I got locked out of my house as my contractor had left the keys inside and my wife decided to lock the front door. I tried to pick the lock myself (through YouTube videos) but was unsuccessful (which was a bit of a relief, because if I could pick my lock easily, that means that ANYONE could pick it, and it was a lousy lock.)
The locksmith (Mike) was VERY friendly when I called a 9:30am, and apologized that he couldn't probably get to me before noon. (I was happy that he was able to get to me that same day!) He called about 10:15am and said that he was on his way, and I met him at the bottom of our road, because it's March right now, and the road is snow packed with 12 degree hills in places! He only had his two-wheel drive service van, and that definitely would not have made it up the hills. My 4WD truck has no trouble with it, but I'm equipped for living out here in the middle of nowhere.
He had the lock open within five or ten minutes (which was reassuring, because that meant that the lock wasn't a total failure). If he had had it picked within 30 seconds, I would have been worried about the quality of the lock.
Total cost was only $180, which included his time driving to and from my house (about 35 minutes from Helena).
He was the nicest guy ever, and I'd have no qualms about recommending him to anyone for their lock needs! read more