An efficient, sympathetic, helpful lock tech!

When customers compliment our lock technicians and installers, we give them “Attaboys” at company meetings, and note their good work in our company newsletter. Some lock techs get more “Attaboys” than others, but they all earn an impressive amount of appreciative comments for their locksmith and installation expertise, for their friendly attitudes, and excellent customer service.

When Matt, one of our inside lock techs, asked me to go up to the front counter last week to talk to customers who wanted to give Manuel Campos, one of our outside lock techs, an Attaboy, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I grabbed my green pen and a pad of paper and went to meet Joel and Peggy Levins. The couple had come into our showroom to buy a replacement lock for their rental property. The lock they were replacing had been successfully opened by Manuel Campos six months ago, and they wanted to commend him. Hmmm. There must be more to the story than that. Our lock techs open locks every day. It’s what they do. They are friendly and efficient. They don’t get kudos six months later for opening a lock.

So here is the rest of the story: The renter living in the Levin’s property was a hoarder. After Manuel picked the lock open, he couldn’t open the door because there was so much junk piled up on the other side. The Levins had him open a rear door and they entered a disgustingly trashed kitchen. It reeked. The landlords, shocked by the dirtiness, disarray and debris, could hardly speak. Manuel smelled putrid decaying food, but he also smelled gas, and alerted the landlords that there was likely a gas leak that should be attended to quickly. They contacted the gas company and found that Manuel was right. They wanted to thank him for not only opening their lock, but for literally saving their property from explosion and fire.

The Levins described Manuel as being “very efficient, sympathetic and helpful” and said he gave them good advice. It has taken them six months to get the hoarder out and they are at work renovating the home. They came to Anderson Lock to get a replacement lock for their front door because they had such a great experience when they called here for a locksmith in January.

Attaboy, Manuel!