A wonderful experience with Browns today. The Schlage deadbolt and handset on my front door was acting up. Stewart Brown returned my call the same day and sent out a technician at 9am the next morning. Dirk was the tech and I found him to be warm, likable, and skilled. He listened to me as I explained the problem and crafted a creative solution. Very pleased with the service and the solution! read more

clearly Brown's does not need my business. i can't remember the last time I have been met with such rude and abrupt behavior. I wanted to repurchase a keypad lock Brown's installed for me several years ago. I didn't go in to complain. the tall office worker seemed annoyed I walked in. I tell him why I was there, explaining the one installed now worked sporadically. He was curt when he demanded "so is this a service call or installation?" It never occurred to me to get a service call so I reply," you are the expert, what should I do." He says he is not an expert, "just tell me what you want." He seemed irritated and annoyed. So I walked out. I will never recommend this company again. read more

The incompetence and rudeness of the staff is truly unbelievable. My office has their keys in their system and specifically I am registered. They refused to make a key without having the form that is locked in my office. What is the point of being registered in the system if they won't make a key? Stay away from this place since they are completely worthless. read more

I was given a zillion-year-old Sears roof-top car carrier. It is in pretty good shape except it was missing the keys for the locks. I took one of the locks into Brown's and, after some hemming and hawing, they went to work in their archives. They found the type of key and were able to make two from the code number on the lock. Amazing! read more

I brought in a very nice 1920s front door lock to Brown's to be re-keyed. When I brought it to them, the lock was functioning quite well for my purposes. There was a toggle function that was not working properly, but this function was not really necessary, and I explained that if this would be expensive or impossible to fix it was not something that I really needed to have working. I asked them to take a look to see if it could be repaired reasonably and call me with a quote. They never called, and when I came in to pick up the lock, they handed me a bag of parts and told me that the lock was unrepairable, and they could not even re-assemble it or even re-key the cylinder. They charged me a bench fee and told me that I needed to find a new lock to buy on ebay. I noticed that some parts were missing that had definitely been there when I gave them the fully-assembled lock; I asked for the parts back, and they said that they did not know where they were but would look around. I brought my lock home and took a few minutes to reassemble it myself and got it to work as it had before (definitely not rocket science--can't believe these amateurs could not put it back together). I had someone else re-key the cylinder--no problem. However, at this point the lock doesn't look right because Brown's lost some parts that are visible. They never called me back about the missing parts, and did not return two phone messages that I left for them. I think they probably took my parts to use in somebody else's lock. I was very nice and understanding even when they handed me the incomplete bag of parts and charged me a bench fee without giving me a quote or repairing anything; maybe if I had been as rude as they were they wouldn't have screwed me. The Old Guard at Brown's used to be great (it was a classic old Charlottesville institution!) but the new generation... they are incompetent fools, very rude, and apparently not trustworthy. Stay away! read more

I went to Brown's today with two OEM motorcycle key blanks to ask them if they could cut them to match a generic key. Despite the risk of cutting an un-replaceable key that would not work, they did it for me and of course they both worked flawlessly. Gina was a gem. Great service today read more

I am also flabbergasted by the incredibly rude treatment I got today. I walked into the store, no one acknowledged me, even a man sitting in front of the computer right in front of me. Completely ignored me. Finally a guy came from the back, he was so incredibly aggressively rude. He made several duplicate keys for me, I have no idea if they work well or not. But the horrible man behind the counter means I will never step foot in the store again. **No thanks, I believe you were the man sitting in front of the computer also ignoring me and observing the other man treating me so poorly. read more

Perfect key copies EVERY TIME! There are other hardware stores a few hundred meters from my office, but I will drive 5 miles to Brown's to get it right the first time and not have to go back for a return or exchange elsewhere. read more

I wanted a couple replacement keys made, and these people were just plain nice. I was doing a remarkably inartful job explaining the type of key I wanted, and the woman I dealt with was patient and helpful. I went home happy with keys that worked! read more

Great service. Great folks. Been our lock and alarm folks for aver 35 years. Always there when needed. read more

Employee wasn't wearing a mask twice when we came to drop off a lock for rekeying in late July 2020. Asked us "why we were being so cautious" when we wanted to stay 6' away. Never bringing business here again. read more

None of the keys they made work. I'd go back and complain but it's not like I keep $5 receipts. Besides, what's to say they won't mess it up again and waste even more of my time? Not happy at all. Do not use. read more

This is one of the most frustrating companies I've had to deal with! Horrible service!

So far I have had a very disappointing experience with this company. After a recommendation from my realtor, I called to schedule a lock installation. They agreed to come the next day at 10:30 am, which seemed like good service. I took off work to meet him at the house, but he did not arrive. Then, I called to reschedule, and the best the dispatcher could tell me was "I'll put him on the calendar to come sometime this afternoon." I honestly cannot take off an entire day of work just on the off chance someone comes. I asked if there is any possibility for a discount due to the inconvenience, and I was told "For that you'd have to speak to the owner, and he's not in today." I was close to canceling the service, but I'm trusting the recommendation and trying to stay optimistic that the service will be fine. read more

I'm still flabbergasted by my experiences at Brown's today. I'll try to keep it short...When I entered their shop, no one acknowledged me or even made eye contact. I was there for 10 minutes before someone offered help. In that time, it became clear that they don't have air conditioning...in the south...in the summer. I had 5 keys cut from an original; None worked when I returned to my office. I called and was asked to bring those keys back and have them recut, which I did immediately. Upon entering, again, no one looked up or acknowledged me. Eventually someone took the 5 keys and told me I would have to come back because everyone who cuts keys was out to lunch. There were 5 people there, but hose 5 employees of a locksmith didn't know how to cut keys?!?? I eventually asked to be refunded and had the keys made at Lowes, but I would have preferred to use a small, local vendor. To add insult to injury, when I got back to my office from the second trip to Brown's I discovered that my original was not the key that was returned to me. Instead, I have one of the copies that doesn't work. I am disappointed with the complete lack of customer care and skill. read more

I went to Brown's Lock today to have keys made. The keys work great, but the service is awful. How can a local business afford to treat local customers this way and stay in business? There are other options in Charlottesville for lock and key services; use them! If you want good keys and do not mind being treated like crap, then this is the place for you. Go elsewhere if you want to be treated like a human being. read more

It's Saturday 12:30 pm. I just called them to repair a broken handle lock. Apparently they don't want my business because he said he didn't have anyone available on the weekends to do that kind of service. They DO NOT have 24-hour emergency maintenance like their ad and website claims they do. Not worth the hassle or headache, call L**K D****R instead! read more

Brown's Lock & Safe is our go to vendor for all things lock related! They are fast, friendly and if its not already in stock, they are able to order and get it to us quickly! This is our facilities team first stop shop when turning over apartments! The office staff is also great to work with and are able to help out with any questions we may have! read more