Exit Strategies
Mercedes met a guy online, after chatting they agreed to meet grab food at a casino. (Don't sleep on Casino restaurants) .D day comes and Mercedez is shocked when her GPS gives tells her it will take 1 hr to get to her destination. Unbeknownst to her, their meetup spot was very far and didn't know when they were planning the date, Since she had committed to putting herself out there, she set out
With the new realization of her hour long journey, she informed her date who was close to their destination that she would be late, and he was ok waiting. When she finally got there, she said her date reeked of alcohol, apparently uncle had kept himself busy with some spirits.
After intros, he shared that he had booked a room for them upstairs...for her to rest, you know…considering her long drive.
Say what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a sharp (smart) babe, she knew she needed to get the hell out of there. She excused herself to go to the rest room and promptly sent a SOS text to her girlfriend, informing her to call her as she needed an excuse for her to leave. Although the friend called, she didn’t stick to the script, and Mercedez quickly realized she needed a plan B. She informed her date that her friend was in a domestic violence situation and needed to be picked up immediately!
Her date was sympathetic and wasn’t getting the message because he insisted, he go with her in his intoxicated state. The devil is a liar!
She got the hell up out of there
STAT!
*cue Pearl*
Ladies! ALWAYS ALWAYS HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY! Ok quick review of safe dating 101.
1.) INFORM SOMEONE! Don’t go on a date without telling someone. Things to share:
Person: Name, Social media handles, etc
Place: Where you are going, name and address
Picture: dating profile pics, or whatever you found while researching
Time: When you are meeting, when you arrive, when you think you’ll be leaving, etc.
2.) HAVE an exit strategy. This is crucial if you find yourself in a situation that makes you feel uncomfortable/ unsafe.
I recommend asking at least 2 people to be your SOS. You can come up with a code or something, that signifies you’re activating the plan. I also recommend talking through your SOS plan/story, so everyone is on board with the plan/story. Ideally you should do this before you go on a date and make this a part of your routine/conversations.
While online dating requires you putting yourself out there, you still need to make your safety your utmost priority. A little common sense,and gut checking goes a long way.