In the investigative business, we cannot satisfy everyone. There is going to be times that clients will not be satisfied with your services. We have not had too many disgruntled clients, in fact, I can only think of one (1) that we had that was not satisfied.
A lawyer phoned us referred from a Florida private investigator and said his client’s husband was flying in to Louisiana and she wanted him watched. This lawyer was referred to us from a new investigator that we just recently hired. Since she referred the case, we allowed her to work the case. To make a long story short, she messed up on the case because the client phoned and said that his client’s husband was at a strip club all night and the investigator did not note that in her report because she lost him. I agreed with him and told him that this case was not worked properly. I comforted the client and told him the truth. What we did not know was that the investigator was an alcoholic and was already in trouble with the board for soliciting clients without an agency license. The client appreciated us for admitting she worked the case in the wrong way and told us we were stand up guys. To this day, this person is still our client and the board pulled the investigators license under the charges of soliciting clients and working cases on her own without an agency license. We did not know this before we hired her so we waived the rest of the client’s fees.
BE OBJECTIVE AND HONEST: Listen to the client and let them talk. If you get angry with them, you will only make them angrier. Ask them and assist them in determining a way to make them satisfied. Ask them for their opinion. If their only gripe is that the investigator the subject, explain that this is part of the business and at times we do lose subjects or if we feel the subject is getting suspicious we back off and try another day. No need to jeopardize a case when we do not have all the evidence yet.
LISTEN TO THE CLIENT: The client will have a lot to say. Listen with an open mind. While they are not investigators, they will feel better talking about their unsatisfaction and it will help in easing the situation. Don’t try to protect the case investigator, even if he/she was right in their judgment, that will only cause a more tense situation. Let the client know that you are listening and you will solve the problem.
OFFER SUGGESTIONS: Let the client know that you want to handle their unsatisfaction quickly and fairly. Offer to replace the investigator with someone else, waive that day’s fee or reduce the rate, offer an extra day at no cost to the client even if you have to work it yourself. Usually, if the client observes that you are trying to make amends then that will calm the situation down and you are performing damage control.
BE APOLOGETIC: Apologize to the client and let the client know that you see it from their point of view. Even if the investigators judgment was correct, apologize and reassure the client that their concerns are being taken seriously. Remember that we work for the client and its their money. Let the client know that you have their best interest at heart and many times, you may have to explain how private investigation work and how mistakes can be made such as losing a subject, subject’s getting suspicious, and let them know that these things happen in the industry.
FOLLOW UP: Follow up with the client and let them know that their concern is being handled/was handled and apologize again but ask if the situation was handled to their satisfaction.
These ideas generally work well. Imagine if you hired an attorney and you were not satisfied with the service, you would also address your concerns with the attorney. It works in the same way. Too many times, we know the problem but don’t come up with the solution. Good luck to all and have a prosperous year!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Assisting Clients with Legal Questions
There has been alot of questions asked on this forum as well as other forums regarding the legality or illegality of a private investigator giving legal advice to clients that are unrepresented. During any private investigation course, we are informed of the private investigator legal terms and definitions, laws, rules and regulations. The questions were clear, as asked by some...can laypersons or nonlawyers assist those without representation?
I sought the advice of our corporate attorney, I questioned an assistant United States attorney general, I even asked a couple of federal magistrates from the western district and the eastern district regarding the question. From their advice, this is what I was given:
"Litigants can be assisted by unlicensed laymen during judicial proceedings".Brotherhood of Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar, 377 U.S. 1; v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335; Argersinger v. Hamlin, Sheriff 407 U.S. 425
"A next friend is a person who represents someone who is unable to tend to his or her own interest".Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, Rule 17, 28 USCA "Next Friend"
"Members of groups who are competent nonlawyers can assist other members of the group achieve the goals of the group in court without being charged with "unauthorized practice of law."NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415); United Mineworkers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715; and Johnson v. Avery, 89 S. Ct. 747 (1969)
So you be the judge. These citations were given to me by those that were questioned. Merely stating that some act is legal or illegal is not "unauthorized practice of law". According to those questioned, the unauthorized practice of law is actually advocating that he/she is an attorney, attempting to represent someone in a court of law as an attorney and so forth. Just FYI for those that were wondering. It is advisable that you contact your own attorney for legal advice as I did mine.
I sought the advice of our corporate attorney, I questioned an assistant United States attorney general, I even asked a couple of federal magistrates from the western district and the eastern district regarding the question. From their advice, this is what I was given:
"Litigants can be assisted by unlicensed laymen during judicial proceedings".Brotherhood of Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar, 377 U.S. 1; v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335; Argersinger v. Hamlin, Sheriff 407 U.S. 425
"A next friend is a person who represents someone who is unable to tend to his or her own interest".Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, Rule 17, 28 USCA "Next Friend"
"Members of groups who are competent nonlawyers can assist other members of the group achieve the goals of the group in court without being charged with "unauthorized practice of law."NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415); United Mineworkers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715; and Johnson v. Avery, 89 S. Ct. 747 (1969)
So you be the judge. These citations were given to me by those that were questioned. Merely stating that some act is legal or illegal is not "unauthorized practice of law". According to those questioned, the unauthorized practice of law is actually advocating that he/she is an attorney, attempting to represent someone in a court of law as an attorney and so forth. Just FYI for those that were wondering. It is advisable that you contact your own attorney for legal advice as I did mine.
Obtaining Surveillance Video Through a Mirror?
Here is a memo that I've just sent to my surveillance investigators regarding taking video shots through mirrors. A friend of mine had to testify in a case as an expert witness where an investigator had taken video through a mirror and in some video shots, the cast was on opposite legs. My friend, an investigator also, watched the video over and over again and couldn't figure out what was wrong and why the cast was on opposite legs. However, in a 4 minute span when the cast was on one leg, in the other next video shot it was on the opposite leg. My friend asked his client, the subject's attorney if his client was a quick dresser because within 4 minutes the cast went from one leg to the other. Still unable to figure it out, my friend continued watching the video and at a split second, my friend stopped the video and the investigator shooting the video caught a portion of a stop sign and the "p" was backwards on the stop sign. That's when they figured it out that the video was shot through a mirror.
The investigator that had taken the video documented in his report that the subject was wearing the cast on the opposite leg hoping to gain an advantage to his client that the injury was fabricated. That is nothing but dishonesty and against ethics for private investigators. While we all, at times, shoot video through mirrors, I've made it our policy to document in the report that the video is shot through the mirrors and that the angle may be reversed. Any report is a good report as long as its based on actual facts and events. Here is the memo that I sent out to all of our employees:
To All Employees and Sub-Contractors: When videotaping through the any mirror on your vehicle, we must document it in our report that the video was shot through the mirror. When shooting through a mirror, the image is reversed and while it would be more prevalent in a worker's compensation or injury case, it is now our policy to document obtaining video through a mirror in our reports all video that is taken through mirrors on all cases. If you have any questions or comments regarding this policy, please do not hesitate to contact me. -KM
It is my company's policy that when shooting through a mirror to not only document it in the report, but to also back the zoom off periodically to show on the video that the scene is being shot through a mirror. Remember: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR -JD
The investigator that had taken the video documented in his report that the subject was wearing the cast on the opposite leg hoping to gain an advantage to his client that the injury was fabricated. That is nothing but dishonesty and against ethics for private investigators. While we all, at times, shoot video through mirrors, I've made it our policy to document in the report that the video is shot through the mirrors and that the angle may be reversed. Any report is a good report as long as its based on actual facts and events. Here is the memo that I sent out to all of our employees:
To All Employees and Sub-Contractors: When videotaping through the any mirror on your vehicle, we must document it in our report that the video was shot through the mirror. When shooting through a mirror, the image is reversed and while it would be more prevalent in a worker's compensation or injury case, it is now our policy to document obtaining video through a mirror in our reports all video that is taken through mirrors on all cases. If you have any questions or comments regarding this policy, please do not hesitate to contact me. -KM
It is my company's policy that when shooting through a mirror to not only document it in the report, but to also back the zoom off periodically to show on the video that the scene is being shot through a mirror. Remember: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR -JD
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
More on Marketing for Private Investigators
A couple comments on the Private Investigator Marketing topic: "Brochures: are they worth it" issue.
The correct answer is a good brochure is worth it, and a bad one is worthless.
A brochure is more than "Who we are." If that is all it is, then it is not worth it.
If you print a brochure that says "Jones Investigations" on the front and gives a laundry list of services inside, and then wonder why no one comes banging on your door, you are fooling yourself and wasting time and money.
If you produce a brochure that answers the question, "Why should someone hire me over all the other investigators out there?" then your brochure helps distinguish you from your competition.
If you produce a brochure that helps identify a problem your target audience has, and then you explain how you can address that problem, then you are actually helping someone out in a way that can lead business to you.
In some cases you do not need "A" brochure. You need several brochures.
Your business card is not enough. A brochure gives you a chance to tell your story...but then you have to use it to tell your story, not just repeat your name and the fact you have been in business 20 years. People don't care that you have been in business for 20 years. They care what you can do to help them out.
And it's not an either/or situation: do I have a brochure, or do I have a website? You need both. They are both only tools used to promote your business. If your brochure is so ineffective that it doesn't help persuade someone to contact you, why would you think your website would have a vastly different effect? And what are you doing to get people to your website?
L. Scott Harrell has the right idea. He produced a quality brochure, invested some money in it, and had realistic expectations. He didn't send out 2,000 brochures expecting an instant 2,000 clients. (Well, maybe he hoped would.) He got one response that immediately more than paid for his efforts. A one percent return rate on a direct mail effort is great. Let's say he only gets a total of 4 responses: Look at the lifetime value of each of those clients. How much money is he going to make from them over the course of a few years? How many referrals will each of these new customers generate? Was it worth it?
The question should not be do you need a brochure. You need to develop a marketing plan. You need to use various tools. Referrals and word of mouth are great, but they don't just happen. You need to take action and also get private investigator continuing education.
-BM
The correct answer is a good brochure is worth it, and a bad one is worthless.
A brochure is more than "Who we are." If that is all it is, then it is not worth it.
If you print a brochure that says "Jones Investigations" on the front and gives a laundry list of services inside, and then wonder why no one comes banging on your door, you are fooling yourself and wasting time and money.
If you produce a brochure that answers the question, "Why should someone hire me over all the other investigators out there?" then your brochure helps distinguish you from your competition.
If you produce a brochure that helps identify a problem your target audience has, and then you explain how you can address that problem, then you are actually helping someone out in a way that can lead business to you.
In some cases you do not need "A" brochure. You need several brochures.
Your business card is not enough. A brochure gives you a chance to tell your story...but then you have to use it to tell your story, not just repeat your name and the fact you have been in business 20 years. People don't care that you have been in business for 20 years. They care what you can do to help them out.
And it's not an either/or situation: do I have a brochure, or do I have a website? You need both. They are both only tools used to promote your business. If your brochure is so ineffective that it doesn't help persuade someone to contact you, why would you think your website would have a vastly different effect? And what are you doing to get people to your website?
L. Scott Harrell has the right idea. He produced a quality brochure, invested some money in it, and had realistic expectations. He didn't send out 2,000 brochures expecting an instant 2,000 clients. (Well, maybe he hoped would.) He got one response that immediately more than paid for his efforts. A one percent return rate on a direct mail effort is great. Let's say he only gets a total of 4 responses: Look at the lifetime value of each of those clients. How much money is he going to make from them over the course of a few years? How many referrals will each of these new customers generate? Was it worth it?
The question should not be do you need a brochure. You need to develop a marketing plan. You need to use various tools. Referrals and word of mouth are great, but they don't just happen. You need to take action and also get private investigator continuing education.
-BM
Monday, April 9, 2007
States Not Requiring a Private Investigator's License
A number of people have asked me about what states do not require licensing for private detectives. Here is an updated list of private investigator license requirements by state.
Here is a breakdown of what I found:
Alabama (AL), No state license required, but some cities require one.
Alaska (AK), ditto
Colorado (CO), ditto
Idaho (ID), ditto
Mississippi (MS), ditto
South Dakota (SD), ditto
Wyoming (WY), ditto
Pennsylvania (PA), PI licenses issued by counties, honored statewide
Rhode Island (RI), licenses issued by towns and cities
Even in states where a PI license isn't required, it's wise (and necessary in some states) to get a business license.
Here is a breakdown of what I found:
Alabama (AL), No state license required, but some cities require one.
Alaska (AK), ditto
Colorado (CO), ditto
Idaho (ID), ditto
Mississippi (MS), ditto
South Dakota (SD), ditto
Wyoming (WY), ditto
Pennsylvania (PA), PI licenses issued by counties, honored statewide
Rhode Island (RI), licenses issued by towns and cities
Even in states where a PI license isn't required, it's wise (and necessary in some states) to get a business license.
Friday, April 6, 2007
How to Make it as a Real World Private Investigator
1. Repeat after me, "I am not a cop, it is not my job to save the world, or see that truth and justice prevails; I am a private citizen, privately employed by a private party to further their best interests within the limits of the law (and common sense)."
2. If you allow yourself to get shot, or hit in the head, it will hurt just as bad whether you are in the right, or in the wrong, and either way, you are neither more, nor less, likely to recover.
3. Life can be JUST LIKE television and the movies - if you get yourself dead or debilitated, there will be an incredible outpouring of sympathy and sorrow for an equally incredibly short period of time, and then none of those wonderfully sorrowful/sympathetic people will ever think of you, or mention you again.
4. You are in this for the money - do not feel bad about that, or apologetic. When my car quits, or my plumbing bursts, nobody comes racing to the rescue in the spirit of altruistic intent, and nobody with the sense God gave dirt should expect you to either. Get paid, get paid up front, and charge what the market will bear -- Warner Brothers is not paying your bills.
5. DO NOT get emotionally involved in your cases. Most of your Clients will be sad, sorry, stupid sons-of-bitches who are in the mess they are in because they deserve to be. If you expect to meet the whore with a heart of gold, the thief with honest intentions, or a murderer with deep intellectual nsights, you best be standing in line at the Cineplex.
6. NEVER expect things NOT to make sense. The way things first look, is usually the way they are . . . unless you see Steven Spielberg hiding behind a curtain, do NOT look for complex twists and convoluted plots.
7. NEVER expect things TO make sense. Human beings are only at the top of the evolutionary scale because they are the only animals who can say they are - few other animals kill for the fun of it, deliberately end their own lives, or molest their own young. The way things first look, is usually the way they are . . . whether or not it makes any sense at all.
8. Accept NOBODY at face value - people believe in lifelong love, friends to the end, and the nobility of humanity because the concepts appeal to them, and they go thru life reading from the script until the script doesn't suit them anymore. Look for the truth, and believe what you see; if you have no great expectations of humanity, you will rarely be disappointed.
9. Accept EVERYONE at face value within the circle of people that are your life. If you become very good at this job, you will see ugly truths where you need to see good things, you will recognize lies told by people you need to believe in, and you will sense evil when you need to have faith. Leave yourself the latitude to allow yourself some illusions.
10. This is it, this is all there is, it's once around the track and there is no "do over." Do it all the best you can, expect nothing more of yourself than the best you can do, and when you disappoint yourself today, try to do a little better tomorrow. If you do not enjoy your life, change it!!!!.
Respectfully!!!
Fernando J Rodriguez
PIGlobal Investigative Research Bureau
Po Box 17044,
Plantation, Fl 33318
Office: (954) 624-6258
Agency License A-2600169
2. If you allow yourself to get shot, or hit in the head, it will hurt just as bad whether you are in the right, or in the wrong, and either way, you are neither more, nor less, likely to recover.
3. Life can be JUST LIKE television and the movies - if you get yourself dead or debilitated, there will be an incredible outpouring of sympathy and sorrow for an equally incredibly short period of time, and then none of those wonderfully sorrowful/sympathetic people will ever think of you, or mention you again.
4. You are in this for the money - do not feel bad about that, or apologetic. When my car quits, or my plumbing bursts, nobody comes racing to the rescue in the spirit of altruistic intent, and nobody with the sense God gave dirt should expect you to either. Get paid, get paid up front, and charge what the market will bear -- Warner Brothers is not paying your bills.
5. DO NOT get emotionally involved in your cases. Most of your Clients will be sad, sorry, stupid sons-of-bitches who are in the mess they are in because they deserve to be. If you expect to meet the whore with a heart of gold, the thief with honest intentions, or a murderer with deep intellectual nsights, you best be standing in line at the Cineplex.
6. NEVER expect things NOT to make sense. The way things first look, is usually the way they are . . . unless you see Steven Spielberg hiding behind a curtain, do NOT look for complex twists and convoluted plots.
7. NEVER expect things TO make sense. Human beings are only at the top of the evolutionary scale because they are the only animals who can say they are - few other animals kill for the fun of it, deliberately end their own lives, or molest their own young. The way things first look, is usually the way they are . . . whether or not it makes any sense at all.
8. Accept NOBODY at face value - people believe in lifelong love, friends to the end, and the nobility of humanity because the concepts appeal to them, and they go thru life reading from the script until the script doesn't suit them anymore. Look for the truth, and believe what you see; if you have no great expectations of humanity, you will rarely be disappointed.
9. Accept EVERYONE at face value within the circle of people that are your life. If you become very good at this job, you will see ugly truths where you need to see good things, you will recognize lies told by people you need to believe in, and you will sense evil when you need to have faith. Leave yourself the latitude to allow yourself some illusions.
10. This is it, this is all there is, it's once around the track and there is no "do over." Do it all the best you can, expect nothing more of yourself than the best you can do, and when you disappoint yourself today, try to do a little better tomorrow. If you do not enjoy your life, change it!!!!.
Respectfully!!!
Fernando J Rodriguez
PIGlobal Investigative Research Bureau
Po Box 17044,
Plantation, Fl 33318
Office: (954) 624-6258
Agency License A-2600169
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Skip Tracing- Obtaining Forwarding Addresses
I have three "skips". Two are a couple who owned ahouse together and the third owned a house by herself. I've done my thing, but can't find these people despite the fact that all parties continue to own their residential homesteaded properties and maintain driver's licenses at their last known addresses. And yet, they are not there.
All skips are involved in mortgage forclosures, if that helps explains things abit. I would like to know where their mail is going, if anywhere. This is not for a civil court proceding, so filling out the form at the post office requesting aforwarding address is not an option. Have any of you used the, "Do Not Forward, ForwardingAddress Correction Requested" routine where you send something to them in the mail and secretly hope thatthe letter comes back with a good address?
If so, did it work? Is there a specific way or manner to write the above? Any downside that I should be aware of? -TG
Gulf Shores Alabama Private Investigator
I've used it a couple of million times and almost, but not always, get either the forwarding address or a note on the returned envelope saying "forwarding order expired."I also always put a letter inside addressed to the skip urging them to call me or giving them some incentive to contact me, just in case the post office forwards the letter instead of returning it, or delivers it to the address because they are still recieving mail at that address. -SB
This has worked for me in a few fugitive investigations
All skips are involved in mortgage forclosures, if that helps explains things abit. I would like to know where their mail is going, if anywhere. This is not for a civil court proceding, so filling out the form at the post office requesting aforwarding address is not an option. Have any of you used the, "Do Not Forward, ForwardingAddress Correction Requested" routine where you send something to them in the mail and secretly hope thatthe letter comes back with a good address?
If so, did it work? Is there a specific way or manner to write the above? Any downside that I should be aware of? -TG
Gulf Shores Alabama Private Investigator
I've used it a couple of million times and almost, but not always, get either the forwarding address or a note on the returned envelope saying "forwarding order expired."I also always put a letter inside addressed to the skip urging them to call me or giving them some incentive to contact me, just in case the post office forwards the letter instead of returning it, or delivers it to the address because they are still recieving mail at that address. -SB
This has worked for me in a few fugitive investigations
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