LP Awareness Spotlight: We Care Poster

HS Brands "We Care" Poster is an element of an LP program.The We Care Poster is a staple in many loss prevention programs across the US. The loss prevention hotline is used to encourage employees to disclose behaviors anonymously that may be costing the company money (i.e. time clock abuse, internal theft, drug abuse, etc.). The loss prevention hotline picks up the call or message and sends it directly to one of our loss prevention professionals at The Mershimer Group. From there, an investigation is launched or policies and procedures are executed to combat the negative behavior and rectify the situation.

Ex. Joy sees her manager, Bill, put a few pieces of jewelry in his pockets before leaving the store for the night. She knows he didn’t pay for them and is concerned that he might be stealing. Because he is Joy’s superior, Joy feels that she cannot confront him. Instead, Joy calls the loss prevention hotline number posted in the break room and leaves a message with details of what she saw. The Mershimer Group can launch an investigation into the incident.

For more information on our loss prevention programs, please click here.

Posted in Brand Integrity, HS Brands International, Loss Prevention, Loss Prevention Advice, Retail Loss Prevention | Tagged , , , |

5 Tips to Avoiding Mystery Shopping Scams

  1. If they ask you to cash a check, send a money order or wire, it is a SCAM. Mystery shopping companies would never ask you to cash a check or send them a money order, so beware when anything like this is brought up. Please watch this FTC video on fake money transfers pertaining to mystery shopping scams.
  2. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the mystery shopping industry. If the MSPA does not list a member company on their website, you run the risk of them not being a legitimate mystery shopping company. This is your best resource to find credible mystery shopping companies and to find more information on avoiding mystery shopping scams.Avoiding mystery shopping scams.
  3. Do your research. If you were looking for any other job you would prepare by doing due diligence and checking on the background of the company. Beware that mystery shopping scams often use the name of legitimate mystery shopping companies and even try to recreate their websites with a misspelled URL or a closely spelled URL. Check everything before you begin shopping.
  4. Typical scam jobs are listed on sites like Craigslist. Beware when you find a mystery shopping job offer on websites like that.
  5. Get social! Take to social media to find the best (and legitimate) mystery shopping companies to work for.

Have any other tips? Leave them in the comments section! We’d love to hear them!

Posted in MSPA, Mystery Shoppers, Mystery Shopping | Tagged , , , , |

Tom Mills’ 4th Quarter Video

Posted in Company News, Loss Prevention, Mystery Shopping, Press, Social Media |

Looking Before You Leap – A Blog About Data Collection

Data CollectionData. It’s kind of an ambiguous word that has a lot of meanings depending on what industry you’re in. There’s even two ways to pronounce it! We’re experts in turning customer experiences into data. We take an emotional purchase and quantify it. Did the salesperson drive the mystery shopper to buy because she mentioned, “the diet supplement is endorsed by Kim Kardashian?” Plus 2 points for product knowledge and plus another 2 points for value building!

In the event of a new product or service launch, data can help a company gauge how it will be received, how successful (or unsuccessful) it will be and what challenges await them on the other side of the product launch. Test or market data is helpful to your company’s “leap” because it softens the blow when you hit the ground, and it gives you the agility to react to obstacles.

We believe in looking before you leap. Let us help you with the data collection, so you can focus on what’s ahead.

For more information on data collection, please email Info@hsbrands.com.

Posted in Brand Integrity, Customer Service, Hiring a Mystery Shopping Provider, Mystery Shopping, Other services | Tagged , , , , , |

Tom Mills’ interview with Eventual Millionaire

Listen to Tom Mills’ story about what he did to break into the mystery shopping industry and hold on to success.

Interview link.

Posted in Company News, Mystery Shopping | Tagged , |