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The Little Girl Who Fooled Our Security

This is a story I would like to tell you not just as a professional US locksmith, but also as a concerned parent. The other day I was driving back home from my work at Pembroke Pines Locksmiths in Florida. On the way I picked up my daughter from her Nana. On the way home she briefed me as usual on what was happening in her favorite TV shows, and I was half listening half thinking about work. You know how it is with working parents, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you.

BigStock photo

When we finally got home I parked and we approached the locked door together. I am a family man and as such I made sure to put the best security measures I could put in my house, and that includes some serious locks on the doors. So my door was properly locked with a keypad deadbolt lock, and I therefore did not even bother to look for the key but went straight to unlock the door with the finger on the pad, when I heard a sweet voice peeping behind me: “daddy, can I do it”?

I smiled, how sweet is my five year old daughter, thinking she can unlock our big front door. “Sure honey,” I said, stepping out of the way, “you can try!”

And my sweet, piggy tailed girl walked to the keypad and unlocked the door without blinking an eye. In the first second I was amazed and even proud. It’s quite a long code and she just recently learned to read digits. But then it hit me: my five year old, my sweet naive girl, can give our big lock door code to any grown up who might ask her for it. True, normally she doesn’t meet strangers without us present, but what if somebody approached her while she’s at school? She’s so young and might be proud to show that she actually can tell what our secret code is. Who would have thought my little girl has been watching me punching in the code and managed to memorize it? What do we do now? Do we give her a talk about security and strangers and maybe confuse and scare her? Or do I just change the code and just be careful from now on?

When my wife got home I told her what happened. It was almost funny to watch her go through what I felt – first she was filled with pride, but then the meaning dawned on her. We decided to do both – we changed our code and also brought up the importance of being safe in a conversation with our daughter.

On the morning after I went to my office in Locksmith Pembroke Pines. I told my colleagues how my super safe deadbolt touchscreen lock can be compromised by having one clever little girl. We all agreed that as sweet as they are, one should not underestimate our little kids. If you have a security code at your house, you should reconsider how much of it is exposed to your little ones. They see much more than you think.

The Lady Who Kept Hearing Thieves

This weird and sad story happened to me while working for US Locksmiths Homestead, Florida. I didn’t realize right away what was going on, because when the first call came in I couldn’t see there was a serious problem – and it wasn’t about the lock.

As said, the first call sounded perfectly normal. A woman called our office of Homestead Locksmith and asked for a lock change. This is completely standard and I took the call. When I arrived I found a 50-something year old woman. She told me she had a break in and would like to change her lock to a higher security lock. Her old lock didn’t have any break in signs on it, but I thought the burglars must have got in in another way and the lady wants to change the lock just to be on the safe side, which I can totally understand.

Photo: Bigstock

So I installed in her house a high security lock that comes with a personal code on a key card, which is a good safe lock, wished her a peaceful time from now on, and moved on to the next mission I got from Locksmith Homestead.

A few weeks later the call came in again to our Homestead locksmith office. The same address, the same woman. I was concerned that there is a problem with the lock I personally installed, so I took it right away. I was relieved to find the lock completely functioning and everything else looking absolutely alright. But the customer was very distressed. She said she heard people breaking into her house, through the door, and she’s sure that there are missing objects from her house. She said she’s sure other people have keys to her house and that’s how they enter her house. This seemed highly unlikely to me, as I knew that in order to duplicate the key to the lock I installed one will need a personal code, and she said that she didn’t give her code to anyone. I explained this to the lady, but she was very insistent and demanded a new lock, which I eventually installed, replacing her perfectly functioning few weeks old lock with a new one. Again, she asked for the highest security lock possible, so I installed a high security lock with a high security card.

When the third call to Locksmith Homestead came, not too long after, I wasn’t really surprised. The last time I left the woman’s house I was feeling that something wasn’t quite right there, and it wasn’t the lock. And indeed, when I arrived this time to the lady’s house I heard the same story: someone has her key, she can’t point out what’s been stolen but she’s sure something has, she would like a new lock. I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt the woman needed help, but not one that has to do with locks. I didn’t want to insult her, but I felt sorry for her – this is not a cheap lock and there’s no reason to keep buying new ones and spend all this money when there isn’t a real problem with the old lock. I tried to point it out to the woman, reminded her of the cost of a new lock and suggested to try other measures of safety to check if there really was a break in, before we change the lock again. To this she got very upset. She said she was hurt for the mere suggestion that she’s only imagining the burglaries, and demanded I help her and install the lock. I realized she would only feel safe if I installed the new lock, so I did, feeling sorry for her.

When the fourth call came I didn’t know what to do. I tried convincing the woman that she’s wasting her money, I asked if there was anyone I can call that can help her, but she got very upset and the whole situation was unpleasant.

When I came back to our Homestead locksmith office I informed the staff about this location. I was determined to report this case to a professional help if she calls again. However, she never did. I hope she finally calmed down and felt safer at her home, and I hope she didn’t stop calling just because it was clear I wasn’t really convinced she needs a new lock. I really hope she’s feeling safer now.

The Scary Surprise

The story I’m about to tell you is one of the funniest yet morbid cases we have ever run into in our US locksmiths firm. This is something that happened to me while working for our Coral Gables Locksmiths office. Actually, it happened a few times, and it has managed to ruin my day every time.

One of our regular customers is a morgue. They are a regular customer since they make a point of changing their locks every time they have an employee leaving. It’s part of their security policy to ensure that no former employees have any access to the building and I respect that. We have a bunch of customers in our offices of Locksmiths Coral Gables which are very strict policy companies and I love that.

It’s just that… well… this specific customer is a mortuary, so you can imagine what’s hiding behind the door sometimes. At the first time they called Coral Gables Locksmiths I wasn’t thinking about it, so when they asked me to unlock a door in the back part of the building, I did, I opened it wide, and I was horrified to discover a dead body lying right in front of me. Of course, I should have realized that this is what you might find behind closed doors at such a place and not react so badly, but you know, I’m the average Joe, I work, I have a family, I keep the law. I never saw or expected to see a dead body before, and this caught me completely unguarded. I stumbled back, all pale, and had to sit down. I did the rest of the job with somewhat shaky hands, and when finally finished I was happy to be out of there. I had a very small lunch and dinner that day, I just did not have the appetite. The vision came back to me again and again that day and I was sure I’ll be getting nightmares that night.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

But time passed and I forgot about it. I was called to many other locksmiths Coral Gables customers, and was happy to be back to myself. So a few months later, when I was called again to the same place, I completely forgot what happened to me there. And of course, while working my way through the building I opened a door and – yes, saw a dead body. Again. I wasn’t ready for this, and I felt my knees weak. When I left the place I called my wife and told her to cancel that big dinner out we were talking about, I don’t have much of an appetite anymore…

I was called many more times to this place, but I’ve learnt my lesson. Every time I’m about to open a door there, I turn around to the the maintenance guy who’s walking with me and say: “I don’t like surprises. Is there a dead body behind this door?”

Now there’s a question I never thought I will get to ask often…

The Teenager Who Shocked His Mom

This is a funny story about parenthood to teenagers. You never know what you’ll run into on your work day when you’re a US locksmith, and this one is a classic story.

Teens. You never know what to expect. Photo: Shutterstock

It all started with a call to our Wellington Locksmiths office. The caller said she was locked out of her house so I got on my way right away. When I got there I discovered a frustrated lady, with grocery bags next to her in front of her closed front door. She said she just came back from the store, unlocked the door with her key, yet the door won’t open. I checked her keys and the lock and they were fine and clearly unlocking the door, but the door wouldn’t budge. I know that lots of our customers in Locksmiths Wellington have deadbolts on the inside of their door, so I asked the lady if that was the case and she confirmed that they have one. But, she argued, how could it be that the deadbolt is locked, if you can only lock it from the inside and there should be no one in the house?

Well, I gave her a few seconds until it dawned on her that that means there’s someone inside, and that person made a point of locking the house so no one else can get in. She seemed more angry than scared to the thought, and demanded I unlocked the door at once. I didn’t want to cause too much damage to her front door, so we went to the back door which was locked with a regular lock (but she didn’t have the key on her) and I unlocked it for her. She asked me to go in with her, in case the person in the house is dangerous, so I escorted her inside.

And there, on the sofa in her living room, we found two teenagers, barely dressed, busy in “the act”. To this sight the lady went ballistic. Turns out the boy in the pair was her son. He and his girlfriend cut school for some private time. He made sure to lock the door with the deadbolt so his mom can’t go in without ringing the door and giving him a warning. But then he got so entranced with what was going on he never even heard his mom’s car, his mom’s key, and not even his mom’s banging on the door trying to open it… He looked really embarrassed, trying to find his clothes to dress up while his mom was screaming at him, and the poor girlfriend just ran off to hide in another room.

Now, working for Locksmith Wellington I’ve been to some awkward situations, but this one was a bit funny too. When it was clear the lady really didn’t need me anymore, I bid goodbye and took off. I think I managed to hear her yellings all the way to our Wellington Locksmith office…

The Revenge Of The Scorned Wife

Every now and then experienced locksmiths find themselves in the midst of a sensitive
family situation. I have seen family members in the middle of a dramatic fight, I have
seen couples exchanging spiteful looks while I unlock their door, I have seen tragic
moments and I have seen scary moments. It’s the nature of our job, to be called in to
some unusual moments.

One morning we received a call to our Locksmiths Coral Gables office. The caller was a
young woman, who said she had a safe she couldn’t open. When I arrived to her well
kept beautiful house, she told me that until recently this was a home for what she
thought was a happy couple. However, just a few days ago, her husband announced he
was leaving her for another woman, packed a few things and left. I expected her to
break into tears when she told me that sad story, but in fact she seemed more angry
than sad. She said that right before her husband left, he changed the code to their
house safe, to a new code she didn’t know. She was outraged about it, especially since
some of her savings were in there, and demanded the safe to be opened right away.
I took a look at the safe. Having worked for many years for Coral Gables Locksmiths, I
have opened a lot of safes, and this one was no different. When I opened the safe door
her eyes shone – inside, next to her jewelry, were two big stacks of cash. She explained
these were vacation savings of theirs, and she was worried her husband took it with him
to his lover. Since she wasn’t going on a vacation with him anymore, she announced, she
will now take the cash to a money spending spree in Orlando. She laughed loudly, and
seemed almost happy.

Right then she noticed something else – under the stacks of money were a few small
boxes, with what seemed to be expensive cosmetics products. Her eyes narrowed.
When I asked what was going on she answered that she never dared buying such
expensive products, and this was probably her husband’s lover’s creams. I could see
her getting angry, but she kept a leveled tone, when she asked me to change the safe’s
code to a new one. “My husband will be back in a few days”, she explained. “He wasted
my time and money when he forced me to call a locksmith just to open our safe, so now
he should get a taste of his own medicine”.

I did as she asked and went back to our locksmiths Coral Gables office. I was about to
forget the whole ordeal when a call came, a few days later, from a man at the same
address. It was the husband, who came back and wanted to unlock his safe. Our Coral Gables Locksmiths office sent another locksmith to the case, so I wasn’t there when they
opened it, but I can only imagine that he wasn’t happy to discover the surprise his wife prepared for him…

The Daughter’s Secret

This funny thing happened to me the other day. I was at our office of Locksmiths Doral , when a call came. The caller was a business owner here in Doral, Florida. I have been to his offices in the past for changing locks, and now he wanted an advice. He was looking for a GPS tracker for his car and he wondered if I knew where he could get a good one from a reliable seller. It wasn’t exactly a locksmith job, but I find that often people we give service to call us with further questions regarding how to protect their property and cars. So I sent him to a place where I know they sell good quality gadgets like that in reasonable prices and moved on with my regular Doral Locksmith schedule.

 

Bigstock photo

I wouldn’t have given it another thought if I wasn’t called again to the same customer a few weeks later. They had a need to change a code to their locks and called our Locksmith Doral number so I drove to their offices. It was there where I ran into the owner and after shaking hands and asking how he’s doing I wondered how did it work out with the GPS tracker. When he heard my question his expression changed to something I couldn’t quite figure out. I felt a bit concerned that he wasn’t happy with the place I sent him to, but he assured me that everything was fine with the tracker, it’s just that he now has troubles with his teenage daughter because of it. When he saw my puzzled face, he explained. It turns out he bought the tracker because he wanted to be able to locate his car in case it got stolen. However, that led to surprising discoveries that he wasn’t prepared for.

As it happens, he has a 17 year old daughter who every now and then borrows his car. When she does, she says she’s going to the mall, or the library, or a friend, nothing unusual for a teenager. But the other day he checked to see if the GPS tracker is working, and instead of finding his car next to the local library, he found it next to an unfamiliar address not even in Doral. At first he got confused and thought the tracker must be broken, but then realized that the more likely option is that his daughter is not actually in the library.

When his daughter came back he asked her how was the library and she answered “boring as usual”, rolling her eyes at him. He said nothing, but the next time she borrowed his car, this time to go to the mall, he checked again, and found that his daughter lied to him yet again. His car was on the same address where it was when she “went to the library”. Now he was very upset about it and told his wife what was going on. They decided to give the daughter another chance. At the next time she borrowed the car she announced she was going to the movies and will be back late, and they were disappointed to see that she went to the same exact place she went to at the first two times.

So the morning after his wife and him sat down with their daughter and confronted her. They wanted to know where she was going, and more importantly, why she was lying. They expected the girl to show regret and meekly explain what she has been doing, but instead the girl got very upset to hear there is a GPS tracker on the car and blamed her parents for stalking her. No matter how much they explained that the tracker wasn’t intended originally to be used for following her, she wasn’t willing to hear. So now he wasn’t allowing his daughter to use any of their cars, and the daughter was not speaking to him. He didn’t see this family trouble coming when he put the tracker in the car…

I went to our Doral Locksmiths office full of thoughts. My children are still young and don’t drive yet, but I know I would like to know where they’re going when they do. It doesn’t look easy, being a parent to a teenager…

What Happens To A Treasure After 20 Years In The Ground

When we first received the call that morning I wasn’t too intrigued. When you work as a locksmith for a long time you get used to hear about finds of old safes, in need of a professional assistance to open it up and find out what’s inside. In our Kendall Locksmiths office we’ve seen a lot of these, and I assumed I will find inside what I normally see in these old safes: long forgotten papers, once important but now worthless, sometimes an item with sentimental value to the owner, and only rarely (but it does happen!) something of a real financial value, a forgotten jewel, a stack of cash that grandpa locked in and the grandchildren are more than happy to find 30 years later.

So I didn’t think this time would be any different. The couple who called our Locksmith Kendall office that morning told a familiar tale: they have recently bought a house in Kendall, Florida. The house had been empty for years and in a serious need of refurbishing. As part of the works their contractor removed the carpet at the house – and was surprised to find a safe underneath.

Now, I should point out that the couple who bought the house was super psyched about this. Since the safe had been completely covered by the carpet, meaning truly hidden, they were convinced something really big was waiting inside, big enough for somebody to go through the effort of hiding it so well. I guess we all had this dream of finding a treasure, and they thought theirs was coming true.

So I sat down to work and started unlocking the safe. This was an old mechanism, which was clearly not touched for at least 20 years. However, I’ve been working at Kendall Locksmiths for many years, so it wasn’t such a big challenge to open it. When I opened the door, we all stared inside, wondering what we will find.

Now, before I continue any further and tell you what I actually found there, I should point out a fact known to any American: Florida was built on water. In other words, the land we walk on is soaked. Dig in a few feet in your garden and there’s a chance you’ll find moist earth.

So just imagine a safe, down in the cellar, hidden deep in the ground for many many years.

When I opened the door of that safe, the first thing that hit us was the stench. A real moldy, wet kind of smell. This didn’t mean good news, but the curious couple insisted on finding what’s inside. Whatever it was, it was wet. Real wet. The safe was half full with dirty stinky water. I realized that nothing valuable will come out of these water, but the couple started fishing things out of the murky water. They found some unidentified pieces of unclear material. This could have been old papers, or even old money bills, but now it was junk. In fact, a dangerous junk, as who knows what kind of fungus was in this moldy water. I advised the couple to stop touching the water, wash their hands with a disinfecting soap, and have their contractor get rid of the safe in a safe way. They were disappointed but promised to do so.

As for myself, I went back to our Locksmiths Kendall office, and washed my hands again and again. And still, every time I smelled my hands that day it smelled like mold. So I’d like to finish my story with a professional tip from us locksmiths here in Kendall Florida: people often hide safes in the ground, but if you live in Florida, please remember the water. In some places, hiding a safe in the ground will end up with a lot of wetness and no treasure…

The Teen Son Surprise

This is a funny story about parenthood to teenagers. You never know what you’ll run into on your work day when you’re a US locksmith, and this one is a classic story.

Never know what to expect with teens. Photo: Shutterstock

It all started with a call to our Wellington Locksmiths office. The caller said she was locked out of her house so I got on my way right away. When I got there I discovered a frustrated lady, with grocery bags next to her in front of her closed front door. She said she just came back from the store, unlocked the door with her key, yet the door won’t open. I checked her keys and the lock and they were fine and clearly unlocking the door, but the door wouldn’t budge. I know that lots of our customers in Locksmiths Wellington have deadbolts on the inside of their door, so I asked the lady if that was the case and she confirmed that they have one. But, she argued, how could it be that the deadbolt is locked, if you can only lock it from the inside and there should be no one in the house?

Well, I gave her a few seconds until it dawned on her that that means there’s someone inside, and that person made a point of locking the house so no one else can get in. She seemed more angry than scared to the thought, and demanded I unlocked the door at once. I didn’t want to cause too much damage to her front door, so we went to the back door which was locked with a regular lock (but she didn’t have the key on her) and I unlocked it for her. She asked me to go in with her, in case the person in the house is dangerous, so I escorted her inside.

And there, on the sofa in her living room, we found two teenagers, barely dressed, busy in “the act”. To this sight the lady went ballistic. Turns out the boy in the pair was her son. He and his girlfriend cut school for some private time. He made sure to lock the door with the deadbolt so his mom can’t go in without ringing the door and giving him a warning. But then he got so entranced with what was going on he never even heard his mom’s car, his mom’s key, and not even his mom’s banging on the door trying to open it… He looked really embarrassed, trying to find his clothes to dress up while his mom was screaming at him, and the poor girlfriend just ran off to hide in another room.

Now, working for Locksmith Wellington I’ve been to some awkward situations, but this one was a bit funny too. When it was clear the lady really didn’t need me anymore, I bid goodbye and took off. I think I managed to hear her yellings all the way to our Wellington Locksmith office…

Happy Halloween

Hello! We just had to post today, as it’s one of our favorite holidays – Halloween! Wishing everyone a scary but safe day. And don’t forget to properly lock your door when you go trick or treating!

We had to share some of our local Jack-o’lanterns seen around our neighborhood. There are some talented people out there.

anothetry try3 try4 try5 try8

From all of us at Locksmith Miami Beach – happy Halloween!

Hang In There Floridian Friends!

The strongest storm since 2004, hurricane Matthew, is supposed to hit Florida in the next few hours, with winds of 125mph. We just wanted to wish everyone a safe stay, in case you’re not being evacuated from the coastal areas.

The hurricane has already devastated parts of Haiti and hit the Bahamas. Florida’s governor has warned that the damage could be “catastrophic”.

The hurricane is supposed to hit southern Florida today as a Category Four storm. We urge you to get into shelters and to not take unnecessary risks. Stay safe everyone!