The Benefit of a Local Shop

Our lock has been on the fritz. A few months ago we tried to get a key cut, and it didn't work. That was at Home Depot, so we just figured they guy didn't know what he was doing. A few weeks later we tried to get a key cut at a local shop, and it didn't work, again. We figured something was just wrong with the lock. Even the keys that we already owned started to fail us. We relied on a couple of keys that would hesitantly open the door, going without a key if the contractor needed a key or if we had a guest.

Today the lock died completely. We thought our contractor had gone for the day until he sheepishly came up to Gerd's office where we were talking and told us he couldn't get our lock back together. He'd taken it apart in an effort to get it to lock.

We debated going to Home Depot to get a new lock, but decided to try the local lock shop that we've had good experiences with in the past. They were the only shop that carried a key that would fit our classic Mini. We like to support local business, and were only concerned if they would be open at 5:00 or not. Turns out they close at 6:00, which was plenty of time for her (it's run by a brassy Southie lady) to help us.

We had only taken in the back portion of our lock, thinking that we needed to replace the whole thing. She sent us back for the lock itself, but out of concern for us not having a lock in place, sent us home with a temporary deadbolt with keys to put in the door until the lock could be replaced.

After installing the temporary bolt, Gerd went back with the lock, with the intention of getting it fixed and repinned. He came back, a little embarrassed, not more than 10 minutes later. The locksmith had oiled the lock with WD40 and it worked just fine. She'd seen me ogling the pretty keys and picked out a butterfly key that she reminded him that I'd wanted. Cost of the new key, $2.00. No charge for the temporary lock, or the lock servicing.

I figure we might have spent something like $100 replacing the lock. It's not my favorite lock, so someday we might go ahead and do so. But if we do, we're definitely getting any new locks from the local lock shop.