Are your Keys Safe?

Every type of security device is removed in one of two methods: the legitimate way using a corresponding removal key, and the illegitimate way which usually involves a pair of pliers or bolt-cutters.  Savvy shoplifters know how to identify the legitimate tools and always look for opportunities to get their hands on them. 

 I’ve seen some companies secure the tools right to the cash wrap and others require their employees to carry them on their person or stash them in a register.  For stores using Spider Wraps, 3 Alarm, or 2 Alarm retail anti theft devices only the last two methods are plausible as it would prove impossible to remove a Spider Wrap with a tool that was welded to a counter.  In my experience, the best way to ensure the convenient removal of your Spider Wraps is to make it impossible for your tools to wander.  Obviously there is no sure-fire practice as every store operates differently, but I am basing my suggestion on a fairly ‘textbook’ store setup. 

 In most stores there is usually a space (or cubby-hole if you prefer) somewhere directly beneath or nearby the register.  Installing a small storage space, similar to a hide-a-key on the underside of the space provides you with a discreet area to protect your removal tools from sticky fingers while also keeping them in an area your employees will remember since it will be so unique.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for Alpha 2Alarm, Alpha 3Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Jewel Lock, 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 

 

Nano Gates are no good without the right tags!

The other day I was in a store in a different part of the district that had not reported any tagging audits in over four months.  It just so happened that at that same point in history that store’s Loss Prevention department had been dissolved due to budget cuts, leaving all Loss Prevention duties in the hands of the store manager and his assistant managers.  Unfortunately they weren’t all that knowledgeable, or properly trained when it came to enforcing and adhering to LP practices.

 I was there with a team of other LP associates to perform a sweep of the property and find everything that was being done incorrectly so that it could be corrected and to simultaneously instruct store management as to how to perform their required duties.  While there were a few major issues, such as no employee bag checks or failure to review CCTV footage, the biggest issue was found in the realm of what I was assigned to look for.

 There wasn’t a single retail anti-theft device in place, anywhere.  Not a one 2 Alarm or 3 Alarm tag was being used.  Not even a Spider Wrap haphazardly attached to a bulk item.

 We were stunned.

 This was a store that had a fully functional Nano Gate system at all of the entrances, but that was of course useless without any retail anti-theft devices to set it off.  When asked how they expected the Nano Gates to function, the store manager thought that all products arrived in store with security devices hidden inside them.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for Alpha 2Alarm, Alpha 3Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Jewel Lock, 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 

 

Prevent Problems and Profit More

According to a National Retail Security survey conducted for 2010, retail loss cost U.S. businesses over $33.5 Billion. 

 How can you avoid as much loss as possible? By preventive measures, that’s how. There are several effective tools available to prevent shoplifting. Businesses must plan ahead by setting up preventive measures such as retail anti-theft devices like those available from Alpha Security. Make sure all potential employees, including management, have a full and complete understanding of the effects of a loss to a company; as well as an understanding of the company’s policies and procedures during the hiring process when it comes to your anti-shoplifting initiative. After all, your employees are your hands extended to customers and potential shoplifters when you’re not present.

 Employees play a vital role in preventing shoplifting through customer service. More than likely a potential shoplifter’s behavior will change when an employee is extra friendly and paying close attention to them. You want customers to talk about how wonderful your store is but you also want shoplifters to discuss how difficult it is to steal from you too.

 Another tool in preventing shoplifting can be found in your store layout plan. How you place fixtures, shelving, and merchandise should not be shoplifter friendly. Take away all opportunities for shoplifting to occur.

 It’s no secret that profit must outweigh loss in order for a business to stay afloat.

Albert Einstein once said,” Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them”. 

Which one are you? Go with genius because most likely they’re the one sitting on top of a very successful business. 

Visit the Loss Prevention Store for Alpha 2Alarm, Alpha 3Alarm, Alpha Fashion2, Alpha Jewel Lok, Alpha Jewel Lock, 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 

 

Find the equipment to fit your needs

The other day I was walking through a certain retail sporting goods store when I came across a display of football jerseys.  I had to stop and consider the display, not because I liked the team, or the colors, or even the price offered, but because of how ridiculous the jerseys looked while being festooned with four retail anti-theft devices A PIECE. 

 You did not read that last sentence wrong.  Each piece of clothing had an Alpha 2 Alarm, an Alpha 3 Alarm, an Alpha Shark Tag, and an Alpha Fashion2 attached at various points of the garment.  Just by looking at them I could tell it would be near impossible for any customer to try on any of the jerseys without being bludgeoned into a coma by the amount of devices.

 I believe that if you have that many retail anti-theft devices on a piece of clothing you might have a few issues in your company.  First of all, you need to look at moving your store out of that neighborhood if the need to prevent shoplifting is THAT severe.  Secondly, your Loss Prevention or merchandising team has no idea how to properly attach devices to product.  Or, finally, you just have too many excess devices and no reasonable idea what to do with them.

 Here’s some advice; research each anti-theft device BEFORE ordering it.  That way you will know what can fit your company needs so your customers can try on the clothing and find out what fits them.

 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 

 

Show, Secure, Sell

What a great way to define Alpha Security’s line of 3 Alarm products. Show off your merchandise. Secure them with retail anti theft devices designed to deter and prevent shoplifting. Sell your customers your products in a comprehensive and user-friendly format.

 Of course, when you have so many options available, it can get overwhelming. You need to have a place to put your retail anti theft devices where they won’t be misplaced, broken, or a hindrance to your daily operations.

 That is one of the reasons why the 3 Alarm products are space efficient. In other words, they are small and therefore don’t take up much space, either on the merchandise, or in a stock room somewhere.

  Show, Secure, Sell also refers to the S3 Key, which is needed to unlock the 3 Alarm products. It was pretty smart thinking to have all of the 3 Alarms use just one detacher. This clears up space on your wrap stands. You don’t need to have several different detachers taking up space as well as creating visual clutter.

 Having access to hard tags, bottle locks, box keepers and Spider Wraps, all with the 3 Alarm capabilities are pretty good in and of itself. Having to use only one S3 Key to detach them is not only space efficient, but cost effective as well.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Walking the Hard Line in Hardware

This is an extremely busy time for home improvement and hardware stores. With the beautiful weather, people are anxious to get their spring-cleaning and spring to do lists underway.

 There is nothing better, especially as a home owner, than to be able to throw open all the windows, open a can of paint and redo the hideous looking walls that have been staring at you all winter long.

 It’s also nice to be able to head outside and start work on the garden, the lawn and out in the makeshift –garage- wood- working shops to work on whatever project takes hold of your creativity.

 The down side to all of this hard work and renewal is that tools are a hugely popular theft item.

 Spider wraps seem to be a reliable deterrent, which is a good thing. Before I worked in loss prevention for a hardware store, I had no idea the scope of a stolen tool. Believe me, its actually pretty lucrative.

 Tools end up in pawnshops and e-bay being sold as new in box sales. They are also big on being sold at construction sites. Did you know that most contractors/ construction workers have to supply their own tools? There are plenty out there that are willing to pay less than retail with no questions asked.

 As a result, retail anti theft devices have to go beyond just a soft tag. Spider Wraps seem to fit the bill. A little more complex, they are harder to defeat. I have seen just how effective a Spider Wrap on a tool is in preventing shoplifting.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

 

Un- Stuff Your Boxes

Recently I have been seeing a rash of box stuffers in my stores. They have been a little hard to apprehend because they are working in groups of several people.

 Basically one or two of them walk into the store and head straight to our outdoor department. We sell a big cardboard box of merchandise for about $30 dollars retail. They take it across the store to where we sell some electronics. They leave the box there and then leave the store.

 We then see a completely different person (or two) come in and take the product out of the box. One stands guard, while the other fills the box with electronics. After taping the box back up, they leave it back in the outdoor department.

 A third person/ group comes in, picks up the box, and then tries to pay the $30 dollars for the hundreds of dollars worth of electronics hidden inside.

 When you are trying to prevent shoplifting, that’s a hard scenario to beat. Because no one person follows through on all of the typical steps needed to make an apprehension, it has been tough trying to put them out of commission.

 There is no retail anti theft devices on the box, but we have started to use the Spider Wraps to help compensate. Because we know what electronics they are taking, we have been Spider Wrapping those items.

 So far the Spider Wrap seems to be a pretty good deterrent, as we are starting to see a reduction in the groups activity in our stores.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

Go Ahead, Put It On Display

When someone wants to purchase an item, they want to see it. They want to put their hands on it and test it out. While that is a good thing for a consumer to want, not every customer is respectful in how they inspect their potential purchase.

 I see slews of open packaging around my stores from customers who insist on opening up a box to look at an item they potentially want to purchase. Even when a display is available, they have a real need to open the box.

 Most of them do it out of curiosity to really “see” their item. They are also worried that they need to inspect an item for damages. Not realizing how big of a mess they will make when they start to undo tape and cardboard and Styrofoam, and user manuals. The list goes on.

 Depending on how well it is packed, some customers give it up as a bad job long before they even get to the merchandise inside. All to often, the irony hits as they look for damages, they end up breaking or dropping the items trying to get it unpacked.

 When you use a spider wrap you are doing more for your inventory than just preventing shoplifting. You are helping to facilitate damage reduction through proper customer service.

 This retail anti theft device forces a customer to an associate for help. The Spider Wrap can be undone at any register, so you associates can carefully open boxes to look for damages without causing more of them.

 Go ahead and put your products on display. Spider Wraps will keep your displays usable and your boxes damage free.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

The right device for the right product

In my years of working in loss prevention I have seen some ridiculous misuses of company resources.  Most of the time it involves company employees pulling dangerous or inane stunts with equipment that they think is funny.  I have seen people driving scissor lifts through coffee shop drive-thrus and riding pallet jacks like skateboards.  While such things fall within our realm of responsibility as liability issues they are actually not the worse misuse of equipment we can come across.

I am speaking specifically about incorrect or improper application of retail anti theft devices.  Just the other day I came across fifty dollar sneakers in a store with Spider Wraps sealing the boxes.  Now I understand some stores have issues with footwear theft and are looking to prevent shoplifting but Spider Wrapping boxes is somewhat extreme, rather time-consuming, and creates a hassle for when someone wants to try on or buy said shoes. 

I have seen retail anti theft devices ineffectively attached to items (like putting cable locks on detachable or unsecured appendages), overused (putting a 2 Alarm AND Spider Wrap onto the same piece of product), or completely unused (EAS tags left in boxes instead of put on product).  If you are trying to prevent shoplifting then you need to be mindful of how to correctly implement your anti-theft devices in order to protect your assets and also make sure you aren’t wasting your time and money in the long run.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 

 

Keep It Under Wraps

As spring is well under way, so are many home improvement projects for homeowners. In the home improvement industry, the time from beginning of April through the fourth of July is the busiest time. Memorial day weekend is often compared to black Friday or Christmas. If most stores don’t make their sales during this time, their entire year’s projections can be shot.

 I have spent many years trying to prevent shoplifting from happening in the home improvement stores that I have managed loss prevention for. I know that as this busy season increases sales, it also increases shoplifters and shoplifting attempts.

 One of the best retail anti theft devices I have seen used is the Spider Wrap. I wish all stores were using the spider wraps. They are criss- crossed wires with a center disc joining them as they wrap around a box. The Spider Wrap keeps the boxes contents inside. If anyone attempts to tamper with the box, the Spider Wrap will alarm.

 Shoplifters are not always well prepared. When they come across a Spider Wrap, there is no easy way to deactivate the alarm without it going off. The last thing a shoplifter wants is to draw attention to them, so it is a pretty good deterrent, I’d say. Keep it under wraps, and keep your shoplifters at bay.

 Visit the Loss Prevention Store for retail anti theft devices 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 retail anti theft devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system to prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547