Cleanup in Aisle 5: ANSWERS

A grocery story loss prevention quiz - answer key

By Scott Berinato

October 17, 2008 — CSO — See the original quiz HERE.

1. Which of the following weapons did a Swedish man use to rob a grocery store?
a. A large, heavy salami
b. A toy gun
c. An ax
d. A ski pole

2. Where did police find 13,000 boxes of Nilla Wafers and Ritz Crackers stolen off trucks in Georgia that were shipping them to grocery stores?
a. In grocery stores in Michigan, where they'd been sold through a middleman
b. In a home in Florida, where the thief had taken them and was selling them on eBay
c. At an aviary in Virginia, where they were being used to feed the birds
d. In a storage facility in Georgia, where authorities also found thousands of boxes of Oreos and Vienna Fingers

3. How did a New Hampshire couple allegedly attempt to steal $17 worth of steak, hamburger and crabmeat?
a. By switching labels so that when the items were scanned, they registered as 3 pounds of bananas for $4.99
b. By putting the meat in emptied-out cereal boxes and having those boxes scanned instead
c. By stealing a child's backpack from the store, filling it with the meat and seafood, and putting the backpack on their 6-year-old
d. By "crotching it"—a term used for the technique of hiding something down one's pants, between one's legs

Security personnel were reportedly tipped off when they saw the 6-year-old fall over under the weight of the meat and seafood in the backpack.

4. Which of the following is the correct use of the term "bob shrink"?
a. "The thief first tried to duck back to aisle four, then he attempted to bob shrink through aisle five."
b. "The cashier's bob shrink problem is unsanitary and could lead to her dismissal."
c. "If we could just improve on our bob shrink, we'd be making more money per customer."
"Bottom of the basket shrink" is loss due to unpaid groceries missed (accidentally or intentionally) at the bottom of the shopping cart.

5. Rank the grocery item by its likelihood of getting shoplifted, from most likely to least likely:
Pack of hamburger
Carton of milk
Some melons
Stick of deodorant
Some bagels
Jar of popcorn

Correct order: melons, bagels, hamburger, deodorant, popcorn, milk

6. According to a 2006 Food Marketing Institute survey, what percentage of grocery store shrink is caused by employee shoplifting?
a. Less than 20 percent
b. 40 percent
c. 50 percent
d. More than 60 percent

7. What percentage of companies reported offering loss-prevention training to employees below the level of manager?
a. Less than 20 percent
b. 40 percent
c. 50 percent
d. More than 60 percent