Ten years ago our painting contractor's new crew chief (who had our house key) turned out to be a burglar and con-man. As a result we had all 7 of our locks re-keyed. None of the locks were quite the same after that and over the years most became stiff, difficult to open with a key and hard to lock even from inside the house. Two deadbolts and a lockset were ultimately unusable and when the only working lock on our back door broke over the weekend I knew it was way past time to address this situation.
After doing too many projects over the holidays and now being back to my crazy work schedule I decided I had to hire this project out. I fully expected to hear that all 3 locksets and 4 deadbolts would need to be replaced. Between the locks, re-keying and labor I was expecting to be out between $600 and $800, or maybe more; but as a city dweller working locks are essential and sometimes you just have to pay the piper.
After scanning the sparse reviews of locksmiths in Rochester I called Advanced Safe & Lock and asked them to send someone out for an estimate.
They told me they could have someone at our house the following afternoon. I would be at work but asked them to call when they were heading over and I'd go home to meet them. Unfortunately the following day was one thing after another at work and it became apparent that there was no way I would be able to step out for an hour or so. With some trepidation, I called my wife and arranged for her to meet with the locksmith instead.
When I got home a bit after 6:00 I asked my wife if they had left a copy of the estimate or whether they would be mailing it to us. Laughing, she handed me the bill and said "Everything's fixed". Stunned, I asked her to explain.
Matt, the locksmith from Advanced, arrived at the appointed time and quickly inspected all seven locksets and deadbolts. One of the locksets had broken springs and was too worn to repair so he replaced it with an identical, brand new, unit he happened to have in his truck. He then keyed it to match our other locks.
Next he disassembled each of the other locksets and deadbolts, cleaning them, replacing bits and pieces as needed, and lubricating them before reassembling and reinstalling them. This was done with the dexterity, speed and assuredness of a Las Vegas card dealer. Obviously Matt was a master at his trade.
He then adjusted the hinges on each door to precisely align the lock bolts with the strikes, explaining to my wife that this was the key to proper alignment and smooth operation. Dissatisfied with the available adjustment on a few doors, he removed the strikes and elongated and/or deepened the bolt holes then reinstalled (or replaced) the strikes as needed.
During the whole process Matt answered all of my wife's questions and kept up a running commentary, explaining what he was doing, and why. My wife (with a degree in engineering physics) was impressed that he didn't try to dumb it down for the "little woman" and also with his overall professionalism!
After hearing her story I walked around the house, trying each lock, and was impressed with the solid feel and buttery smoothness of every one. The keys turned without any resistance and the bolts centered perfectly in their strikes. Even the knobs turned easier.
In this throw-away world it's impressive to find a tradesman who will rebuild and repair a 30 year old lock, to better than new performance, rather than just hawk a bunch of expensive new hardware.
Matt's combination of master level skill, honesty, and superb people skills is all-too rare in today's world, and we were very luck to find him. I will definitely call Advanced whenever I need new locks, locksmith services or some day, a safe. I would heartily recommend them to anyone.
Oh, and that bill my wife laughingly handed me? $146.23 TOTAL! read more
