Lock Bumping, a nicely balanced report or two...
I'm finally starting to see a few of these more balanced, less panicked reports crop up. Here's a good example from NCB6 in South Florida: "Who's Got Your House Key?"While they still get a plug in for the super high security locks, overall it's far less hysterical, and better balanced. Allows the customer to know of the threat, be proactive, but not rush out in a dithering panic and buy into systems that may not benefit in the long run. It also notes the official ALOA stance on the subject. Nice.
Here's another nicely balanced report: "Lock Bumping Hits 'net"
This author still suggests Medeco or similar, and notes the ultra security available with these types of locks, specifically the owned keyway, signature cards, etc., as a benefit, which it certainly is. The one thing I would add to this article is a slight caution on being sure you buy the proprietary keyway from a long term, well established locksmith shop. You know my feeling on it... We just get too many calls from people who can't do a thing with their proprietary keyways because their locksmith isn't available, and we, obviously, can't help them. Otherwise, another nicely balanced article.
Clear plus in the above article, the suggestion of the keyless deadbolts... One of the common threads in the news reports I see is concerned homemakers worried that someone will come in while they're at home with the baby or children. A keyless deadbolt absolutely negates the possibility of bumping while the home is occupied. Customers must, of course, be kept fully aware that bumping is rare, and that most break-in's occur via the "kicking or shouldering doors" mentioned in the above article, as well as through windows. That's our job as locksmiths. Fully informing the customer, in a calm, proactive manner.
I guess the thing that bothers me most about all of this isn't the fact that a few locksmiths are taking this as an opportunity to up-sell, if the customer is fully informed, it's a great opportunity! My problem is that the reasoning behind the up-selling for a small subset in our industry is so venal. Weaknesses and flaws in existing products should be public knowledge. Locksmiths, as part of a proud, old, ethical, tradition, should work with customers to inform them, and secure them, but never to give a false sense of security.
So a Medeco or a Primus can't currently be bumped... Are we fully informing our customers that bumping is rare? That most break-in's occur through other means? That having Medeco or Primus is not a perfect fix? They should be sold on their merits, which are considerable, but not as the cure-all to crime. I get call after call from customers who outright tell me that the last locksmith said; "There's nothing you can do to prevent a break-in other than buying Medeco or Primus. Period." When asked if the locksmith discussed existing home security, habits, lighting, dogs, last time they had a rekey, etc., they say these issues were never brought up by these locksmiths. Why?
From a business POV, and I certainly understand it (What an ideal!), selling proprietary keyways to everyone within reach would certainly be lucrative, but is it fair? Adding to the whole problem is the Priceline / Superb Solutions plague. They have approximately 200 entries here in San Diego, all under different names and phone numbers, and the lock bumping panic is thrilling them to death. They LOVE to sell Medeco under the guise of a rekey. Install Medeco without telling the customer, throw all the old hardware into the truck, present the customer with a bill for $1500, demand payment. They won't support the install, so even if the customer refuses to pay, the customer is left with a system they can potentially never have rekeyed, or must replace. Now THAT's venal.
Not even remotely about lock bumping, this blog post is one of the best locksmith related blog posts I've ever seen about what our business should be:
"Life As A Locksmith"
This actually misted me up a smidge. We all have those customers from time to time. Who we are as locksmiths, who we are in our tradition, and who we are as humans is in how we deal with them. Too many in these days of ultra competition and Priceline see a situation like the above as a whoppin' money maker. The good ones try to protect the customer. Kudo's to this guy for caring.
Well, I'm done irritating a few of my fellow locksmiths for today... Feeling a little glum about the state of our industry as you can probably see. I'm proud to be a part of this industry. I'm honored at the trust given to me by my customers, and I work ass-over-backwards to live up to that trust. More and more tho' I'm seeing those that want the immediate profit rather than the long term reference, lifetime customers, reputation, etc. I've actually had fellow locksmiths say to me, along with an evil chuckle; "I don't care if they ever call me again, I'm making my money from this job..." Not very forward thinking. And it's not just the Priceline people unfortunately.
Not very cheery...
kim
read or link to the full post here...
