Being mobile and staying safe..

[Copper]

How do you ladies keep yourselves safe?
I mean, really a client could be anyone.. I'm setting up soon and I'm having a little worry. I was thinking I should call my (ex) partner or something beforehand with the address maybe or let someone know where I am.
Anyone else worry about this or have any tips?
Have you ever turned down work if someone gave you the creeps?
Thanks girls x

 

[eskimonailtech]

I always made sure my mom had the address. Specifically if I was going to see a male.

Keep your cell charged and make sure you have an emergency button. And most of all, have a special panic word. If you get scared, make a call and say something like "I think I saw a rainbow" and that means you're in trouble.

 

[Fuzion]

Luckily my late ones are all regulars now, but I always used to tell my then boyfriend where my late ones were and time I'd be home. I did have a dodgy character once and my boyfriend rang and told him I wasn't cutting gent's hair due to a bad experience. I then lived alone for 9 years, that freaked me, so I'd leave a note in my house of where I was, just in case! Now I'm married my husband doesn't seem to notice if I'm here or not lol!

 

[eskimonailtech]

Luckily my late ones are all regulars now, but I always used to tell my then boyfriend where my late ones were and time I'd be home. I did have a dodgy character once and my boyfriend rang and told him I wasn't cutting gent's hair due to a bad experience. I then lived alone for 9 years, that freaked me, so I'd leave a note in my house of where I was, just in case! Now I'm married my husband doesn't seem to notice if I'm here or not lol!

your pic is so cute!!

 

[Pinkbunny28]

I don't do men's treatments unless theyre a clients hubby/boyfriend/brother etc. And always tell my other half address and what time I'll be done roughly. He said if he doesn't hear from me he'll come down here from work, bless him x

 

[missjodylee]

Fuzion

That's so cute about leaving a note in ur house of where ur going and a great, smart idea! Makes it easier for people to know where u've been.

The husband doesn't notice if ur home or not cracked me up!!
So true of partners huh.

 

[lavender_chiq]

Thankyou for posting this thread, soon I'm going to start doing mobile treatments and I was wondering the same thing, but I've decided to only do women for now and leave a note as to where I am going. Gr8 Idea!!!

 

[poldara]

Hi that was my first question when I decided to go mobile. I let my brother know my clients for the day and I also googled personal alarm and came up with a good company. This company Skyguard will track you as you go round your clients. It is a monthly fee but very reasonable especially for safety. The Police Force use them so it is a respectable company.

Good luck with going mobile

 

[Penny Vintage]

I personally leave a note of where i am and what time ill be back, also txt just as i leave so my partner knows. I park on the road rather than drives incase i wanna make a quick getaway (rather than backing out a drive).
I had a client recently which i turned up to and a few chav guys were there outside the front door so i waited to go inside until the female client came to the door just incase. You never know they might have locked me inside and it could of gone very wrong so i made sure i could see the woman first. Turns out they were all really nice people but number one thing id say is if you have a bad feeling, and feel unsafe make an excuse and leave

 

[jparkinson80]

'Gut feeling' is a fab thing, if I don't know new male clients and they've contacted me though text then I call them, to get an idea of what they are after so to speak, and if they don't pick up I leave a message, most weirdo's don't call back, or I treat them in my home salon while my husband is at home.

Any new clients I leave the address and time of appointment & finishing time for my husband and 'sign in' a few time in the day/evening so he knows where I am, once you've got a good client base then it's less of a worry. But don't let it make you paranoid though, meeting new people in their home is part of being mobile. :0)

 

[Elaine143a]

I dont have an iphone, but (may be wrong) isn't there an app you can get, or settings you can change, to track the phone to where it is? Just an idea rather than paying a tracking company. I'm salon based so thankfully dont have this worry, although no-one in my salon treats a new male client if they're there on their own (not just males, so men, dont shout me down, but also some types of women too). Better safe than sorry imo.

 

[Susie H]

Every now and then I run this as a thread myself, and was just thinking the other day of doing it again, so I'm very glad you did it.
I spent several years as a night driving taxi driver and have unfortunately seen it all.
So, someone should always know what's in your diary for the whole day.
Have someone to call when you arrive at a clients home, so they know you have arrived, this person should know approx time for when you are finished, they should give you and extra 15 minutes to call and if you haven't, they should call you, to check you are ok. If you don't answer they should call the police and be able to tell them, the address you should be at, what car you drive and your registration number.
I would say 99.999999 % of the time, you are perfectly safe and it's not your client who is going to be that .00000 1% who causes you a problem, it's people around you, you are at your most vulnerable as you get into and out of your car, when you are getting kit to and from your car. So always have a good look around before getting out. Don't carry large amounts of cash on you, as a driver who was part of a large fleet of drivers I can tell you we all used to use the bank night safe to pay in 2 or 3 times a night and if we had a dodgy looking fare turn up at the office, we would make sure the person saw us handing our takings over to the office controller. I'd sooner offend someone then get mugged
Yes, if when you take the booking, you find you are uncomfortable, don't do the job. Saying don't be paranoid is very easy, but well, I'd sooner be paranoid then in trouble.
Some time ago a geek had a new tanning client, a man, he was very up front about wanting to be tanned in the nude, told her she wouldn't need her tent, she'd be tanning him in his garage and she took the job, she also took her boyfriend. The client turned out to be a really nice guy, who complemented her on being so sensible.
Drive with your doors locked, I do, all the time. So does my daughter.
Lastly, don't leave your stock in the boot of your car over night. Another geek did that and her car was stolen, neither her car insurance or her beauty insurance would pay for the missing stock, both stated that she was in the wrong for leaving her stock in the car.
Remember 99.9999999% of clients are normal people, just like you :hug:

 

[Copper]

Thanks susie for that, you're a brave lady doing night time cabbing! Id definitely rather err on the side of caution too and it's so true what you girls say about gut instinct, every time. I think to start with I may stick to friends of friends etc. It would be so good if there was some kind of client database for different areas we could check!
I always lock my doors when I'm driving too, I ve heard of a few people having their bags grabbed while waiting in traffic xxx

 

[Copper]

Spray tanners - do you get many male clients?

 

[Susie H]

Spray tanners - do you get many male clients?

A few, but mine all wear shorts and come to think of it, I'm spraying couples.

 

[soriminah]

I used to do mobile massage and 95% of my clients were men. For new clients, I used to say to them that I just had to text my husband to tell him I arrived while they filled in the consultation form. Mind you I never did because I don't have a husband but I did have it in my diary at home.

When they'd ring, I'd get an instant gut feeling - even before I'd picked up the phone I knew if they were dodgy or not. Plus by asking very simple questions about specifically what they wanted you could weed out the pervs.

I have never been one to say I won't treat male clients. In fact I see more male clients for massage then women. I hate to burst peoples bubbles but if you think you are safe by excluding men, then think again. Look at the number of serial killers\murderers that have women accomplices to lure their victims. Every house you go to you take a risk. I never had any issues but then I also never dwelled on the thought of what if.

 

[Pinkbunny28]

Of course. Women are the worst stalkers! But, it's easier to get away from a woman than a man. Purely because most men are physically bigger than most women.

You kinda have to judge it from the person themselves. I just want to stay safe and if that means I refrain from doing some clients, mostly men but some women then I will.

You're never desperate enough for money that you would endanger yourself x

 

[lashed11]

Hello!

I only do treatments on male clients if they are a friend/relative/colleague of one of my clients/ someone I know... I would always let someone know where I am etc if it is a new client...but to be honest it doesn't always have to be a new client- people can be strange... I met one of my "x clients" in the physio clinic I work in, I had known him for around one year and he seemed 100% normal! Nothing dubious going on at all... He asked me if I could fit him in my mobile diary instead of the clinic, I said yes no problem, I actually trusted him to be a regular, normal client, so then on the day I turned up etc, let him get changed for the massage, came back in and he was bloody naked!! I gave him strict instructions on what to do ie keep boxers on etc and he didn't listen, and it made me think hmm this isn't right... So I havnt seen him since. That has been my only dubious mobile incident. To be honest I have had a few but they have been in salons and spas that I have worked in... So you just never know! I'd say trust your intuition, if something doesn't seem right then it probably isn't! and it's not just men, my friend has encountered an awkward incident with a female client before!

Just go with your gut

 

[soriminah]

my friend has encountered an awkward incident with a female client before!

Funny you should say that. The only client I've ever had that made me very uncomfortable was a woman. Men don't worry me and I am straight down the line with them if they try anything on. Maybe it's because I've worked with a few mens sporting teams and have a few close male friends so know how to better react around them. But it was the woman who I didn't know how to handle and weirded me out.

 

[NailsBeautyEtc]

Great thread - needed to know exactly what people thought and a fellow geek directed me here!

All good ideas - thanks!

xx