Today my daughter had a cable company come install her service. Everything was fine when the installer came the first time, but something really weird happened a few hours later.
The same installer shows up a few hours later claiming that someone had called for him to come back and repair the service. She told him she hadn’t called because he had just been there a few hours before. He insisted that someone did. She asked him who called and he said he didn’t know. Well, finally she told him he needed to leave and shut the door and locked it. He stood there for a few minutes, but finally left.
My daughter put a call in with the cable company inquiring why he came twice, they had no idea and told her that if he came back to call the police and on their end they will deal with it internally.
To me this is scary crazy. So I told her to go ahead and call the police to let them know what happened. She did and they have her on special patrol tonight. They will driving by checking on her throughout the night.
Now, we have no way of knowing if this was an honest mistake on his part or not, but I would rather err on the side of caution, because you just never know.
This really got me to thinking about safety and women. It seems lately where I live the incidents of murders against women is on the rise. So I wanted to offer some tips for maintaining your personal safety.
- Personal Safety Tips
- 1. Use your sixth sense! Go with your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts. Just like what happened to my daughter today. Notify authorities if something doesn’t feel right. You can never be too cautious.
- 2. Pay attention to your surroundings. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation. Avoid walking alone at dark. If leaving a store late at night, ask their security or someone in the store to walk you out to your car or at the very least watch that you make it to your car safely. Always tell someone where you are going and with who.
- 3. Be proactive. Play the what if game. If this happens or that happens ask yourself how will you respond? What would you do? What can you do to be prepared in case you are attacked. Think through different scenarios and how you would respond.
- 4. Escape: If you are attacked or an attempt to kidnap you happens, your goal is to escape. Never leave the crime scene. Fight back. Try to draw attention to yourself. Do whatever it takes. You are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured if you go with the predator than if you run away (even if he promises not to hurt you). Run, scream as loud as you can. Throw things. If you’re in the car, blow the horn if possible, throw your keys out the window, ram your car into another vehicle if you have to – do whatever you can to attract attention.
- 5. Take a self-defense class.
- 6. Arm yourself. Buy a gun, legally of course. Purchase Pepper Spray.
- 7. Keep your doors locked at all times when you are in your car. Carry a cel phone with you to make emergency calls. Carry your weapons if it is legal to do so with you.
- 8. At home, install an alarm system and video surveillance If you cannot afford to do this, make sure you have dead bolts on all the doors and locks on all the windows. Keep your phone beside your bed at night. Keep the outside well-lit. And never allow anyone to enter your home when you are alone. Ask a friend to come over if you are having some kind of home installation or repairs done.
- 9. When traveling, if it’s dark and you don’t feel safe and a police car is trying to pull you over, you have the right to keep driving until you get to a well lighted area. Just make sure to slow down and use your cell phone to call 911 to let them know what you are doing or to ask and make sure that it is in fact an actual police officer that is attempting to pull you over.
- 10. Safety in Cyberspace. Never give out your personal information to people you don’t know. Be sure your children follow this same rule.
These are just a few of the safety tips I follow.
Stay safe and always follow your gut instincts. Even if you’re wrong about a situation, always err on the side of caution as my daughter did tonight when she contacted the police. One can never be to safe!
4 comments
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Henrietta
February 6, 2013 at 3:15 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Oh my gosh, that is super scary! It was very smart of her to be so cautious, you just never know these days!
Henrietta recently posted..Keep All Natural SunRype Fruit Snacks in the Cupboard! #SunRype
Liberty Boblett
February 2, 2013 at 3:11 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Wow! That was very smart thinking on your daughter’s part! I hope that it was just a mistake, and he didn’t mean any ill harm to her! I shared this on my FB and Twitter! Every woman needs to read these tips!
Colette S @JamericanSpice
January 31, 2013 at 11:35 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I agree to err on the side of caution. If it was a mistake, all can apologize in an understanding way.
These days we shouldn’t trust anyone. Especially when it comes to safety.
I’m always playing the what if game.
And I’m glad your daughter shut the door in his face.
Maybe he thought she was home alone and perfect target? But why would he risk that, knowing his company sent him out there and he’d be the one there?
But whatever way. Follow the gut.
Colette S @JamericanSpice recently posted..Grandpa Has The Toys Boys Like
Kim
February 1, 2013 at 12:13 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I know. The company says he is an independent contractor. Yes she was alone. She just moved here on Monday because her husband is in the Army and was deployed.