Are you worried about bottle security set up so your employees know that you are watching out for more than just shoplifters? If not, maybe you should rethink a few things.

I was recently asked to do a consultation for a liquor store. They were showing all of the typical signs of theft. Their profits were starting to decrease as their inventory costs were going up inexplicably. They noticed a change in the customers that were coming in, but the sales never seemed to justify their presence.

At the end of my consultation, we had determined that the store had two employees stealing from them. Both employees were passing bottles to their friends and family, a buy one get five free sort of deal. It was several thousands of dollars worth of inventory gone.

When I talked to the owner, he seemed to be happy because the employees would be prosecuted and then he thought he would get all of his money back, not exactly.  I had a conversation with him about what comes next. First they need to be convicted in a court. That could take months. Then they would have to arrange a payment schedule for restitution. It’s not like the employee is just going to write a check for the total amount. Keep in mind, if they serve time, they are not employed and have no way to pay the money back.

We looked more closely at his bottle security and added the EASy Bottle, by Alpha Security, for their bottle locks. Now all of the high dollar liquor that was walking out the door has to have a manager validate the sale and take the bottle locks off.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

If you have recently (or ever) had an employee steal from your business, this is for you. You probably spent countless hours trying to make sense of why that employee did what he did. You might have even updated or enhanced your liquor bottle security. In the end, you probably just wanted to know why he stole from you.

The dishonest employee may have given you a reason like financial hardship. Perhaps a spouse lost their job, or the bills just got out of control. They needed a way to supplement. Maybe they have an addiction or substance abuse problem. Whatever their story was, I will bet money that they never said that the reason why they stole was because you made it easy for them to do so.

What? It’s my fault? Hey- I’m the victim here!

Yes, you are the victim and no one should have ever taken advantage of you. However, as a businessperson, why would you not go to great lengths to protect your assets? No matter what the employee’s motives for stealing were, they found a loophole in your system that made it easier to steal than to be caught.

That is a sad reality we have to face. Liquor bottle security needs to go beyond the Alpha Security EASy Bottle Bottle Locks. It needs to be about operational controls, checks and balances, and an environment where the employees know that if they step out of line, they will be detected.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

Like most retail environments, I suspect that most liquor stores are experiencing an increase in refunds. There are plenty of customers who will have an excuse for why they need to return a particular bottle of liquor. If you are using liquor bottle security, then you should not have an inventory shortage because of the returns.

If you are not using liquor bottle security, than you might be seeing a shrink implication in addition to these returned bottles of liquor.

Refunded merchandise does not cause inventory shrink. If someone stole the merchandise and then refunded it, it is generally called a fraudulent refund. However, the inventory loss happened when the merchandise was stolen, not when the merchandise was returned.

That doesn’t mean the person standing in front of you deserves the refund, it just means that you are not going to have an inventory loss as a result. An exception would be if a refund is given when someone takes merchandise directly from a shelf to a counter and it is refunded. Because the merchandise never left the store, the refund causes to inventory discrepancy.

Best way that I have found to reduce these returns is to use the Alpha Security EASy Bottle bottle locks. If the bottles being returned still have bottle locks, you can safely bet that these are situations that need to be further investigated.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

I guess you really do have to know your market to determine whether or not you need liquor bottle security like EASy Bottle, made by Alpha Security. I would be concerned as time goes by, that you might need them down the road. Most small business owners will wait until after they have a theft problem before they feel the need to address it.

Liquor bottle security is frequently seen as an unnecessary expense. It is often  only after the inventory losses out number the financial investment required to get the needed quantities of bottle locks to mitigate those losses.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the same holds true for liquor bottle security. A small initial investment is potentially worth more than that same investment compounded by the incurred shrink losses.

Shoplifters and dishonest employees are hard to get rid of after a store has been deemed a “safe haven” for theft. Even after a security system is in place, it could still take months or even years to fully eradicate a swarm of shoplifters that are now plaguing your liquor store.

It is an unfortunate analogy, but shoplifters are really like a bad insect infestation. Sometimes it takes several fumigations to get rid of the problem. It is better to prevent the swarm from the beginning than to try and get rid of it after the fact.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

I was a cashier at a local store working a very busy weekend. There were huge crowds of people walking around hastily. If you looked at these customer’s faces it seemed like each and every one was frowning, or glaring at the situation. Since we used minimal liquor bottle security, it was really just a matter of time before this kind of situation happened.

There were long lines at the registers. You could see the people were restless, one man in particular. He kept stepping out of the line to see how any people were in front of him. He would crane his neck to see if any of the other registers were shorter. When he saw that they weren’t he would step back in line.

After a few minutes (I am sure it felt like forever to him) he threw his hands up in the air and yelled this is ridiculous. He then stepped out of line for the last time and started walking out of the store.

For most people, we would have left the merchandise behind, but not him. Maybe it was because he felt it was owed to him because he had to wait. Perhaps it was because we didn’t use Alpha Security EASy Bottle bottle locks for our liquor bottle security. Maybe he was simply frustrated and forgot that he still had bottles of our liquor in his hands. Either way, he took it with him, and we lost a potential sale, the inventory and a customer all in one.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

One of the most overlooked areas of losses in a retail establishment is vendor fraud or vendor theft. Most of the time we associate vendor theft with either large box/department stores, or with high-end boutiques. The harsh reality is that vendor fraud is relatively easy to commit when a liquor store has minimal liquor bottle security, or just minimal security in general.

We see the soda vendors frequently committing fraud in restaurants or other general store situations. One of the most common ways is by falsifying the shipments. Either they don’t deliver all of the product they invoice for, or they take additional product back that they don’t give credit to the store for.

Liquor distributors are no different, especially if the individual reps work on commission. It is important to verify the manifests on each of the shipments to the actual product being received. I see situations where instead of a premium liquor being delivered, the store gets a case of well instead.

Another way the vendors steal from you is by taking back outdated product and either taking extra bottles, or by taking more expensive bottles than what they give you credit for.

If you can, use the Alpha Security EASy bottle bottle locks, for liquor bottle security, to prevent this kind of switch. The vendor can’t take the high-end goods that still have bottle locks. You can then verify each bottle is correct and that were given proper credit from the vendor.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

Just because it is usually better to rule with a velvet glove instead of an iron fist doesn’t mean that is always the case. Alpha Security understands the difference between the two and when the iron fist would be more appropriate. That is why they make the Alpha Steel Grip bottle lock.

When it came to deterring shoplifters, your liquor bottle security can’t be soft. How practical would it be to politely ask every thief not to steal when they come in? How about posting a no shoplifting sign that said “pretty please with sugar on top”? pretty ridiculous (and ineffective) if you ask me.          

These are the times that you need that iron fist, or at least a steel grip for your liquor bottle security. A bottle lock is used because it is a stronger and more assertive deterrent.

The Alpha Security Alpha Steel Grip is a basic alternative for bottle locks. It is a steel band with an alarm component inside that is strapped to a bottles neck. It secures into place and stays there until a detacher key at the point of sale removes the band.

When the need for an iron fist arises, it is good to know that there are products and resources out there that show the shoplifters that you mean business. You are then free to use your customer friendly velvet glove with the rest of your customers.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

Using bottle locks can give you a one-two punch for your return on investment. The careful use of existing payroll combined with the sleek appearance of the bottle locks ensure you get the biggest bang for your buck.

While this is not an all-inclusive list of the features that are included in the locks, it is a great way to learn that this is a premium product.

Since there is no lengthy training involved, your return on investment isn’t diluted from spending countless payroll hours teaching your employees how to use bottle locks. Your payroll is also saved by not needing to have an employee retrieve every single bottle of premium liquor because they are locked up in a case somewhere.

Using the Crystal Guarde by Alpha Security has built in benefits from its visual appearance also. The clear top allows the tax ID stamp to be visible at all times. This saves your employees time if needing to show the stamp to auditors, and potentially facing fines for non-compliance.

The word “alarm” is clearly written on the bottle locks so shoplifters have a better clue that the bottles are being protected from theft and sampling. The smaller design makes it easier to maximize shelf displays and product placement. The clear top is also less visually distracting. You see more of the product than you do the bottle locks when you scan across the store.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

There are three basic categories that bottle locks can be placed into. Each has advantages based on the level of liquor bottle security you want to provide.

The most basic of bottle locks is the metal bottle wrap. It is just a simple metal band that wraps around the neck of a bottle. While it does not provide product denial, it does provide a visual deterrent against shoplifting. The biggest advantage is that the wrap will not damage any outside coverings. This is important for champagne bottles that have the metal/ foil covering over the cork.

Next is the Alpha Security Crystal Guarde. This lock has a smaller profile and a sleeker look. It is perfect for a more high-end display. The smaller design also makes it easier to maximize shelf quantities while providing liquor bottle security that detracts shoplifters and prevents unauthorized sampling.

Lastly is the basic bottle cap. Tough, durable and reliable, this bottle lock is attached directly on the top of the bottle. It provides product denial, as a shoplifter or underage drinker cannot remove the cap of the liquor bottle to sample the contents inside.

The bottle locks are designed to be reused. When a bottle is sold, the cashier removes the bottle lock and places it to the side. These locks are then taken to the next shipment of liquor bottles and applied before the bottles are placed on the retail shelves.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

You will find some of the best security features in EASy Bottle bottle locks. They have a two stage locking mechanism, which helps ensure a solid lock on the product that will not come off in the hands of a shoplifter.

From an employee’s perspective, they are easy to remove and attach. This cuts down on the amount of payroll needed to ensure compliance. We all know that if something is easy to use, the chances of that product or process actually being used consistently (and properly) increases tenfold.

From a financial perspective, there is a good return on the initial investment. Alpha Security bottle locks are constructed from an extremely durable polycarbonate material, which makes them reusable. There is a very minimal ongoing maintenance cost. It is more likely that a bottle lock will be replaced because it was lost by an associate than because it was broken.

Some of the other benefits of using the locks for liquor bottle security are for a simple application; you gain maximum protection through product denial. It will protect you from in store sampling in addition to being a deterrent for shoplifting.

They also cover a wide range of bottle types making them a versatile application to fit all of your needs. Even the most unique sizes and shapes of bottles will be protected. It simplifies the liquor bottle security since there is only one type of lock to use and keep track of to protect all your bottles.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase EASy Bottle bottle locks by Alpha Security and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system.

For more information on Alpha Security, Bottle Lock, Bottle locks, Bottle Security, EASy Bottle or Liquor Bottle Security and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547