Archived Duplicate CRC license plates

[SuzyTarget]

The APTL at my store has told us that we are getting errors for duplicate license plates on the CRC reports that he receives. He thinks this is because we, at the service desk, are scanning license plates while they are still on the pad and then mistakenly removing the wrong plate to attach to the product, and then later rescanning the used license plate still on the pad and attaching to a second product. I have tried a variety of ways to do this on purpose to see if he is right and I haven't been able to. Whenever I scan an already used plate I get a message saying that the one I'm scanning is used and to use a different one. Does anyone know what's causing this error? I've seen the reports a few times and we are definitely doing something to cause errors but I'm not sure what.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

The APTL at my store has told us that we are getting errors for duplicate license plates on the CRC reports that he receives. He thinks this is because we, at the service desk, are scanning license plates while they are still on the pad and then mistakenly removing the wrong plate to attach to the product, and then later rescanning the used license plate still on the pad and attaching to a second product. I have tried a variety of ways to do this on purpose to see if he is right and I haven't been able to. Whenever I scan an already used plate I get a message saying that the one I'm scanning is used and to use a different one. Does anyone know what's causing this error? I've seen the reports a few times and we are definitely doing something to cause errors but I'm not sure what.

If you are doing correctly. An message would says its on whatever plate has been used before. Your aptl can access on the dcpi, plate is tied too. They're scaring to you do bp.

 

[StaticSun]

First transaction - guest returns bag of chips. SmartSort says to automatically defect the product before the transaction can finish. You scan the license plate, still on the pad, and finish the transaction. Once the guest leaves, you take a LP off the pad, put it on the product, and in to the bin of reds.

Next transaction - guest returns another defective item. You scan a red LP still on the pad, yada yada yada. Same thing happens, you toss it in the red bin.

Month ends, defective LP report comes out. Boom, you have at least 1 duplicate on the report. Why? You're supposed to affix the LP to the item before scanning it. Leaving them on the pad is against best practice/AP directives.

 

[AssetsProtection]

First transaction - guest returns bag of chips. SmartSort says to automatically defect the product before the transaction can finish. You scan the license plate, still on the pad, and finish the transaction. Once the guest leaves, you take a LP off the pad, put it on the product, and in to the bin of reds.

Next transaction - guest returns another defective item. You scan a red LP still on the pad, yada yada yada. Same thing happens, you toss it in the red bin.

Month ends, defective LP report comes out. Boom, you have at least 1 duplicate on the report. Why? You're supposed to affix the LP to the item before scanning it. Leaving them on the pad is against best practice/AP directives.

For clarification the LP your talking about is the red /green/ yellow labels we attach near bar codes for defective items right?

 

[Softlines Owns My Soul]

I always take them off the pad...it's easier anyway.

 

[TheWanderer]

The APTL at my store has told us that we are getting errors for duplicate license plates on the CRC reports that he receives. He thinks this is because we, at the service desk, are scanning license plates while they are still on the pad and then mistakenly removing the wrong plate to attach to the product, and then later rescanning the used license plate still on the pad and attaching to a second product. I have tried a variety of ways to do this on purpose to see if he is right and I haven't been able to. Whenever I scan an already used plate I get a message saying that the one I'm scanning is used and to use a different one. Does anyone know what's causing this error? I've seen the reports a few times and we are definitely doing something to cause errors but I'm not sure what.

My old ETL-AP was telling us about that, too. He said that if that "LP already scanned; use another one" error pops up, that's what flags it on the report. I hope for you that he was mistaken.

 

[SuzyTarget]

For clarification the LP your talking about is the red /green/ yellow labels we attach near bar codes for defective items right?

Right.

 

[SuzyTarget]

If you are doing correctly. An message would says its on whatever plate has been used before. Your aptl can access on the dcpi, plate is tied too. They're scaring to you do bp.

Well, I have seen the error report myself and we are making some kind of error, but if the software doesn't allow you to use the same LP twice how can we be linking one plate to two products as he says we are? We have been consistently following up with service desk TMs on defective best practices (i.e.--put the LP on the product first) and auditing all yellow defectives every night (these are the only ones he really talks to us about) and we rarely find any mistakes and we fix the ones we do find. I'm wondering if the issue is with TMs linking 2 license plates to one product due to a problem they encounter in the process and then not voiding out the LP they didn't affix to the package. I did just talk to a TM the other day who didn't even know that scanned/unwanted LP should be voided out--she said she's just been throwing them out. Could this be it?

 

[redeye58]

Here's how it can happen: You scan a lic plate on the pad & the white ticket prints out. You slap the white ticket & the lic plate you THOUGHT you scanned on the item. Sometimes you may have scanned the lic plate above & not realize it.
The easiest way to prevent this is, when applying the white sticker to the item, match the lic plate number to the sticker (it prints out on the BOTTOM LINE of the sticker).

 

[SuzyTarget]

Here's how it can happen: You scan a lic plate on the pad & the white ticket prints out. You slap the white ticket & the lic plate you THOUGHT you scanned on the item. Sometimes you may have scanned the lic plate above & not realize it.
The easiest way to prevent this is, when applying the white sticker to the item, match the lic plate number to the sticker (it prints out on the BOTTOM LINE of the sticker).

Hmm--when I audit the CRCs I always make sure the numbers on the LP match the numbers on the white label and I know one other who does the same (I learned it from her) and I have almost never found a mismatch. As I said, I've tried to purposely reuse an already scanned LP just to see what happens and I haven't been able to. I've tried every color, old labels, new labels, matching DPCIs, different DPCIs and I can't make it happen--I get an error message every time. Just the same, the feedback has given me an idea on how to tackle the problem. I think we will show the current error report to all the service team members so they understand why they have to take the LP off the pad first (even though we have told them to do it this way I'm sure they are still scanning on the pad sometimes) and how to match white tickets to LPs and how and when to void unwanted LPs and I think that should (hopefully!) cover it. Thanks everyone!

 

[redeye58]

Sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to but it only takes 1 or 2 weak links to cause a snafu. We've had a couple of TMs who aren't allowed behind SD but still cover breaks occ.
The report should also mention who scanned which item but you could get unwittingly tied to a dup if someone else did the first scan wrong (removing the wrong lic plate from the pad).

 

[SuzyTarget]

Sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to but it only takes 1 or 2 weak links to cause a snafu. We've had a couple of TMs who aren't allowed behind SD but still cover breaks occ.
The report should also mention who scanned which item but you could get unwittingly tied to a dup if someone else did the first scan wrong (removing the wrong lic plate from the pad).

Good point--I'll talk to our APTL about helping identify which TMs to follow up with if we continue to see this.

 

[StaticSun]

Every week it tells you how many dups were identified. End of the month, the report comes out with names.

ALWAYS take the LP off the pad and affix it to the item before scanning!

 

[ptl]

Here's how it can happen: You scan a lic plate on the pad & the white ticket prints out. You slap the white ticket & the lic plate you THOUGHT you scanned on the item. Sometimes you may have scanned the lic plate above & not realize it.

Yes. This is the only way, as far as I've been able to figure out through the years, to get a "duplicate plate" error. It isn't that you actually used the same license plate twice, it's that you put the license plate on one item and the matching white sticker on another.

 

[Barcode]

Take the lps off the pad first. Problem fixed and its best practice