My Story 

I have been part of the retail supermarket business all of my life.  My parents bought their first grocery store in the mid-sixties.  They taught me that if I was going to be successful in the supermarket business, I would need to work in every department and learn every facet of the business.  I have spent the greater portion of the last 25 years doing just that.  I have learned that if you do not continue to move forward in this business, you'll get left behind.  You must continue to adapt and change to a forever moving target.

How I came up with the idea for LaneVision

In 1994, we uncovered a theft on our front end that cost us over $75,000.  It was a typical day.  A loss prevention representative from our corporate office had just completed a store audit.  I had just signed off on the LP report when the loss prevention representative decided to purchase a beverage before leaving the store.  While he was standing in line, he thought he saw one of our cashiers do something suspicious.  He proceeded through the line, and then came straight to me.  He told me that he couldn't tell exactly what she was doing, but that something seemed odd.  He suggested that we put in a covert camera to try to determine what was happening. 

The cashier in question was a very hard worker.  Her register always balanced and she had register scans of 48 items per minute.  The other employees liked working with her, and customers always gave her rave reviews.  This employee had worked for me since she was 16 years old, and we had never had one negative comment about her. 

We installed the first covert camera overhead.  At first we could not see what she was doing wrong.  I began to question whether our loss prevention representative had made a mistake.  I didn't want to believe that she could do something dishonest.  He told me that he had a gut feeling that she was doing something questionable, and asked if I would install a few more cameras.  Finally, with three cameras on her, we could clearly see that she was sweet hearting for select customers. 

On the night that the additional cameras were to be installed, I went into the store to be sure that the CCTV technician had placed the cameras in the right position. The technician told me that the front end of retail stores is the worst for correct camera placement. He said, “There's always something in the way; store decor signs, candy racks, the check stand lights. Just when you think you have the best bought possible view, the store hangs its holiday signs, and the camera you just installed is blocked.  It's impossible”.  After I went home, I couldn't get my mind off his comments.  I drove back into the store that very same night.  I began to look at all the places that you could hide a camera.  It was became obvious to me that the checkstand light was the perfect placement for a covert camera.   A store would have to purchase one for each lane so the check stands would remain identical.  I thought to myself, “that would be great if you could record every transaction that went through your front-end, and be able to have a clear view of the register.”  In those days, we used VHS recording systems, and it would be impractical to try to record every transaction on your front end. It would be too costly to purchase all new check stand lights just for covert situations.  I went home a little dejected, and never told anyone about my idea.  Ten years later, the idea popped back into my head.

With the advent of high-capacity digital video recorders it is now possible to record 100% of all transactions on your front ends.
 

John Throckmorton
President of Throckmorton Supermarkets, Inc.
and Inventor of LaneVision