double lockout

[butterboy]

Had a call to open a car sunday , got there in a parking lot the only car there was the cadilac the guy , some one It turns out that I knew, told me had locked the keys inside.
Pulled next to the car on the passenger side , and looked and saw the keys were in the ignigtion .
So I stared working on it just as the guy pulls up.
I pop the lock and step to the side getting my tool out of the window,
The guy steps in between the door and the car so I let go and start to put my tools in the van , the guy is happy, writes me a chech and turns around to opn the car.
Yea its locked and I didnt pull those keys out of the ingition.
I opened it realy fast the second time , reached in and grabed the keys.
The guy was saying sorry and all that but I was laughing telling him thanks because I wont let that hapen to me again, I hope.
Learn something every day..

[Squelchtone]

Had a call to open a car sunday , got there in a parking lot the only car there was the cadilac the guy , some one It turns out that I knew, told me had locked the keys inside.
Pulled next to the car on the passenger side , and looked and saw the keys were in the ignigtion .
So I stared working on it just as the guy pulls up.
I pop the lock and step to the side getting my tool out of the window,
The guy steps in between the door and the car so I let go and start to put my tools in the van , the guy is happy, writes me a chech and turns around to opn the car.
Yea its locked and I didnt pull those keys out of the ingition.
I opened it realy fast the second time , reached in and grabed the keys.
The guy was saying sorry and all that but I was laughing telling him thanks because I wont let that hapen to me again, I hope.
Learn something every day..

as the guy pulls up? I hope it was his car and how do you check that sort of thing while in the field? his license vs. his car registration?

Thanks
Squelchtone

[freakparade3]

as the guy pulls up? I hope it was his car and how do you check that sort of thing while in the field? his license vs. his car registration?

Thanks
Squelchtone

You get all the info you need over the phone. Plate Number, make and model, registered owner. When the car is open I request to see the registration. I personally will not open a vehicle until the owner is there, but it's not required. The first thing you should do in every auto lockout is reach in and grab the keys. Then if they won't pay, or it turns out it is not their car you are in control, toss the keys back in and lock the door.

[prag]

Egineer has a fantastic form that has all the allocated slots for information about job and clients details. Most importantly, their signature.

Engineers form

http://host-a.net/Engineer-Public/Locksmithing%20Form.zip

[Safecrackin Sammy]

I would always check the registration. If its locked in the car then it should be checked before the keys are turned over to the "owner"

I worked with a guy years ago that didnt do it.. Went out and made a set of keys for a car with the supposed customer there.

Turns out the guy was stealing the car but he was nice enough to take a big rock and put the receipt for making the keys under the rock where the car was parked. Of course the real owner knew who to call when they saw the rock.

If the name on the drivers license and registration dont match we just flat out wont do any work. Its not worth it for a few bucks making car keys.

[lockstone]

I would always check the registration. If its locked in the car then it should be checked before the keys are turned over to the "owner"

I worked with a guy years ago that didnt do it.. Went out and made a set of keys for a car with the supposed customer there.

Turns out the guy was stealing the car but he was nice enough to take a big rock and put the receipt for making the keys under the rock where the car was parked. Of course the real owner knew who to call when they saw the rock.

If the name on the drivers license and registration dont match we just flat out wont do any work. Its not worth it for a few bucks making car keys.

OK,Im a newbie,never been out n a call so forgive my ignorance.How do you know if the registration and license match before you open the vehichle if the registration is usually in the glove box?
Also do you ask for a credit card over the phone before you go out so people dont try to skip out of paying you?,of course this also might have the same problems of the credit card being in the car too.....
Thanks

[5thcorps]

gotten to several lockouts only to find the rear doors were unlocked and sometimes rear windows were open!

[lunchb0x]

I love that, I have opened cars that wernt locked, one of the other doors was open, guy locked the key in the boot but the rest of the car was open so I just opened the boot release in the car, and even walked around to the other side of the car where the window was half open. I also like it when I have to make keys to the car and I find them in the driveway on the way to the front door

[Safecrackin Sammy]

If the resistration is in the car thats fine but they dont get the keys til its checked..

We always try and get a credit card on lockouts... That way if they get in by themsleves or have called three locksmiths and dont cancel before you arrive, you can bill the credit card for a service call.

[butterboy]

I really like that idea, but I might feel bad billing some one like that, no not really hehe.
It really does bother me when they arent there when you get a call.

[Engineer]

Hi Lockstone

The usual answer to this is "you get a feel for your customer". That gets a lot easier after years of experience, but isn't a lot of help when you first start out I know.

At it's cruelest, there are two basic truths I always kept in mind when I was starting out...

i) You're on your own.
ii) How much insurance do you have?

For the first, if it is a very large gentleman with a gut full of alcohol and a gun rack in the car and a bad attitude (all jokes aside), then I'm not going to help him. People behave differently when they are drunk and he could turn nasty very quickly. Now while I can handle myself, is it really worth all that trouble for one call-out fee? If your customer is making you feel uneasy, it does boil down to if you need that money enough to take that risk. That is the sad truth of it unfortunately.

For the second point, that is more about trying to work out how likely the customer is to actually own the car. Fortunately not a lot of people have the cheek to call a locksmith to help them steal a car, but I'm sure it does happen, especially say during a bitter divorce case. Again you have a hard decision to make about getting that fee, compaired to opening the vehicle and watching the customer drive off, only to have someone come rushing out shouting that it is their vehicle. You are going to have to waste a lot of time explaining to the Police and the owner, plus giving details to the Police and possibly a day in court if they catch them. That's what I mean about knowing what your insurace policy covers very well.

They made some very good points on here about getting a credit card number first - If you can, you might even be able to get your card company to make a holding charge on the card, that might also help a little to establish that the card. vehicle and person all belong to each other. I also made a form you can fill out and hand over as a bill/receipt to the customer afterwards - But it does also serve as a checklist of things to note to help cover yourself if things do go wrong.

http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=43312

OK,Im a newbie,never been out n a call so forgive my ignorance.How do you know if the registration and license match before you open the vehichle if the registration is usually in the glove box?
Also do you ask for a credit card over the phone before you go out so people dont try to skip out of paying you?,of course this also might have the same problems of the credit card being in the car too.....
Thanks

[5thcorps]

once had a car towed 70 miles to my garage owned by a couple of NJ skiers to have a transponder cut and programmed because they lost it. I cut the key, hook up the chrysler scan tool to program and wait for it to boot. I look up and there are the keys under the wiper blade!

[Engineer]

That's a great one 5thcorps, must have been really funny afterwards!

once had a car towed 70 miles to my garage owned by a couple of NJ skiers to have a transponder cut and programmed because they lost it. I cut the key, hook up the chrysler scan tool to program and wait for it to boot. I look up and there are the keys under the wiper blade!