Comments on: An Interview With Barry McDonnell Of LP Community http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/ Loss Prevention Is Not Sales Prevention Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:06:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Joe http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-7860 Joe Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:28:05 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-7860 Phillip, Thanks for your comment. I do appreciate your insight. I have to tell you that, based on my experience in over 14 years of Loss Prevention, I fear you may be right about the odds. I have caught some of those store managers taking merchandise to the tune of the hundreds of thousands. I have apprehended employees stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, just to hawk it on eBay or some other online trade site. But, we LP are a proud bunch, and we are determined and driven. I have never met an LP pro who didn't love a challenge. So, if you're right, and we're only catching 1 percent, then we need to challenge ourselves to make it 2% this year, and 3% the next. We may be outnumbered and out gunned, but I doubt we're outsmarted. And the enemy are not the only ones who communicate and take notes and plan. The LP network of today is much different than it was 10 years ago. The problem of employee theft is a growing problem, even though most retailers report a drop in internal cases last year. (I believe this is partly due to reduced LP staff and focus, and partly due to the thieves being more careful). It is definitely a HUGE problem, bigger than any other factor in shrink, I believe. In God we trust, everyone else, we watch like a hawk ;-) Phillip,
Thanks for your comment. I do appreciate your insight. I have to tell you that, based on my experience in over 14 years of Loss Prevention, I fear you may be right about the odds. I have caught some of those store managers taking merchandise to the tune of the hundreds of thousands. I have apprehended employees stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, just to hawk it on eBay or some other online trade site.
But, we LP are a proud bunch, and we are determined and driven. I have never met an LP pro who didn’t love a challenge. So, if you’re right, and we’re only catching 1 percent, then we need to challenge ourselves to make it 2% this year, and 3% the next. We may be outnumbered and out gunned, but I doubt we’re outsmarted. And the enemy are not the only ones who communicate and take notes and plan. The LP network of today is much different than it was 10 years ago. The problem of employee theft is a growing problem, even though most retailers report a drop in internal cases last year. (I believe this is partly due to reduced LP staff and focus, and partly due to the thieves being more careful). It is definitely a HUGE problem, bigger than any other factor in shrink, I believe.
In God we trust, everyone else, we watch like a hawk ;-)

]]> By: Phillip Wilson http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-7855 Phillip Wilson Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:59:56 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-7855 Joe, bless your heart, based on your viewpoint, you have little idea what you are up against. I applaud your attention to your job. I back your apprehensions. I am enthused about your enthusiasm, but I gather you are not completely aware of the magnitude of the problem. I was an operations manager for a distribution center for M. Wards some years ago, and the employees literally stole us out of existence. To be sure, we had some inept management near the top in a decision-making role, but the single biggest cause of Ward's failure was employee theft. They were stealing by the truckload no joke, and Ward's position was to terminate and not demand restituiton for fear of a suit. The word got around quickly. Theft at the store level was bad, up to and including store managers in cahoots with the receiving department, but the level of shrink at the DC level was shocking, and the brass in Chi-town did not believe it was happening to the point of ignoring it completely, chalking the loss to customers and bad receiving processes; they thought the inventory must be in there somewhere. We even had delivery managers doubling the deliveries, and had been for years. We had customer service secretaries stealing satellite reciever cards and hacking them to sell. We had LP managers getting houses full of furniture and appliances to overlook a few missing pieces. We had warehouse employees stuffing mattresses full of electronics and setting them out to deliver.. to their friends houses. God help you man, the problem is COMPLETELY out of control. The vast majority of your employees are thieves, and some make a better living stealing from you than working for you. There are 3, maybe 4, of you and there are dozens of employees. They know where you are via cellphone and floorphone and hand signal ALL the time. All the best, my friend. You will catch maybe, maybe, 1 percent of what goes out the back door, out the front door in purses, underwear, bras, and with a receipt that was never tendered. You will deliver dozens of bricks in a box, while the TV went home with the delivery manager. You will have customer service reps take dozens of returns of bricks in a box and refund a 2000 dollar computer. There is no end to it, and you are outgunned, outmanned and outfoxed. They are so far ahead of you it is difficult to understand how far behind you are. They will even steal from each other, and it is sad commentary on how humans really are when they know no one is watching. Joe, bless your heart, based on your viewpoint, you have little idea what you are up against. I applaud your attention to your job. I back your apprehensions. I am enthused about your enthusiasm, but I gather you are not completely aware of the magnitude of the problem.
I was an operations manager for a distribution center for M. Wards some years ago, and the employees literally stole us out of existence. To be sure, we had some inept management near the top in a decision-making role, but the single biggest cause of Ward’s failure was employee theft. They were stealing by the truckload no joke, and Ward’s position was to terminate and not demand restituiton for fear of a suit. The word got around quickly.
Theft at the store level was bad, up to and including store managers in cahoots with the receiving department, but the level of shrink at the DC level was shocking, and the brass in Chi-town did not believe it was happening to the point of ignoring it completely, chalking the loss to customers and bad receiving processes; they thought the inventory must be in there somewhere. We even had delivery managers doubling the deliveries, and had been for years. We had customer service secretaries stealing satellite reciever cards and hacking them to sell. We had LP managers getting houses full of furniture and appliances to overlook a few missing pieces. We had warehouse employees stuffing mattresses full of electronics and setting them out to deliver.. to their friends houses.
God help you man, the problem is COMPLETELY out of control. The vast majority of your employees are thieves, and some make a better living stealing from you than working for you. There are 3, maybe 4, of you and there are dozens of employees. They know where you are via cellphone and floorphone and hand signal ALL the time.

All the best, my friend. You will catch maybe, maybe, 1 percent of what goes out the back door, out the front door in purses, underwear, bras, and with a receipt that was never tendered. You will deliver dozens of bricks in a box, while the TV went home with the delivery manager. You will have customer service reps take dozens of returns of bricks in a box and refund a 2000 dollar computer. There is no end to it, and you are outgunned, outmanned and outfoxed. They are so far ahead of you it is difficult to understand how far behind you are. They will even steal from each other, and it is sad commentary on how humans really are when they know no one is watching.

]]> By: Bill http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-674 Bill Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:22:04 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-674 Not you Joe, Joseph was worried about the issues but bitching about your acticle; I like the work you do here and my apologies for the confusion! Not you Joe, Joseph was worried about the issues but bitching about your acticle; I like the work you do here and my apologies for the confusion!

]]> By: Joe http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-486 Joe Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:16:59 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-486 Thanks, Bill. I thought I was talking about the issues here on the Bunker Blog. I'm always open to any suggestions, comments, or whatever readers want to talk about. I have even been thinking about asking for some article contributions from guest writers. If I decide to do so, I hope that some of the LP professionals who read here will send in some contributions. That way, we can all know exactly what issues are important to my readers here. Thanks again for your comment and support. Thanks, Bill. I thought I was talking about the issues here on the Bunker Blog. I’m always open to any suggestions, comments, or whatever readers want to talk about. I have even been thinking about asking for some article contributions from guest writers. If I decide to do so, I hope that some of the LP professionals who read here will send in some contributions. That way, we can all know exactly what issues are important to my readers here.

Thanks again for your comment and support.

]]> By: Bill http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-476 Bill Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:54:42 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-476 Joseph, you sound pissed you didn't think of it first, that's all. I'd like to hear about some of your real issues rather than listen to you sulk. Joseph, you sound pissed you didn’t think of it first, that’s all. I’d like to hear about some of your real issues rather than listen to you sulk.

]]> By: Barry http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-278 Barry Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:10:03 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-278 Hello Joseph, Joe - Joe, thank you again for the opportunity to share my website with your readers. Joseph, I want to reiterate that I do not know Joe at all - I have never met him, nor did I approach him to advertise my site on his blog. I assure you, Loss Prevention is something I am indeed passionate about - that passion is what fueled the creation of LPCommunity in the first place. If you have any ideas about what would make the website better, I would love to hear from you. I try to close every paragraph on the website with a call for reader suggestions - I know that addressing the needs and concerns of our visitors is the only way to grow in a positive way. Thanks again, Barry Hello Joseph, Joe -

Joe, thank you again for the opportunity to share my website with your readers. Joseph, I want to reiterate that I do not know Joe at all – I have never met him, nor did I approach him to advertise my site on his blog. I assure you, Loss Prevention is something I am indeed passionate about – that passion is what fueled the creation of LPCommunity in the first place. If you have any ideas about what would make the website better, I would love to hear from you. I try to close every paragraph on the website with a call for reader suggestions – I know that addressing the needs and concerns of our visitors is the only way to grow in a positive way. Thanks again,

Barry

]]> By: Joe http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-270 Joe Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:03:43 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-270 Joseph, Thanks for your comment. However, I'm confused. I have done a total of 2 articles on LP Community, both of which were my own, without any prompting from LP community or any of their staff. I have also posted articles about some other new LP-related sites that are "up and coming" online. I do not know Barry McDonnell or any of the people over at LP community, but I do like their work, and what they've done with the site. I also like sites like postacrime.com, which is a relatively new entry into the online LP scene. My goal is to talk about the things that affect Loss Prevention professionals and small businesses; to educate about the issues, and give information on what I think are valuable resources. As for profiting from something that "some are so passionate about", you have misjudged me sorely, my friend. I have never profited one dime from this blog or my site. I pay for it every month, and I have never received as much as a dollar in advertising. I do this because I love LP, and I try to get accurate information out there to those who can choose to use it or not. I do, however, work in the LP field, and yes, I do get paid to do my job. I'm sure none of us, no matter how much we love our jobs, would do them for free. So, I see nothing wrong at all with earning money from hard work and dedication. By the way, Joseph, LPCommunity is also a free resource, which is why I promoted it in the first place. I think there are far too many companies who charge way more than the average LP agent can afford for this same training. So, yes, I'm a fan. Joseph,

Thanks for your comment. However, I’m confused. I have done a total of 2 articles on LP Community, both of which were my own, without any prompting from LP community or any of their staff. I have also posted articles about some other new LP-related sites that are “up and coming” online. I do not know Barry McDonnell or any of the people over at LP community, but I do like their work, and what they’ve done with the site. I also like sites like postacrime.com, which is a relatively new entry into the online LP scene.
My goal is to talk about the things that affect Loss Prevention professionals and small businesses; to educate about the issues, and give information on what I think are valuable resources.
As for profiting from something that “some are so passionate about”, you have misjudged me sorely, my friend.
I have never profited one dime from this blog or my site. I pay for it every month, and I have never received as much as a dollar in advertising. I do this because I love LP, and I try to get accurate information out there to those who can choose to use it or not. I do, however, work in the LP field, and yes, I do get paid to do my job. I’m sure none of us, no matter how much we love our jobs, would do them for free. So, I see nothing wrong at all with earning money from hard work and dedication.
By the way, Joseph, LPCommunity is also a free resource, which is why I promoted it in the first place. I think there are far too many companies who charge way more than the average LP agent can afford for this same training. So, yes, I’m a fan.

]]> By: Joseph http://joesbunker.net/blog/2008/09/14/an-interview-with-barry-mcdonnell-of-lp-community/comment-page-1/#comment-269 Joseph Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:29:58 +0000 http://joesbunker.net/blog/?p=168#comment-269 Wow Joe, nice way to make a blog into one big commercial for LP Community. How about sticking to the real issues rather than obvious promoting of your buddy's wanna be next big thing. Sad how everyone wants to make money out of something some are so pationate about. Wow Joe, nice way to make a blog into one big commercial for LP Community. How about sticking to the real issues rather than obvious promoting of your buddy’s wanna be next big thing. Sad how everyone wants to make money out of something some are so pationate about.

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