Good training and hiring practices can go a long way in alleviating loss prevention.
By Erin Rigik Del Conte, Senior Editor
Preventing theft at c-stores starts with best practices in hiring and training, cash management and handling suspected shoplifters. Convenience Store Decisions spoke with loss prevention expert Chris McGoey, ‘the Crime Doctor’ and founder of McGoey Security Consulting for some of his advice on navigating these areas of the loss prevention puzzle.
Convenience Store Decisions (CSD): Hiring and training employees correctly can go a long way toward protecting stores from issues with theft and cash management. What can retailers do to ensure they are hiring honest employees and setting high standards right from the start?
Chris McGoey (CM): Poor quality applicants are plentiful and available on short notice when they are unemployed and change jobs frequently. Due to the nature of unsupervised shifts in c-stores, the opportunity for cashiers to be dishonest is a much greater risk than at other retail stores. It’s critical to put hiring systems in place and take the time necessary during the vetting process.
Good employees are out there to be discovered if you always are looking for them. Hiring honest and hard-working c-store employees is a challenge for everyone. One of the best indicators of cashier honesty is successful past employment in a similar capacity.
Here are some rules of thumb for hiring cashiers:
1. Always visibly accept employment applications even with a full staff.
2. Use an application form tailored for c-stores that highlights cashier abilities and the importance of being complete and accurate because it will be verified.
3. Capture at least five-years of verifiable work history, education and references.
4. Return any applications that are not 100% complete. Watch for invalid addresses, gaps in employment, and details necessary to check references and background.
5. Make the applicant fill in any blanks and vague information. It’s their first test about following directions and being accurate.
6. A pre-employment interview should be used to evaluate the applicant’s suitability for managing cashier duties. A math quiz about making change accurately is a reasonable request.
7. Hire cashiers based on their ability to absorb detailed training and implement your specific procedures with a high-degree of accuracy.
8. Make all cashiers rise to the same minimum level of competency and accountability within a reasonable time or replace the new cashier. Accurate cashiers need to act as shift sales and cash accountability endpoints to balance against each other.
9. Cashier training should be in writing with step-by-step shift procedures as a guide. Good cashiers will hold relief shifts accountable for being accurate. Good cashier accountability and periodic shift rotation tends to keep other cashiers honest.
CSD: When it comes to cash handling and management, what are some best practices you recommend?
CM: There are several best practices, to include:
1. Hire cashiers that are fast and accurate regardless of customer volume. Not everyone is competent to be a good cashier. Multiple poor cashiers make accurate cash accountability impossible and opens the door for dishonesty.
2. Train each cashier to use a standard method for recording transactions, making change and balancing their own drawer at end of shift. No variations or shortcuts allowed.
3. Using a standardized method aids in training new employees and provides a basis for detecting dishonesty and bad practices when reviewing video footage.
4. All stores should use a safe for dropping $20 bills upon receipt and excess cash that accumulates.
5. To reduce the risk of robbery, a cashier should not be able to immediately open a safe. The best c-store safes have cash-drop slots that have a timed-delayed access capability. Signs should support that the cashier cannot open the safe or that a time-delay safe is in use for robbery prevention purposes. Similarly, signs should support that all $20 are dropped into the safe immediately and that a limited amount of cash is available.
6. Preparation of store bank deposits are best left for the day shift when the risk off robbery is lowest.
7. It’s important to prepare a daily bank deposit to limit the amount of cash left in the store overnight.
8. There are a variety of bank-depository services available, depending where the store is located and the associated risk of hand-carrying deposits to the bank.
9. At minimum, trips to the bank with a deposit should be random at times, inconspicuous as possible, and not bundled with other errands causing delay.
CSD: How do you recommend handling shoplifters?
CM: Best practices for handling shoplifters will vary based on location of the store, time of day, amount of prior thefts and number of staff on duty:
1. Greet each customer while making eye-contact for a full second as they enter the store.
2. Higher-risk stores should mount a video monitor from the ceiling near the entrance that captures a close-up head and shoulder image of everyone that enters. Shoplifters and robbers hate this deterrent feature of having their image recorded.
3. High-risk stores should use video surveillance cameras in blind aisles, but I prefer cashier to customer verbal interaction.
4. Continue to make periodic eye contact while asking if a suspicious customer needs assistance.
5. Get out from behind the counter, enter the same aisle and offer to help them find an item if someone is lingering and seems to be watching you.
6. Short of physical confrontation, tell actual shoplifters to return the concealed items and leave or the police will be called.
7. Warn known shoplifters not to return or risk the police being called to contact them for a charge of trespassing.
8. Develop a store policy and train all staff about handling suspected shoplifters after speaking to legal counsel and the police in your neighborhood.
9. Most convenience stores are not set up or trained on how to lawfully confront or detain a shoplifter so a policy should be set for how it is to occur or not. Don’t wait and leave it to chance or rely on individual employee instinct.
Chris McGoey is the founder of McGoey Security Consulting. Learn more from him online at www.crimeschool.com.
