We all thought it would be Clay's friend from down the road, coming to play. But it wasn't.
I answered the door and was greeted by a man from our cable company. He proceeded to tell me that the company saw that our cable hookup was weak and had sent him out to work on the line.
And I told him, "I was just on the Internet, and it's fine."
He was very nice and explained that it would likely fade in and out because of the weak hookup. I wasn't home for several hours yesterday, so maybe it had been out some during the day. Still, I didn't let him come inside.
I explained to him that I don't let service people in the house when I am home alone with my kids unless I've called the service person or I have received a call from the company. (By the way, I realize I was tipping him off to the fact that my husband wasn't home at that point, but my neighbor across the street was mowing his yard and in plain sight, so I felt alright about that.). And I even acknowledged that I could see the company van parked by my mailbox, so I realized that he was almost certainly on the up and up.
Anyway, here's where I started to get fuzzy. The guy went on to explain that he had been out to service our cable modem last year... and even asked me if the modem was in "that room" and he pointed to the window of the room where we have our hookup. And he looked familiar. The longer we talked, I thought, "Well, he's been here before, and he was fine then. Shouldn't I just let him in?"
He said that the company would probably continue to send someone out to our house until the issue was resolved. Seems like a waste of gas to me, considering so many people work, but what do I know?
In the long run, I sent him on his way. Without allowing him to come in and service our modem connection.
And I felt a little silly. Like I'd gone all safety overkill. I'm nearly 100 percent certain he was just a nice worker doing his job.
But then I thought, "You know, we're warned these days that you can't even trust a lights-flashing, siren-blaring police car following you without having to pull over into a well-lighted area. If I can't trust a cop, why should I take the word of the cable guy?"
I admit that I've watched far too many episodes of C.S.I. and Criminal Minds. And I tend to believe many of the e-mail warnings that are sent my way (unless Bruce scoffs and insists that I check snopes.com to verify them). I am highly suspicious by nature.
But I want to believe the best of people.
What would you have done?
2 comments:
Well, considering some of my closest friends call me Mrs. OSHA due to my high standards for safety...No way...No one is allowed into my home, unless the mister is here....=) Period. So, I am right there with you sister...You did the right thing...Don't you remember the C.S.I. episode where the phone man was a serial killer? Hmm...Maybe I have watched one too many episodes myself...I mean, I do take my keys with me when I take out the trash...Because I don't want someone to sneak in while I am 10 foot away from the house....Ok..Maybe you need someone else's opinion...other than Mrs. OSHA...=)
Here's your second opinion. I would have done the exact same thing. You just can't be too careful these days. And if he's right and they keep sending people out, tell them to call first to make sure the mister is home. Service people that show up unexpectedly to your home? Even if he wasn't a serial killer, that's not the greatest policy for a company to have. Maybe next time they'll call and schedule a time.
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