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Tips to protect seniors in summer heat
Yes, elder power is hot these days: as the Boomers gray, marketers of every stripe view this rising tide as a business bonanza. And while senior buying power may be hot, if seniors themselves are feeling the heat, they could be in trouble.
Not only is it summer; it’s one of the hotter ones on record, as climate change and ozone depletion conspire to create blazing sunshine that can make older adults feel as though they’re literally frying on the sidewalk. Because elders are not eggs, they mustn’t be hard-boiled — though they could keel over easy if they cook too long in roasting weather.
Kidding aside, keeping body temperature regulated is important for everyone, but even more so for older people. You can help by ensuring your reverse mortgage office is comfortably cool (but not chilly; excess air conditioning can be as detrimental to someone’s internal thermostat as excess heat). Be sure you also have refreshing filtered water available, which is much more welcome, physically speaking, than either coffee or tea for controlling body temperature and maintaining hydration.
Ask the homeowners you meet with if they’re staying cool enough at home in this heat. If they say no, find out what kind of cooling system they have: central A/C? A swamp cooler? If they don’t have the resources to upgrade available, yet have considerable home equity, a reverse mortgage might be one solution. Find out, too, whether their home is energy efficient to maximize the benefit of an upgraded cooling system and minimize the expense.
And HECM professionals? Don’t wait till you’re a senior to begin taking good care of yourself in hot weather (or any other time). Many people are chronically dehydrated and don’t know it. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re in a state of dehydration. So keep a glass filled with clean, non-tap water on your desk, or a water bottle (stainless steel, not plastic) in your car. After all, the more alert and refreshed you feel, the better service you’ll be able to provide to your reverse mortgage prospects — which of course includes their health and well being.
2 Comments
Great fun on an important topic. Caring for the practical needs of customers is an important way to say I care about you.
It is interesting that over the years, law firms have been far more client friendly in this regard than either CPA firms and most other businesses generally. Normally the question is coffee or tea, although it has expanded more and more to include room temperature or cold bottled water.
Telling our customers that we care about them by the little things we do with no expectation of reciprocation means a lot to most people.
Great article!!!
James,
Thank you so much for your kind comment! Please feel free to suggest other topics you’d like to see covered in these posts; we want to address our readers’ needs and interests as fully as possible.
Warmly,
Amara