I'm running a business, not a charity!

[Jester]

I've locked myself out of vehicles a number of times, but the most memorable was when I managed to do it at a gas station in Bakersfield, CA. Where I knew no one. And had no place to go. Luckily for me, I knew how to break into that truck, and while it wasn't easy, and require some moves and flexibility worthy of Shawn Johnson, I did eventually manage to do it....and promptly got the hell out of Bakersfield!

[Ben_Who]

You would have loved me for a client. I had a bad habit of losing my car keys when I was younger (waaaaay back in the 1990s). Unfortunately, my car was a 1963 Mercury Comet in Batmobile black, and there was only one locksmith in town that had blanks for a fossil. When they drove over with their kits, I was pretty much prepared to pay any price. I forget what they charged, but it never, ever sounded unreasonable.

[Kagato]

How much is charged in the USA for a callout if you are locked out of your car, incidentally? I don't know if AAA does it, but I know NZAA covers lockouts in the 5 free callouts that members get per year (only covers things like flat battery, lockout, towage, etc. Doesn't cover major problems or running out of gas)

[MadMike]

My father taught me to always have a spare key.

After I locked myself out of my car the first time, I started carrying a spare in my wallet. Then when I got my second car, I found out that the driver door couldn't be locked without the key, so I didn't bother keeping a spare. Unfortunately, my third car wasn't like that, so I locked myself out again.

Since then, I went back to keeping a spare in my wallet, which is a good thing, because one day, in a spectacular act of stupidity, I parked my car, jumped out, and locked the door with the damn thing still running.

[AmethystSquirrel]

(As an aside, being the owner* can be awesome sometimes!)
* The business was originally started by my father, and I've effectively been manager wou could do what he wanted for the last few years. However, the business is currently being fully transferred to me so my father can finally retire.

Isn't it great that no one can go over your head? Congrats on continuing on the family business.

[jedimaster91]

How much is charged in the USA for a callout if you are locked out of your car, incidentally?

I think it varies. I get roadside assistance through my cell phone provider and also through the company I just bought a car from (they have a 1-800 number). Through the cell phone provider, it's an extra couple bucks on my bill per month, but absolutely worth it. I've locked my keys in my car many times and I've also had cars break down. IIRC, I'm allowed up to 5 calls a year.

[Aethian]

My car is funny, if the door is open and you try to lock it while running it will beep at you.

[Mytical]

I've actually managed to lock my door with the vehicle running. Luckily I had a small window open, and somebody small enough to fit through such a small space.

[aulocksmith]

I've actually managed to lock my door with the vehicle running. Luckily I had a small window open, and somebody small enough to fit through such a small space.

This reminds of an incident a couple years ago.

I had just pulled in to the servo (gas station for those you in the US ), and as soon as I got out of the car, I got pulled aside by this frantic looking woman. Turns out, she'd stopped to mail something in the postbox on the side of the road, and managed to lock herself out of the car while it was running.

The interesting part was getting it open again. This was on a major highway, with her car blocking a lane of traffic, and me working like a madman to open this car without getting hit. I managed to get it open fairly quickly, and since I was already there when she got hold of me, I only charged her half-price. But, I have to say, this woman has to be one of the best customers I ever had. She actually refused to pay less than full price for me helping her out. I couldn't talk her out of it. I wish I could get more like that.

[It shouldn't]

I'm a locksmiths and the boss used to make me be on call 24/7.

So I pretty much drove the lettered service van everywhere. Grocery shopping, dropping the kid of at school, going out to eat,...............

I guess I'm also a creature of habit and tend to shop/eat/frequent the same establishments at predictable times. It got to where the minute I showed up for my weekly grocery run, the cashiers would flag me down, cause somebody had locked their keys in the car. I found out that some people would wait for days till my Friday grocery shopping trip, cause I always charged them 1/2 price, since I was there already anyways. One guy was such a frequent flyer, that I made up a buy 4 get one free card for him.

On the point of people arguing about the price. After the first "I'm not paying all that. It didn't take you long at all to open my car!!" and he jumped in his car and tried to take off. I never ever let them have the keys until after they paid up. They got three minutes to argue. When the 3 minutes were up and they didn't have their wallet in hand extracting a form of payment, I threw the keys back in the and locked it back up.