital recording and closed investigations faster. EAS freed up the time to unlock showcases and drove sales with increased customer access to merchandise.

The truth is, often there is a better way to do things either because it is more cost efficient, it can save time or it is more accurate. One way to determine if there are areas for improvement for your inventory and receiving processes is to ask a trusted friend to go through and review how your store operates. The friend does not have to be an expert in receiving best practices, per se, but they should be good at evaluating how something is done and being able to ask, “Why?” and saying, “What if?” A friend will also have your trust and be able to be brutally honest with you about deficiencies in how you are doing something. You have to be prepared to take critiques and suggestions and not personalize them.

What are some things you may seek to have evaluated in regard to receiving or inventory practices?

How frequently are vendors giving you credit on product that is not selling.
Some vendors such as cosmetic and jewelry vendors come in with laptop bags, purses boxes, etc. Do you inspect these for hidden merchandise before they leave your building?
Do you react to an EAS alarm for a vendor the same way you do for a shoplifter?
How much space in a stockroom is a vendor taking up with their products and can it be reduced?
How often is your store serviced by your vendors?
Have your product delivery evaluated? Is the store processing the merchandise and getting it to the floor in a timely and efficient manner?
Is product protected with EAS tags and anti-theft devices when it arrives to the store or after it is stocked on the sales floor?
How do you have your stockroom organized and how easy is it to locate merchandise to get it to the sales floor?
For inventory does your store count the merchandise and report it or do you bring in a professional inventory service?
How do you prep your store for inventory, especially your stockroom areas? Do you keep your stockroom inventory-ready all year or do you scramble to make it “countable”?
If you use a professional inventory service, do you still do a significant number of pre-counts or do you let the inventory company do what they are hired to do and can do better?

These are just a few suggestions that an evaluation of your procedures should include. The benefit to you may be that there are things that you can implement or change that will save payroll, increase productivity, improve efficiency and ultimately improve profitability.

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, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Training, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, prevent shrinkage, retail security and monitoring, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Look At Your Policies, Cash Flow, Deposits, Cash Drawers. Are You Setting Yourself Up For Theft? Either By A shoplifter Or An Employee?

January 31, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

What policies do you have in place concerning cash handling, deposits, cash flow and preventing theft by a shoplifter or employee? If you have policies when did you last review them? If you don’t have set procedures and policies you are putting your store at risk for theft and potential robbery. Below are a few suggestions that can be used to create policies or strengthen polices already in place.

CASH FLOW

Starting with your cash office, there are things your cash counter, managers/supervisors and you can do to maintain cash flow integrity. At the start of the day the cash office employee should set up your money bags for registers with a set starting amount for each one. A manager should put the money in the tills and verify the tills are correct. I prefer money bags be used to move cash from the cash office to the registers with each bag being numbered to match a corresponding register. Some locations have the cash counter set up the tills and the tills are carried to the check-lanes. A rolling cash cart with a drop slot and locking door can be used to move the money bags to and from the cash office keeping cash secure. When a cashier is done for the day the money from their register can be placed in a money bag and dropped into the cart and rolled back to the cash office by a front end supervisor. A log should be kept requiring each person entering the cash office to write the time they entered, the date and their name and the time they exit. Money should always be locked in a safe and never left out on a counter in the cash office.

DEPOSITS

Deposits can be done in one of two ways. Some small stores have a manager take deposits to the bank or get change from the bank when the need arises. The second method is to contract with an armored car company to pick up deposits and bring change orders. This is the safest method and my recommended method for deposits. However, it is an expense and may not be in the budget for a small business. IF your managers are making the deposits, there are several safety precautions to take. NEVER go at the same time of day, it establishes a pattern for a criminal who may be looking for an opportunity to rob the manager. Likewise, NEVER take the same route to the bank every time, change up the direction even if there are only a couple of ways to get there. Always have someone watch the manager from the exit doors as the manager walks to their car and be ready with a cell phone to call 911 if a robbery takes place.

CASH DRAWERS

Train cashiers to never allow a customer to reach over the counter and get near the register drawer. IF someone reaches towards the drawer the register should be shut. Registers should be closed immediately following a transaction. If a cashier is sorting through the money or “straightening” they could be slipping money out and pocketing it or dropping money, then putting it in their pocket. Don’t “exchange” bills for patrons, there are some shoplifters who also engage in short changing and confusing cashiers and steal money using this method. Others will argue they did not get the right amount of change and start reaching in the till. If there is a dispute over change a manager needs to conduct a till audit with a partner, in the cash office. If there are enough registers in the store, limit one cashier to one register, when the cashier is done for the day, their money goes in their bag with a supervisor present and the supervisor drops it in the cash cart and rolls it to the cash office. Keep large bills under the till, if they are on top they are easy to see and easier for a grab and run. Consider purchasing locking till covers for registers that have money in them but are not currently in use. There are traveling shoplifting rings and till tap rings that have register keys and will open drawers if no one is paying attention. Till covers prevent someone from getting to the cash even if they open the drawer. Finally, when a register has too many large bills or excessive amounts of money, do a skim and take the excess to the cash office.

Cash handling policies can make your business safer and more profitable. Establish them and then periodically review them to ensure they are being followed.

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, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting systems, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Protecting Your Business From Theft…Are You Doing Enough?

January 25, 2017 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

The retail industry has been facing many changes for the last few years. And although the nay sayers believe Amazon will eventually destroyed the retail industry, some experts believe the retail shops are here to stay.

The issues that are affecting the retail industry are numerous though. Shoplifting and employee theft are costing the industry millions of dollars every day. Under-staffed stores, poor customer service and poorly trained employees, are bigger issues for the retail industry than Amazon is.

For more about this and other stories, follow the links below.

Are shoplifters getting it too easy?

Shoppers blissfully ignored a sign that only four garments could be taken into a department store dressing room. With armfuls of clothes and bags from other stores, customers entered and exited the fitting area, without supervision. It was a shoplifter’s paradise.

Two shop attendants frantically organised returns and refunds in a holiday-sale blur. Nobody enforced the dressing room policy, which is designed to reduce shoplifting risks, or watched customers to ensure goods were returned.

Whatever happened to department stores having a specialist assistant who manages the fitting rooms and is paid out of the security budget?

Visible signs of extra security – or much security at all, for that matter – were hard to find at this store. The main exit did not have a uniformed security guard. The handful of staff on the floor made no obvious effort to watch for thieves.

Protect your profits

Garden center owners share their stories of recovery and new strategies after thefts and break-ins. J.R. Pandy, a retailer in Ohio, explains how he’s continuing to fight for his business.

For as long as J.R. Pandy can remember, he’s been involved with the day-to-day operations of Pandy’s Garden Center in Elyria, Ohio, a business his parents founded around 1961.

“I think I was born here,” Pandy says of the grower/retailer he’s worked at since he was 12 years old.

Unfortunately, Pandy can also scarcely remember a time his family business wasn’t victimized by burglars, thieves, arsonists and other intruders and criminals. He says the garden center has been broken into and stolen from so many times throughout the years that the individual incidents tend to run together.

“I can’t even fathom to count that many times,” Pandy says. “It’s just an old hat — ‘Hey, we’ve been broken into, oh, great.’”

One of the most costly and recent burglaries at Pandy’s Garden Center came in May of 2015, when thieves entered the store grounds at night and made off with tools, trees, bulbs and other green goods. The thieves even took the store’s van, which was hotwired and driven off the premises.

Are You Doing Enough to Secure Your Stores?

Theft and robbery continue to rise, but new technology and planning can deter.

NATIONAL REPORT — Whether it’s violent crime, robberies, shoplifting or employee theft, convenience stores have been dealing with store security issues for years. New technology is allowing operators to amp up prevention and react faster to incidents, but in many cases — in c-stores and the entire retail industry — the situation continues to worsen.

“I’ve been involved in the convenience store industry for 40-plus years and the risk of loss has not changed. The most worrisome is robbery, and as c-stores evolved into 24 hours, the violence level increased,” Chris McGoey of McGoey Security Consulting told Convenience Store News.

Robberies are up all-around, specifically in convenience stores, as the latest released FBI statistics show robbery up 16.8 percent in c-stores/gas stations from 2014 to 2015. Rosemary Erickson, researcher, forensic sociologist and president of Athena Research Corp., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., says this is the largest increase she can remember in all the years she has been studying crime. Erickson has helped NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, develop many of its security resources.

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-thefts devices, Background checks, EAS Devices, employee background checks, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Periodic inventory, Prevent Shoplifting, prevent shrinkage, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Tips To Secure Your Home And Family

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

This magazine is dedicated to helping you, the business owner/manager secure your business from threats to your bottom line. However, since the holidays are over, I want to help you with some tips to secure your home and family. I live, eat and breathe this kind of stuff. It is another of my long term experiences.

We tend to look for solutions from technology but in many cases we need to get back to basics. Here are a few quick items to review:

Light-When someone is looking to do no good to your property, they feel more secure if it looks like no one is home. The key is to confuse them and make them feel unsure. Remember, most burglars are lazy. If they are not sure about your house, they will move on. So you should have at least two light timers (three is better) set up and running seven days a week. These should be in different areas of the home and should come on and off at different times. Use the random or security feature found on most timers. This will vary the on/off time every day just a little in case someone is watching the house for a pattern.

This also has another benefit. It is an elegant look for a home. It also is convenient. For example, if you have a small table lamp in your foyer or stairway, you can have that lamp come on in the evenings until past the time you go to bed normally. The light does not need to be really bright. Maybe just a 40 watt bulb. Or use an LED bulb in these lamps instead. Your energy consumption will be almost nothing in the overall picture.

Sound-You may want to hook a timer up to a TV or Radio. A TV’s changing screen/light and sound will cause someone that is outside your home and maybe close enough to hear to have pause. This works best if the window coverings are closed or it is on the second floor. You may not want this option on all the time but it is a great idea for when you are on vacation or gone for a few days.

Mail/Newspaper/Flyers/Trash cans left at the curb-NOTHING says “I am not home” like these accumulating. Have a neighbor pick them up or put them away DAILY.

Safe-Mount a small in-wall-safe in the master bedroom closet behind your hanging clothes and below shoulder level. You can pick up a good little safe for around $100. These safes are mounted between two studs. They only require that you cut the sheet rock (usually a paper template is supplied) and screw the side into the studs on both sides. This allows you to keep cash, jewelry and more, secured and very well hidden.

Water-This really does not have anything to do with security. But if you are going to be gone for a few days or more, shut off the water supply to all toilets, sinks, washing machines and outside faucets (if possible). The average washing machine hose has a life span of five years. You really do not want to come home to a flooded house and an astronomically high water bill.

Alarm Systems-On the higher tech side a basic home alarm system is a great investment. When you have a system, you should cover every outside door and the door from the garage to the inside of the house. Install several motion detectors in areas such as hallways. You do not need to overdo it. What you are trying to do is create a trap effect. The bad guy should not be able to move very far without tripping a motion detector.

Basic alarm monitoring for your home system should be no more than $19/month. If it is more, you should shop around.

I strongly suggest that you have your alarm control send its signals to the Central Station via cellular not over wired phone lines or the internet. Most troubles with an alarm system are usually as a result of wired phone line problems. Cellular (GSM) resolves most of that. Also there is no wire for the burglar to cut. There will be an added monthly cost for monitoring for GSM (cellular).

Newer alarm controls have the ability to be connected to your PC or hand held smart device. This can only happen if your alarm control is connected with GSM (cellular). This is a very nice feature. It allows you to do almost anything remotely that you can do at the alarm keypad in your home. Arm/disarm, bypass….. This feature will also add to your monthly cost.

Cameras-Several cameras mounted around the outside of your home give you the ability to check in via your PC or smart device at any time. This used to be costly with traditional CCTV systems. Now you can put up Wi-Fi cameras that have long life batteries by yourself for a very reasonable cost. Shop around for quality units. A few things to consider when purchasing:

Battery life should be measured in years. You do not want to be on a ladder any more than necessary.
Is there a battery low indicator that will be emailed to you? The last thing you need is a dead camera when you need it the most.
Get cameras that have Infra-Red (IR) illuminators. This allows you to see in total darkness.
Be realistic on what you want to see. No camera is as good as the human eye. Two cameras may be needed to see what you want to see in one area.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Alpha 2 Alarm, Alpha 3 Alarm, Alpha High Theft Solutions, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Security, Alpha Spider Wrap, Anti-shoplifting training, anti-theft devices, anti-theft tags, anti-thefts devices, Background checks, EAS Devices, Employee Theft, Georgia Alarms systems, Georgia shoplifting prevention, Georgia shoplifting systems, loss prevention, Loss Prevention Workshop, Periodic inventory, racial profiling, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail security, retail security and monitoring, security, security devices, shoplifting, Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting statistics, shoplifting violence, surveillance

Suggestions On How To Improve Inventory

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Each year retailers take inventory of their merchandise, counting what they have in the store, reconciling that information against sales receipts, vendor credits and receipts and markdowns. Usually the result is some amount of shortage or merchandise shrink due to merchandise that cannot be accounted for and losses due to certain markdowns and damaged products. I have in rare instances seen overages, but those are usually the result of offsets from prior year shortages often attributed to paperwork errors. The store objective each year should be to improve upon the prior year inventory result. Certainly the best case would be to have zero dollar shortages every year, but that is not a realistic expectation. I try to explain to employees that if one package of gum were to be stolen during the year, you have incurred shortage. There are steps a store owner or manager can take to work towards that yearly improvement and shoot for a zero dollar shrinkage year.

The first step to improve inventory is to look at merchandise protection strategies in the store. Are retail anti-theft devices being used to prevent shoplifting as well as employee and vendor theft? A theft prevention system includes having an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system installed. This would encompass EAS antennas at entry/exit points, EAS soft tags, labels and hard tags on as many pieces of merchandise as possible and deactivation pads and detachment tools at checkout lanes. By protecting merchandise with retail anti-theft devices, shoplifters and potential dishonest employees are deterred from trying to steal. EAS protected merchandise also activates alarms if a shopper forgets about an item on the bottom of the shopping cart that has not been paid for and a tag is not removed or deactivated. Remember, if merchandise hasn’t been paid for, regardless of the intention of the customer, it is shortage.

There are other things that a store can do to improve inventory results from one year to the next:

Consider offering incentives to employees who deter a theft through great customer service. Employees on the sales-floor are your first line of defense against shoplifting. If they are walking their areas offering assistance, they will walk upon a customer attempting to conceal merchandise, remove items from packaging or tamper with EAS tags. Offering assistance, remaining in the area and communicating with managers is an effective method of deterrence without accusing someone of stealing. An incentive for reporting this type of activity may be the purchase of a drink or putting the employee in for a weekly or monthly drawing for a $5 gift card. Be creative.
Education/Training – Make sure employees know what your inventory results are and how much was lost in the last inventory. I always made it a point to share that information and celebrate it when we had good results. Let your employees know that they make a difference. Employees also need to know how to properly respond to EAS alarms and recover merchandise without making accusations. When training is not continuous employees become complacent and begin to wave people out the door who set off an EAS alarm. Eventually that complacency turns to ignoring the alarms altogether and the system is rendered useless. Alarm activations also need to be recorded so managers can review for trends and ensure there are no malfunctions.
Make employee receipt checks and bag checks mandatory for EVERYONE. Managers should be the first to show their purchases to an employee for verification. When employees see that no one is exempt, they will not mind doing it themselves. Accountability helps prevent theft.
Have a program in place for marking merchandise that is purchased for store use. If you have to get a pack of pens from your sales-floor for office use, purchase it or account for it through a ledger and then keep the package and mark it with a date and write “store use” or put a sticker on it. It is easy for merchandise to start being used and not accounted for and it will accumulate in offices from the sales-floor. Account for EVERYTHING, even a paperclip if it is store use.
Small, independent stores may not have corporate markdowns sent to them. These stores need to evaluate their merchandise and if it isn’t selling, mark them down, but do it incrementally. Start at 10 or 15% and see if you can move it. You don’t want to lose profit margin.

Improving inventory is not an impossible task. Utilize EAS technology to deter and prevent theft. Educate and train employees and empower them with knowledge on shortage issues and how they impact it. Profit from reduced shrinkage!

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Can An Improving Economy Lead To A Case Of “Keeping Up With The Jones’s” And An Increase In Employee Theft?

December 29, 2016 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Have you been keeping up with the news? It appears the stock market is on the verge of breaking new records. People are gaining confidence now that some economists are expressing optimism that we are about to see a jump start in economic growth. Does that mean EVERYONE is going to benefit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. There are many people who will continue to work in their current jobs and experience little personal benefit in their own eyes. What do I mean, “In their own eyes?” Just this, there are some people who are not satisfied with their job, or financial situation, or any number of things in their life and do little or nothing to try to change that. What they WILL do is get jealous when they see others who do well. It may be a co-worker who gets a promotion, a friend who has received a pay raise, a relative who has purchased a new car, there are lots of things that people can get jealous over. Sometimes this jealousy turns into an attitude of “Keeping up with the Jones’s” and can result in someone engaging in dishonest activity so they can have new things too. Frequently those who steal because they haven’t gotten that raise or promotion will try to justify their actions by rationalizing that they deserve it and aren’t being recognized for their contributions.

So what does this mean for the employer? You are excited about increasing sales, selling more merchandise, perhaps hiring more people and even expanding your business. First, you have to be alert to the people you currently have working for you. You should also include involving your supervisors in this since they may be closer to your workers and more likely to hear scuttlebutt than you will in the various work areas. If you have an employee who has been passed over for promotional opportunities make sure you explain to them why they were not chosen and provide feedback and even create a professional development plan with that employee if they express interest. If they don’t want feedback and don’t seek input on their development, they are probably not really interested and may be looking for a promotion for the sake of a promotion. Often this is the employee who will go back to their work center and complain and gripe. You must address this quickly and if the behavior continues get rid of this type of worker, they can create a negative work environment and it does influence others who may normally be great workers.

Watch for employee theft, especially from the disgruntled workers. There is a tendency to see themselves as victims and deserving of something, even if they have to steal it to get it. You may start to see extra money in your registers in an improving economy. You could have a disgruntled cashier who sees that money and since they only received a 2% pay raise on their last review, they decide they are going to give themselves a raise. Watch for all cash shortages, some stores make a minimum of $5 missing before it is addressed. In many instances I had cashiers who stole two or three dollars for lunches for quite a while before moving up to greater amounts of cash theft. If you start to see any trends, you need to address it early.

Then there is the employee working in the electronics department (as an example) who sees friends or acquaintances buying new televisions, laptop computers, or the latest techy gadget. This is the employee who gets green with jealousy because they aren’t making “enough” and can’t afford these goodies. It is unfortunate but it happens and I have apprehended employees in very similar circumstances. When it came down to the bottom line, after all the excuses were done it was usually a case of, “I just wanted it.” Employee package checks and receipt checks and the use of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) retail anti-theft devices often discourages much of this behavior. I would still suggest you have a discussion with an employee if you hear them complaining or get word of it. You may get a better feel if it is just idle chatter or a potential problem waiting to happen.

An improving economy is exciting for store owners but watch out, those Jones’s may have what your employee wants and that could come at your expense. Make sure you spend time with your employees and listen to what they are saying. Your investment of time may save you headaches in the future.

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