How important is loss prevention awareness? Well, it could very well make the difference between a loss and a recovery. Just a few days ago, while doing some training in a store, I was interrupted by an employee who wanted to tell me that he had just deterred a theft. According to the associate, a shoplifter was in his department attempting to conceal merchandise. The employee approached the thief and offered him some great customer service. The employee asked the "customer" if he needed any assistance with that (merchandise he was attempting to conceal).

Of course, the would-be thief quickly handed over the merchandise and exited the building in a hurry. This employee then came straight to me just to say that he had used the methods he had been taught, and they had worked. Of course, I asked him why he didn’t page me when he realized what was going on, and he said "It happened so fast, I just reacted like you trained us. I didn’t even think about you being here until after he left the building."

This is just one example of many that have proven to me that taking the time to train your employees how to deter theft is a very effective means of reducing losses. Just teaching them to be aware, and how to react to theft incidents, can save a business a lot of money.

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