Staff Editor — Page 310

Stop Shoplifting During The Holidays

December 23, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

With the holiday season our attempts to stop shoplifting seem to be like a fish swimming up stream. The problem is not that we may have more shoplifters but that we have more customers. We cannot spend the time we need watching the sales floor. If you have not prepared before this late in the game there is little you can do to put a full anti shoplifting program in place. However, there are some things you can do to slow it down

First use zone coverage. Instruct every employee to watch a certain area of the sales floor. If they spot a shoplifting problem then they should request help from others.

Intensify customer service. Shoplifters hate attention so let’s give them more than they can handle. This includes a greeting when they enter the store or department. I believe that this greeting must be more than a simple “hello”. Eye contact is VERY important. By making eye contact a shoplifter will feel that you remember what they look like and that they have been noticed. This will shut down most impulse and some amateur shoplifters. Your good customer will love it also! Remember that is why they are there to shop and get stellar customer service.

After the insanity of this season is over look at your losses due to shoplifting and make more permanent changes. A good anti shoplifting program has many cogs on the wheel. They are all important and you must use all of them to be profitable. Take a lesson form the major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. As a former Executive for companies like them I know that any anti shoplifting program must have the following:

Solid policy and procedure. Even if you are a one store operation. P&P will help you to guide your employees and draw a line in the sand of what they can and cannot do. If you would like a free copy of a shoplift policy that you can customize to fit you just contact me.

Training, training and more training. You cannot expect that you or your employees can handle shoplifting situations without gaining a comfort level. Anti shoplifting training will do that. You cannot just read this stuff in a book and expect that they will succeed.

Checkpoint security systems . These systems are key to deterring shoplifters of all types: impulse, amateur and professional. Your employees place checkpoint security tags on soft goods such as clothing. checkpoint labels are placed on all other goods. The checkpoint security systems then become your full time, never takes a day off security employee. They watch your goods when you can’t. Like when you are slammed with customers and the customer to employee ratio is high. checkpoint security tags and checkpoint labels are easy to apply and remove or deactivate by your staff.

For more information on anti shoplifting or checkpoint labels or checkpoint security tags or checkpoint security systems contact us at stop shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint labels, checkpoint security system, checkpoint security systems, Checkpoint security tags, stop shoplifting

Can a Background Check Company be Too BIG?

December 22, 2010 by Staff Editor

Can a Background Check Company be Too BIG?

Everyone wants to grow their business, so is it possible that a background check company can be too big?

It can become too big if it stops caring about its customers and their expectations of what a background check company should be.

Every background check is the sum of several parts that go into it: Criminal history searches, address histories, social security traces, credit reports, and so on. The company has outgrown its customers if it turns out an assembly line product that is not reviewed by a competent investigator who is knowledgeable in spotting some unususal circumstances in the background check that are not evident at first glance. A driver’s license from a state not evident as the applicant’s current or listed reference is a good example, or an individual who was without a license for a period of several years. Or an address that is known to be a mail drop. These situations may have logical reasons for them but they bear further investigation.

Criminal background checks sometimes need explanations from someone familiar with the language used in the courts as well as some of the non-standard charges and dispositions.

Every client company should have an individual contact or representative at the background check that they can call and speak with regarding the background check results they receive if they have any questions at all.

A background check company can be too big if it loses touch with those who made it big… their customers.

Need a reliable background check company? Call 770-426-0547 or click here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: background check company, Background checks, criminal background check

Keys to Corporate Fraud Investigation – Atlanta Georgia

December 22, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

In today’s complicated business climate it is important for all business owners and managers to familiarize themselves with the proper way to conduct a corporate fraud investigation. First, the company should have a corporate investigative policy drawn up. The purpose of this is to give everyone an idea of what to do when fraud is suspected, how those allegations are to be evaluated and when and where to start an investigation. This helps eliminate the possibility of someone claiming to have been singled out in the investigation and brings uniformity to the process.

The next step in a corporate fraud investigation is to form your investigative team. These are the people who will actually sift through the evidence and conduct the necessary interviews, etc. A properly managed fraud investigation is critical to the successful resolution of a fraud case; therefore these people must be organized and efficient. Included in their responsibilities during a corporate fraud investigation is document management procedures and supervision of staff and consultants. It is important to be able to quickly locate critical documents, and ensuring that all necessary issues are examined.

Every corporate fraud investigation is unique, since each fraud has its own set of facts and details. The purpose of the investigation should be to determine whether or not fraudulent activity occurred, who committed the act, and how much was lost to the fraud. Evidence of the findings must be gathered discreetly and presented to those who need to know. From there they can make the determination whether to terminate the individual, seek restitution or simply prosecute the crime to the fullest extent of the law. A corporate fraud investigation must always be handled professionally and fairly.

For more information about corporate fraud investigator , employee theft or internal theft contact us at corporate fraud investigation or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: corporate fraud investigation, corporate fraud investigator, employee theft, internal theft

Anti Shoplifting solutions for your business

December 21, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Looking for an anti shoplifting solution for your business? I think I have some insight that might help make your decision less blinding.

Anti shoplifting is the focus of many retailers especially in a tough economy. One of the biggest profit killers of any retail establishment is shoplifting. So the question is, how do you stop shoplifting? Well, that’s a tough question. There really is no way to completely stop shoplifting but having a solid business plan and utilizing tools like checkpoint security systems can truly help stop shoplifting in your stores. What is a checkpoint security system ? A checkpoint security system usually consists of placing or installing antenna’s at the front of a store and placing checkpoint tags on merchandise or placing security tags on clothing. Now depending on what type of merchandise you sell, this will dictate the type of checkpoint tags you should use. A pretty straight forward process.

Retail theft prevention is not only responsible, it boosts your profits. Shoplifters can quickly ravage a store, and left unchallenged will hurt the morale of the store associates and eventually kill the business. Anti shoplifting measures must be taken to help curb these incidents and stop shoplifting . Retail theft prevention is true possibility, but you must take the first step and develop an anti shoplifting program. Checkpoint security systems will help prevent retail theft and will help put your business back in the black. If your store is experiencing inventory shrinkage and you are at a loss for the next step, consider what you’ve done to help your store stop shoplifting .

Shoplifting has been around since almost the beginning of time. Shop owners and retailers have had the anti shoplifting battles for thousands of years. There are several solutions out there. Get professional advice.

For more information about retail theft prevention , checkpoint security system , checkpoint tags , retail anti theft devices , retail theft prevention or stop shoplifting visit us at anti shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, checkpoint security system, checkpoint security systems, Checkpoint tags, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail theft prevention, stop shoplifting

Prevent Shoplifting by Awareness – Atlanta Georgia

December 21, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

A shoplifter walks into your store. How do you know they are going to shoplift? What does a shoplifter look like?

If shoplifters wore name tags that said “Hello, my name is Sue and I shoplift” then our jobs would be quite easy. But, in reality, there is not a “look” to a shoplifter.

They can be dressed nice, dressed shabby, be clean, be unkempt, be male, or be female. There is no picture in the dictionary next to the word “shoplifter.”

So how does a business prevent shoplifting in their store? While the person can’t be picked out as a shoplifter from their look, they can be distinguished for their actions. A shoplifter may be looking around and watching other employees or customers. He or she may appear nervous or apprehensive. They may be wandering your store and not appear to be shopping the way that others do. By teaching your employees to watch for these clues, you can prevent shoplifting in your business.

Shoplifters often work in groups, having one person distract the employee while the other steals. This is good information for your employees to know, so that they can be aware of this technique and prevent shoplifting in this style.

Your employees should also have knowledge of what items in your business are considered high theft. These items should be kept in an area where employees can monitor them. Employees should provide excellent customer service at all times – but especially when customers are looking at these high theft items.

Have your employees pay attention to their surroundings while they are working on your sales floor. If they are stocking shelves or straightening merchandise, they can still watch the customers around them and provide good customer service.

Using some of these tips to prevent shoplifting in your business will help convince your shoplifting customers that they should shop elsewhere for the “deals” they seek.

For more information contact us at prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Prevent Shoplifting

Background Check Prevention

December 20, 2010 by Staff Editor

Background Check Prevention

Things a background check may prevent:

§ A dishonest employee committing theft in your business
§ Hiring an applicant with a history of drug or alcohol abuse
§ Hiring an applicant with the potential toward violence or abuse
§ Hiring an applicant who can’t handle their own financial affairs
§ Hiring an applicant who has served prison time
§ Hiring an applicant who can’t get along with co-workers or supervisors
§ Hiring an applicant who lacks the education to perform the job
§ Hiring an applicant who lacks the experience to do the job
§ Hiring an applicant who fabricated employers
§ Hiring an applicant with a suspended or revoked driver’s license.

A background check may also prevent:

§ Wasting time with an unqualified applicant
§ Hiring an applicant who jumps from job to job
§ Hiring a poor performer
§ Hiring an applicant with long periods of unexplained non-employment
§ A lawsuit filed for negligent hiring or retention
§ Hiring a registered sex offender
§ Accepting bogus identification from an applicant
§ Checking criminal history based on where the applicant says he lived rather than where he actually lived
§ Finding out post-hire that an employee has civil judgments, liens, or garnishments

And most importantly, a background check may prevent an employer from regretting that he ever hired an applicant in the first place.

For further information on what a background check may prevent, call 770-426-0547 or click here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Experts in the field – Loss Prevention Consultants – Atlanta Georgia

December 20, 2010 by Staff Editor

If your business is experiencing an increase in inventory shrinkage, it may benefit from the knowledge and expertise of loss prevention consultants . Trained professionals can take a look at your business and create an effective loss prevention program.

For example, shoplifters do not want attention when they come into your store. loss prevention consultants can help you teach your employees this important fact. By simply providing that unwanted attention, theft can be prevented without the employee ever realizing it.

Loss prevention consultants can also look at your sales floor layout and offer suggestions for improvement. High theft items should be located in a high traffic area in the store, away from the entrances. These items should also have good employee coverage so that they can be monitored. By having the merchandise away from the entrance, this can help prevent a shoplifter from grabbing the merchandise and making a quick escape out the doors.

While you might not recognize a blind corner in your store, loss prevention consultants can look at your store the way a shoplifter does, and identify good areas of concealment. These areas can then be reworked so that the aisles are more open.

Loss prevention controls for your business can also be developed. If your business has a fitting room, consultants may suggest that employees physically handle all clothing that goes into the room, and that the fitting room never be left unattended. Some shoplifters choose to conceal merchandise in fitting rooms, so by monitoring what goes into the room this type of theft can be prevented.

By reducing the opportunity, you can reduce the theft with the help of loss prevention consultants .

For more information contact us: loss prevention consultants or call 1.770.426.256 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: loss prevention consultants

Employee Theft Investigation – Atlanta Georgia

December 20, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Not every part of the employee theft investigation is going to be filled with edge-of-your-seat excitement. Parts of it can be truly tedious, but extremely necessary in order to build a case against an employee that you believe to be involved in some sort of wrong-doing. A short time ago one of my detectives came to me information on a cashier. An ex-employee had come into the store and apparently waited for the cashier’s line to come open. The ex-employee had several items tucked underneath her shopping cart; a fact that the cashier obviously saw but made no mention of. She allowed the ex-employee to pay for a few items then exit without paying for the items under the cart.

Of course my detective approached the ex-employee before she exited and recovered the merchandise, but that’s when the employee theft investigation began. It appeared to me to be a clear case of sweethearting, but I needed to be sure. Sweethearting is defined as “the granting of special favors or privileges, especially to friends or family; in retail, the giving of unauthorized discounts or the abetting of shoplifting or other theft”. So the burden of proof was on me to prove collusion; that the cashier was aware of the hidden merchandise and allowed the ex-employee to take the merchandise.

I spent countless hours staring at two computer screens. One was a CCTV shot which was focused clearly on the cashier and could see everything piece of merchandise she handled. The other was on a duplicate screen of her cash register; this allowed me to see exactly what she was actually ringing in. Almost 2 weeks past before the ex-employee came back in, but when she did she went directly to the cashier in question. This time, probably spooked from their last close call, they didn’t bother with the bottom of the basket trick. The cashier simply took all the merchandise, pretended to swipe several pieces and just place them into the bag. Upon exiting the ex-employee was apprehended and subsequently arrested. The cashier was arrested and terminated. It was a long and un-exciting battle but in the end a successful employee theft investigation .

For more information about employee theft , internal theft or corporate fraud investigation contact us at employee theft investigation or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: corporate fraud investigation, employee theft, employee theft investigation, internal theft

Retail theft prevention and the use of security and protection products.

December 17, 2010 by Staff Editor Leave a Comment

Retail theft prevention should be in the forefront of the minds of any retailer. However, there are still a few out there that haven’t yet bought into the fact that retail anti theft devices will help stop shoplifting .

Shoplifters are an everyday occurrence in every retailer, regardless of others opinions, shoplifting happens everywhere, everyday. Managers I have worked with in the past seem to think that because of their products, demographics, employees, and many other poor reasons, they don’t have issues with shoplifting. Yet looking at their business they have highly desirable and merchandise with a high resale value, most certainly puts them in position to suffer severe losses due to shoplifting.

At least one of these businesses I’ve worked with had to learn this reality the hard way. They almost refused to believe shoplifting was happening in their stores. They didn’t believe in retail anti theft devices , and/or any other form to help prevent and stop shoplifting .

Retail theft prevention is relatively simple to understand. You have a business; you don’t want theft or losses. Many of the retail anti theft devices on the market don’t meet the necessary standards to truly impact and prevent shoplifting. Checkpoint security systems installed in many of my stores, provide the means to help control losses and helps prevent future occurrences. Checkpoint security systems , when used properly, will help prevent shoplifting and will boost store profits.

Stores with Checkpoint security systems have shown a dramatic decrease in the amount of shoplifting incidents and have proven to management that shoplifting is occurring and Checkpoint security systems are helping to prevent shoplifting and stop shoplifting . Shoplifters want privacy. They want to get the merchandise they need or want, and get out of the store undetected. checkpoint security systems take away the privacy of the shoplifter.

If retail theft prevention is part of your business strategy, look at retail anti theft devices and a checkpoint security system .

For more information about a checkpoint security system , retail theft prevention , retail anti theft devices or to stop shoplifting visit us at anti shoplifting or call us 1.770.426.0547

Filed Under: antishoplifting Tagged With: Anti-Shoplifting, checkpoint security system, checkpoint security systems, Retail Anti Theft Devices, retail theft prevention, stop shoplifting

Background Checks and Employment Gaps

December 17, 2010 by Staff Editor

Background Checks Reveal Employment Gaps

Employment screening, by design, is done to eliminate unsuitable job candidates and to verify the information supplied by applicants on their resumes and applications.

One situation that comes up occasionally is the employment gap, or the length of time between jobs or school and a job. Having time between jobs may mean nothing or it may hide something, such as an unexpected termination from a job, or even being in jail. The facts should be determined during the employment screening process, not after the individual is hired.

Applicants will often explain gaps by saying they were self-employed, or were in school, took time to travel, stayed with a sick relative, or wanted to make a career change. The time to get to the bottom of these gaps is during the employment screening process, notIf the individual claims to have been self-employed or working as a contractor, ask to see pay sheets, pay stubs, or tax documents that will show income from employment. You may also get the names of references that can vouch for the person’s employment claims. Careful here, however, to be certain that the reference is legitimate and not just a friend of the applicant. Independently verify any phone numbers provided by the applicant for employment references.

If the person claims they were in school or a training program, ask details about the type of school and the location, and check with the school to verify dates of enrollment.

Always verify employment on both sides of the gap when conducting employment screening. Previous employers will be able to verify if the reason your applicant left is correct.

Although the reason for a gap given by the applicant may seem legitimate, it never hurts to verify and know the facts.

For advice on your employment screening program, call 770-426-0547, or click here for answers.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Background checks