I Messed Up

Wisdom teaches us not to dwell on past mistakes, but to learn from them.  A recent event during a crazy-busy spurt provided a fresh opportunity to do so.

I have trained myself to pause and be thankful when a blitzkrieg of phone calls, emails and text messages simultaneously converge on me.  This usually happens while both hands are full serving a customer or while navigating to my next job.

During such a blitz a couple months ago, a client (from 5 years ago) left a voice message for me early in the day, but I failed to return his call until the afternoon of the next day. 

Some might argue that my turnaround time was actually pretty good in light of today’s standards. 

Perhaps.

When I did finally return his call, though, what I heard deeply grieved me.

His deadbolt had failed, and he was needing it removed and swapped out with a new one he had on hand: pretty simple job.

After waiting all day to hear back from me, my valued client jumped online and called another locksmith. 

That in and of itself is no problem, but it was a ‘top of the search engine” company that was not locally based or licensed in the City of Springfield.  Lured by a low-ball service call, he dispatched them to his house.

His deadbolt got switched out, alright: to the tune of $300 during regular business hours!

Hearing this, my gut sank below my ankles.  “What?  He charged you $300 TO DO THAT?!?” 

“Did he rekey your new deadbolt and match it to your other locks?” I asked.

“No.”

“Who was he?” I asked.  “Did he drive up from Dallas?!?”

“I can’t remember, I’d have to look it up,” he said.

I explained that my charge for that would’ve been around $65 for the service call & maybe a tiny bit of labor.  As he described his experience, I could picture the rogue locksmith driving into his gated neighborhood, admiring his beautiful home, and adjusting his labor rate “accordingly.”

“Locksmith” companies of this sort oftentimes have a generic name with an out of state phone number.  Their call center dispatches contractors that have locksmith skills and equipment, but are not legally licensed to operate in the City of Springfield.  (You might recall Contact KY3’s Ashley Reynolds exposé from a couple years ago about this subject.)

417 Rekey is always clear that we cannot promise a firm amount for a job without first looking at it.  We strive to gather as much information as we can from the customer and then offer a “good faith guesstimate,” explaining that it could be more or less.

That said, what lessons can we learn from this story?

Lesson #1

If a locksmith gives you a lowball service call rate (like $25), beware.  Start asking questions.  Describe the service you need in detail and request a quote.  If you can’t get reasonable answers, thank them politely for their time and call someone else.

Lesson #2

Vet the locksmith company.  Are they local?  Are they BBB-accredited?   Are they licensed in the City of Springfield?   If they say yes, ask their name.  The names of all legally licensed locksmiths in the Springfield area are public record. 

The City’s requirements for locksmith licensure is not about red tape.  They are safeguards for the consumer.  To have a license, the applicant must be bonded, trained, recommended, background checked by the SPD, and digitally-fingerprinted.

If a locksmith company does not have the integrity to meet these requirements, would you want to do business with him? 

Lesson #3 

This is where I messed up.  If you run a small business, return your phone calls as promptly as you possibly can. My client remembered and trusted me.  Had I called him sooner, he would not have been price-gouged.

After profusely apologizing and begging his forgiveness, we both agreed that we learned a lot from the ordeal.

Do Not Despair

Despite these hard lessons, I can still leave you with some good news. 

There are still good locksmith companies out there.  They are local, honest, BBB-accredited and have been playing by the rules for decades. 

417 Rekey strives to do just that, and we sure do appreciate your business and trust.