EAS systems are one of the most recognizable and widely employed loss prevention technologies on the market today. We are all familiar with the electronic sentries guarding the exits to department and grocery stores, however, there continues to be a lack of understanding about what exactly these technologies are, and what they’re designed to accomplish.
DIY = Bad Outcome
With the advent of YouTube, many people are attempting to do all sorts of things. A YouTube search of “DIY tooth removal” came up with over 900,000 hits, YIKES! Sure money could be saved pulling my teeth, but something tells me that is not a wise way to save money. While DIY EAS may not be as physically painful as tooth extraction, it could be excruciating if decreasing theft and increasing customer satisfaction is your goal. Having highly trained EAS technicians in your store makes it easy for you to maintain installs, updates and even training your staff which is all a key point to a functional and effective system that will reduce theft.
Loss Prevention, like most challenges in running your store, is a constant battle. In other words, the fun never ends. Keep this in mind when choosing an EAS system for your store. The two major brands in EAS are Sensormatic for AM and Checkpoint for RF. Checkpoint and Sensormatic both invest in research and development (R & D) to help fight things like shoplifting bags, "front carry" (a way to defeat many EAS systems) and other methods that shoplifters are using to get around EAS. The majority of the off-brand systems do not make these investments, so they are more easily defeated. Another problem with these off-brand systems is they tend to alarm when they should not be alarming, and this can be insulting to good paying customers and frustrating for your employees.
In the master’s thesis “Dishonest Associates in the Workplace: The Correlation between Motivation and Opportunity in Retail among Employee Theft” written in May 2009 by Edith M. Fikes some interesting factors were uncovered about internal theft from a retail store.
How To Keep Your Employees Safe while running a retail store creates its own set of challenges and responsibilities. How do you keep your employees safe from and during robberies?
There are a few simple steps you can do to safeguard your employees and your money.
In the last edition of our Loss Prevention Newsletter, I talked about some ways on how to spot a shoplifter. Remember these are general things to look for but shoplifters come in all shapes and sizes.
The reason any store purchases an EAS system is to reduce theft and increase customer satisfaction. To do this, it is imperative that the EAS device such as a tag or label, is suitable for your product. What good would a system do if the tag or label does not correctly fit your items? Before selecting your system make sure that the technology you choose has labels and tags that fit the products.
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