Hardhat = Invisible

Hey folks.

Just putting this out here.

Has anyone noticed that if you have a hardhat on and a tool in your hand you kind of fade out to the general public?

Banks were a large part of my sign business and I had to service time and temperature signs and often did work on weekends as it was easier to work without the customers nearby.

I remember one Sunday morning at about 6:00am I was installing a power feed and was drilling through the outside wall of the bank with a rotary hammer and several people walked by and never gave me even a glance.

What say you?

Brad
 

As a retired LEO I would hope that I would have checked on someone drilling into a bank at that time of day, but honestly you have an excellent point. If you are dressed the part and look like you know what you are doing you will appear to "belong" there - and most folks would just cruise right on by.
 
Is there a chance that the bank gave law enforcement a heads up you were going to be working there at that day and time?
 
When I think about it, when I see the armored van parked by
the bank, and the 2 guys on opposite street corners reading
newspapers (folks don't read papers on this towns streets, so
that alway sticks out to me but understand the routine...) I just
assume its the regular bank business.

That would probably be the best way to set up a heist - look
like you belong there....

Probably only really work in the movies tho.

Paul
 
Its always the obvious, carry a clip board, dress to match, act like you know what you are doing LOL!

A few years ago, they opened up an old train tunnel, to fill it in actually, so to get a photo, but not do anything unsafe, I put on a hardhat and went near the perimeter, asked to go in, got a few shots, probably would have made no difference if we did not ask, but..... the hardhats would have made it look legit no doubt.
 
(quoted from post at 18:51:53 06/01/14) Is there a chance that the bank gave law enforcement a heads up you were going to be working there at that day and time?
We sometimes used to work on commercial buildings at night. Usually the only time the police would stop and see what we were doing is if we had called to give them a heads up. The only time they paid us a visit when we didn't call to say we'd be working was one time when I tagged along to work with my Dad when I was in junior high. He was putting the finishing touches on speed shop. The store owners and employees were setting up displays. I was assigned the task of putting trim on the sales counter. I somehow triggered the silent alarm which no one knew was on. Several police cars converged on the store. Blocked the main road which ran in front of the store. Cops came running in, some with guns drawn. The jokers that worked at the store all pointed at me.
Turns out one of the cops worked part time for my Dad and knew we were working there. He got his police buddies to join him storming in the place like that. The police were laughing. The store workers were laughing. Dad was laughing. 11 or 12 year old me was not laughing.
 
(quoted from post at 19:23:38 06/01/14) Its always the obvious, carry a clip board, dress to match, act like you know what you are doing LOL!

A few years ago, they opened up an old train tunnel, to fill it in actually, so to get a photo, but not do anything unsafe, I put on a hardhat and went near the perimeter, asked to go in, got a few shots, probably would have made no difference if we did not ask, but..... the hardhats would have made it look legit no doubt.

A friend went to collage in Terre Haute, IN. A historic hotel was being torn down. My friend is an antique collector and history buff. He knew from seeing pictures that there was Coke bottle openers screwed to the wall in each room. He and a friend devised a plan to get in and steal a couple of bottle openers. They bought hard hats and some cheap tools. They wore flannel shirts and blue jeans. They snuck in on the side of the building away from where most of the work was being done to prep the building for demolition. They got in, got there bottle openers and got out. They didn't run across anyone working in the building. I asked if they were wearing work boots. My buddy said no. I told him that would have been a tip off if they had run into anyone working there.
I asked if they had considered asking the demo company if they could buy a couple bottle openers. He said they thought about it, but what they did was more fun.
 
It all goes with the idea of looking like you belong. Remember when car alarms first came out? I know around here when you heard one you'd immediately look to see what was going on. Nowdays unless I were to hear something like the glass breaking, or someone screaming that someone was stealing their car, I don't pay them any attention. Ultimately if you make and look like anything that's going on is routine, no one will ever pay you any attention.
 
So all I need is a hard hat and a hammer drill and I can get rich? And no body will pay attention as to how I did it?
 
I worked at a newspaper years ago, six months I was in the pressroom wearing the dark blue mechanics uniform, got a promotion to the camera department wearing regular clothing. Had countless people stop and introduce themselves like it was my first day. My new position was about 30 feet from where I had been working. Talk about invisible.
 
I remodeled a store in a high traffic area in Kansas City about ten years ago. We were working seven days a week, and on Sunday the general contractor decided to sleep in. That wouldn't have mattered except Saturday night he decided to put a hasp and padlock on the front door but only he had the keys. So about fifteen minutes after starting time with ten or so guys standing around on the clock, I noticed the hinges were out. We drove the pins out and luckily security hinges were not used so we were able to pull both front doors off the front of the building, hasp intact. All of this took place with traffic zooming by, and people out window shopping and walking there dogs!
 
Years ago one of the local electronics stores had a large stereo console stolen. It was one of those things that had the TV, record player, and receiver all built in to a piece of furniture, cost at the time about $2000. It was on display in the sales area of the store and this white panel van drove up, two guys in white jump suits got out with a furniture dolly and loaded it up. Nobody in the store said anything to them as they did their deed. Never recovered and the thieves were never caught.
 
About 25 years ago here in town two guys picked up a large canoe from a department store, carried it outside and drove off with it. They came back the next day for some paddles and got caught.
 
Good story, sounds dangerous though, these kind of demo jobs and this tunnel was intact, but they opened the top to fill it. It was all brick, barrel vault, round top arch ceiling, I was able to dislodge one brick from the ceiling, for a souvenir, just thinking about the steam locomotives and the like that rolled through this tunnel, there is footage of it on you tube, its incredible realizing how it is today, but for 100 years the railroad was prevalent, wish that line was still going today, nice convenience, the station was a beautiful building too.

Yours truly in the photo LOL, this was a NY Central line tunnel.

Brick I took was the 8th one over from the left, 2nd course, small piece missing, bottom right, slightly dislodged tilted downward. I certainly was not going under this cavity, that brick was within reach, probably stable, but with the disturbance, who knows. Unreal how many times I've driven a tractor trailer over this old sealed off tunnel, it was still completely intact since the late 50's.
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I had a buddy borrow his brothers ROTC uniform one day . He walked into a bank where they had a big Army display . Manikin in full battle dress with Parachute . He took down the whole display , loaded it into his car and drove off . Nobody gave him a thought or asked him anything .
 
I was told to go pick up an excavator from a rental customer. It was parked in the State Highway Department yard. I got there and everything was locked up, no one around.... Oh yeah, it was a state Holiday! Called our office, then the rental customer, He gave me the combination to the gate padlock. Put on a reflective vest and a hardhat, and proceded to go inside and retrieve the machine. Locked the gate and left. No one said a word to me.
Not even the State Police from the barracks across the street!
 
A bit like underage drinking in my experience.

When there was a raid on was when you ordered another beer and looked like you belonged there - the runners provided the distraction
 
I worked my way through College as the mechanic for a country club. Of course I wore uniforms, or jeans and from about October through April I always wore coveralls. Christmas comes around and they need help for Christmas parties in the clubhouse. It's December I'm a broke college kid and I need money for the holidays, school's out so I volunteer to do valet car parking. The club manager informs me I need to dress better for this gig and tells me at least slacks, a shirt with a collar, leather shoes and no ball caps. It's December in Michigan so I dress in slacks, leather shoes and an oxford shirt, even through on a sweater and a dress raincoat like you'd wear with a suit. I go to check in and the Manager's secretary, who I have seen at least 3 times a week for the last year wants to charge the party's host for me 'cause she thinks I'm one of the guests.
 

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