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Issue 20
RETAIL SECURITY REPORT Merchandise shrinkage costs Canadian retailers nearly $3 billion annually. This translates into $8 million per day in lost inventory. These figures are drawn from the Retail Council of Canada's 2003 Canadian Retail Security Report. The disappearance of these assets is attributable to a combination of internal and external causes: customer theft (35%), employee theft (40%), administrative errors (18%) and vendor dishonesty (7%). The 21 leading retailers that participated in the study report that, on average, This does not include the additional loss due to 28.5% of profit dollars were lost to shrinkage. activities such as credit card fraud, counterfeit currency, robberies or break and enters. What does this mean to our retail clients? Your security system offers a high level of protection to your business and gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your premise is being protected when you're not there. But what about when you and your employees are there? An increase of 28.5% in profits might be the difference between retirement at 55 or 65 or it might allow you to enjoy more of the luxuries that life has to offer. Such a significant profit increase might allow you to take your business to heights you had previously only dreamed of. What stands between your business and this increased profitability level? Your store security policies. You will never totally eliminate shrinkage in your business but controlling it is key to its ultimate success. True Steel Security has a wide range of security products available that can help you minimize shrinkage in your business. Call your local True Steel Security office today for more information.Reminders and Clarifications For Our Monitored Clients
Safe Kids Week 2004 We need your help!
Every Spring, Safe Kids Canada and Johnson & Johnson join forces in a major national campaign on children's safety. This year's campaign is on 'Child Passenger Safety', specifically focusing on booster seats. The campaign is designed to explain how booster seats keep children safer in a vehicle and provide illustrated, step-by-step instructions to show how to judge when a child is ready for the seat belt. True Steel Security and Our Children, Our Future believe that Security is A Family Matter and that security also means safety. For Safe Kids Week 2004, Our Children, Our Future sites will be accepting old car seats, booster seats and other baby furniture and equipment. All individuals dropping off such items will be eligible for a draw. For more information about the campaign or child safety, call (705) 677-0440 or toll free at (888) 677-0440.
What Is Your City's False Alarm By-Law? Many municipalities have created false alarm by-laws in an attempt to reduce the police resources being used to respond to false alarms. We recommend that all clients with alarms, monitored or not, be aware of the false alarm by-law for their municipality. It is the responsibility of the system owner to abide by any laws and to pay registration fees and/or fines that apply in their area. Please call your local police department or visit http://www.truesteel.com/false_alarms.htm to find out more about the by-law in effect in your area.
Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.
Careful When You Disconnect Your Phone Line On occasion when clients leave their homes for an extended period of time they disconnect their phone line so that they don't have to pay the monthly cost of the line. Sometimes businesses review and reduce their telephone expenses by canceling some lines. Most alarms communicate with the alarm monitoring station through the phone line. Clients sometimes forget or don't realize that by disconnecting their phone line their alarm system may be unable to send signals to our monitoring station and we therefore would not know if there was a problem at the premise. Please take this into consideration when changing your phone lines and call us to confirm your alarm will continue to operate. Secure Communication With Cellular Back-Up The majority of alarm systems communicate to the alarm monitoring station by utilizing a digital dialer and their regular telephone line. In such cases, if the telephone line is not functioning for any reason (technical problems, tree down on the line, line is cut) then the alarm is unable to communicate with the alarm monitoring station. There is a technology available to secure communications with the alarm monitoring station. If you are in an area with cellular coverage a backup system can be professionally installed which will send a signal using the cellular network. Only priority signals which have been programmed are sent using the cellular back-up unit. This means that your alarm would send two signals, one by way of your telephone line and one cellular signal. If the telephone line is down, the signal still reaches us and we take the appropriate action. To find out more about the added protection available to you through Cellular Back- Up please call your local office or (800) 667-5919.
Lightning Strike = Alarm Problem! Finally summer is almost here. Unfortunately, in addition to the beautiful weather, summer also brings thunder and lightning storms. Several times every year, clients' alarm panels get struck by lightning. On one such occasion we went to a client's premise to determine why the monitoring station had not received the monthly test signal from their alarm panel. They didn't call but because we set up their alarm panel to test on a monthly basis we found out that there was a problem and went to look into it. Turns out they had recently been hit by lightning. They had to replace some office equipment but did not notice the trouble light on their alarm panel indicating that there was a problem. The communicator on their system was not functioning. Had someone tried to rob them or had there been a fire, our monitoring station would not have received the signal and therefore authorities would not have been dispatched. Good Catch Guys, that's one more satisfied customer.
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