A column dedicated to thought-provoking conversation for Asset Protection professionals.
In this weekly column, I, along with other AP/LP professionals, will write about provocative thoughts and ideas for all of you to ponder. Readers will also have an opportunity to submit comments to be posted throughout the week. We at TalkLP hope this content will help enrich your experience within our profession.
Naturally, many meetings between Solutions Providers and AP/LP executives take place over meals, an occasional round of golf, and sometimes even cocktails. And why not? Breaking bread with business prospects or partners is as common practice that helps build positive relationships.
But who pays?
Several retailers have varying degrees of policies to address this question, but many do not. In the absence of clear policy guidance, what do you do? In preparation for this article, a well-known AP/LP executive answered the following questions:
Question 1: When having lunch with a Solutions Provider you are considering doing business with for the first time, do you allow the Solutions Provider to pay for your meal?
Answer: When having lunch with someone trying to earn my business for the first time, I always ask for separate checks. I always want to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest. Also, I would never want the Solutions Provider to presume I owe them my business just because they bought my meal.
Question 2: When having lunches or other meals with a Solutions Provider you already do business with, how often do you allow the Solutions Provider to pay?
Answer: When I was young in my career, I would always allow the Solutions Provider to pay. I used to think it was just a cost of doing business for them to do business with my company. Years later, this topic came up with my former CFO. He explained to me that the best practice to follow is to alternate paying for meals. This was great advice that I took to heart.
Feel free to send comments regarding your policy and best practices.
If you disagree or feel you have a better suggestion, feel free to Change My Mind.
Send all comments to: Comments@TalkLPnews.com. If your comment gets listed in the TalkLPnews Retail Rundown for the remainder of the week, it will be listed as “anonymous.”
David E. George, CFE, CFI is managing partner of Calibration Group, Inc. Previously, David served as vice president over Asset Protection for Dollar General Stores, a company with more than 20,000 stores in 48 states. While serving Dollar General, David was responsible for the Asset Protection field team, the Asset Protection corporate team, the Shrink Improvement team, and the Shrink Analytics team.
Prior to Dollar General, David held the vice president of Asset Protection position with Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., a regional chain based out of Matthews, NC. He served Harris Teeter for more than 14 years and has had previous loss prevention leadership roles with Kmart Supercenters.
For more information about Calibration Group, visit www.calibrationgroup.com.
