Using a reputable Locksmith

For the first time in my career as a Locksmith I refused to complete a job.

I was called to an emergency after-hours lockout at Hindmarsh (in the outer suburbs of Adelaide) last week.  When I arrived I was met by a man asking to be let inside because he said he had lost his keys, this is not un-common.  As a matter of course, I asked him if he had any identification with him or inside the house.  He didn’t.  I asked him if he also wanted his locks changed because he had lost his keys.  Again he did not; he just wanted to be let in.

I became a little suspicious that he may not live there, or was not supposed to be there.  I proceeded to ask him a few more questions, relating to what I would see when I opened the front door and he was quite vague.  Something in the back of my mind told me that this was not quite right.  I respectfully told him that I was not comfortable completing this job as I couldn’t be sure he had a legal right to enter the house.  He was not impressed and said he would call another locksmith.  Which begs the question; would another locksmith have asked the same questions or tried to establish if he should have been given access to the house?

As a licensed professional locksmith, I would like to say, ‘Yes, of course all locksmiths would!’  However, the truth is, I am not sure.  I would hope all Locksmiths in Adelaide would be able to look beyond the money from the job and realise that there is a whole industry at stake.