Anyone who works in a job and meets potential clients one-on-one is in danger, not only realtors.
Real estate agent's killing hits home for Realtors
For the past nine years, I have conducted funeral services. As a result of my work, I have met people one-on-one at various locations ranging from family homes to restaurants and odd locations. On more than one occasion, things have been uncomfortable when it's a single man I'm meeting in an isolated location and it's a potential client. Some single men have flirted with me or asked me out on a date. To say the least... it's sometimes become uncomfortable and I just want to get out of there.
One time, someone suggested I meet him in an isolated park where we could talk about his loved one's funeral service planned for a restaurant. I declined and asked for a public location such as a Starbucks. That man never called me again and the job went away...if there was even a job. It was only a potential client and a blind call from the Internet. When I've been uncomfortable in meeting someone, I tell my sister or a family member exactly where I'll be... the address, the person's name and phone number, every piece of information I have.
Only recently, I have changed the way I work. I feel I must garner information from a legitimate funeral home or cremation society to confirm a death, especially when it's a blind call from the Internet. Even when the call comes through a funeral home, I try to make sure that another family member will be present at the family meeting at a family home. I enter a variety of homes in various conditions and honestly, it doesn't always feel safe. Sometimes people don't tell me the truth and I show up and a man is sitting there alone to meet with me. Who would know if I disappeared? And how long would it take to track down where I had been?
As this realtor's death proves, if someone wants to find a target, what easier target than someone who you know works alone?
If you have a job where you meet potential clients one-on-one, do that first meeting in a public place. If you can, have subsequent meetings in a public place. Always tell someone else where you will be, too. At least the realtor's office is taking action to further protect their realtors from harm.
Today's world is different... protect yourselves and be proactive.
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