Chamber Of Commerce: Mobile Auto Business - Set Up A Neighborhood Mobile Watch in Your Community

Automotive Guide Mobile Auto Business - Set Up A Neighborhood Mobile Watch in Your Community

By: Lance Winslow

Automotive Guide

As Mobile Auto Tech Professionals we drive throughout our town every day in the course of our normal business operations. We have a unique opportunity that few other business owners share because we develop a comprehensive view of our community. We know what is going on around town and we are out and about all day long while providing our services or installations in business parking lots, industrial areas, retail complexes, civic centers, residential areas and other local neighborhoods. There is probably no other professional group more suited to ground floor awareness or grass roots intelligence in a town or city. Our normal methods of business operations can become an important contribution to neighborhood watch programs and even to our national security.

About fifteen years ago our company had some expensive equipment stolen from the back of one of our service vehicles in broad daylight while parked in front of a store on a busy street. There were several people nearby but no one was paying attention to the general movement of the shoppers and strolling passersby. Minutes later we came out of the store and found the equipment missing. Often people are oblivious to what going on around them. It is noteworthy to say that today’s Mobile Tech Professionals do not share this common citizen trait. We all know how important it is to keep an eye on our equipment. Most of us have hard mounted equipment, locked toolboxes and alarms. Over the years we have become accustom to watching our stuff while out on the job sites. As we learned and observed we decided to do more, to become the eyes and the ears of the community. Over a decade ago in California we started the “Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol” which works in conjunction with the local Police Department, Chamber of Commerce and City Hall to further protect the citizens and their property from harm.

A Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol program is not difficult to set up and can be rewarding both personally and for your community. The program utilizes mobile type businesses like yours that are trained to keep a watchful eye out while traveling around the city during their normal service calls. If we see suspicious behavior we all have cell phones and can immediately call it in. The publicity is obviously good and helps earn the trust of customers who can now distinguish your proactive and professional business practices from the competition’s more dubious services. We are all aware of people wishing services being reluctant to turn over their car keys due to fear of their personal property or their whole car being stolen. In this post 9-11 world customers are more nervous and do not feel as safe as they did in previous times. You can ease some of these perceived problems by being part of the solution.

Setting up a local Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol Program can also help you increase your community business contacts. This program can build quickly by networking with other non-related and non-competitive mobile businesses and route drivers. Most mobile business owners know many people and meet dozens of new people per week like you. Most route drivers make 20-60 deliveries per day and know hundreds of people who might be your potential new customers. Networking with other mobile business owners and route drivers can add to your grass roots word of mouth marketing campaigns. By including these drivers and companies in your Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol program team you can increase sales, reduce crime and unite the community. It’s all good!

The success of these programs in preventing and deterring crime has been documented in communities across the nation. For crimes that have been committed, a tip from a Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol Team Member can make the difference between catching the culprit or creating a future victim. Recently success with our Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol was the topic of a Salt Lake City, Utah news article.

http://newsnet.byu.edu/print/story.cfm/52535

Last week we were notified by a Texas Police Department coordinator who indicated that their city was also interested in such community based successes and were implementing the program. Their city was located on a major two lane highway suspected of carrying illegal drug traffic and they had several unexplained murders where the bodies had just been dumped. Over the past ten years the Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol concept has been well received by hundreds of police and sheriff’s departments nationwide.

Our company has always believed in giving back to the communities we serve and like you and your business we realize that most of our business comes from direct marketing and word of mouth. As we talk with more and more police departments across the country and see the needs of our new Department of Homeland Security, it is apparent that to prevent the next terrorist attack everyone needs to pay attention. A single tip from an observant citizen or Neighborhood Watch Program can foil a murderous attack like 9-11or find a heinous fleeing suspect. After all it was a mobile trucker that alerted the police to a vehicle matching the description of the Washington DC shooters not too long ago. This is where the Mobile Auto Service Tech Industry can make a big difference.

A detailed plan document including mission statement, area contacts, potential participants, overall strategy, sample press releases and archived media coverage needed to set up your local Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol has been made available on the following website:

http://www.lancewinslow.org/nmwp.shtml

By bringing this plan to the attention of your Chamber of Commerce, Police Department and Local City or Country Leadership you will be helping to prevent crime, capture dangerous criminals and could possibly save our country from another international attack. It is time to act. You may use this plan document as a basis and resource to assist in the establishment of your local program. You may need to modify your program to adapt it to the needs of your local community. If you have any questions you can contact us through our Foundation Website above.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Automotive Guide Tag : Neighborhood Watch   Mobile   Auto Business Public

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