Yeah Rich well 1) You are a man and 2) you have a rather imposing appearance and 3) you haven't had anything bad happen to you so far.

That being said, my first job out of college was working for Gerber as a sales rep to grocery stores.  Part of my territory was Gary, Indiana.  If you know anything about Gary, it is extremely rough.  However, I went there regularly as a child, as my mom grew up there, and I still had family in the area at the time (it's now been 20+ years that they have all moved out).  So I kind of knew my way around, knew what parts were rougher than others.  (in the winter, everything looked not as bad, when it was covered in a blanket of pure white snow)

Also, my uncle, who also grew up there and worked in the area also before moving, gave me some tips:  1) Go early. 2) Be out by noon. 3) Say hi to anybody who says hi to you, BUT look over your back at the same time.  4) Don't go at the beginning of the month or the end of the month.

I abided by those tips religiously and never had a speck of trouble.   The managers were grateful that someone would visit their stores.  In fact, all of the grocery stores had security guards, and they really looked out for me.  They even said I could call ahead of time when I was coming, and they'd meet me out in the parking lot and escort me in.  I never did that, but I did have them escort me out sometimes, when I sensed that the drunks, druggies, and other ne-'er-do-wells were waking up.  The one security guard I was most afraid of was Pedro.  Pedro was an intimidating-looking Puerto Rican, stocky and tall, with thick gold chains and a goatee, a real tough-guy type.  I was scared @#$#-less of him at first.  He turned out to be a big teddy bear and my staunchest protector.  He told me stories of the trouble he and his wife had had with their house partially burning.  His store was in the absolute worst part of town. 

One time, my boss came into town to work with me.  Gary had just been added to his territory, and he knew nothing about it.  He is from Decatur, IL (we still exchange Christmas cards each year) and has never known living anywhere else.  He followed me in his van as we pulled up to Pedro's store, our first stop, and parked next to me.  I looked over at him, and the look on his face was pure terror!  It was almost comical...

I probably wouldn't sign up for a gig like that again, but let me tell you, it was quite an education and a surprisingly enriching experience.