Comments The Locksmith Journals

day late

money? whats that?
The Lord works in mysterious ways. During this whole semi-retirement/locksmithing/not locksmithing/networking thing a lot has been thrown at me. One day I'm off, the next, 'can you take the van today?' It wasn't long before I was basically working two part time jobs, getting paid for one, and using my car for the other. As Richard Pryor said, "You don't get to be old, being no fool". I knew there was going to be a shake down to get everything working right. There are still adjustments to come that I can see, but I'm not so sure about the boss. After the insulting incident, not only did the boss apologize, but also went out of his way to try making amends. We'll see about that. The mysterious way part happened out of the blue. (How else?) One day I was out on a job and decided to stop at a few places between calls. Drop off a few cards, talk to people, that sort of thing. I report the places I've been so they can track to see if any area starts calling us more. All of a sudden, the boss realizes something. If I'm driving around town in the van doing networking, I'm really driving a billboard all over town. He doesn't have to compensate me for gas plus wear and tear on my car. It also frees up my 'days off' into real days off. I go to a networking meeting one day a week, and the rest of the time is mine.

Works perfect. I get a little time out of the house, a little extra to supplement SS, and there is ALMOST enough time for me to do what I want when I get the 'honey-do' list out of the way.
 

day late

money? whats that?
I've never hidden that there is a dark side to this job. Right now, I want to hurt somebody, very badly, and I don't even know who he is. My last job of the day. A simple home lockout. No big deal, until I get there. I know something is wrong when I arrive. The lady is standing by the door, waiting for me. Standing next to her is an officer from the Gainesville Police Dept. As I get out of the van and walk up to them, the officer walks away. Okay, that tells me whatever is going on, opening the home is personal. The door was a problem, but I managed to open it without damage. The lady was quite happy, because now she could get to the fridge for some water. But once the door is open, the officer starts walking back our way. It seemed odd, but I hadn't done anything wrong, so I didn't have a clue. While settling up the bill, the customer took off her sunglasses. I really looked at her for the first time. (I tend to focus on the job first and the customer second.) She had two black eyes and bruises on her head and exposed upper body. While talking with the officer I heard her say something about,

"I didn't plan on coming back here."

Clearly the officer was there for her protection. Gee, I wonder from who? Put him and me in a locked windowless room without security cameras for a little while, will ya?
 
Last edited:

day late

money? whats that?
People like that I've said "I'll only hit them with one hand and only hit them until they fall down. I'll use the other hand to hold them up."

With people like that, my philosophy is simple. I am going to hurt you. I am going to hurt you very badly. And I am going to keep on hurting you until one of two things happens.

1. I get too tired.

2. The cops pull me off.

There IS NO third option.
 

larry_minn

Contributing Member
Romans 12:19
"Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written: "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord."

Unfortunately the Lord's wrath does not come quickly enough to some demons of this world.

A.
Sometimes I have prayed to be the instrument God uses.m
 

day late

money? whats that?
Romans 12:19
"Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written: "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord."

Unfortunately the Lord's wrath does not come quickly enough to some demons of this world.

A.

The Lord does expect us to do some judging. Maybe the lady wasn't dead, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Num 35:24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
 

day late

money? whats that?
Life has just taken a turn for the surreal. I know it happens I just don't know why. The last customer from the other day, the one with the black eyes. I got a call from her last night. SHE'S LOOKING FOR HER BOYFRIEND! Says he walked out a couple of days ago and left his phone behind. He said he was fine and just going out for a few minutes. Nobody has seen or heard from him since and she's calling all of the recent numbers on his phone in an effort to find him. She is concerned about his health.

I will never get it. She was beaten badly enough to make me angry and requires a police escort to return home. Now she's worried about the as*hole who did it to her. Does not compute. Honestly, if someone caught up with him because of some other lady he has abused and made him pay, I won't shed a tear.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
It's a lack of self esteem combined with a desperate need for "love"... usually caused in part by a lack of validation and sufficient acceptance and love (especially by their father, or a father figure) in their formative years. It's basically a form of mental illness, and it often is fatal.

Any cop can tell you a hundred stories... it's awful.

Summerthyme
 

9idrr

Veteran Member
Life has just taken a turn for the surreal. I know it happens I just don't know why. The last customer from the other day, the one with the black eyes. I got a call from her last night. SHE'S LOOKING FOR HER BOYFRIEND! Says he walked out a couple of days ago and left his phone behind. He said he was fine and just going out for a few minutes. Nobody has seen or heard from him since and she's calling all of the recent numbers on his phone in an effort to find him. She is concerned about his health.

I will never get it. She was beaten badly enough to make me angry and requires a police escort to return home. Now she's worried about the as*hole who did it to her. Does not compute. Honestly, if someone caught up with him because of some other lady he has abused and made him pay, I won't shed a tear.
Could it be she's just expressing phony concern, just in case the 'gators don't consume the part of the body with bullet holes?
 

day late

money? whats that?
Okay. I admit. I'm not happy right now. But neither would anyone else. I had about six or seven jobs today. Only one house lockout, and the rest were cars. Almost every one of the car lockouts went pretty easily. AND every car lockout was done in the rain. The one that didn't go well was a scooter lockout. Normally, I put the airbag under the seat, pump it up to create a gap, reach in and fish out the keys. Normally. This time I got some keys out, but the customer said they were the wrong ones. I was in the rain when we started. Then he says,

"Let me check and make sure the key isn't in my apartment."

He started to walk away, and the bottom started to fall out. I went to the van, already soaking wet, and opened the rear hatch to get out of the rain. I stood under it, in a stiff breeze, for about 10 minutes. The guy comes walking back towards me, then stops so he can climb in the nice dry HEATED S.U.V. with Mom while they waited for the rain to quit. I'm getting wetter. It finally backs off enough for him to get out and tell me there are no keys in the apartment. For which I'm very happy. If I had to get this wet because you didn't look under the cushion, I'm going to be mad. As a last resort before doing anything destructive, I squirted some WD-40 in the lock for the seat. The keys were tried one more time and the lock turned. The seat came open and a quick search was made for the spare ignition key that was supposed to be there. No key. He makes a call or two to the seller of the scooter. His advice is to go on-line and order new locks and an ignition. The customer is not happy. I'm drenched and not in the best of moods. The only really good thing about that job was leaving.

I guess another way to put it is that my day involved running my jacket through the dryer every time I got home. I ran the dryer three times. Not the best of days.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Decisions, decisions. I just got off the phone with SS. They say now that I'm over 66 and 4 months I can earn as much as I want to. The question is, how much do I want to work? I love the job. In spite of recent happenings, I'm still friendly with the boss, and everyone else. I can still keep up with the best of them. It will get me out of the house and put a bit more money in the bank, but it would cut down on the time I have now for other projects. So, do I want to jump right back into the rat race I've spent so much time trying to get out of?

Then there are the people I'll be dealing with. After 40 years, I know how my wife is going to react. She is going to want me, at most, to work another five hours and get paid for twenty. Since we pull 12 hour days, that is not too likely to happen. And if I get another day, then the guy I swap the van with gets shorted 12 hours. He wouldn't be happy with that.

The boss, on the other hand, is going to see this as an opportunity to get more work out of me, and by doing that cut back on expenses he has with other smiths. I'm working straight hourly, and part time. Those guys get minimum wage, until commission exceeds minimum wage. Then it is commission. So, send me on the easy jobs, or the ones way out of town. That way there's no overtime, even with a car lockout being out of town. That raises the price. It raises the commission, unless there is no commission.

I've got a few days to consider my options and listen to my wife tell me what they are and which one I'm going to choose. (Uhhh, maybe.)
 

day late

money? whats that?
Wish me luck. My wife spent the last few days with her family celebrating the Iranian New Year. I told her what SS said about my ability to earn money. Before I got off the phone I could tell, she was already plotting. So, she has had a few days to think about it as well as me. I know she already has a plan worked out to the smallest detail about what I should do, what I should say, and how it should be done. And it is completely wrong. Like trying to pick up only five hours out of a twelve hour shift. It ain't gonna work. But I'm thinking there is a car wash about a mile from my house. They are offering $15 an hour to start. Sounds like a good braindead retirement job. Another is working for Hertz, driving their cars around the airport. Same hourly wage. No long distance trips. No more trama and drama from either the customers or the boss. I could work with that. The reason I need the luck is that in about an hour or so, I have to pick up my wife and then spend an hour in the car talking about this on the way home.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Well, these ones caught me out of the blue. Things have been quiet lately. I haven't been doing much in the few days I work and since the younger full-time smiths that are taught how to do things like the car keys and fobs. That makes sense, I get it. It doesn't bother me at all. Also, it is the younger guys who get the lion's share of the work on the days I have the van. Again, understandable and actually to my benefit. I get paid to sit around and do nothing. So, things went sideways as I'm coming home from my second job today. One of the guys posted a picture in the group chat showing a pile of work shirts and a bag of tools. The caption read, that the tools were at the edge of the driveway, and he hoped the boss got them before someone else did. Everyone else, have a good life.

Okay? Did this guy just quit? He's one of the newer smiths, down Ocala way. He's been getting great reviews on-line. He's brought in a number of big-ticket jobs. What is going on here? I have no idea, and no answers are being provided at this time. With the smiths in Ocala, I rarely put a name with a number. I never work with them, we don't hang out, no real connection at all. Nothing against them, they just don't go into contacts. This evening I pick up the guy who is going to have the van for the next few days and ask him if he knows who just quit in Ocala. He said he had broken his phone yesterday and didn't know what I was talking about. I showed him the text on my phone, and he grabbed the company phone. That was when the second out of the blue thing happened. He starts texting with the manager. In the familiar old friend style. Interesting. I didn't know they were that close. I keep my mouth shut. I'm behind the wheel at this point anyway. Once the texting stops, I just ask what happened. Turns out that they guy who posted the photo was fired for making threats against someone. I think someone in the company but wasn't told.

Looks like we will be hiring down there again. And to think the boss doesn't have a clue I'm looking at options.
 
Last edited:

day late

money? whats that?
Anxiety is what someone else has right now. It seems we are more short-handed in Ocala than I thought. One of the guys here goes down there a few days a week to help pick up the slack. The rest of his time he's working here. In this case, it's good to be the old man. They don't expect as much out of you physically. The networking thing is starting to make a little sense, and I'm making some progress. What I don't get is why everyone is so hot and bothered about people in the group having one to one meetings just to get to know each other. I'm supposed to have two of those a week and record them on a site run by the network. There is a long list of podcasts and videos I have to go through, to teach me how to sell and recruit other people as members of the group. Apon completion of the required meetings and all the videos, you get to have your picture taken with the president of the group, wearing the same cheesy cap and gown everyone else wears when they 'graduate', holding the same cheesy 'certificate' of completion that everyone else does, and a free cup of joe at Starbucks. Pardon me if I don't stand up and cheer.

We actually did hit the average the boss was hoping for and exceeded it. He wanted a daily average of $2,200. He got $2,470. So, we will all get the $200 bonus, this time. But since we did so well, for us to get the next $200 bonus, he wants us to hit $2,600. That's not likely to happen. Not unless he can pull in more jobs like the one he told us about tonight. A Hilton down in Ocala is having a lot of work done. To the tune of $16,000. A good start being only the third day of the month. He got what he asked for, and now he's asking for even more for the same reward. What's wrong with this picture?

I have decided to stay for at least a while. The insurance is good, and I really don't want to lose it. But that doesn't mean I won't walk. And I 'feel' something else is happening. Usually during the meetings people are chatty and joking around. Not tonight. It was like everyone was walking on eggshells. Very little chatter. Makes me wonder.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Mostly, just in a holding pattern. There are benefits going both ways. And right now I know what I've got. Then we also have the fact I believe we are in the end times. Very little point in trying to get rich now. Even if I won the lottery tomorrow, there wouldn't be enough time to do everything I want before the bottom falls out. Time to step back and not make a decision in haste. That's how mistakes get made. But if The Lord delays and things take a turn for the worse at work, there's going to be something out there I can do.

Normally, return customers are nice to have. Unfortunate that they did it again, but nice they found our services good enough to call us again. And while I did have a hand in it, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE for what happened. A few weeks ago I got a guy into his pickup. I didn't remember him, but I remembered the truck. Ford F-150, candy apple red, chrome mags with some really heavy-duty mud tires that will probably never leave the asphalt. Beautiful truck. When I opened it for him the first time, I gave the usual advice of hiding the valet key behind the license plate. He said he thought it was good advice and took it. he put the key behind the plate and let his wife know where it was. He went on to tell me the one day he and his SOON TO BE EX-WIFE got into a fight. He went to work and while he was out, she got the key and trashed the inside of the truck.

Okay, I suggested putting the key there. But I never said tell anyone about it, and I'm sure not responsible for a "soon to be ex-wife".
 

day late

money? whats that?
It seems the boss and I are going to have to have a little chat. I'll say more about today later, but the first job of the day I had to travel out of town. The address was right at the edge of the area we cover. The actual location took me to within 25 to 30 miles of the Georgia border. Over 50 minutes one way. While I was on the way, before I found out we had the wrong address and I got two more calls. Given the amount of time it would take, one job canceled. It comes down to this,

"Okay boss, I can drive all the way up there and back. That costs you about half a tank of gas. It takes almost an hour to get there, fifteen minutes to do the job and get paid, then almost another hour to get back. This job paid $175. Minus gas, and minus all the other jobs we missed because nobody was available for almost 2 and 1/2 hours. I think placing an outer limit to the service area would be a good idea. Your call".
 

larry_minn

Contributing Member
People need to think beyond simple. I had a relative who would make a special trip +9 miles (each way) to “save” $.05 a gallon on under 8 gallons. On a pickup getting 10 mpg.
It’s not worth it. But Sat I drove 15 mile (round trip) for 11 gallons to save $.42 per gallon. Plus I had other items to buy. But due to Easter I only got fuel as they were closing a hour early.
For just the gas saving. It was not “worth” it. My basic is $.50 a mile for car. *My time to get out, see the world*. If I don’t save $.50 a mile I am going backwards On gas, wear, tear…
 

day late

money? whats that?
That went about as well as I could hope for. While I don't have a problem with making money, sometimes ya just have to know when to cut your losses. The boss is all about profit. When I told him how far I had to go his first question was,

"How much did you charge?"

Long story short, he agreed. The profit margin goes down the further you have to go to get to the job. Not to mention that I was unavailable for 2 and 1/2 hours. That equals more lost business. If you are locked out of your car, are you willing to wait over 2 hours or are you going to call another locksmith? So, he has decided that my idea of setting outer limits as to how far we will go is a good idea and is going to speak with the manager about setting those limits.

The only other thing that happened worthy of note takes me back to my long time complaint/suspicion. These lock manufacturers have secret competitions to see who can put the largest number of useless parts into a lock. The lady and her husband are just moving in. There isn't even any furniture in the place. They don't have a key for the keypad deadbolt on the door, but do have the code. They want the lock to work on the same key as the rest of them. Fortunately, they are all the same type of lock. No big deal. Until I get the lock off the door. With this one there is something that is just STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! With many locks there is a steel plate under the outside housing to prevent drilling. With this lock the metal plate is BEHIND the lock. Everything the burglar would need to drill is outside the plate. The only way that plate could help you is if someone was drilling the lock from inside the door. What's the point in that? He's already inside.
 

Dux

Veteran Member
I sense you are in a BNI group. It takes a lot of time, meeting each one (repeatedly) to get to know them really well. As a property manager, having a good locksmith is essential. Perhaps it would be fruitful if you visit all the management companies near your area to leave a card and talk about what makes your company different and better. Also car sales and repair. Might be a better use of your time.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Yes, it is BNI. I think letting me do it just about like that is a good idea. But the boss already has money invested in my membership. So, I have to slug my way through it. The problem with the car dealerships is that they usually already have people on staff to do what we do. The same is true for apartment complexes. But what we offer that the complex can't is service up to 8 P.M. and on the weekends. Their maintenance people go home at 5 and don't do weekends. They don't cut keys of any kind either. Property management, real estate agents, and even lawyers have been quite receptive. After introducing myself, I just tell the lawyers,

"It seems to me that there might be times when people in your profession, need the services of the people in my profession."

That usually gets them to crack a smile, and they are more willing to accept the cards. They have to admit, what I said is true. I've already hit every major and quite a number of minor hotels and motels. Any business I can find that is high traffic. I'm going to have to start drifting a little further afield with the cards and spiel. The problem with that is since I'm doing it on company time and with their van, I've got to stay reasonably close to home base, in case of a call. Whenever I hear of any kind of event, I try to find locals that may want our cards. Like the security people at the last Gator Nationals. I found one place by accident last night. I remember reading a long time ago how every Friday and Saturday night they have live bands. This is geared to the middle-aged crowd, so little danger of needing the cops. But I think there is drinking. They might need us. I need to check it out my next Saturday night off.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Every day an adventure. Mine was quite pleasant. The other guy not so much.

I get a call. A lady has a keypad doorknob she needs installed. An easy job. The lady is 90 and we got along very well. So well in fact that while I normally never even touch the owner's manual in those things, I don't need nor want to know your access code, this lady was just so sweet I had to sit down and go over the manual with her and point out just which set of instructions to follow in order to program her keypad. A very pleasant way to end the day.

One of the guys in Ocala had a very different adventure. I've only seen a couple of texts, but I can imagine. He was called by the landlord to rekey the home because the current tenant was being evicted. Standard call. Except in this case, it wasn't. According to the texts, the landlord wanted the smith to hurry up and get the home rekeyed, because he was waiting on him before calling the P.D. to physically remove the tenant. Who is sitting in the garage. Cradling a machete. It seems she doesn't want to leave. I haven't heard anything more at this time and may never. I'm just glad our guy got out before anything went south.
 
Top