Unwelcome Guests

Disclaimer: I am a creative writer and not a grammar expert.? I may use a comma where a semicolon should be or no punctuation at all.? All views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this writing belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer (past or present), affliated organizations or committees, or other group or individual.

Unwelcome Guests

In my long history of retail, I’ve heard many stories of ways people have tried to steal from stores.? The nightly news is filled with these stories (sometimes excessively and for effect), so I won’t even cover them.? Every theft that occurs, both internally and externally, deeply impacts a store’s shrink.? Shrink in retail is when a store loses inventory for causes other than sales.

What’s never really mentioned are the other unwelcome guests that make their way into stores and cause store losses.??

Common Unwelcome Guests

• Insects: can be found in many dry goods such as rice, flour, and sugar and termites can destroy furniture
• Mice & Rats: rodents chew through dry goods and packaging like chewing gum and they are hard to catch?
• Birds: you’re either dealing with the droppings or the seeing them peck through your bakery goods
• Worms: you may see them poking in and out of your Salmon…Extra Protein…Yum!
• Dogs: everywhere they turn is just another fire hydrant

All unwelcome guests, whether we are talking about the person who tries to put a whole turkey between their thighs and waddle out the door or Master Splinter gnawing through cereal boxes, pose a risk to increase a store’s shrink.? I am not suggesting that the shrink losses from the human unwelcome guests and the animal unwelcome guests are even similar by percentage.? This is just to spotlight an unspoken issue impacting some store’s inventory losses.

If you have a wild story about an animal or pest encounter in a retail environment, feel free to comment.