5 Things You Didn’t Know About Being A Private Investigator
1) You’re always on call
Being an investigator, you generally are dealing with issues of a more sensitive nature. This means you’re likely to get calls from clients at all sort of hours, rather than the usual nine to five enquiries. Dinner time, late at night, early in the morning before anyone else is up; no matter where you are, what day or time it is, the phone could ring at any moment. People tend to need to work up the courage to make the call to a private investigator, so you need to be ready to take that call the second they need you. Also, the behaviour you’re investigating doesn’t always (or usually) happen during work hours, either! You’ll often be up at the crack of dawn or up until the wee hours to find out the truth for the client. It’s all part of the job!
2) You’re dealing with highly emotional clients
It’s the nature of the business, people are worried about something. They want an investigator to find out something that is not your average problem. The potential for a cheating spouse, a teenager on drugs, an untrustworthy business partner or a rogue employee (and more!) tend to bring about strong feelings and emotions. Getting a personal detective to investigate the matter is usually the last step in a harrowing process. It’s a balancing act to give a client cold hard facts, while at the same time being sensitive to the emotional nature of the situation. It’s important as an investigator to know how to make the process as easy as possible for someone who may or may not be at their most emotionally stable!
3) It can get very uncomfortable
Meeting with a client, an investigator always looks his best. After 5 hours of surveillance? Not so much! Sitting for extended periods of time, often in a stuffy car, can get tiring really quickly. You can keep supplies and freshen up all you like, but there’s no denying the ‘post surveillance smell’. You could get out and stretch your legs, but the last thing a good investigator wants is to draw any attention, so more than likely you won’t leave until you have what you need. And it’s not just sitting around relaxing, either. You need to keep a keen eye out to make sure you catch anything crucial to the investigation, so you need to focus the entire time. It’s surprisingly intensive work, and if you don’t come out of it at least a little bit sweaty, you’re not doing it right! You can measure a good investigator by how much he smells at the end of the job.
4) There’s a TONNE of paperwork!
We all know about how clogged up the legal and police systems are with paperwork and red tape. Private investigation is no different. An investigation of just an hour’s surveillance might equate to hours of paperwork and admin! Filing, reports, research, due diligence, uploading and downloading files, encrypting data, applying for permits and licences; the list goes on and on. Some people say they like the idea of being a private investigator because they don’t want a desk job. Not likely! You’ll spend far more hours doing paperwork than you will surveilling. It’s the only way to make sure you get the job done right, and you’ll give the client their information in the easiest, smoothest and most secure way.
5) Sometimes the client will never be happy
Unfortunately, sometimes the answer to the question the client is asking for is not a happy one. It’s never nice to have your suspicions confirmed, and the truth can be hard to hear. It’s a difficult job to deliver bad news to someone, but at least they now know the truth. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing you’ve helped someone pull the wool from their eyes, even if they aren’t happy to hear about their cheating partner. But that’s not the only time an investigation’s result won’t necessarily be well received. Sometimes the truth is that the suspicions are unfounded. The investigation could prove that the client doesn’t have anything to worry about. You’d think this would be good news! Unfortunately, some people can be completely convinced of something, and will believe it regardless of any evidence to the contrary. Your detective work could have results clear as day, but if a person refuses to believe it, you find yourself in the odd situation of someone who’s mad that you found good news!
The detectives here at Elite Investigations have seen it all, and are the epitome of professionalism. We know it’s important to be sensitive to every client’s need, and can help you with your concerns, whatever they are. Discretion, sensitivity and commitment to finding the truth is our promise to you. If you think something is happening behind your back that you ought to know about it, give us a call on 0438 198 916.