Loss Prevention in the Retail World

October 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Loss prevention is a broad topic in the retail environment.  Its expanse can make it difficult for a business owner to identify what aspects may be beneficial to his or her organization.  By learning more about what options are available to combat loss, businesses can choose what is right for them.

Loss prevention is any type of policy or procedures a business chooses to use to reduce loss of inventory and increase profits.  Apprehending shoplifters is one aspect of retail loss prevention, but proactive measures are also important.  For example, teaching your employees to provide excellent customer service can help prevent theft.  Shoplifters do not want employees’ attention – so that is exactly what a business must provide.

Also important is making sure that basic controls are implemented and followed.  If your business has a fitting room, make sure that employees are trained to monitor what enters that room.  If there is merchandise that is locked up in cases, make sure all employees understand the importance of keeping the merchandise secure until it is purchased by the customer.  You’d be surprised how many employees will unlock a case, and then hand the secured merchandise to a customer instead of ensuring that the merchandise immediately goes to the cash register.

Key controls are also important.  Make sure that keys to back doors, secure merchandise cases, fitting rooms, etc, are properly logged and only given to responsible associates.  Employee theft is common enough without lax controls within the business aiding the process.

Anyone can be a potential shoplifter – the rich, the poor, the elderly or the young.  Loss prevention is an important part of any business that has a vested interested in protecting their assets.

 For more information contact us: loss prevention  or call 1.770.426.0547.

 

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Loss Prevention and investigations using POS applications

October 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Many Loss Prevention departments find the benefits of using POS monitoring applications on a daily basis. Activities of dishonest employees take place while working on the register and while utilizing much of the data, Loss Prevention can do their job.

In this example, I’ll use exception based reporting systems. Tied into a company’s Point of Sale system, exception reports provide employers with valuable information by identifying employee trends. Price check, price inquires or price verifies are one of the most common methods dishonest employees will use to try and fool the ever watchful manager.

A part time employee under the age of 25 ringing on the register has a couple of friends bring up some beer and liquor. To the manager, the employee appears to scan the merchandise correctly. The manager assumes all is well and moves to his next task. What the manager didn’t see was the dishonest employee pressed the price check button on the register. The customer hands the employee cash and are on his way out of the building.

Loss Prevention runs the exception reports as part of their everyday tasks. Several transactions are found on this employee where the price check button is used. The Loss Prevention Investigator digs deeper and finds transactions where the price check button was used to purchase beer and liquor. The loss prevention investigator reviews the available CCTV footage of the transaction date and time. After review, the loss prevention investigator finds the employee never actually scanned the merchandise as a regular transaction, only scanning under the price check button. The Loss Prevention Investigator arranges for the interview/interrogation of the employee and the losses are stopped. Continuous monitoring via exception based reporting systems by loss prevention will help deter future occurrences. The issues found are used by the store management as training and coaching opportunity.

For more information visit us at loss prevention or call 1.770.426.0547

 

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Prevent Shoplifting With a New CCTV Tool In Atlanta

October 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Studies have shown that of the three groups of shoplifters, which include; impulse, amateur and professionals that the first two, impulse and amateur shoplifters can be significantly deterred with a customer service greeting. The idea goes like this: The shoplifter along with every other customer is greeted as they enter your store with a “May I help you” or “Can I help you find something” will cause many of the shoplifters in these two groups to not shoplift during that visit. In other words they have been noticed. This a well established tool to prevent shoplifting .

But many retailers do not have the labor to do this. Another concept that plays into this is a Public View Monitor (PVM). A camera is pointed at the entry door and the picture is displayed on a monitor usually twenty inches or larger that is mounted so that the customer sees them self enter. This gives the shoplifter a similar effect. They assume that they are being recorded and that the store has more cameras including hidden ones.

PVM’s can be configured in two ways. A standard camera and monitor or a camera that is built into a monitor. The latter give a clean hi tech look. The camera is hidden in the unit and thus gives the customer the idea that more cameras including hidden ones are in place. Most of these units are suspended from the ceiling out of reach.

Another idea takes this a step further. PVM’s are also put into high theft areas such as health and beauty, tools, clothing accessories… As the customer walks into the area they see themselves on the monitor.

Several brands of Public View Monitors will also display marketing information on them and have a motion detector built into them. When a customer walks within a short range of the monitor it switches to live mode. Otherwise, customers in surrounding areas can see specials or sales that are ongoing. They could also be configured to play brand information. Imagine that your vendors pay for the right to play their brand videos. Your vendors can help pay for your program to prevent shoplifting .

When looking for a PVM also consider several other options. Since the units need to be on when your store is open, get a unit that has a timer or scheduler on it. This way it will turn on and off based on the hours that you program into it and will not be running after hours.

And because the Public View Monitor will be on quite a bit consider a unit that is more “green” and consumes less energy. Typically conventional tube type TV’s are more power hungry. A flat screen is not only less energy thirsty but also presents a much better appearance. Space for the PVM must be considered also. Make sure that the unit is not too large and look out of place. Once set up this is an automatic program to prevent shoplifting .

For more information on Shoplifting or Public View Monitors contact us at prevent shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc is an Atlanta based company.

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Criminal Background Checks – What do the Results Mean

October 6, 2010 by

If you are one of the thousands of employers who conduct criminal background checks on potential employees, you know the results can be open to a good deal of interpretation.

The information contained in the criminal background check usually regards arrests or citations by the police agency and the charges against the person, the severity of the crimes, that is a felony, misdemeanor, or infraction, the disposition, and the punishment, if any.

The first step, the arrest is generally made as a result of an investigation by the police, a crime committed in the presence of the police, or a warrant taken by a private individual.  When the person is arrested or cited, he is charged with the offense.  Felonies are the most serious, followed by misdemeanors, and then by infractions.  The difference between these types is generally defined by the punishment defined by statute for the crime.

A person may be charged originally with one crime and have it dropped or amended later to a different charge, at the discretion of the prosecutor, or even have more charges added.

Felonies, or more serious crimes are generally heard in superior or upper court, and misdemeanors in the state or lower court.  Some low level misdemeanor charges or infractions may be heard in municipal or judges’ court.  The courts are called different names, depending on the jurisdiction or location of the court.

The disposition of the case is simply the verdict or other action taken by the court in the criminal action brought before it.

The disposition is usually either a conviction, meaning the person was found guilty, or an acquittal, meaning the person was found not guilty and charges were dismissed.

But there are other dispositions as well.  Most states have a version of a first offender law, or other means to defer judgment until a later date on a first time offender.  Some of these dispositions may be called deferred adjudication, dead docket, adjudication withheld, or other term used by the court.  The important thing to remember is that these types of dispositions should not be considered as convictions, even though it may become a conviction later if the person does not complete the terms of the deferment satisfactorily.

A criminal background check will also generally divulge the punishment for the crime, which may be prison or jail time, a fine, probation time, community service, or a combination of any of these.

There is a lot of leeway in the court systems in this country, so many outcomes are possible in what would seem to be under similar circumstances, so interpretation of the results may seem confusing.

To simplify your criminal background checks, click here or call 770-426-0547.

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Use clothing security tags to stop losses and boost profits

October 6, 2010 by

Clothing security tags used as part of an inventory protection / loss prevention system have been around for many years for good reason, they work.  Sure there are those theives out there who are always working on how to defeat any and every security system that exists; however the odds are greatly in the favor of those who trust the clothing security technology.

Checkpoint Security Systems has recently released new clothing security tags that have stronger mechanisms in them to hold the pin in place.

These new Checkpoint Tags require a new stronger detacher as well to remove the pin making them a very secure clothing security solution.

Studies show that 85% of loss due to shoplifters are by habitual shoplifters.  The shoplifters from this group who encounter a security system such as the Checkpoint System will not attempt theft 76% of the time.  It is typical that apparel retailers using security tags on clothes see a reduction in inventory shrinkage by 50% and more.

So if an apparel retailer doing $1mil in business per year with an average inventory shrinkage of 4% (conservative) and a net profit margin of 4% (generous) cuts their losses in half, they just moved $20,000 from the loss column over to the revenues column.  his also naturally translates to a 50% increase in net margin. These systems pay for themselves very quickly and long term are big money makers.

For more information or to buy visit: clothing security tags or call 1-770-426-0547

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Combating loss with the help of a Loss Prevention Agent

October 6, 2010 by

A loss prevention agent  is a trained professional who can assist businesses in identifying the cause of a loss of profit (which is a result of loss of inventory, cash, adminstrative errors etc…).  When a business experiences a loss, figuring out the source can prove challenging and time consuming.  And if the cause ends up being employee theft, then this can be especially frustrating for the business owner.

A business owner or manager identifies that there is an issue in their organization, and loss of profit is resulting.  When all indications point to employee theft, the business owner can feel betrayed by his or her trusted employee.  However, a business must protect their assets, so an unbiased and experienced person such as a  loss prevention agent can be brought in to assist.

A loss prevention agent can help businesses identify the cause of a loss of profit, and also help secure restitution in situations of employee theft. Also referred to as a loss prevention investigator or loss prevention consultants, these professionals are trained to create cases worthy of successful prosecution if that is desired.  They are also trained in conducting employee interviews of both witnesses and suspects.  This is necessary so that the most accurate information can be obtained during an investigation.

We all want to trust those that work for us – but it is inevitable that your business will one day be the victim of employee theft.  Considering employee theft accounts for more loss than shoplifting, it is critical that these losses be identified and handled as soon as possible.  A loss prevention investigator has specialized skills honed specifically for a retail environment.

For more information contact us: loss prevention agent  or call 1.770.426.0547.

 

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Checkpoint Tags And Checkpoint Labels

October 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There seems to be some confusion about what are checkpoint labels and checkpoint tags . Both are checkpoint security systems  anti shoplifting devices .

Checkpoint tags are usually hard plastic. They come in a variety of shapes and colors. Checkpoint tags are attached to clothing, hats, shoes, accessories and any other cloth type merchandise. A pin that is inserted through the merchandise material and then into the tag itself normally accomplishes this. Checkpoint tags can only be removed by the use of a detacher. There are several levels of detachers. They are generally broken into type by the strength required to unlock the clutch that holds the  checkpoint tags pin in place. Detachers should be bolted or secured to the cash-wrap to prevent theft of the detacher.

Checkpoint labels are paper-thin and they are broken into several categories. The first is deactivatable and the second is non-deactivatable. Both types of labels are placed directly on to the merchandise or packaging. When merchandise with Checkpoint labels that are deactivatible are sold then the cashier passes the merchandise over a deactivation pad that causes the label to become inert. Normally deactivation is electronically tied to the POS scanner. Non-deactivatable labels cannot be deactivated. The label can be reused over and over.

Checkpoint labels come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The retailer, in most cases using the same printers that are used for printing price or barcode tags, can directly print on some checkpoint labels . Some have an inert barcode printed on them. Genuine checkpoint labels have a very aggressive adhesive and are not easily removed. Loss Prevention Systems also provides custom printing for a very reasonable price. This allows a retailer to print something such as their logo on checkpoint labels in small or large quantities.

Checkpoint security systems also include the Alpha line of products. This opens a whole additional world of hard tags, wraps and more.

For more information on checkpoint labels or checkpoint tags contact us at checkpoint security systems or call 1.770.426.0547.

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Checkpoint Security Systems – Alarm Handling

October 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Checkpoint security systems are one of the most effective anti shoplifting tools in the market. Some retail employees are unsure how to handle tag alarms. We have put this guide together to assist you in training your employees how to handle a tag alarm.

Both an incoming and outgoing tag alarm are handled by asking a series of questions.

INCOMING ALARMS:

1.  “Do you have a security access card?”

Some security access cards can on occasion can cause a tag alarm. (although this is rare).

2.  “Have you purchased something in another store with a system like this?”

Other retailers use Checkpoint security systems and may not properly deactivate the purchase.

3. “Are you returning an item for exchange or refund?”

Recent purchase may not have been deactivated.

4.  “Is there any reason you can think of for our inventory system to alarm?”

This lets the customer offer input as to why your Checkpoint security systems are alarming.

OUTGOING ALARMS:

1.  “Excuse me sir/ma’am, our Inventory Control System has been activated, we may not have checked out your purchase properly.”

This approach is Customer Service orientated and most customers are glad to help fix the situation.

2.  “Do you have a security access card?”

Same as incoming alarms.

3.  “Have you purchased something in another store with a system like this?”

Same as incoming alarms.

4.  “Is there any reason you can think of for our inventory system to alarm?”

Same as incoming alarms.

What should be recorded in your Checkpoint security systems log?

(If you do not have a log please contact Loss Prevention Systems. We will provide you one free of charge.)

  • Daily testing of the system
    Insures the system is operating correctly.
  • Failure to deactivate
    Can help identify system issues or employees that may need training.
  • Access Cards
    May be system issues that require tuning.
  • Returned merchandise
    Can also help identify system/retraining issues.
  • Other Store Merchandise
    Identify retailers in the area that my not be deactivating product.
  • All shoplifting attempts
    Help identify local trends. You can use this information to insure that you’re anti shoplifting program changes with new threats.

Management should review the logs on a periodic basis to insure tests, alarms and other issues regarding your Checkpoint security systems are being logged.

Remember an effective anti shoplifting program can only be attained with your internal employee training.

For more information on anti shoplifting programs or Checkpoint security systems contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

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Employee background checks are a great Loss Prevention tool

October 5, 2010 by

Using employee background checks is the first step in hiring quality, solid character employee and should be a staple in any business’ loss prevention program.

The 2010 University of Florida National Retail Security Survey documents that the majority of retail shrinkage last year was due to employee theft ($14.4 billion). Employee theft accounted for 43 percent of total retail losses in 2009. An estimated 1.7 million people are victims annually of violent crime while working in the United States, according to a report published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). 1.3 million (75%) of these incidents were simple assaults while 19% were aggravated assaults. The American DataBank has also documented that up to 30% of job applications and 40% of resumes contain false information. Due to a large number of employers not conducting effective employee background checks, 72% of employers lose negligent hiring suits.

An effective use of employee background checks should include, at a minimum, the following:

Criminal Background Check: To include Federal, State and County criminal background checks.

Employment Background Check: Confirm dates of employment, Positions held and eligibility for rehire.

Social Security Background Check: Verify Social Security number, identify other names used and residence history.

Motor Vehicle Report / Driving Records Background Check: Identify citations and suspensions.

Protect your business today. Conduct employee background checks to increase profits and reduce the potential for violent crime in your workplace.

For more information visit: employee background checks

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Security tags on clothes decrease loss, increase profits

October 5, 2010 by

Using security tags on clothes is a wise choice for retail businesses.  You do not have to sit back and watch your profits walk out your front doors!  Businesses can prevent retail loss and save money in the long run by utilizing the security options available for their merchandise.

Business owners need to analyze the expense of setting up anti theft devices against the loss they are experiencing from theft.  While there is an initial expense of setting up security tags on clothes, the ROI on your efforts are immediate to very short term and can be substantial to your bottom line.  Profit can be greatly increased simply by preventing shoplifting theft of your clothing products.

The expense of setting up a security system for the clothing you sell usually pays for itself in a short amount of time.  If you are looking into security tags for the clothes you sell, you have probably already identified a loss of merchandise.  By implementing a system, thieves will be deterred.  And thieves will also look to other businesses to steal from, instead of taking the time to combat the clothing security in your business.

The investment of security tags on clothes is one which will increase profits for your business.  Identify the loss, and then take action to combat it for the future of your profitable business.  Security tags on clothes are a smart loss prevention strategy to choose – invest in your potential profitability.

For more information contact us at Security Tags on Clothes or call 1.770.426.0547.

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