What are your instincts telling you?

Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.
— Michael Burke

Animals are great creatures. They can sense when things are going to happen and act on them. For us humans, we don't always get it right. I have had times that I have been around a client or talked with them on the phone or have communicated with them via email, and the red flags were flying high all around me. Something told me that the situation wasn't right or that something in the future may happen. I have had other times where the flags were showing, but I didn't pay attention to them. About eight times out of ten I am right about my instincts.

For example, Thanksgiving week I had a woman call me from out of state for a last minute errand that needed to be completed that day. When I asked for certain pieces of information, she had an excuse why she couldn't send the information to me. Her scanner was not working. When she asked that the information be faxed over, I told her I refused to send it unless I had her credit card authorization on file. It was amazing how fast she got her scanner working.

I had a gut feeling that she would file a chargeback or something in the future, as I had issues getting the money from her in the first place, so I created her own file and included all of the information she faxed me and her invoice, as well as all of the correspondence we had. Almost two weeks ago I received an inquiry regarding this transaction from the credit card company. She was stating that the charge was unauthorized. Fortunately for me, I was able to fax over almost 20 pages worth of information I had to support my decision not to refund her, which was because she owed me the money.

Regardless of what the situation is, when your instincts rear their head, it is usually a good time to listen to them because you never know how they will help you.