Loss Prevention " shops " pros and cons

Loss prevention inspecting vehicles during working hours looking for violations and $$ & personal items inside the company vehicle, out of place $$ and a report with photos. I am considering this but don;t know pros or cons. Any advice is much welcome.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2016 12:28AM by SS4U.

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@SS4U wrote:

Loss prevention inspecting vehicles during working hours looking for violations and $$ & personal items inside the company vehicle, out of place $$ and a report with photos. I am considering this but don;t know pros or cons. Any advice is much welcome.

May I ask how much they are paying?

I have different concerns. Is this a shopping company you found on our list? I can think of one company that might do this kind of shop, but there is no such shop on their website nationwide.

If you are wandering around in a parking lot looking in vehicle windows and taking pictures you should expect any non-comatose employee to call the cops on you or at least building security. You need a Letter of Authorization including phone numbers that can be called to verify your activities are legitimate, and even in that case you are likely to get run off the premises.

@Flash wrote:

I have different concerns. Is this a shopping company you found on our list? I can think of one company that might do this kind of shop, but there is no such shop on their website nationwide.

If you are wandering around in a parking lot looking in vehicle windows and taking pictures you should expect any non-comatose employee to call the cops on you or at least building security. You need a Letter of Authorization including phone numbers that can be called to verify your activities are legitimate, and even in that case you are likely to get run off the premises.

Great catch Flash! Just imagine if it is not a legitimate company and the OP is taking pictures of cars and valuables....reporting back to who?

Curious if OP can enlighten us a little more as to who this company is and the fee?

The shop is not completely out of the question as being legitimate. I have done some even quirkier stuff for Corporate Risk Solutions that could have landed me in jail if I were caught without a Letter of Authorization with valid phone numbers. The scariest part was that I never got caught, though certainly I should have.

I have seen that shop year after year but can't remember what company it is for - it is a legit company though - or at least it was when I saw it...haven't seen it this year. It's not my sort of "shop" so I never pursued it.

Liz

The company is a global reputable one, and they have a mystery shopping and a loss prevention division with major clients. I am always looking for good opportunities but perhaps there are folks here who have experience with this and could clue me in. thx

According to company, the employees are expecting these site audits with pics, and I will have letter and phone numbers. What concerns me is that these vehicles are known to carry $$ as part of what they service.

As long as you are not going to be entering into the vehicles, why be concerned if there is $$$$ in the cars? They know the company rules and regulations, you are just there to audit and photograph non compliance. Keep that LOA real handy in case of confrontation. If it was available in my area, I would do it in a heartbeat if the $$$ was right.

Sounds like a fun project. My concern would be if you were casing and photographing inside the vehicles by knowing the schedule of where they will be and when.

If the property owner of the parking lot is non-affiliated with the company that is ordering the audit, you could be detained and shaken down and a LOA is not the first thing that an off duty officer on foot patrol doing his second job will want to see. You may be frisked first for the officers safety as your really being checked for burglary tools and then asked questions.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2016 07:56AM by scanman1.

I always think: What if they see you on camera and decide to call the police first? Then... what if the police did not believe your letter LOA that you had permission/were walking around the parked cars....snapping pictures?

This one seems too risky to me...call me chicken!

I need to talk to the project manager more about this and my concerns, namely how much time and effort I will be putting forth to chase down the company vehicles via a GPS before they get to their scheduled pick up, as audit must take place prior to that. My concerns are hostile employees, possible robbers, an investment in my time essentially stalking company vehicles. I don;t mind new assignments and ops, but do the possible risks outweigh the $$$. I have mixed feelings about this.

This would freak me out a bit too. I live in a one party state so I'm a big recorder if the shop allows it. I also live in a freely open or concealed carry after the age of 21 state...

MegglesKat

I would love these, what is the MSC name?

Sounds like a job for a PI,not a mystery shopper. I do loss prevention, but for bar audits evaluating the bartender. I would guess you need a letter of Authorization just in case.

Live consciously....

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Loss Prevention " shops " pros and cons

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