Weird Requests from Customers...

[billdeserthills]

Today has been a day of Odd requests:

Then about an hour before that...I received a call from a man regarding his deadbolt on the Garage-house door. He told me that sometimes the lock works and sometimes it doesn't work. He wanted it fixed regardless of what needed to be done after I had a chance to assess the issue...what caught me off guard was that he is out of town for the entire week. the house is empty and he wanted me to coordinate the service visit with his trusted next door neighbor, and once the work was completed he could pay with a card over the phone with me. I asked if he had gone out of town and was worried the home was left unsecured bc of the deadbolt issue...Response: No- the rest of the home is locked up tight and he just wanted someone to come out while he was gone to make the repair...
*****I get a weird feeling from the situation, I feel i need to verify ownership of the property in this situation...i don't understand why he needs this single lock serviced here and now if the home is secure and the neighbor is looking after things for him...wouldn't someone wait to be present for the service call...i just get that "sketchy" feeling and my Liability Radar is at full power.
=Dave

This sounds super sketchy... What did you end up doing?

I probably would have looked up the official owner of the property in question, and contacted them for permission/notification of sketchy activities... Also, I would have called my lawyer, do locksmiths typically have lawyers on retainer? It sounds like a good idea...

Why do You find it sketchy that a man who is out of town might want his entire house, including the garage to be locked up, while he is gone?

I get calls like this all the time, it is only natural that someone would worry about their property while they are gone & want it secured.

[Smrtz]

Why do You find it sketchy that a man who is out of town might want his entire house, including the garage to be locked up, while he is gone?

I get calls like this all the time, it is only natural that someone would worry about their property while they are gone & want it secured.

Based on his OP, the caller could have just been the neighbor who wanted help breaking into the house, unless I missed something? I just think it feels weird, having no proof of ownership... When someone calls you to let them into their house how do you prove that they live there/ are supposed to be able to get in?

[billdeserthills]

Why do You find it sketchy that a man who is out of town might want his entire house, including the garage to be locked up, while he is gone?

I get calls like this all the time, it is only natural that someone would worry about their property while they are gone & want it secured.

Based on his OP, the caller could have just been the neighbor who wanted help breaking into the house, unless I missed something? I just think it feels weird, having no proof of ownership... When someone calls you to let them into their house how do you prove that they live there/ are supposed to be able to get in?

Actually I long ago quit worrying about whose house it was, or whether or not that person owned it.
Arizona state law says as long as I record the persons drivers license or state ID on my invoice, I am off
the hook. The sad fact is, even if you went online to the State website and searched tax records, you still
can't prove anything past whether or not a certain person paid their property tax, which doesn't prove ownership.

Anyhow nowhere in my job description does it indicate that I will even attempt to prove ownership of the lock that I have been asked
to unlock, or make a key for, so why should I become all paranoid and lose clients?

[hag3l3]

WHAT'S A LOCKSMITH TO DO.....
So I receive a request the other day to originate an ignition key for a 2006 Chinese scooterpod.
We agree upon price and time. So I drive out and impression a key , all works wonderfully. Comes to the bill. Price previously agreed upon before I go, now doesn't want the key. Says too much.
go figure. Now I am the proud owner of a scooter pod key.

[billdeserthills]

WHAT'S A LOCKSMITH TO DO.....
So I receive a request the other day to originate an ignition key for a 2006 Chinese scooterpod.
We agree upon price and time. So I drive out and impression a key , all works wonderfully. Comes to the bill. Price previously agreed upon before I go, now doesn't want the key. Says too much.
go figure. Now I am the proud owner of a scooter pod key.

Now that would piss me off and one of the things I would still go through the hassle to put a mechanic's lien on that guy's property for.
However after reading several of your posts I expect you don't really mind at all