A recent incident at a national retail store shows us that loss prevention takes team effort. Let me give you the play-by-play.
The first team player identified the loss threat. An astute associate noticed a returning customer whom she previously suspected of shoplifting. This associate ‘passed the ball’ to Iverify by calling the company’s audio and video monitoring center called the “I” to monitor the situation.
The team at Iverify took control of the situation with it’s advanced technical infrastructure. The “I” made a series of general announcements over the store’s speaker system- welcoming customers to the store, reassuring them that security was watching and inviting customers to seek an associate if they needed assistance. Iverify then watched the customer visit the perfume counter, fill her shopping basket, and then take the shopping cart to the shoe department. In the shoe department the customer removed the perfume bottles from their boxes and placed them into her purse.
Iverify then ‘passed the ball’ to a store manager who approached the customer to see if she needed any assistance. The customer avoided the manager and tried to walk out of the store. When the manager asked the customer to enter the checkout line, the customer became belligerent.
At this point, Iverify took the ’ball’ back and demanded, over the store’s speakers, that the customer leave the store immediately. The customer left without taking any items and- perhaps more importantly- without hurting any of the employees.
The loss prevention team won!
How do you encourage your employees to think of loss prevention as a team sport? Do you have any stories of loss prevention team wins (or losses)? Tell us about them in our LinkedIn group.
The Inside View is a blog chronicling Iverify’s thought-provoking perspective on business, technology and the security industry.