Do not do your job

[LPCap]

I was talking to a colleague in another district and he informed me of something which I thought was interesting and really could not think of an answer for him.

Recently, his boss told him that all external apprehensions were to be suspended (not allowed at all and any agent made an external apprehension, they were to be written up). The stats for the store are 1 internal app and 140 externals. The boss said that until they got 2 more internal apps, they were not allowed externals.

To me, this is the stupidest thing I have heard in retail LP. 90% of the agents job is to catch shoplifters. For them to ignore that is ludicrous. For them to be written up will just cause them to quit and find another LP job.

What do you think of this idea and situation as a whole? What would you say to the boss? I am just glad I don't work for that guy.

[SgtUSMC8541]

"Ok, you're the boss. I need that in writing."


Time to look for another job.

[panther10758]

Internals are a big portion of shrink and should not be ignored. Its easy for LP's top get caught up in the rush of a shoplift bust and even let their ego run away with stats. Where I disagree with the action I see the point. The "boss' knows there is internal theft going on yet no one is stopping it. The move is to refocus the LP staff. I was once told (not sure how accurate) that it stakes 13 externals to make up for one internal. The LP in this store are catching the small fish and ignoring the big ones. Young Lps with egos get caught up in egos and the like and I think that is whats going on here. I would tell the LPM to refocus his team and show them how to follow a lead on an internal. I again disagree with this action but do see the point. I might find another means than one given but the goal isd actually to refocus the staff not ignore external theft

[Nauticus]

The question is, which store is this?

If there are very few external leaks, and if the store is being bled by internal theft - like most are - maybe it's a good idea to focus your resources on the problem, rather than getting false results that aren't helping.

He's the boss, and I'm pretty confident he would be smart enough to see both sides to this and make an accurate decision.

[SecTrainer]

"The customer is always right", as they say, and the primary "customer" of the LP department is obviously store management.

The numbers you cite do suggest that there is a need for refocusing the LP effort, not simply to achieve some numerical "balance" but to reflect the very high likelihood that internal theft is surely greater than the app ratio indicates.

Although the need for internal investigations is always disappointing, the results are often spectacular (because the scale of theft is usually so much greater).

You'll need to make sure your folks are up to speed on the skills and the legalities of internal investigations, if they haven't much training or experience in such.

Inquire of the store manager whether internal controls, sales figures, inventory, anonymous tips, or even rumors or gossip have suggested any particular "hot spots" where you might focus your initial efforts.

You should probably also ask the store manager whether he is willing to foot the bill for some outside assistance, because undercover agents are often necessary and obviously cannot be drawn from the ranks of your well-known LP people.

And, if you are part of a chain or a local LP organization, talk with your peers. Find out what's going on at other stores in your company or at nonaffiliated stores that are similar to yours.