No cure for stupidity.....

NYG95GA wrote: Those Jack Russels are very smart little babies..

Quoted for truth.

I've watched my dog run in and steal the WII remote from the kids and drop it in the other room. They run to get it - he runs in and he eats their snacks.

Awesome stories! I am really enjoying them

Heh- while by no means a professional locksmith, I learned me a thing or two while locking myself out of vehicles. One day while leaving my auto insurer's office (in the good old days, before it was all on the intarwebs) I see this poor guy in his wheelchair, locked out of his van. The insurance gentleman's front desk lady was out there with a coat hanger, trying her damndest to pull the locks the way she'd seen on TV. I could tell right away it wasn't going to work like that, it was a GMC Safari, and the lock buttons were totally at the wrong end and going the wrong way for what she was trying to do. So I, in slightly bemused fashion, go over and offer my assistance. Notice that the window is down an inch or two, which means, getting to the power lock button is cake. Then I notice something.....

Keys were sitting right on the drivers seat, with a big ol' keyring on em because the man had a better time managing his keys that way. A few seconds later, I had fashioned me a fishin' device out of the aforementioned coat hanger, and fished his keys up, and pulled them right out through the crack in the window. They tried to pay me, multiple times, and I refused. I think I got a free Hudson Map book out of it later though....

"If we have to get on the truck and leave, I'm gonna bust something!"

Oh, Lord. My sides hurt.

A distraught woman enters a store where I worked on M St. NW in Washington DC. It's right when the curb lane becomes a no-parking zone, and the vicious, predatory tow trucks are on the ready. She's parked illegally with the keys in the car, and she's really, really anxious.

I offer that as soon as I finish ringing up the customer I'm with I can help.

I finish and retrieve the home-made slim jim (out of a stainless straightedge) I have under the counter. People do this ~all~ the time.

As we walk out to her car she is already thanking me profusely. I pop the door in about a minute, reach in and pick up the keys. She asks if there's anything she can do to repay me.

Being as it's 1983 and I'm an impoverished punk rock musician working in a kite store - I say:

"A locksmith charges $40 unless the car is next in line for a $100 tow - then it's $75... How about twenty bucks?"

She instantly grows surly. "What is this? some sort of shake-down?...why, I never....etc"

I tossed the keys back on the seat, locked and closed the door, and went back to work.

I've had a few cars that my shop has had to fish keys out of. Some of my guys were better than I which I picked up some tricks from.

One of my favorite quotes was from one of my mechanics Manny who begrudgingly agreed to help someone stuck in our parking lot "Cops see a Puerto Rican breaking into a car, it just don't look good man." Although it should be said he had no official training aside from a misspent youth, so I guess the apprehension, despite being a legit situation, was hardwired in for a couple reasons.

I came to the rescue another time. A sonic had opened up caddy corner to out shop. The influx of customers required traffic directors employed by Sonic in the parking lot for the first few weeks. One of them came in asking for some help.

A lady in the parking lot adjacent to the Sonic had left her car running while getting some stuff out of her trunk, when the door closed still locked. She was freaking out worried she'd run out of gas and all I was armed with was a coat hanger and no cracked windows. But I did notice the rear seat was a 60/40 split design, of course the 60 part had an empty child seat on it. So I snaked my hand under the cushioned part of the 40, released the locking latch at the top and popped it down and squeezed through and was able to reach a rear door lock.

She was just as frantic with her gratitude, but apologized for having nothing to give me. I told her it was alright, and she left. The Sonic employee was so impressed I got lunch on the house that day. Thats a win in my book.

motomoron wrote: A distraught woman enters a store where I worked on M St. NW in Washington DC. It's right when the curb lane becomes a no-parking zone, and the vicious, predatory tow trucks are on the ready. She's parked illegally with the keys in the car, and she's really, really anxious. I offer that as soon as I finish ringing up the customer I'm with I can help. I finish and retrieve the home-made slim jim (out of a stainless straightedge) I have under the counter. People do this ~all~ the time. As we walk out to her car she is already thanking me profusely. I pop the door in about a minute, reach in and pick up the keys. She asks if there's anything she can do to repay me. Being as it's 1983 and I'm an impoverished punk rock musician working in a kite store - I say: "A locksmith charges $40 unless the car is next in line for a $100 tow - then it's $75... How about twenty bucks?" She instantly grows surly. "What is this? some sort of shake-down?...why, I never....etc" I tossed the keys back on the seat, locked and closed the door, and went back to work.

Is it wrong that this is my favorite story on here so far?

any time bad things happen to shiny happy people it can't be all bad

I like the 'shakedown' story too.

I've seen lots of keys locked in cars during my dealership time, too many to count. But my favorite was a GF with a 1971 Camaro, she was continually locking the keys in it, meaning I had to go get in the car. I finally got a coat hanger, bent the end to the right shape to grab the lock knob, showed her how to do it and then put the coat hanger inside the air cleaner housing (it had an outside hood release). She could get into it faster with the coat hanger than she could with the key.

Working at Circuit city installing stereos, alarms and such, the store manager had us install auto start in his truck. If you start it and step on brake, with the keys in the ignition, the car would switch to the key from the alarm. No key, it would turn off.

One day he started it and put the keys in the ignition. He went back into the store and one of the salesmen sat in his truck for a minute to check out the stereo we installed. before he got out, he tapped the brake locking the doors and then shut the door.

The manager came back to the install department asking us to break into his car. 3 of us looked at each other and I grabbed a hammer and went for the door. As he saw this, he asked what the hammer was for.

We protect he cars, not steal them.

I'm sure you've all seen this before...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ch1VlmzXMQ

Here's another:

I'd been called to a local high school to repair a lock, and as I was leaving, I threw my keys on the driver's seat, and foolishly shut the door without checking to see if the door was locked. It was. So here I stand, staring into the window of a van that had Locksmith Associates in large letters on the side.. talk about embarassing! I could have called the shop and had one of the guys come to open the van, but I never would have heard the end of it, so I decided to improvise..

A teacher came walking over to me, and I asked if she could find me a wire coat hanger. She explained that they were not allowed to have wire hangers at the school, but she had some in her trunk. Thankfully, the window was open about an inch, so I proceeded to fish the keys out with the straighted hanger. I snagged them and was reeling them in when I jiggled the wire, dropping the keys into the foot well.. damn!

I asked the teacher if she had another hanger, and she did. I twisted the two together into one long hook, and tried fishing for a key ring that I couldn't see, having no luck. I realized in order to be able to see the keys in the well, I would have to be much taller, so I asked the teacher if they had a step stool I could borrow, and she said that she had gotten pretty good at fishing keys, and that If I'd lift her up, she might be able to see the keys.

So here I am, on my hands and knees, with a teacher standing on my back, fishing through the barely open window.

That's when the classroom bell rang.

Kids poured out of the school, and by the time the teacher had hooked the keys and retrieved them, we were surrounded by a group of students doubled over with laughter.

^ Hah!, that's excellent

That one and the 'shakedown' lady, in particular. Thanks for sharing.

neckromacr wrote:

motomoron wrote: A distraught woman enters a store where I worked on M St. NW in Washington DC. It's right when the curb lane becomes a no-parking zone, and the vicious, predatory tow trucks are on the ready. She's parked illegally with the keys in the car, and she's really, really anxious. I offer that as soon as I finish ringing up the customer I'm with I can help. I finish and retrieve the home-made slim jim (out of a stainless straightedge) I have under the counter. People do this ~all~ the time. As we walk out to her car she is already thanking me profusely. I pop the door in about a minute, reach in and pick up the keys. She asks if there's anything she can do to repay me. Being as it's 1983 and I'm an impoverished punk rock musician working in a kite store - I say: "A locksmith charges $40 unless the car is next in line for a $100 tow - then it's $75... How about twenty bucks?" She instantly grows surly. "What is this? some sort of shake-down?...why, I never....etc" I tossed the keys back on the seat, locked and closed the door, and went back to work.

Is it wrong that this is my favorite story on here so far?

It's mine as well.

Every locksmith I've ever met has a "threw the keys back in the car and shut the door" story; it happens more often than you'd think.

Depending on circumstances, I often would cut a break to people in dire need with no money. Once, a lady called me to unlock her house, and once I got there and opened it, she sheepishly explained that she had no cash, and was I willing to barter. Immediately I figured she was going to offer "taking it out in trade" (which also happens more than you would think), but she had something else in mind. She asked if I liked pears, and led me out to her yard, where she had a pear tree flush with fruit. She lifted up her apron to hold them, and I picked a couple dozen of nice ripe pears and put them in her apron. Then I found a bag to put them in, and set them in the van.

She explained (in very broken english) that she had recently moved there from Mexico, and bartering was very common where she came from. I was satisfied, and bid her good day.

I had enough fruit to make a gallon of pear wine.

I've never had the bad luck to lock my keys in anything and have to fish them out, except once in the Jeep. Luckily for me I had the soft top on it, so I just unzipped it and reached in. The hard top's on it now, so I'm a lot more careful. Although a door did get closed when my keys where in it with the hardtop on. We were in the driveway, so I just went an got the spare key from the house.

Back when we were dating my wife locked both sets of keys to her tempo in it's trunk. The doors were unlocked so I fashioned a length of wire with the proper connector, removed the electric trunk release switch, and powered it directly from the battery. I was rather impressed with myself after that.