Cookware Crooks

RIBBLE: This week, we're going into E & A Restaurant Supply to see how shoplifters are stocking up on gourmet kitchen supplies. McDONALD: That's pretty slick. Hopefully, we'll be able to prevent thieves from accessing the kitchen accessories in the showroom... McDONALD: I need to talk about a couple items that you guys have. MAN: I don't what you guys are talking about. McDONALD: ...and stop merchandise from walking out of the warehouse. You picked the wrong store to come in and boost out of. Yo, look at me, punk. Every year, retailers lose over $13 billion in stolen merchandise. And food retailers are one of the biggest victims. That's where we step in. RIBBLE: Companies actually pay us to steal from them. This is what we got. We go in undercover, we find the security breaches, and we catch the crooks. Do you understand this is theft? You can go to jail. Our techniques may be strange. But our clients know we can get the job done. This week, we're heading to New Jersey to help E & A Restaurant Supply, a four-story Mecca of restaurant equipment and kitchen accessories. I can see why they call this place the chef's warehouse. It's a showroom, it's a cooking store, it's an emporium of everything restaurant related. Do you need it now? This is the place. E & A is suffering huge losses. They're figuring they're losing about $3,000 a month in stolen merchandise. Hi. Hey, how are you? So, we're meeting with owners Joel, Bobbie, and Al after hours, while the store's closed, to assess their business and find out where their losses are occurring. So, do you have a problem with theft here? [ Chuckles ] Yeah, we have a problem with theft. You know, we call tell by our inventory counts. Any kind of percentage? 10% of items have walked out the door right in front of our eyes. That's huge. That's very big. Acceptable loss in retail is 1% to 1.5%, so 10% or higher is disturbing. How much of it do you think is within the showroom versus out in the warehouse? More in the showroom. The spoons, the ladles, and, every once in a while, we'll have some larger items go, like a slicer. $1,800. Wow. Or a blender. How did somebody get out with that? We don't know. We don't know? [ Chuckles ] We don't know. We put a security system in. We can see 16 cameras, all different levels of the building, but we don't have enough cameras to stick them down every single aisle. It's a logistical nightmare. Absolutely. Do we see everything? No. They have a camera system in here, but unless somebody's watching them all the time, cameras are not gonna solve all their problems. This is gonna be a bit of a challenge, but that's okay. Well, I'm extremely happy you guys decided to come. RIBBLE: We're gonna provide E & A with our full security assessment to help them deter future theft. McDONALD: In Phase 1, we will assess the store's weaknesses by shoplifting in disguise. In Phase 2, we'll use our hidden cameras to catch actual thieves in action. In Phase 3, we'll provide some solutions to help the owners prevent future theft. A few weeks later, we'll re-test the store to see if our solutions are working. Before we can provide the full security assessment, we're gonna put up our full-blown camera system in their store. Drop the camera right here, and we'll hook it up. We want to be able to see the back aisles, the showroom floor, the warehouse -- pretty much everywhere that's open to the public. During normal business hours, these bay doors are wide open. They seem to think that it's monitored pretty well, so we'll see. Now that we've got the cameras set up, it's time for Scott to go in and see what he can steal. RIBBLE: This is your outfit? You like it? Nothing. McDONALD: My heist is called the "Quick Change." I'm gonna go in the bathroom with some of their merchandise, I'm gonna change into it, then I'm gonna see if I can get away with it. I'm gonna get me a chef's outfit. Okay. Only the owners know that we're here. The employees have no clue. Scott should be coming in. There he is. He's just looking around. He's got a few chefs' outfits. Hopefully the employee is paying attention to him. Doesn't really look like he is. Looks like he's heading over to the knives. McDONALD: Those high-quality knives are a huge target. People can steal them and then sell them on the black market for a much lower price. For a crook, it's a quick flip, quick cash, and it's non-taxable. [ Chuckling ] Nice. These display hooks -- They're a problem. Merchandise just slides right off of it. Okay, he's going in the bathroom, and it doesn't look like anybody's said anything. Shoplifters will use restrooms to their advantage. They know that there's no surveillance cameras. They also know that employees can't follow them in there. That bathroom area is easy to go in, conceal, and leave without anyone ever seeing what you took. Okay, so Scott's in a totally different outfit than he was in when he walked in. So, let's see if anybody notices anything. Oh, come on! Nobody noticed?! So, what did you get? Put on this. Wow. Another shirt. Pizza slicer. Yeah. I'm not stripping for you. [ Sighs ] This is not my strip tease. Oh, nice! Wow. That's a dangerous place to put knives. [ Laughs ] The Quick Change proved that the bathroom is, in fact, a weakness on the showroom floor. Now we need to assess how the warehouse compares to the showroom. So, I'm just gonna hang, like, right outside. I'm gonna walk in. I'll grab and walk out. This heist is the "Warehouse Walkout." Because there's deliveries all day long, the warehouse entrance must remain open. And when the showroom gets busy, there's no employees available to watch the warehouse at all. We just wanted to test to see if anyone noticed we were even there. It's clear. Let's go. Scott walks right in, grabs that huge box, and five, four, three, two, one... McDONALD: Done. Unreal. We don't even know what we got. So, we stole a grease interceptor, whatever the heck that is. I just looked it up. It retails for $329. McDONALD: Not bad. The store has a lot of vulnerabilities, and no one's watching the warehouse cameras. Maybe they have so many deliveries they just can't possibly keep opening and closing those doors. And if that's the case, we got to come up with a good solution that's, like, realistic in a warehouse environment. The warehouse entrance is an open wound easily bleeding out the store's profits. So, we're gonna head back to the showroom one more time. We're gonna see if we can get away with some larger, expensive items. Wow. Nice outfit. Yeah. You got a little sway to you. Tell me what you think. Nice. It's a restaurant supply. You know, the French can cook. And you know I'm a great cook. We call this heist the "Poaching Pouch." I've got a large skirt. It's poufed out, and it's got, like, a contraption inside of it that'll allow me to get out, potentially, with a blender. I've seen real shoplifters use this type of method. In fact, you can go on the Internet and see it for yourself. They have blenders out on that sales floor that ranged in price from like $300 up to almost $1,000. Joel says he has no idea how these blenders are disappearing. Well, I'm about to show him one way. So, this method is actually considered burglary because you're going in to the store with the intent to steal. Burglary is a felony. The consequences are much more serious. I don't know if I'm gonna fall over or be able to even get out the door without being noticed. [ Clatters ] Oh [bleep] RIBBLE: We're at E & A Restaurant Supply in New Jersey, and I'm trying to steal an expensive blender with a pouch under my skirt. And I think I look pretty suspicious. [ Clatters ] Oh [bleep] Come on, Granny. Come on, Grandma. You shut up. You try and stick this huge box between your legs and walk around like this. The chicken or the egg -- which one came first? There you go. Nice. That's not all. There are pewter. They're $12 each. Serving dishes? Yeah. Nice. Let's add to it. It's an ice-cream scoop. Here's another one. Measuring spoons. Holy cow. So, this right here is almost $700. And overall, with the stuff we got earlier -- grease interceptor and a bunch of knives... We're looking at at least 1,200 bucks here. Those blenders are beautifully displayed, but that expensive a stock on the showroom floor is ripe for stealing. I think they're gonna be shocked. I do, too. Here they are. Hi, guys! RIBBLE: We're gonna meet with Joel and his parents and show them all the merchandise we were able to get out with in these heists. McDONALD: Do I look like a chef at all? You look like a wino in France. [ Laughter ] So, Joel, you knew we were gonna go into the store today and try and get out with some merchandise. What do you think we got out with? I don't know about what's on the hand truck here. Ready? Holy. Geez. RIBBLE: We got out with a few things. McDONALD: I took these off the shelf. Al, you looked kind of surprised when you saw the box on the bottom. Yes, I am. [ Chuckles ] Do you know what it is? BOBBIE: A grease trap. So, what do you think about all this? Well, I'm pissed off... [ Chuckles ] ...to be honest with you. This is the part of the business that is bleeding us. I know that things walk out, but not things this big. I got something a little bit bigger. We had to try for the blender. Good God. You're experts, and I still have a hard time believing that this was done. We're experts at resolving the issues. We're not experts at shoplifting. We do it to test things, but there are people who this is all they do, and they're a whole lot better than we are. I think we're gonna have to put a steel gate up. What do you think, Dad? I'm shocked. This just says everything I've lived for is wrong. It's my fault. There's a lot of things that you and your employees are doing correctly. We're just gonna tweak it a little bit and find some solutions for you that will work. That's our goal. I really appreciate what you guys are gonna help us with. So, now what we want to do is see what kind of activity is happening in the store with dishonest customers -- you know, the real thing. Sounds great. All right. Today, we're using hidden cameras to catch real shoplifters. RIBBLE: Just pan around. See if you see anybody in the store. We got someone coming in. Ooh! Go to camera "E." Oh, look, more customers. Oh, she's got the hairnet. I don't think she's gonna -- She doesn't have anywhere to even put anything. Oh, another customer. Hey, we're getting busy now. Let's check that back aisle. I lost those two guys. Oh, there they go. You know, it's not uncommon for people to work in pairs when they're shoplifting. Oh, he's sandwiching them. McDONALD: That's pretty slick. One of them will provide a lookout while the other one is concealing unpaid-for merchandise. Go out there. All right. As soon as they put one item inside of another, that's a huge red flag for us. They've got a couple things they put on the counter. He's ringing up only the garbage cans. He doesn't see the stuff in between. Get ready. This is not legitimate. Wait, wait, wait. Zoom in. He just put something in his pocket. The checkout area in this case could be very ideal for thieves. It's right there by the front door, and there are employees there, but they get busy, and those are small items that get easily pocketed and then they're out the door. Go ahead and make the apprehension. Hey, guys. How you doing? We're with Monument Security. We need to talk about a couple items that you guys have. MAN: I don't know what you guys are talking about. Don't make it difficult. Come back inside. Go ahead and follow me. MAN: [ Sighs ] I have a receipt right here. RIBBLE: Take everything out of your pockets. McDONALD: Nice. A large portion of merchandise these guys tried to steal came from the front-counter area. That's a hug concern for us. Why did you grab the stuff up front and put it in your pockets? Needed the money. Al and Joel, it's up to you guys what you guys want to do with them. Screw 'em. Sir, I got, like, a family. Yeah, I got a family, too. Can't we just pay for these items? No. You can't pay for these items. You already tried taking them out of the store. Look at me, punk. Stand up and be like a [bleep] man, pal. As long as you don't touch me. What are you gonna do? [ Sucks teeth ] Can't we just pay for these items? No. You can't pay for these items. You already tried taking them out of the store. Look at me, punk. Stand up and be like a [bleep] man, pal. As long as you don't touch me. Touch you? Whatever. What are you gonna do? [ Sucks teeth ] Look, I'm sorry. I don't care. Sit your *** down. We're there to catch shoplifters, but it's up to the owners whether we let them go or we send them to jail. Just please don't call the cops. I don't want to go to jail. I do things by the book. Call the cops, Connie. Picked the wrong store to come in and boost out of. [ Sucks teeth ] Damn. Shut off the cameras. We got to turn them off. Hi, guys. Hi. How are you? You know, we've learned a lot about the store at this point, and now it's time to get the staff and the owners together and talk about what we found. What we're gonna show is video of what we were able to do. He's going in the bathroom. Wow. The bathroom area is their Achilles' heel. You know, you can't put cameras in bathrooms. You got to figure out another way to secure them so that merchandise isn't going inside. BOBBIE: Unbelievable. Both of the roll-up bay doors were up and there was no one around. That's you stealing a grease trap right out the door. He just kind of walked in and said, "Oh! There's a box." Wow. Don't I look good? Yeah. Do I look like a Frenchman? Oh, my God. WOMAN: Unbelievable. [ Gasps ] [ Gasps ] AL: Oh, my God. Right out the door. That's stunning. Yeah. That's pretty bad. Did you ever think that anybody would steal that way? No. No. You look at somebody, and you think, "Oh, they've got nowhere to put something that large," and the next thing you know... Out the door. Yeah. I'm shocked. We took over $1,200 worth of merchandise. It's very disturbing. Sometimes you're just gonna be busy, and you're not gonna be able to know everything that's going on in the store, so our goal is to make it a little more difficult to steal from you. I mean, you guys have a great store to shop at, but it also makes you a target. Now that we've identified the store's problems, it's time to show the owners our solutions. For high-dollar thefts, the most common places for people to conceal are fitting rooms or bathrooms, and that's at any retailer. We don't want to create hiding places for people, so one of the solutions that we have for this was a lock -- Forget the key. All your employees have the code, that way, people got to come to you, and you can make sure that they don't take product in the bathroom. Makes sense. You guys have a great selection of blenders here. I think they're probably your highest risk for theft in the store. You know, you can sell those things online. You may be able to get 75 bucks for 3 seconds' work. You could leave, like, one of each of the boxes there and then put on it "Display Box, Ask for Assistance," and then take your higher-dollar blender boxes and put them up on the risers. That's a great idea. You guys have a bunch of little things at the front of the store. They're last-minute grabs. They're also high-theft items. People take product and they just take it off the shelf, so we run the wire from eye hook to eye hook. See how that changes the access? RIBBLE: By me pulling it, it makes noise without even trying. Not quite as easy as just slipping it out and into the pocket. Very good. I think your biggest risk for a lower-priced item in the store are your knives. My suggestion is display your knives with locking peg hooks. It will reduce the risk of any theft. In order to get the knives out, they need to ask for customer service. I'm definitely thinking a new world here. It is a new world. You have these big bay doors wide open, so one of the other solutions that we have for you was basically a laser beam that shoots across -- something that would alert you that "Hey, someone just came in." So, when someone walks in, it chimes. When they walk out, it chimes. I love this idea. This is great. Much better than the cost of putting up a fence. Absolutely. We hope that you implement some of the ideas and give them a try. I'm looking forward to it. RIBBLE: Coming up, I'm going back in to E & A to see if I can steal again. Oh [bleep] Oh, my God. What are you wearing? Good morning. For the last phase of this assessment, I'm going back in to E & A to see if I can steal again. This is totally appropriate for a restaurant supply. I'm a waitress. Why don't you be a maid? I think you'd be better off cleaning toilets. You're funny. What should I go for? How many toilet cleaners do they got coming in there? Okay, I'm leaving. See what you can get away with. There's a different staff in this time, and if we did our job right, I shouldn't be able to get out with anything. Hi. Good. How are you? Thanks. MAN: Anything I can help you with? [ Can clatters ] Uh, no. Just looking around. Okay. Thanks. RIBBLE: Mm, customer service is certainly good. Wow. They made a display out of empty blender boxes. I couldn't steal a blender now if I wanted to. I'm gonna check out the bathroom. Looks like everyone's pretty busy at the counter. [ Doorknob rattles ] Oh, they got that keypad lock on. Oh, wow. The knives are all locked up. Very cool. MAN: You need help with something? RIBBLE: Oh, I was just looking. Thanks so much. I think I'm gonna have to come back. Huh. I should try these roll-up doors. [ Chimes ] Oh [bleep] Can I help you? Oh, I was just looking at this. Do you carry this inside? You have to go in through the front door. Okay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. [ Chimes ] Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Wow. That scared the crap out of me. Hey, there, cleaning lady. Oh, my gosh. Scott, the store looks great. I was there like one second before I was customer serviced. Nice. Did you call them over? Yeah, I did call them over. I'm just waiting for them to show up. I love your hair. RIBBLE: Oh, thank you. It's so good to see you again, my dear. Well, I just left the store. I was so impressed with the changes that you guys made. Good. I felt like anywhere that I went, there were eyes on me. Not only were we interested in making improvements, but it inspired our staff. Everybody just pitched in and worked like dogs to get it done, and we're very, very proud of them. I'm so glad to hear that. You guys blew me away. Aww. I can't thank you enough for coming in, doing what you did for us. Connie and Scott have made such wonderful suggestions -- things that we never thought of -- and it's made all the difference in the world. People would find it very challenging to steal from your store. Well, let's not throw out a threat. No. They'll go to jail. Yes. Yeah, this is a small town. [ Engine revs ] Police respond like that. There's one now. There you go. [ Laughter ] -- Captions by VITAC -- Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.