Comments The Locksmith Journals

[Texican]

It seems she excused herself for a moment while her was working and when she returned to "help" him get the door open she was wearing what you might call a flimsy piece of nothingness, It covered her from shoulder to about mid thigh, but it hid nothing and clearly showed that, that was all she was wearing. He told me she made a point of bending over in front of him and made sure he knew she REALLY wanted a discount on the price of opening the door.

Locksmiths definitely live interesting work lives....


I don't try to ignore people and try to treat everyone with respect, but when you see as many people as I do sometimes you just don't remember the faces.

Definitely recognize that old man syndrome....

Thanks DL for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[day late]

So, here we are again. It surprises me how often people will get to their storage unit and leave their keys at home. (In this case in Melbourne, Fla.) And I hate those circular locks that are so popular for these units today. They are impossible to pick and a real bear to cut through. I mean as long as you have the key, they're great. They are really secure locks. But lose the key and my life just got more difficult. And the people who run these storage units get really upset if I put the slightest ding in the door. Unfortunately that isn't always possible. I did put a few grind marks in this unit, but nothing that would affect the door or it's function. So everyone is happy, for now. Tomorrow if the people who run that place actually look at it they may be upset a little, but still the door has only a couple of scratches and there will be no problem with renting it again. Also the people who called me are emptying it today and they will be gone forever. I don't think anyone is ever going to notice. Still, I'm the professional and doing any kind of damage makes me feel bad. On the up side the customer was happy I got there so quickly, got the job done as fast as I did and tipped me enough for me to get my tank refilled to about 3/4's of the way.

But then again there are times my boss really makes me feel like a thief. I mean he sets the price and I have no choice but to charge what he says, but sometimes I just feel like he is ripping people off. This afternoon I got sent to the other side of town on a job. I was told that the lady had the key in the lock, but it didn't turn all the way and she couldn't get it out. As I suspected the answer was WD-40. I shot some into the lock, jiggled it a bit and the lock turned, the key came out and all was well. He told me to charge $75 to get the lady into her home and $19 to get the key out of the lock. $94 for a couple of shots of WD-40. It seems a crime to me, but I have no choice in the matter. I do believe that one of these days his greed is going to turn around and bite him in the butt.

 

[Texican]

He told me to charge $75 to get the lady into her home and $19 to get the key out of the lock. $94 for a couple of shots of WD-40. It seems a crime to me, but I have no choice in the matter. I do believe that one of these days his greed is going to turn around and bite him in the butt.

The love of money has destroyed many a good person....

Texican....

 

[day late]

Well, it looks like something is going on behind the scenes. We have two offices. One in Gainesville and the other in Ocala. So a couple of days ago the manager in Ocala starts pushing getting I.D. from the customers. To be sure it has always been a matter of the technician's judgement about doing that or not. But now I'm told either they have recently changed the law, or the boss just found out about it. So now I'm required to get I.D. and take a picture of it for every job I do. I mean it makes sense to get I.D. if the job seems a little off. I mean some guy who looks like he just stepped out of the hood wanting to get into a brand new top of the line B.M.W. at 2 A.M. does raise some red flags, and in cases like those I want I.D. But like last night, I get called to the employee parking lot at the Walmart distribution center. The girl I'm on the phone with comes out of the building, in uniform and points at a man standing in front of the building, in uniform, so to me this seems pretty much on the up and up. AND the boss still hadn't shown me how to do this little trick on the app we use, so I didn't get I.D.

Today the Ocala manager calls wanting to know why no photos. I told him. He gave me some pointers and I've done it on my jobs today. Now while I like working for the Gainesville guy and will take orders from the managers here and down south, I know they haven't always been totally honest with me. I need to check this out for myself. I believe that the Ocala manager has gotten spooked by a couple of recent "almost" jobs. In one case the soon to be ex-wife wanted to get into the car of the soon to be ex-husband so she could trash it on his cheating backside. In the other, the ex-wife just wanted to "get even" with the ex-husband for reasons unknown. She called one of our guys out to re-key his house while he was at work. Divorces can get messy. But I just get the feeling that the boss and managers just want to cover their backside in case something does happen and we get sued. I'm going to check this out.

 

[Texican]

Divorces can get messy.

For way to many....

Texican....

 

[day late]

My oh my, these are two of the reasons I'm glad I'm not in the corporate world. Realtors and banks. Usually there isn't too much problem between them except who gets how much, but sometimes they can just go off the rails and I get to watch a little bit of the train wreak as it happens. I believe I've already mentioned the time I was called by the realtor to open a house because the bank had foreclosed on it and changed the lock. (It is customary to only change the deadbolt on the front door until the home sells. Then it is up to the new home owner as to if he wants all of the locks changed, rekeyed or what. The point being neither the bank nor the realtor is responsible for that additional expense. Cheap People!!!) The thing was from what the realtor told me they had no right to foreclose, but did it anyway. It that case the bankers got REALLY stupid. Instead of calling a locksmith to come and open the house to change the lock, they sent someone out with a BIG hammer and beat the deadbolt off the door. Once inside they then changed the lock, but not before doing so much damage to the door that it had to be replaced. I don't know who won that battle but when money is involved people just get really stupid.

Then we have cases like last night. And this is far more common. There will be multiple realtors showing the same property. It is customary for them to only lock the deadbolt and leave the key for it in a lock box hanging on the front doorknob for the next realtor to use to show the house. All the realtors have access to the code to get the key from the lockbox. So far, so good. But every once in a while they will get some newbie realtor or one that is just overly cautious and they will lock the doorknob as well as the deadbolt. Only thing is that because the deadbolt has been changed, the key no longer fits both locks. Now the next realtor can't get in to show the house. So last night I had to pick the doorknob to get the guy in, then rekey the doorknob to the key used for the deadbolt, plus cut a couple of extra keys for "just in case". Not bad to get nearly $100 for about a half an hour's worth of work. AND the guy tipped as well.

While there isn't the same amount of drama with new home owners/business owners as there is with the above mentioned people, it can still get interesting. Quite often I will get called to rekey the locks on a home or business that is totally empty but will soon be filled with someone's hopes and dreams for the future. It is always fun to hand someone a set of keys after I'm done and tell them;

"As of this moment, anyone who THINKS they have a key to this place is going to be very disappointed."

They always smile at that.

 

[Texican]

DL,

No semi-naked or naked ladies this round....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[9idrr]

I've enjoyed your posts, day late. Thanks.

 

[Siskiyoumom]

Your stories are very interesting!

 

[day late]

Just a quick one. This morning I had what I call a gratifying inconvenience. I always treat my customers with politeness and respect. It makes things go smoother and gives them a good impression so that should they ever need a locksmith again they are likely to call the company I work for and I may get the job, which means more money for me. Since I'm on call until midnight I usually crawl out of bed somewhere between 8:30 and 9 A.M. So this morning I'm sitting on the throne just before taking a shower when the phone rings. I answer it and the lady askes,

"Are you the locksmith?"

"Well, I am a locksmith, how can I help you?"

"You rekeyed an apartment for my company last year and I was wondering if you can do another, possibly even today."

"Well, yes I can but it would be best if you call the shop and make the appointment."

"Oh, I don't have their number but I saved yours."

So I give her the shop number and now I have an appointment for 1:00 tomorrow. It's nice that people have a good opinion of me and want me to work for them again, but boy was this lady's timing off.

 

[Texican]

Good works like good deeds have good rewards....

Thanks DL for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[day late]

Todays quick one about realtors. I just got back from the appointment. You have to wonder what some people are thinking, or if they actually think at all. I got there about 10 minutes early. (Better for me to wait on them than them wait on me.) While I'm looking over the job I can't help but notice that as per usual, some realtor locked the doorknob for which they don't have a key. So what does the next realtor do? He grabbed a hammer and beat the doorknob off of the door. What was supposed to be just a simple job of rekeying one lock became a job of replacing both doorknob and deadbolt, plus rekeying one of them to the same key as the other. A $60 job just went to $130.33. Just because someone got stupid.

 

[day late]

To give you an idea of what realtors and banks do to make my life harder, and more profitable. You can see some of the hammer strikes above the doorknob and this metal door was ALMOST bent to the point of replacement.

 

[Sportsman]

Around here, they use a Realtor's lock box that has a bluetooth connection to the Realtor's phone. They know who opened the door, when they opened it, and when they closed it. With that system, It'd be easy to determine who mis-locked the door, and who banged it up. But with those cheap easy-to-defeat Masterlock lock boxes, most every kid in the neighborhood knows how to open them.

 

[day late]

THAT is a part of the train wreak I don't get to see, but I'm quite sure that many realtors and bankers have paid a pretty penny or two for their mistake.

 

[day late]

Well, this morning was a first. I was sent out to open a business. When I get there it is just a simple matter of picking a doorknob, BUT the only way to communicate with the customer is by using the translation app on her phone. She would talk to the phone in Chinese, push a button and the phone spoke to me in English. She pushes another button, I answer her and then the phone tells her what I said in Chinese. I've never had that happen before. The closest to that was one time I had to use text's to communicate with a man who was deaf. But at least he 'spoke' and understood English.

 

[day late]

Funny how these things work. A couple of nights ago I was getting calls stacked up, one on top of the other. Most were simple car lockouts but you can only be in one place at one time. So I am on my way to the first of two calls when I get a third about a guy locked out of his home. There is no way I can reach this guy in less than an hour so I called the shop and told them that if anyone else was available, to send them. Otherwise we might lose the job to another locksmith. So another guy was sent, and boy am I glad he was. Turns out the guy had the key and the lock turned, but it still didn't work. To make a long story short, the latch had died and other guy had to remove the door knob, rip out the latch, which never comes out in one piece, and then pull out each and every individual piece to the latch one at a time. It took him about an hour to get the job done. And then he had to replace the door knob. All of this is very much like the job I did a few days ago that I posted the picture of.

And then we have the job I did last night. I love being pleasant to the customers, because if they need a locksmith again, they call us. Last week I had to get a guy into his office at work, at 9 P.M. So last night at about 8 P.M. same guy, same office. The good thing was that this time I knew which pick to start with. The last time I threw almost every pick I had at this door handle and nothing worked. I was about to give up and grab the drill when I realized that I hadn't used one of the picks that came with the kit I have and is just about worthless. I tried it and that locked just popped right open. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding which pick the lock likes.

 

[day late]

GRRR...come on boss, get it right! I've said before, for the most part my boss is a pleasure to work for. He sends me a job, then sends me a text to make sure I know I have the job and then sits back and waits for me to tell him that I'm ready for the next one. He understands that some jobs are harder than others and doesn't try to micromanage me. In nearly five years I think he has called me once to find out what was taking so long. And that's great. I've worked for more than one boss who would set something in front of me, walk to the end of the room, turn around and come back with the statement,

"You aren't finished yet?"


But as I have also said he IS technologically challenged. Twice in as many days I have gotten a job and things weren't what I was told. Yesterday I was sent out after being told that a lady was locked out of her home. I get to the job and she tells me,

"Oh no. I'm locked out of my car."

Well, that's no big deal until after opening the car she now wants me to make a new key for it. I have the equipment and training to make house keys, not car keys. So now I've got to call the shop and let the lady make arrangements for someone to go out to her today to make the car key. This isn't my fault, but it is something of an embarrassment to me. Then we had earlier today. At about 1:30 I am sent to unlock a car. I call and leave a message, then text. I'm almost at the job when the customer calls me and says,

"Oh I asked for an appointment at 5:30. I'm at work right now so I can't be there."

Thanks boss.

AAARRRGGG!!! As I was typing the above I got a call to open a car. I call the customer and she tells me,

"Oh I asked for a 5:00 appointment."

The good thing is Miss 5:00 isn't too far away from Mr. 5:30.

 

[Texican]

DL,

you should pay the boss for all of the fun that you have....

Thanks for the chapters....

Texican....

 

[day late]

Some days are better than others, and some customers make you suspicious. Yesterday I had to open an apartment for a lady. She SAID that the clip she had her house key on had come loose from her key ring and gotten lost. I assume she had a spare key inside because she didn't ask for the lock to be rekeyed. No big deal, happens all the time. When I picked the lock I noticed it was very hard to turn. Well some of these locks look like they were installed about the day after God was born. So nothing unusual there. This morning I get a actual call, not text, from the boss. The lady is complaining that the lock doesn't work now. From experience I can see one of three possibilities.

1. She forgot to get the lock rekeyed and now believes by complaining she can get it for free. (Remember, she didn't tell me if she had an extra key or not. So this won't be done for free.)

2. The apartment has a master key to allow them to enter at will to check the place. This is a common practice and makes sense from the management P.O.V. The problem is that to do this there has to be a wafer on top of one or more pins for the master key to work. Over time the wafers become worn and will slip down out of the hole they are in and get jammed between the plug you put your key in and the cylinder housing it. This requires that the lock be disassembled, rekeyed and then reassembled. (Like above this is not going to be done for free.)

3. As mentioned, some locks are quite old and have seen a lot of use. Fact of life, locks are mechanical devices. ALL mechanical devices eventually fail. If this wasn't true we wouldn't need mechanics for our car, technicians for the AC or even locksmiths. It is possible that this is a case of total lock failure. THAT isn't free either.

I will know which of these are true at 4:30 today. That's when I go back over there and look at the problem. It is most likely that either number 2 or 3 is the case. Which is good for the lady in question. I can write her a bill and add a note saying what the problem is and that is a maintenance issue. She is not responsible for lock maintenance. That means the apartment complex has to repay her for the expense of my visit. So in about an hour I get to go solve a bit of a mystery and get paid for doing it.

 

[Texican]

So in about an hour I get to go solve a bit of a mystery and get paid for doing it.

DL,

You do enjoy making those dollars....

Texican...

 

[day late]

Being on the road as much as I am you see a lot of things that aren't even related to the job. Mostly dealing with cars and drivers. We all know that there are curves on some roads where the suggested speed that is posted is a REALLY good idea. And sometimes even that doesn't help. Around here that is mostly on the entrances and exits to the interstate. There have been many times when I'm entering or leaving I-75 when I will see someone who has gone into the ditch. usually with disastrous results. With some of wreaks I've seen I have to wonder if anyone survived. Recently it had been rained all day and someone in a van, making a right hand curve to get on I-75 apparently dropped the passenger side front wheel off of the pavement and the van rolled several times before it reached the bottom of the retention pond inside that curved ramp. Today I stopped by the station to get gas and I saw a young woman sitting in her minivan calling person after person. The passenger side front tire looked like someone had tried to feed it into a meat grinder. The entire sidewall was gone. It seems clear that she got a flat and then drove on it for a mile or three before she pulled over into the gas station. It reminded me of an old "Happy Days" show when Fonzie was asking a girl if she ever heard of something called an oil change. Her answer was priceless. Even though it was scripted, we all know people like this. She said;

"Oh I don't know anything about things like that. I just put gas in it and go."

Obviously this woman didn't realize that a flat can be repaired in most cases. So instead of pulling of the road and waiting for help, she destroyed the tire, and possibly the rim as well.

But as I said sometimes even the most cautious drivers end up in situations beyond their control. Case in point, it was Aug. 31 2016 at 11:30 at night. I was on my way to help a lady get into her home. Hurricane Hermione had been off shore for a couple of days. Everything was wet. I slowed down to less than the suggested limit as I exited I-75. The next thing I knew I was going sideways at about 45 M.P.H. I hydroplaned off the road and broadsided one of those signs that points the direction to the town you want to go too. Thank The Lord that I did. It had been raining for three days. The ground was soaked and if I had just gone into the ditch, the wheels would have dug in and I would have rolled. As it was hitting the sign spun me around so I went nose first into the ditch. Once everything stopped moving I actually backed up next to the road, called the boss to let him know I wasn't going to make that call, and believe it or not drove that thing home. The insurance company totaled it the damage was so bad. The picture shows what happened to my 4-Runner.

Okay, I'm not seeing the picture. But one leg of the sign hit just in front of my rear tire and the other leg just behind the tire. The tire and axel were undamaged. But the body damage went up into the roof and given the age of the 4-Runner it was cheaper to total it than to fix it.

 

[Texican]

DL:

Even the cautious ones get surprised....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[day late]

With Gainesville being a college town, political views and beliefs are on constant display. Discussion of such things is an everyday event. Which is one of the reasons I must be very polite to our customers. What I believe in and want to say can never be expressed to the customer, unless I know they are at least close to what I believe. In my wife's family I'm seen as a nut job because they KNOW I'm a Trump supporter. Well, the truth is that I'm not a Trump supporter. I don't trust ANY politician, left or right. I support God and the U.S. Constitution. I'm sorry to say that for years now (decades really) I've always been forced to vote for the candidate that I feel will do the least amount of damage to the one and tries to be close as possible to the most important One. But there are times when I'm called to a job where people have no problem at all expressing their beliefs and simply assume that because they are obviously right that I must agree with every nonsensical word that spews out of their mouth. These are usually also the most troublesome and demanding customers. There was one time recently I got a call to get three young ladies into their apartment. I knew I was going to be on my absolute best behavior from the moment I arrived. All three were less that 25 years old, college students and very opinionated. One was wearing a "Che" t-shirt. Another wore a shirt boasting the greatness of Antifa. The third simply worn one advertising her brand of Rum. The lock is old, dirty and unwilling to be picked. So while I'm fighting with the lock these three are busily solving the problems of the world by use of all their vast worldly knowledge and experience, and I've got to stand there and listen to it. So after a couple of minutes these "ladies" realize that James Bond is never around when you need him. After all he could have had that lock picked with a bobby pin before he even arrived and I'm taking MUCH to long. Thank The Lord the lock picked just after this conversation started so I didn't have to listen to too much of it. And I have found that on average the rudest customers and the ones who never tip are the ones with bumper stickers promoting Bernie, Hillary, Obama and/or other leftists. Ya know, I'm going to have to see my dentist one of these days and see if they make some kind of mouth guard that will keep me from just biting my tongue right off.

 

[Texican]

DL,

You do manage to get the interesting calls....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[FreeSpace]

I hate those circular locks that are so popular for these units today. They are impossible to pick and a real bear to cut through.


If you put a propane torch on the keyway it melts. Made out of zink I think.

 

[day late]

Late Saturday night LEO update. Just got back from a job. A couple was dog sitting for someone who is out of town. When I got the call I was told there had been a possible forced entry and I was to wait for the LEO's to arrive. Once they got there they actually jiggled the door and it came open. They searched the home and announced it clear. So the couple was allowed in and the dogs were very happy about that. It had been awhile since they had been able to go out and do their business as well as being fed and watered. So, I get to work. I can not say for certain that there had been an attempt at forced entry. It is possible that it was just a case of an old lock giving up the ghost and dying. But from what I saw, I'm leaning towards attempted forced entry. It seems to me that someone ALMOST managed to get the door open, but the dogs barking inside made them decide to try some place else. Anyway I had to take the lock apart and show them what was wrong and explain why it was wrong. (I mean the springs inside the lock should stay inside the lock. They shouldn't be inside the door.) And then they had to take pictures of everything, for which I had to be there to point out what was wrong and why. Then I got to replace the lock and secure the home. Now I get to hold on to the pieces of the old lock for a while until GPD decides if they need them or not. Ya know, those biological burglar alarms, AKA dogs, do wonderful things in keeping home safe when Mommy and Daddy aren't home.

 

[Dumb Blonde]

Yep, I like my possessions and myself being protected by Doberman Security Systems!

 

[day late]

Technology is going to be the death of us all. The last job I went to was SOOOOO difficult. I get there to open the car and the lady tells me that she has been having trouble with the fob and it won't open the car. I ask if I can see it. She hands it over, I push the button, slide out the door key and open the door. She didn't have the first clue that the door key was there. She had become over reliant on the technology of keyless entry. On top of that she tells me she works as a realtor for one of the major national companies and shows me a picture of a type of lock that she wants installed on a property they are trying to sell. It's a standard keypad dead bolt. She told me she had contacted another locksmith to have it installed and the guy couldn't figure it out even after reading the instructions. I've installed a lot of them and it's no big deal. I'm telling you, technology can fluster almost everyone these days. It can make even the brightest people look pretty dumb.

 

[FireDance]

Technology is going to be the death of us all. The last job I went to was SOOOOO difficult. I get there to open the car and the lady tells me that she has been having trouble with the fob and it won't open the car. I ask if I can see it. She hands it over, I push the button, slide out the door key and open the door. She didn't have the first clue that the door key was there. She had become over reliant on the technology of keyless entry. On top of that she tells me she works as a realtor for one of the major national companies and shows me a picture of a type of lock that she wants installed on a property they are trying to sell. It's a standard keypad dead bolt. She told me she had contacted another locksmith to have it installed and the guy couldn't figure it out even after reading the instructions. I've installed a lot of them and it's no big deal. I'm telling you, technology can fluster almost everyone these days. It can make even the brightest people look pretty dumb.

Lol. We have one of those dead bolts installed on our office door. No ONE has been able to reprogram the code on it. It acts like it takes it then it vomits when you try to use new code and you have to reset. I think it has died. It worked to reset the code one time. Oh well.

 

[Texican]

DL,

The wife's new van has the key built into the key fob so if the fob fails you can still get into the vehicle....

Technology is not always the best answer....

Thanks for the chapter....

Texican....

 

[day late]

I know it's been awhile, but business slows down during spring break, and the coronavirus isn't helping either. A lot of people are taking classes at home on-line so they aren't getting locked out of anything. But we still do get some work. A couple of days ago it was one of those "Oh, hi Bill." moments. I honestly don't remember the guy but he tells me,

"You got me into my car a couple of weeks ago."

He then admits he should of taken my advice and put that spare key behind the license plate. As my favorite sci-fi author says, 'Live and learn, or you don't live long.'

Then we have this morning. Some guy is locked out of his bedroom. He admits that there was a party there last night. Which by the smell I knew the moment I walked in. And I didn't check the ash tray sitting on the coffee table. Due to the heavy scent in the air, it wasn't necessary. I get to the door and as I'm opening it I can clearly see where and attempt to kick it open was made last night. Must have been some party. The footprints were too far below the lock to have any chance of getting the door to open. So either he didn't know how to properly place his kick, or was too far gone to get his aim right. The good thing is that he stopped before doing any damage to the door.

 

[Texican]

The footprints were too far below the lock to have any chance of getting the door to open. So either he didn't know how to properly place his kick, or was too far gone to get his aim right.

DL,

I believe that the term is blitzed.... Have never been there....

Your fun never ends....

Texican....

 

[day late]

Well, this coronavirus has certainly slowed things down. Nobody was going anywhere, so they weren't locking themselves out of anything. Now, a few hours ago, I got a notice from my boss. It's official, as of 12:01 A.M. 03/24/20 Alachua county, Florida is under 'stay at home' orders. I do believe that this will be my last entry for a while.

 

[Texican]

DL,

Sad to hear. You could occasionally relate some older interesting times that you have experienced thru the years.

Be careful out there.

Texican....

 

[mikeabn]

Great stories and I hope you get back to work soon,!

 

[Freebirde]

Second on old stories!

Hope you don't get any "Nobody has heard from them" jobs soon, and if you do it is because they left for the cabin and 'forgot' to tell someone.

 

[day late]

Okay, I thought I was done, but I just got back from a job where I saved some kids backside. The father was convinced that the son had done something to screw up the door knob. In fact, the father hadn't tightened up the screws on the door knob and everything fell apart on the inside. It was a simple fix and Dad was glad for advice that was given. I think he was also happy that he didn't have to spank his son. He seemed like a nice guy and actually tipped me.

 

[Texican]

DL to the rescue again....

Texican....

 

[day late]

Well, not any more. As of about 9 P.M. last night I got laid off. Everyone is staying home so very little call for our services.