Are you prepared in case of danger? Do you have a system in place at your office or with a co-worker in case you need help? Don't be foolish by putting "safety" to the sidelines of your business. Begin a practice of "The RED Folder" whenever you feel uncomfortable with a customer/client that you may have met for the first time.
This is how it works. Tell someone in your office such as the secretary or a co-worker that you would like them to call you every 15 minutes or so. Give them your itnerary as to where you are going to show property. Have them write down a description of the person, car they are driving and license plates. When they call and you are not comfortable with the individual you can always tell them to keep the Red folder open and to call you to keep you posted on the file. The indivudal will not know what you are doing but at anytime you can tell your secretary where you are. When she asks if you need help you can say yes and she can notify the police. Below is a TRUE story of what happened to me.
I am licensed in two states and a gentleman wanted to look at property after making contact with me over the internet. He always wanted to know if a quick settlement could be made and if the property was vacant. I requested that he meet me at the office and I suggested that we drive separetly because I was waiting for a file to come through for settlement. He agreed. I had the secretary write down all the information and I gave her a list of my showings. We had agreed that she would call me every 15 minutes and what the code would be if I needed immediate help. That code was to "get the RED folder". After our first stop I was not feeling any better about the indiviudal I was with. He always found a way to get me in front of him during the showing. When we left the first property he asked me if I knew why he called me. I just shrugged it off and said that I am sure it was from one of my ads. He said that it was and he wanted to show me which one, would I come back to his car. As I started to walk to his car he opened his car door and there on the floor was a gun, laying in full view. Luckily the secretary called me and I ended our tour by saying that my settlement had been rescheduled and I had to go back to the office immediately to prepare. The look of disappointment on his face was scary. I was shaking by the time I got back to the office and I vowed to never go on a showing again if I had that terrible gut feeling.
Funny thing is, he never called me to look at another property. Was he angry because I cut our "tour" short? Maybe. He was fully aware that I may have to cut the showings short. Was it because I was really in danger and he knew I sensed his intentions? Who knows. I could not report anything because he didn't "do" anything. However, everyone in the office knew his license plate "name" and would not chance showing property alone without the use of a friend or "The RED Folder". That was years ago when I was newer to the business, but, I still listen to my gut when it comes to working with people.
Be careful, be safe-it is your life.
Do you have a safety net at your office?
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