kehveli wrote:Why do you want to keep your methods secret from your curious customers? Or do you want to look professional on their eyes?
Customers come in several different flavours. These are some of the more common.
1.
The thankful. These people don't care if you tool 10 minutes, or 10 seconds. They figure you are a locksmith, and you have special tools, techniques, training and it took you a long time to get that good. Plus, they are just thankful to be back in the house, or the car or whatever.
2.
The indignant. These people oddly enough tend to be in the higher education, and income bracket for some reason. Doctors, lawyers, etc....
For some reason, your skill, education and talent just isn't worth as much as theirs. They see you open their lock in a minute or under, and they get all weird about paying your fee "for something that was obviously so easy."
3.
The frightened. These people can't see a difference between a locksmith and a crook really. If it was so easy for YOU to open the lock, then anyone can do it.
While this often leads to more business in the way of rekeying, or replacing locksets. It often comes with headaches as you have to continually reassure these poor confused soles that what you do takes lots of practice, talent and skill.
There are lots of others of course, but I've always been sort of a basic flavours kinda guy. This would be one of the reasons for keeping the customers from watching you too closely.
Oh, and then you get the curious type. You know the ones I mean right? They basically want you to teach them to be a locksmith right there in the rain on their door step.
It can be annoying sometimes.
Romstar
