I was tired and already in bed when the phone rang a little after midnight. I weighed staying in bed vs getting up, getting dressed, going out in the cold, but only for a few seconds. I find it hard ignoring someone in need.
“Hi, can you come make me a new key? It's a 2007 Ford Explorer. I must’ve dropped it in the snow, been searching for it for 2 hours.” I quoted a price, and as became the usual response in these late night calls, the guy immediately accepted. Got up, got dressed, got in my locksmith van and put on one of my current favorites Jeffrey Martin which I enjoyed very much during the 20 minute drive from north Buffalo to where the guy was stranded: a 7-11 on Abbott rd in south Buffalo. I immediately noticed the 2007 Ford as I rolled in. He was seating in the driver's chair as I parked next to him. We exchanged a few words, both of us being tired, and I got to work. 20 minutes later he drove away with 2 new car keys and a remote I gave him for free, hopefully sweetening the sour pill of a late night service call... When I was working, programming the new car keys, we talked a bit. I told him I just recently started my business again after selling my old lock shop about 6 years ago. He mentioned how the first 5 locksmiths that showed up on his google search did not even answer (“so called 24.7 locksmiths” as he put it…)
On the way back home as I’m driving the quiet streets of Buffalo NY my thoughts went back to what he said about the "24/7 locksmiths" not answering and also further back, to the time when I started my first locksmith service, about 15 years ago. Back then I also took late night calls but I remember them so differently then my experience now. Many times I would wake up and people didn’t want the service once I quoted a price, or canceled on me when I was already on my way. A few months in, I started to consistently have work in the morning and I was very happy to start putting my phone on silent for the night. I also adjusted my google listing and website to reflect that. I didn't tell my customer that the fact I was available to him was only because I just started and am not too busy with service calls yet but on the way back I was thinking how much I liked these calls this time around. Since starting up again, I’ve helped with a few lost keys, car lockouts (one of a plow truck on a snowy night), a few house lockouts and this nice guy who lost his keys. Each and every time I answered the call at night the people needing a locksmith sighed a heart warming sigh of relief when I told them the price and how long it would take me to get to them and were so grateful once I helped them back in their car or house or made them new keys. Maybe this time around, I’ll keep the night emergency locksmith calls as part of my business plan. I guess the people of Buffalo need a locksmith to fill in that role and so far I’ve been happy to fulfill it. I guess I'll see how I feel when business picks up
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