Safety Tips

Remind your staff to ask salespeople, delivery salespeople, etc., for proper identification before giving them entry to your business.
Train employees about how to respond during an armed robbery: cooperate completely, remain calm, strictly obey the robbers' orders.
Before entrusting jewelry to another jewelry dealer or retailer on memo or as a sale contingent on approval, do a thorough background check. This should include a credit rating from the Jewelers Board of Trade, references, and a certificate of insurance. Have a written agreement about who is responsible for paying for shipping and insurance.
Avoid discussing jewelry business in public where others may hear you. Never discuss business with strangers or acquaintances who could use the information against you.
Place fire extinguishers in easily accessible locations and maintain them as directed. Contact your local fire department for recommendations. Be sure all employees know where fire extinguishers are located and how to use them.
Assure that all flammable materials are stored correctly and containers are inspected as directed. Check your lease and local ordinances to determine any requirements or restrictions. Assure that employees who use the flammable materials are well trained. Train all employees about how to respond to an emergency.
Refer to Jewelers Mutual's shipping flyer, The Safe Way to Ship Jewelry, for recommendations on how to properly ship jewelry.

When closed to business

Install a burglary-resistant safe/vault that is listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The value of the merchandise you will store in the safe determines the quality of safe to purchase.
Store as much merchandise as possible in your safe or vault. Most nighttime losses involve jewelry left out of safes.
Consider using a safe-deposit box to store excess merchandise.
Install and maintain an alarm system that is listed by UL.
Make sure that your alarm system is maintained properly. Never take an alarm system for granted by assuming it is a false alarm. If your alarm system suddenly begins to malfunction, have the system checked by professionals. Don't be satisfied until they determine exactly what is wrong.
Never reopen your doors (including to late-arriving customers) when you’ve closed to business.
If the police or alarm company call and ask you to come to your business for any reason, ask for the caller’s name and badge or ID number.

Preventing travel losses
General guidelines

The best crime prevention is to remain alert to your surroundings… at all times!
Carry a line that is manageable. You must be able to carry all of it with you – in one trip – into a restaurant, hotel, or jewelry store.
Carry a cell phone with you at all times and use it to check in with your family or office, so they know where you are throughout the day.
Make travel arrangements very confidentially. Never use the name of the jewelry firm when making reservations and never use a postcard to make appointments. Never let others – outside of your immediate family – know where you will be staying.
When possible, do not take your line to your home. Store it at your company, a jewelry store, or in a bank vault. If you must bring your line home, take extra precautions to reduce your risks.
Keep a list of the inventory you are carrying in a safe place away from your line. The listing should be kept separate from your line to assure that it is available in the event that your line is stolen.
Check out prospective customers before calling on them or meeting them at an arranged location.
Direct all business correspondence to a post office box. Never direct business correspondence to your home.
Remember the value of the merchandise you're carrying. Professional jewelry thieves are waiting for you to make one small mistake. Plan each trip carefully and follow your plan. Focus on maintaining possession of your line at all times. Assure that you have proper insurance coverage. If you are confronted by an armed robber, do as you are told and survive. Your line is not worth your life.

Traveling by car

Keep a directory handy (perhaps attached to your sun visor) with the emergency phone numbers of local police. Contact local authorities to determine whether 911 will work from your cell phone in that area.
When you leave a store, give the store manager your cell phone number and ask him or her to watch you leave or even walk you to your car. If the store manager sees a car follow you, he or she should call you immediately and notify the police that you may be a victim of an armed robbery.
Lock merchandise in the trunk of your car. Never leave it on a seat.
If you are traveling by cab, keep your line in your possession, not in the trunk.

When flying

Arrive early so you have more time and choices.
Do not check your jewelry merchandise as baggage. Always keep your line in your possession, even if you have to reduce the amount of samples so that you can carry your line with you in a special case. Jewelry checked as baggage may not be covered by insurance.
At busy airports, contact security and request a private security screening. By law, you are entitled to a private screening of your carry-on baggage.

At a hotel or motel

Do not let merchandise out of your grip or physical control, even momentarily, when you take your line to and from your car.
Do not let your line out of your grip or physical control when checking in or out of a hotel.
Never leave your line in an unattended hotel or motel room, or the hotel security room. Take the line with you if you must leave the room.
Be cautious of people arriving unannounced at the door of your room. Do not open your door until you verify the person’s identity, such as with a phone call to the desk clerk. If suspicious, don’t open the door.

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