Train the trainer

As a trainer and as a store manager, I have spent countless hours sitting on both sides of the training room tables. Some have been the most enjoyable and rewarding hours of my life, while others have been hours that I will never get back.

Being a good trainer means providing the necessary material in the most innovative and exciting ways possible. It also means that you need to be able to read your audience and know when you have them eating out of the palm of your hand, and when you are quickly loosing them.

Having overseen a fair amount of loss prevention training, I have the advantage of teaching a great subject matter. If your audience starts to drift off, just start telling riveting stories of high speed chases to wake them back up.

This sort of interaction is so important. I can’t imagine my employees ever walking away with as much information as what they did if they were only reading manuals or listening to a computer-training program.

If you have the opportunity to send yourself, or your employees to loss prevention seminars, or loss prevention workshops I highly recommend it. You can’t ask a computer follow up questions, and manuals don’t always clarify themselves.

I even enjoy going through additional loss prevention training. It’s a great refresher for me and gives me a chance to stay up to date with the most current shoplifting and employee theft trends.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

 

Press one for more options

Have you ever had to call a customer service line to try and fix a problem? Just about everyone has at some point. I recently spent two days trying to get a hold of a company regarding a service issue on a product. Most of the time I just got a busy signal.

Eventually I did manage to get a ring tone. After pressing what I thought was the right option (because you never really know until someone picks up) I was quickly given a pre recorded message and hung up on. Eventually (after pressing a different option and holding for the better part of an hour) somebody picked up. Well after all of that, there wasn’t even anything they could do about it.

It reminds me a lot of trying to fix a shoplifting or employee theft issue in your stores. You spend a lot of time looking in the wrong places for solutions to fix your problem. All the while your time and money is going down the garbage.

If you or your staff has limited knowledge or limited loss prevention training, maybe it is time to call in the experts. Enroll in a loss prevention workshop that will help you actually fix your inventory losses and not just put you on hold.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

By the book

It is amazing the overwhelming wealth of information that can be found on line these days.

I am an avid on live researcher. I am so excited that virtually everything can be found on line these days. I can look up how to get an ink stain out of a shirt. Or maybe I will look up gardening tips, and a new recipe for my recent harvest of veggies. I can also look for answers regarding my professional life, like how to prevent retail theft.

One thing I have learned through all of this information gathering is that no matter how clear the directions seem to be online, or how reliable of a source I am using, until I actually try these practices out, I really have no idea what I am in for.

I am reminded of my first few days on the job as a rookie loss prevention agent. I had been given a huge manual to read through, as well as some on line learning courses. While I felt like I had all of the knowledge in the world, nothing I read truly prepared me for my first shoplifting experience.

If it weren’t for my fellow agents, I would not have successfully pulled off my first apprehension.

Having the ability to go to a loss prevention workshop or a loss prevention seminars would be the same as having someone else around to help guide you through the process. The one on one interaction is an invaluable resource to have. It really is the best way to learn.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

One size doesn’t always fit everyone

When you are having issues with shoplifting and employee theft in your stores, it is a struggle to find solutions that work. It is even harder when you are trying to do it on your own.

There are plenty of resources available to small business owners and retail establishments aimed at detecting and preventing theft. The unfortunate part is that these resources often give only a one size fits all solution.

If you don’t have the auxiliary knowledge of how to stop shoplifting or employee theft, then you can be left with a huge void to fill. That void will not be just the lack of solutions, but also the very literal void on your shelves from your missing product.

This is where having a resource like the ability to attend a loss prevention workshop   plays a key role in your success. Not only will you be able to gain knowledge and insight into the types, causes, and prevention of retail theft but you will have the guidance of an experienced professional to help guide your way.

They will guide you through your own unique problems and opportunities and work with your to design a comprehensive game plan. You can be rest assured that when you leave the loss prevention seminars you will have the loss prevention training you need to make your business a success.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

 

Where to start

Over the years of working in retail, I know from experience that one of the most frustrating problems to encounter is inventory loss. Specifically, it is frustrating to have unexplained inventory losses.

How embarrassing is it to try and show a customer or client a piece of merchandise you know they will absolutely love, only to discover it is missing? That is the first indicator that you may have a shoplifting problem in your store.

Unless you have previous experience with loss prevention and security, knowing how to organize your store, your inventory and most importantly, your staff to reduce shrink will be a daunting task at best.

You can spend hours coming up with solutions that may not even work. Having the knowledge that comes from a loss prevention workshop or loss prevention seminars will not only expedite your process, but will also give you more feasible solutions.

This is the opportunity you need to provide loss prevention training to your self, your management and the rest of your staff hosted by a qualified and experienced trainer.

The information that you will take away from these loss prevention workshops can help you not only identify basic shoplifting traits, but help you hone in on an actual working solution designed with your store in mind.

For more information on Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

 Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

 

LP Seminars for All Types of Retailers

I just taught a loss prevention seminar a few weeks ago for a new client. We focused on shoplifting in their grocery environment. We split the 40 employees into two loss prevention seminars so the sales floor was still covered. I have to say the two groups I taught were so enthusiastic that it motivated me even more. My style is high-energy, out in the group and interactive with everyone. I hate a training seminar where a speaker stands in one spot and drones on.

Well last week the General Manager told me that the training was paying off. We were discussing this on the phone and about the follow up she wanted to set up when she said “I got to go, call you right back”.

Well, come to find out that her staff had identified another shoplifter from the techniques I shared with them while we were talking. She approached the subject the way I trained her and he indeed was a shoplifter. They got the merchandise back. The police responded and the shoplifter was being taken as their “guest” for an all-expenses paid trip to County jail.

I like to teach in a loss prevention workshop environment. This allows better interaction with everyone. It is easier to draw out the employees that are generally quieter and get them involved.

I also spent some time with management in a workshop environment training them on employee theft detection and prevention. I hope when I call the GM to follow up again the same thing does not happen during that call because of an employee theft problem. But you never know!

For more information on Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Retail Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems and view the Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training and Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

No More Boring Loss Prevention Seminars …Please!

I sat through a loss prevention seminar the other day for a State license I hold. It was the worst hour of that month. I wish I could get it back. This guy just droned on in a monotone voice. His subject was interesting but wow that is little good when you are trying to stay awake.

When I teach a loss prevention seminar or a loss prevention workshop I feel that it is my duty to deliver an interesting and engaging session. Of course, I have been providing training for a long time now and I know the tricks to get and keep people involved. Of course my subject matter helps. I talk about employee theft, shoplifting, vendor fraud and other interesting topics.

I like to bring the session to life with my experiences. I have investigated and put in jail over 2300 employees for theft so there are a few good stories there. Like the guy who stole watches from my employers store and then gave them to the rest of the employees as Christmas gifts, including the Manager. And he couldn’t figure out how we had caught him!

Loss prevention seminars take on a whole new aspect when you can relate these kinds of experiences to the group. Most have their own employee theft and shoplifting stories that they can relate to. Once that happens they put it together and begin to actually learn. With a loss prevention workshop we can make that happen. Of course the group has to be the right size.

No more boring loss prevention seminars, please!

For more information on Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Retail Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

 Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems and view the Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training and Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Employee Theft Seminars

One of the issues I like to hit hard in my employee theft seminars, employee theft workshop and our pre-employment interviewing seminar is how important the pre-employment process is in the prevention of employee theft and loss.

In a study published in the July/August 2012 issue of Inc. Magazine, 34% of employers have rejected a job candidate because of the person’s social-media activity. The study listed the top four reasons that those candidates were not hired:

  1. They posted inappropriate photos or information.
  2. There was evidence of drinking or drug use.
  3. They had poor communication skills.
  4. They bad mouthed a previous employer.

As employers we must use every means legally allowed to obtain information on a job candidate’s suitability for our company. Some may see this as an “invasion of their privacy” or a violation or their “rights”. Nothing is further from the truth. If someone puts information about themselves or their conduct out in the public domain, it is fair for an employer to use that information in our decisions. This is no different than a candidate’s criminal, civil, credit or education information.

A thorough look into the candidate’s background will save you from disappointment after they are hired. Do not be afraid to use every source at your disposal.

For more information on Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training, or Retail Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Retail Employee Theft and Retail Shoplifting problems and view the Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Retail Loss Prevention Training and Retail Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Retail Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Prevent Shoplifting – Crazy Reasons Given By Shoplifters

Over the years I have run into some pretty weird situations with shoplifters. In a company’s effort to prevent shoplifting we must apprehend the thieves that are stealing. In one situation I apprehended a guy who had stolen a framed picture of Christ. He did not fight me, resist, run or anything else that we are always prepared to deal with. But when the Police arrived at the store and we were switching handcuffs on the shoplifter he turned to me and said, “This is not a very Christian thing you are doing to me”. This guy STEALS a picture of Christ and I am the sinner!

Another time I stopped and detained a middle aged woman for shoplifting about $300 worth of new tennis shoes that I had witnessed her switch tags on to a lower priced shoe. She had a pretty heavy Eastern European accent. Again while police officers were taking her into custody she stated that I was discriminating against her because she was European. The police officers taking her into custody, whom I knew very well started laughing. She looked at them with shock when they told her. “Lady this store is owned by a French company and he (pointing to me) is married to German citizen (I met my clearly better half when I was in the Army stationed in Germany). They then reminded her that she had the right to remain silent and that they would prefer that she exercise that right.

Another all-time favorite is the guy who stole a $1.00 fishing lure from a sporting goods store. That was all he took! I stopped him and took him into custody. When I got him back to the Security Office I emptied his pockets (he was handcuffed) and was bagging it up for the police when I discovered a “wad” of cash well over one hundred dollars. I was shocked (still naïve then) and asked him why he stole a minor $1.00 item when he clearly had the cash to pay for it. He said, “I wanted to see if I could get away with it”. I just shook my head and told him that it was good that he had the cash on him, as he would need it for bail.

I have found over the years that you can prevent shoplifting and be entertained at the same time. My Loss Prevention Seminars and Loss Prevention Workshops explore there and many other situations.

For more information on Retail Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training, or Retail Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems and view the Loss Prevention Seminars, Loss Prevention Training and Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.

Is Management Creating Employee Theft?

Internal theft also known as employee theft causes close to fifty percent of all retail business loss. In thirty years of conducting employee theft investigations I am still shocked by how poor a job most businesses do in common sense prevention. For example I conducted an investigation where $5000 in forged business checks were cashed. It turned out that the stock of checks was unsecure in an office supply room. The janitor’s stole 20 checks from the middle of the stack, waited a while and then began to cash them. These checks should have been secured in a locked cabinet with strict controlled access. The checks should be logged out and issued to the person that processes them.

We drop our guard because it is “more difficult” to do it the right way. You prevent employee theft by doing it the “right way” not the easy way. The key is “prevention”. Another excuse we say is, “Oh I trust that person, they would never do that”. Those words get more business people in trouble. When a management person says that, they are basically saying that they have no business common sense.

Another case I worked on involved employees that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in product from a warehouse they worked in. They had keys to the warehouse that contained millions of dollars of merchandise. The alarm system was not reporting when the doors were being open and closed. So coming back at night and loading up a truck was not a problem.

Internal theft or employee theft lurks around every corner. You have to be actively watching for it to prevent it. Internal theft will not go away or stop on its own. In fact it will get worse. Get your policy manual off the shelf, dust it off, update it and make sure people understand that this is your companies “business bible”, live it, enforce it! This doesn’t mean that it never changes. As your business changes your policy and procedures should change. Learn this and more in our Loss Prevention Seminar and Loss Prevention Workshop.

For more information on Retail Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training, or Retail Loss Prevention Workshop contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Visit the Loss Prevention Systems website for more information on Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems and view the Loss Prevention Seminar, Loss Prevention Training and Loss Prevention Workshop we offer to help with your Employee Theft and Shoplifting problems.