The front door to your business is the most important door. It’s where your customers enter and exit. It is also where the thieves will enter, and at least most of the time, exit. Most businesses do a fairly good job of locking their back doors. But we can’t lock the front door, or else we have no customers. So, what is the answer? There are several ways to control the front doors from a loss prevention perspective.

Most major retailers use electronic article surveillance, or inventory control tags, to help protect their inventory and deter theft. With this system is a set of pedestals that work as receivers and alarms at the front doors. The problem is that, when this system is not used effectively, it becomes dead weight to the business. Tags cost money, and so does the maintenance on the system. So, why not use it? If would-be thieves perceive that no one is going to even approach or question them if an alarm sounds, then the deterrent factor is lost. Every alarm should be followed by a response by an employee. It should be approached as a customer service issue, because if a tag is mistakenly left on product, it creates an inconvenience for the customer to come back to the store to have it removed without damaging their merchandise.

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems are extremely effective at deterring theft and at providing evidence in cases where deterrence efforts are ignored by thieves. Any store that uses CCTV should have a good, clear shot at all public entrance/exit door(s). The best identification video will always be the shot at the entrance. Along with that, it is worth the couple hundred dollars investment to loop that video into a public view monitor, which shows would-be thieves that you are monitoring your doors.

Finally, a greeter is a great idea for door control. Not only can the greeter help your customer service by being available for questions and to give customers direction, but they also show the would-be thief that there is a person at the door that they’ll have to pass to get out with your merchandise. It is a proven fact that no shoplifter wants to be noticed, let alone engaged in conversation by an employee. By greeting every customer, coming and going, your door greeter will deter more theft than you will probably ever realize. That person can also be available for EAS alarm responses.

Now to the receiving doors. It is imperative that these doors be secured at all times, and that a member of the management team is present any time they are open. Keys and alarm codes must be controlled, and only members of management should have access. One bad associate can take more merchandise than 20 shoplifters if allowed free access to the back doors. CCTV should also be used to monitor this area at all times.

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