Apparently He Didn't Have The Pull

My thoughts were interrupted by the extremely loud ringtone of my iPhone. Another day on the job I was called to complete a lockout on a 2009 Honda Civic. Umm the Civic and I have a love hate relationship, I love it because it's one of the cars I can count on being there when I arrive do to its backwards lock mechanism. unlike its older sibling the the 1990-07 civics have vertical locks which always tempt the the owner to give the clothes hanger and screwdriver a try with the usual result of me wasting gas do to their success, but not the 2008 till present models, which is the reason why I also dislike it. The funny part about it is that you can tell a lot about your locksmith according to how he approaches this car, he is either the inexperienced that inserts his wand and tugs away leaving himself and the owner disappointed, the impatient that immediately seeks out the trunk release and squeezes through the trunk space and unlocks the car, or someone like myself that knows the right angle to hit that sweet spot. Don't believe me, Ask the rookie at ABC locks. I was called on the scene to Applebee's one night to unlock 2008 Honda Civic only to find out they had called another locksmith also. At first I was about to pull off, there's no sense in arguing with the customer because they called several locksmiths, all they want to do is get home they don't care who completes their lockout as long as it gets done. As I put my car in drive to pull off I couldn't help but observe that the locksmith was one of those inexperienced and impatient types rolled up into one. I rolled down my window and told the customer that the locksmith he hired was not going to unlock his car, of course the customer asked why, I proceeded to explain that the locksmith didn't seem experienced with this particular make not only that but he was going to eventually damage his car door with all the pulling he was doing; I explained to him that I could get into his vehicle in a matter of seconds however his wife was a little apprehensive. she felt bad because the other locksmith had arrived 1st and she was correct however the point was only one of us knew what they were doing and I was willing to prove it. There is a science to unlocking every car and I knew that,when you approach a Honda of that particular year just about everything that you were taught about unlocking cars goes out the window, from the position of the airbag to pulling on the lock. This particular car if you pull on the lock you will break it. to put this door is in the unlock position it has to be pushed in. To put the car in the locked position the lock has to be pulled. Most locksmiths have forgot or haven't been in the business long enough to encounter a car like this, knowing what your approaching is key with the success of any car lockout. the angle that you enter the car will determine if their driving home or taking a taxi. the rule of thumb is to have a stick that you can manipulate Come from the top 6 to 10 inches from the side mirror make sure your directly above the lock, that way your stick is properly aligned with it to push it in to unlock it. I told the couple that we could solve this by me working on the opposite door and let him continue to damage the door he was working on I assumed I was the only one that found this funny, whoever unlocks the car 1st gets paid. I knew this fight was fixed before I made the statement because it was apparent that I had the upper advantage. they consulted with each other and agreed to my offer. I slowly walked back to my vehicle and began to gather the tools necessary. I knew the other locksmith was severely undertrained, he didn't even have a flashlight not to mention he had the customer using her cellphone as a flashlight which is a no no, there is a major liability when you have the customer assisting you in a job that you're supposed to be the Master of this also devalues you and makes the customer feel like they overpaid for a job that they could've done themselves. The more he pulled on the door the more frustrated he became, he even blurted a few curse words. It was unfair how easily I entered the car. I wasn't timing myself however it took me all of 15 seconds before I heard the beautiful sound of the Honda car alarm which indicated that I had gained entry, needless to say only one locksmith got paid that night. the owner was a gentleman, he even offered the other locksmith gas money for his inconvenience however he wasn't satisfied because he felt he should have been granted another 20 minutes to unlock their car. lol. I would finish telling you what happend when I arrived at the 2009 silver Honda Civic but you already know.