Office Depot, like most other retail chains, doesn’t have a shoplifting policy per se. There’s no manual handed out to employees or brandished on shop windows that lays out, paragraph by paragraph, Office Depot’s rules against shoplifters.
In reality, Office Depot uses Loss-Prevention (LP) agents/officers, whose sole job is to secure an individual store or multiple Office Depots. There’s typically a ‘minimum amount,’ meaning the minimum price value, a customer can steal before LP becomes involved.
“Involved” is kind of a misnomer. Loss Prevention is involved every step of the way, whether a pack of bubble gum is stolen or a high-end laptop. It’s more appropriate to say, “whether or not LP will take action,” depending on the minimum amount.
Loss Prevention at Office Depot
It’s difficult to list any sort of official policy when it comes to shoplifting, whether we’re talking about Office Depot or Mcdonald’s. The reason is that these companies don’t put that kind of information out there very often.
If they do, it’s often pretty vague. Office Depot, like many retail chains, employs loss-prevention agents or officers. However, their jobs transcend simply watching CCTV cameras all day.
Multiple things are going on in terms of Office Depot’s ‘policy’ on shoplifting, but most of these things come directly from those who work or have worked there, rather than a written policy you can pull up on the internet.
Loss prevention deals with identifying shoplifters, whether or not they are banned from Office Depot, tabulating the cost of what was stolen, etc.
However, their jobs are more extensive than that. LP also combats fraud and will, from time to time, assist police in large-scale incidents.
Whether or not the police get involved seems to be on a case-by-case basis, depending on the overall value of what was stolen, whether or not the shoplifter is a repeat shoplifter, etc.
Loss prevention is mostly behind the scenes and they deal with shoplifting and fraud after it happened more times than not.
How Does Office Depot Handle Shoplifters?
For the most part, they will ‘nice’ you to death. You’ll know you are suspected of shoplifting if you have an Office Depot employee shadowing you throughout the store, being overly nice in a way that is beyond the natural friendliness you get from store associates.
Employees are not allowed to restrain shoplifters in any way, even if the employee catches a shoplifter in the act. However, they can follow the shoplifter around the store, offering help and just being nice until the shoplifter decides to leave.
Outside of that, Office Depot apparently lacks a robust LP department, at least judging by the number of shoplifters that find it easy to lift from Office Depot.
If a shoplifter’s tag number or face is recorded, it is kept for building a case against them at a later date.
In other words, there’s very little that Office Depot will do with a shoplifter unless they are caught in the store with enough time to contact the local police department.
Once the merchandise is already out the door, the police may become involved if the amount stolen is fairly egregious.
Otherwise, Office Depot LP will build a case against the perpetrator, collecting data such as CCTV camera footage, license plate numbers, and the amount stolen.
At a certain point, Office Depot may ban the thief from the store, distribute their photograph, and contact police if that individual is seen in any Office Depot.
Once the police are contacted, that entire background will be presented.
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The Problem With Office Depot’s Method
The problem that Office Depot faces is typically a matter of being understaffed. Also, LPs don’t have the time to go through each store and train employees on what to look for when dealing with shoplifters.
For instance, typical training would floor associates through several things:
- Identifying all of the blind spots throughout the store (spots the CCTV cameras don’t cover)
- Understanding how shoplifters use the bathrooms to unpackage and remove security devices from products
- Shoplifter methodology
- How shoplifters use magnets
- How shoplifters use alpha keys
- How to deter shoplifters
- How to use the store intercom to deter shoplifters
For instance, if a store associate realizes that someone is shoplifting and they are currently in aisle 4, the associate can use the intercom to say something along the lines of “security (or loss prevention) to aisle 4 please.”
No one in the store is going to think much about that, except for the shoplifter on aisle four with an ink toner jammed down the front of his pants.
The shoplifter will usually do one of two things: leave the store immediately (deterring more shoplifting) or will put the item back.
Magnets and Alpha Keys
These are two objects that an Office Depot LP agent/officer is probably well aware of. If they conduct any kind of training for floor associates, they will be aware of them as well.
These devices help shoplifters eliminate the safety mechanisms on high-price items in the store.
They are relatively small devices and shoplifters can easily conceal these devices inside pockets, purses, or other, personal carrying devices. If Office Depot associates or LP ever see those devices in a shopper’s hand, they should know that the shopper has ill intentions in mind.
However, the thing is, your average Office Depot employee won’t have any idea what an alpha key is or what its primary function is. Shoplifters who steal from Office Depot and other retailers often enough will generally have a methodology in mind.
For one, they will look for cameras and blind spots throughout the store, locating the blind spots. They will also determine whether or not Office Depot is worth the effort based on crowding, the height of the shelves between each aisle, and how many store associates are working at any given time.
While Office Depot doesn’t necessarily have a shoplifting policy, LP will generally understand this methodology, though it’s not frequently passed down to the floor associate level. Management may be aware but that’s usually as far as it goes.
Office Depot Shoplifting Losses Per Year
While there is no available data specifically for Office Depot, retail chains in general lose about three-quarters of a million dollars per billion dollars in sales per year. Office Depot often finds itself in the “very easy to shoplift” category on Reddit and Tumblr social media sites.
To counter some of the rising shoplifting statistics in certain cities or states throughout the country, Office Depot is now placing many of its items behind glass or behind materials that require a store associate to unlock them before someone can purchase them.
Office Depot also has a fairly robust online store, where much of its premium devices are now shifting to so they stay off the shelves and within easy reach.
While Office Depot, like many other retailers, is making changes to how pricier devices are secured, they are still sustaining losses on a year-to-year basis consistent with similar retailers.
All Things Considered
Like most retail chains, Office Depot doesn’t have an official shoplifting policy. However, they do have LPs (Loss Prevention), whose job is to minimize shoplifting and fraud.
In terms of the more notorious shoplifters out there, Office Depot is often listed as very easy to steal from.
It’s likely that Office Depot will continue to follow the trend of other retail chains—removing Office Depot locations from certain areas throughout the country, shifting more merchandise to online stores, and securing pricier items behind metal or glass, requiring a key to open.