If you have ever purchased a mobile phone from a high street store you will have seen the dummy handsets that they have on display.? You may have noticed that the dummy handsets are usually a bit worse for wear - and there is a logical reason why they always look slightly tatty!?
Carphone Warehouse have been deliberately scuffing the dummy handsets in their stores to deter thieves from stealing them!? You may find it odd that dummy handsets are stolen from stores, but it seems to be a very common problem.? Thieves steal the dummy for many reasons such as selling on parts of the handset (the casing etc.), purchasing a new handset and then return the dummy handset or sell them fraudulently as real handsets on internet bidding sites for example.
Unfortunately scuffed and damaged display handsets are not a very good indication of what the real handset will look like and in some cases the scruffy looking handsets have been stopping people from purchasing the real handset.? Bosses are concerned that they are losing sales and have therefore warned staff not to deliberately destroy dummy handsets.
Due to the theft problems, Carphone Warehouse will be rolling out new and improved display backing plates in September.? The new system will mount the handsets to the display in a more secure way.? The new backing plates will make it more difficult for thieves to steal the dummy handsets, and the shiny new dummy display models will hopeful entice customers to purchase the real deal!
