Winter Lock Maintenance

Just recently, a well known chain of shops who specialise in things like car parts, bikes and camping equipment, etc., have been offering free winter checks for your car. As soon as my wife saw it, she told me, I should take my car in. . . .  I put it off. She told me again.. . . .  I put it off again. She told me more forcefully, especially when she knew I had passed the shop.

Eventually, I relented and took my car for its winter check. Surprise, surprise, the free winter check resulted in me having to buy stuff like oil and power steering fluid. And the thing is, I knew it would, that’s why I was putting it off. But as it turns out, my oil was really low. It might not have been long before I did some serious damage to my engine, and that would have really cost me money, not only on my vehicle, but lost business, etc. So, let’s accept that the shop in question is doing this free check because they know it will generate business, but I must say, they do it in a great way. There was no; “You must buy our products,” or “Our products are better for your car.” No, it was a simple check and I was shown what was needed. If I wanted to go elsewhere, that was fine. At the end of the day, I could have done all the checks myself, and then got the stuff I needed from anywhere, but again, I was putting it off, because I knew that as soon as I did that check, it would cost me money.

Look after your locks;

Now I am ashamed to admit, that I was guilty of doing the same thing I see my customers doing with locks. We can feel when they are not working right, and yet time and again, we know that if we get them looked at, or recognise there is a problem, it will cost money. But the alternative could be so much worse. When your locks get stiff (and many do this time of year), adjusting small bits now, could potentially save you the cost of a new lock.

I worked on a multi-point locking mechanism this week that was nearly seized up. The customer had taken ten minutes that morning to get the thing open. Now, I had fitted this mechanism a few years ago and know that when I fitted it I told the customer to oil it every six months. But the customer didn’t want to buy a can of oil spray just to use every now and then. And so they waited until things got difficult, incurring my labour charge rather than a few quid and a minute every six months. It could have been worse, because the unit could have failed completely and that would have cost even more! I know what it is like to have to juggle the pennies, but by catching problems early, it makes financial sense to get them sorted when the cost will be minimal.

Health checks aren’t just for people –

So, if your locks are showing any sign of being problematic, call me for a free health check. Honestly, I know I am coming to your house because the problem will likely make me a little money, but the chances are, it will save you more money in the long run, so we both win. And if you listen to what I say and think you can deal with the problem yourself, or want to get any products elsewhere, that’s fine too. 

I recently upgraded a customer’s locks as they did not meet insurance standards. Her friend wanted the old locks for some internal doors and I was happy to help, I even gave the old locks a service to keep them running longer. The point is, I am not going to insist you have new products or even have me to do the work. I will give you honest advice, and if you accept my advice I will carry out the work in the most cost effective way for you.

If you have any questions or wish to arrange a security check or lock health check, please contact me via any of the means on the contacts page.

Thanks for reading