Yes, we do that too! We say that pretty often. If you ask anyone around you, “What does a PI do?” they’ll likely respond with something like “bust cheaters.” Others might point out the role PIs have played in missing person’s cases, murders, or political scandals. It’s true, we do that stuff, but our capabilities do not end there. Below are some other things you might not know PIs do.
1) Met a great guy online? He says he’s a deep sea welder and has been on a rig for the past two months. He lives in Texas, but wants to visit you when he gets his next two week vacation. He sounds amazing…. Really amazing. Too amazing? We can look into that for you. From identity verification to fact checking, we can help you make sure he’s on the up and up, before you tell your mom that you’re marrying a roughneck you met online. 
2) This lady may be the one. She laughs at all your jokes, your friends like her, and more importantly, she knows that the Cleveland Browns won the first ever game of Monday Night Football against the NY Jets. She’s a goddess. But, before you hunt down an unsuspecting father to ask permission to marry this woman, you notice a couple oddities about her back ground. Maybe it’s nothing and she just doesn’t want to talk about herself. Or maybe she’s a dude…
3) Your ex-husband announces that he’s remarrying. This means the awkward drunk dials every Christmas will finally stop, and you don’t have to keep your new man such a secret. The woman seems nice enough, but immediately, you notice that she seems to have a much higher standard of living than your husband. From cars, to jewelry, to clothing, it all appears to be top end. He doesn’t do too badly for himself and he’s never argued alimony and child support, but something has your mommy senses tingling and when that happens, something affects the kids. Is he overspending to keep her or does she make enough to explain her lifestyle? We can check that.
4) When you were 18, your parents told you the hardest news you ever had to hear. “You’re adopted.” Then they hand you a letter from your birth mother. You take initiative, manage to meet her and then you realize she’s not your “mom” and you drift apart. Ten years later, you are considering contacting her again because you’d like a relationship with your siblings, but you want to know what you’re walking into. We can help you figure that out.
5) In 1998 you met a guy at a New Year’s Eve party, while visiting friends in Toronto. You exchanged numbers and even talked a couple times, but geography and life got in the way. Now, you have one failed marriage and another near miss with a roughneck you met online, under your belt. You keep coming back to that one that got away. You searched for him on Facebook, but you’ve lost contact with your old friends and don’t even know if you have his name right. You just want to say “hi” and see how he is. We can help.
These fall into the “Peace of Mind” category, where we’re asked to look at something with objective eyes, find out the relevant or missing information, and tell them what they need to know and not just what they want to hear. One line I tell people is “You may be able to surprise me, but you cannot confound me.” It can be challenging, but it is also super rewarding. My favorite part is listening to a prospective client tell their story and getting to say to them “Yes, we do that too.”
In case you were wondering… the Browns won 31 to 21