Bill Walter - Locksmith

"Yes, I was late. I had misremembered, thinking the appointment was for 5:00 PM. I was running late, so at 4:30 I thought I’d better give her a call and let her know that I would be arriving about 5:30. I pulled out my paperwork to get her phone number and saw that I was supposed to be there at 4, not 5. I called immediately, explained my error, and offered that while I can’t undo the mistake, I understood that her time also had value, so I eliminated the $70.00 service call fee because being late is not good service. While I can’t guarantee that I will never make a mistake, and I realize that not all mistakes can be undone, I do stand behind the quality of my work and my word. If I can’t fix it, I’ll do my best to alleviate the sting and remove the bitter taste left behind. Again, my sincere apologies. Bill Walter"

"I’m not sure that this review is intended for me. I broke my hand on January 8th and didn’t start back to work until February 10th, so I know I wasn’t working on January 24th. I did however do some work for this customer 7 ½ months earlier, but I’m pretty sure this review isn’t for that. But just to be sure, I looked up the all details of that job, and this is what I found: I was first contacted May 6th 2013 to see about installing the customers Schlage Electronic Digital lock into the back gate at his home. I met with him the next day only to find that the gate was too thick for the lock. I told him I’d have to do some research to find a solution. First I contacted Schlage only to find out they make “thick door kits” ONLY for their commercial locks, NOT their residential locks. I ended up having to design a “thick door kit” and had a machine shop build 10 of them for me. By buying ten, I can get them down to a reasonable price although I run the risk of never recouping my investment. I received the custom made parts and scheduled an appointment for June 6th, 2013 at 9:30 AM. I was told to meet him on the street behind his home at the back gate because that would be the easiest access. My cell phone billing records show that I called at 9:26 AM to let him know that I had arrived. The custom made kit worked perfectly and I billed the following: $30 to modify the lock AND install it into the gate. $60 for the custom designed and machined “Thick Door Kit”, and $60 for the service call which included the original trip and the time to evaluate the situation, and the second trip to actually install the unit plus billing and paperwork time. My total charge was $150.00 plus state sales tax on the parts. I feel that this was an EXTREMELY good deal for my client."

"This being my very first review of less than straight A’s on the internet, I feel compelled to respond. This was three months ago. Fortunately I keep pretty good records. I’ll address each issue separately from better to worst. Responsiveness: “B” I was contacted by an email sent on July 1st at 9:58pm asking me to call the following morning. I called in the morning, they were going out of town and needed the work completed that night. My normal work hours are from 8am-6pm. I squeezed them in at the end of my day at 6:00pm at my normal rate. Punctuality: “C” I feel that asking a client to remain home between the hours of 1pm and 5pm is awful. I set my appointments at a specific time. While I don’t remember the specifics of this job, my cell phone records show that I called her number at 5:47pm. If I’m on time, I generally don’t call so I was probably running a little late. Price: “D” The invoice was for $90.00. I charged $60 for the service call which includes time to drive (at 5:30pm it probably took 40 minutes), park (often impossible) and do the paperwork. I charged $30 dollars for the actual repair of the lock. When dealing with a loose lock like hers, first I take the lock apart to make sure it is assembled properly and operating correctly because often it’s not. I make sure everything is properly lubricated, and then I put it all back together in the door and check for free operation as I tighten each part. I spoke with this client today and hopefully addressed all of her concerns. Bill Walter"