Strange service calls

[Sinifar]

Been very busy around here - and this only adds to our load....

We have been getting a few very strange service calls lately, and no i did not run any of these.

One from the Dollar Store to open a car - where? Kewaunee Wisconsin. That is way up the lake near Door County about 3 1/2 to 4 hours away.

Two from Traverse City Michigan - one to open a car - one to rekey a house. That is across the Lake from us about 6 - 7 hours by Lake Ferry.

The WINNER - Detroit. Got a call to open a house. No way Jose!

We thanked then for the inquiry and explained where we were and asked where they got our phone number from -- the INTERNET. Some kind of auto call a "local" locksmith or some such thing.

Anyone else getting any goofy super long distance calls?

Sinifar

[cledry]

Yes we started getting them after signing up to YP.com. We told them that we are a commercial locksmith primarily. However we get calls from places hours away and all auto related. Never happened before this YP.com crap. The people say that they put car opening and their zip code and we popped up. Some calls seem to go through some sort of random routing thing.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

From this post, I just realized you and I are members of another forum. Good to know.

[ltdbjd]

I had a strange call for my particular speciality. I was wandering around the prison just kind of minding my own business since I'm off duty in 30 minutes, when I'm asked to call el jefe, the big boss. Seems the county jail called him with a problem.

Originally I was told he was locked in a "room," but we didn't know what kind of room. Enter ... me. I grab some stuff and head down to the county jail. Among other things, I grab a 7" angle grinder with a cut off wheel. I've had to cut my way through more than 1 failed mortise lock. It's not like I can just remove the hinges or use an air wedge to get the latch to clear the strike on prison doors.

Come to find out, they had a inmate locked in his cell (a good thing) at the county jail, but they couldn't get him out (could be good, could be bad - depends on what side of the cell door you are on). They tried to electronically open the lock. They heard an electronic hum at the lock, but the door didn't open. They tried the mechanical bypass key, but it just spun the plug around without engaging anything inside the lock. On this type of lock, only one thing can cause both to fail simultaneously - a sheared part (sorry, can't get into details for security reasons, particularly on a public forum).

The county has a general maintenance guy that handles some of their lock stuff, but he was out of town, and nobody knew what to do. The maintenance guy told them they were using the wrong key. So the deputies scratch their heads, but with their very limited knowledge of locks, they think something doesn't make sense. The key turns 360 degrees, so how could it be the wrong key? A good assumption on their part. Mechanical Lock Operation 101: Maintenance guy - "F." Deputies - "A."

About 10 minutes later, I get to the guts of the lock and pull the cover off (prison locks aren't your average Kwikset or Brinks). As I do, a piece falls out and rolls across the floor. The deputies know about guns, not locks, but even they figure out stuff shouldn't be just falling out onto the floor. Actually, I don't think knowing about guns is just a deputy thing, I think it's a Wyoming thing.

To wind down the story, they don't have any spare parts, and I don't have access to any I can lend them. So I take their pieces down the prison welding shop and weld it back together. Replace it, a quick preventive maintenance service since I have the lock open, and I'm home in time to catch the new episode of Forged in Fire.

Epilogue

I put in my overtime slip. The timing couldn't be better, since I get paid my OT on October 1st, and the gun show comes to town October 6th to October 8th. YAY!!!! Some will say that's almost better than buying picks and locks!!!

[Jacob Morgan]

...
To wind down the story, they don't have any spare parts, and I don't have access to any I can lend them. So I take their pieces down the prison welding shop and weld it back together. Replace it, a quick preventive maintenance service since I have the lock open, and I'm home in time to catch the new episode of Forged in Fire.
...

Fabricating or repairing parts, instead of just swapping them out, is what makes a craftsman in a lot of trades these days.

Regarding Forged in Fire, my dad makes handmade knives himself. He got into it back in the early 1980's and at one point he was a Journeyman in the American Bladesmith Society and was also a member of the Knife Maker's Guild. I do not watch the show much, but one thing puzzled me: it has them hardening the blades at the end of the first day, then they start chopping things. Hardening without tempering means blades that shatter instead of chop. Tempering takes time, hours sometimes. When I asked my dad about it he said that from what he heard from people who had been on the show, that the knives they make on set are done over two days. At the end of the first day a master blade smith comes in behind them and tempers the blades for them, then the next day the competitors put the handles on, etc. I guess the show is more dramatic if the build takes place in one stretch, but if someone tried to copy what they did at home (leaving out the tempering step) they would have some serious problems.

[GWiens2001]

...
To wind down the story, they don't have any spare parts, and I don't have access to any I can lend them. So I take their pieces down the prison welding shop and weld it back together. Replace it, a quick preventive maintenance service since I have the lock open, and I'm home in time to catch the new episode of Forged in Fire.
...

Fabricating or repairing parts, instead of just swapping them out, is what makes a craftsman in a lot of trades these days.

Fully agree. That is what makes a lockSMITH, instead of a parts changer. The smith has the ability to make the parts needed for locks and/or keys. Yes, it is easier to install pre-manufactured parts, but it is not absolutely essential for a true locksmith. When time is money, parts are faster, and more money is made in less time. But when there are no parts available in the requisite time, then you make it work.

Kudos, ltdbjd.

Gordon

[cledry]

We never fabricate unless the part or lock is unavailable. It is bad business practice. They do say it is rare to find a good locksmith who is a good businessman and my 30 + years bears this out.

When you replace with a factory part or better yet a new lock you can warranty the product, you have less chance of getting a call back within your 90 day labor warranty. You also keep all UL and Fire Codes intact as the manufacturer intended when the product was tested.

[Evan]

We never fabricate unless the part or lock is unavailable. It is bad business practice. They do say it is rare to find a good locksmith who is a good businessman and my 30 + years bears this out.

When you replace with a factory part or better yet a new lock you can warranty the product, you have less chance of getting a call back within your 90 day labor warranty. You also keep all UL and Fire Codes intact as the manufacturer intended when the product was tested.

@cledry:

I think that ltdbjd would be an exception to worrying about any sort of warranty type issues, he works at a Wyoming prison and seems his agency did an emergency type favor for a county jail nearby. With institutional locksmiths sometimes "making it work immediately" to be replaced later is in the best interest of smooth and continuous operations of the facility. The business concerns about warranty and such do not apply because they are directly employed by the facility which is being repaired and it would merely be another work request ticket to clear if something else happened to that lock down the road. It is not the same consideration as a call out for an angry customer who has already paid for a service to be done and now needs it repaired again within a warranty period.

~~ Evan

[Tyler J. Thomas]

We never fabricate unless the part or lock is unavailable. It is bad business practice. They do say it is rare to find a good locksmith who is a good businessman and my 30 + years bears this out.

When you replace with a factory part or better yet a new lock you can warranty the product, you have less chance of getting a call back within your 90 day labor warranty. You also keep all UL and Fire Codes intact as the manufacturer intended when the product was tested.

I wrote an article on this very topic years ago. The real issue is voiding the UL listing BUT that's only matters if it is installed in opening that requires a listed product, e.g. fire rated. With regards to warranties, if it's outside of a manufacturer's warranty period it's a moot point; it's not like you can void a warranty that no long applies. That said, Evan is right with regards to institutional settings. I would do a WHOLE lot of alterations and creations to make stuff work at the college. I would rebuild mortise locks using aftermarket or fabricated parts and springs, convert functions, and perform a whole slew of things in my shop. If it didn't work, oh well, I just have to progress to the next step. But if it worked? Those were the things that management liked to see on the monthly reports.

Converting 8 Sargent trim from classroom to storeroom function using a few dollars worth of springs from the nearby ACE instead of purchasing new trim that would cost in excess of a grand? Those were the days you held your chin high.

[Ralph_Goodman]

Anyone else getting any goofy super long distance calls?

Apparently, that can be an issue on the part of your customers (because of the internet provider). That "near me" stuff has to go on your location, as provided by the modem, and those can be as far from your actual location as states away.

People don't check to see they are getting bad info from their searches.

The internet... what are you going to do?

[lstntrnsltion]

I'll do you one better. We have gotten about 3 calls a month for years asking if we repair electric wheelchairs. Our longest distance since we hired on a marketing company was Montana. Little out of our range for a Chicago company