When the Repairman Knocks: 8 Must Know Safety Tips!
It has not been a good month for appliances in our house. The dishwasher started sounding like it was chewing rocks, and when it started leaking water on the floor I knew it was time to bring in a professional. After making an appointment for repairs I figured he or she could also check the broken microwave that has also gone to the dark side. My master plan: stay home for the day and get all the home appointments out of the way at the same time.
But letting a stranger into your home can bring upon uneasy feelings, especially if you are home alone while they are doing the repairs.
Everyone thinks they live in a safe neighborhood, me included. It’s gated residential community that has a security checkpoint, but it doesn’t mean I am anymore trusting when inviting strangers into my home. Here are 8 simple tips to keep you safe when the repairman knocks!
1. Mark scheduled appointments in outlook, on your phone, and in your appointment book. If something were to go wrong, it would be easy to see where to start asking questions.
2. When scheduling an appointment if the date doesn’t work, avoid saying we won’t be home or we are out of town. Simply ask for another time and never indicate you live alone.
3. Always try to have someone else home with you when you have a repair scheduled or you are expecting a maintenance person. I have a screen door so I leave my front door open if I am alone. If I needed to yell, someone would hear me and I could get out quickly.
4. Do you have Pepper Spray? Keep it easily accessible in your hand or pocket. It’s okay to let them see it!
5. When you schedule your appointment always ask for the name of the person who will be coming to your home. Don’t be shy about asking for a photo ID badge and their name BEFORE you let them in.
6. Keep the conversation to the topic at hand. Don’t discuss personal information. You may just say the right thing that a potentially bad person is waiting to hear.
7. When possible stay in the same room with the person doing the work. You don’t want someone snooping around your house.
8. Walk your guest to the door when they are done and promptly lock the door behind them.
The safety tips in this article and many others can be found on our Simple Self Defense for Women DVD. Please visit our website www.simpleselfdefenseforwomen.com for more details
Tracy Vega, mom, wife, visionary, community leader and entrepreneur is the co-founder of Simple Self Defense for Women® an award winning company that promotes the personal safety of women and children with a focus on how to to prevent, avoid and ESCAPE a potential attack, threat or abduction. NBC affiliate WESH News calls her a guru of women’s self defense.