Gene's Lock & Key

Gene did an outstanding job replacing a non-locking fixture with one that locks. He came on time and worked quickly to finish the job.

Key broke off in garage door lock (!) causing extreme dismay. Called Gene and he not only was able to come out that day, but arrived promptly at the time he estimated, and did the job in under ten minutes (!!) While I'm sure every job probably cannot be done in this amount of time, I am grateful for his professionalism and his pride in his work. The job was reasonably priced and comparable to what other locksmiths had quoted us over the phone. VERY thankful to Gene, and to Angie's List for providing an excellent referral.

Gene arrived on time and was very professional. He was patient with us when we asked questions, gave expert advice on how to configure our kwickset smart key. He was almost done w/ all the locks when I noticed that we forgot to buy new knobs for the patio door and when mentioned to Gene, he said he can change the lock w/o having to buy new knobs. He really does good quality work! I will definitely recommend him and hire him again. Thanks Gene!

He's very nice, a pleasure to talk to, and he did great work. I recommend him highly!

Outstanding. Gene was very friendly and took the time to give me advice on which locks to choose from for my home. He performed the work timely and professionally. I would use him again for any work I may need in the future. Great work!

I called Gene as he was literaly leaving to go on vacation with his family, yet he took the time to make sure my problem was not an immediate security issue and promised he would be availabe on Thursday the following week I called him that next week, and he arrived that same day and at the scheduled time. He was very professional yet very courtesy and considerate. He does professional, timely, clean work He cares that he is doing the best for his customer, not just getting the job done quickly and leaving.

Outstanding. He showed up on time, completed the work professionally and quickly. He even returned a couple of weeks later to make an extra set of keys. His service was top notch.

Overall, it did not go well. I called Gene because of his ratings on Angie's List. I don't know which Gene showed up at my garage, but it was not the one so many others described. He was late by a half-hour; called me when he was 20 minutes late to let me know he was about 5-10 minutes out. Got here, got out of his truck, tried the keys that he had already made, one worked great, job finished. Must have taken 60 seconds at most. Gene then asked me how much he had told me on the phone the day before what the job would cost. Did he not remember how much he had told me? Does he not have standard prices for what he does? What if I had been Ms. Slick and told him 50 bucks? Anyway, I told him $85.00 is what he told me. I then asked if he would give me a discount. He said $80.00 if I paid him cash. I didn't have that much cash. He asked if I wanted to go to the bank and get it. No, I didn't. I asked if he would give the discount even tho' I needed to write him a check. (At one point, he said he would even take $75.00, if I paid him cash.) He then launched into how "fair" his $85.00 quote had been. The quote that he apparently did not even remember giving me since he had asked me how much he had told me. He also let me know that he had to pay $750.00 for the software for his locksmith business. As he continued his lecture, I wrote out a check for $85.00. He wanted to shake my hand after I gave him the check, but I declined. I told Gene that I appreciated that he cut a key, and brought it to me, and that the one key worked just fine. I thanked him for what he did. He told me to have a nice day. At one point, he also said that I was probably going to give him a bad review. Well, I'm just telling what happened. I hope that maybe Gene was just having a bad day, and will not treat other customers the way that he treated me. It seems that many before me were treated very well. **UPDATE 8/16/11** Gene states that he felt that I was unethical in the business transaction because I asked for a discount. I have never been called unethical by any service provider simply because I asked if I could have a discount. There are only 2 answers to that request, yes or no. Gene's answer was yes, if I could pay him cash, and no, if I could not pay him cash. $5.00 off if I paid cash. I asked if I could have the discount even tho' I was writing a check. Gene states that we had a verbal contract from the day before and once he quotes a price he sticks to it! A verbal contract? As he was walking to the back of his truck, Gene asked me, how much he had told me the job would be the day before. It is confusing to me that he would claim a verbal contract and a firm, unchanging quote, when he asked me how much he had told me. "So, how much did I quote you on this?" Gene states that he is open to negotiation before he starts his work not when he is finished. Gene was open to negotiation after finishing his work, if I could pay him cash. He even asked me if I wanted to go to the bank and get the cash!! Gene states that I asked him for a discount as he was writing out his field invoice. I first asked him immediately after I told him how much he had quoted the day before. He was not yet writing out his invoice. He was walking from my garage door to the back of his truck. Gene states that my declining to shake his hand speaks volumes about my lack of character. Yes, I politely declined to shake his hand. I thanked him for his work. I told him that I appreciated that he cut the keys and brought them to me and I was thankful that I could get into my garage. It just didn't seem appropriate to me, for me to shake his hand.

He was wonderful. I had no dislikes whatsoever. He was great. The locks had been there for probably 20 plus years. He took pictures and was able to get the same door locks. Everything works fine now. He was pretty pricey. I didn’t get quotes from anybody else and I’m uncertain about the price. I would use him again in the future if need be.

This is the third time I have used Gene. The first time he re-keyed all the locks in our new home. While doing this he discovered some pre-existing issues that needed to be addressed. His second time was when he returned after ordering the necessary parts to fix the issues he found. He is honest, knowledgeable and polite. We used him a third time today to re-key a new lock system. We will definitely use him again when needed and recommend him to those in need of a locksmith.

I found Gene's Lock and Key on Angie's List and called him immediately. A situation had occurred in the morning that caused concern for my mother's safety. When Gene answered the phone I explained that I wanted to replace a deadbolt on the front door of my mother's home. He asked several questions to determine why I wanted a double keyed deadbolt lock and what I wanted to accomplish. After going back and forth with questions and answers we finally decided that a new deadbolt might not mitigate my safety concerns. Gene suggested instead a door chime and a safety latch. He purchased what I needed and arrived in the afternoon as planned. Installation of the items (including the return and replacement of a defective item) was within 45 minutes. Although I had no frame of reference, I felt his charges for the service call and labor, combined, were extremely reasonable ... a pleasant surprise. By far the largest part of the total was for the materials Gene purchased for me.

I called Gene's Lock & Key to set up an appointment. Gene answered the phone and I told him that I wanted to re-key my present Dual-key Deadbolt Lock and cut some new keys. He quoted me a price for the re-key and service call and both were satisfactory to me. I told him he had the job. He said he could be at my house yet today (in about 11/2-2hrs). He actually arrived early, (in about 13/4 hrs). Gene was neat, clean and courteous. I had a new Deadbolt Lock in my possession and asked him if it would work on the door rather than re-key the old one. He went right to work. He made the new lock work and was actually going to charge me less for the job. Because I am an Angie's list member, he cut four new keys for me free. I asked for two additional ones. I had another lock in the garage/kitchen door that would turn hard and hang-up at times. I asked if he could look at it . He assessed the situation and told me what he could do to reduce the friction on the door-latch mechanism. He used his grinding tool to rework the latch. This helped correct he problem. I stood back and watched Gene work his craft and all the while I chatted with him. I found him very knowledgeable, personable and easy to communicate with. He is a fast worker and a true Professional. I was very pleased with his work and would have him back in an instant.

Gene is a consummate professional. He responded to my call for service with a same-day appointment, arrived exactly on time, provided some excellent advice, and completed the work we agreed upon immediately. He is personable, extremely knowledgeable and does high-quality work. Highly recommended!

It went great. Called Gene and explained what I needed done and made and appointment for him to do the work. He showed up on time and performed the work I requested. Everything went very smooth.

Both Baldwin locks were repaired. Each had a different issue. Service included making a parts run after diagnosing the problem. Same day service, good work, very professional. Takes the time to explain anything that you might need to know about the work he's done or maintenance on the locks down the road. Nice guy. My dog even liked him. Highly recommended.

Gene was very professional, friendly and always on time. We just bought a new house and needed the doors re-keyed so it was not urgent. Despite this, he was willing to come out the same day and make two trips after discovering that additional parts would be needed. His truck was well equipped, and essentially he had a mobile service. Overall time was about 90 minutes over two trips. He was willing to look at some extra items and lent us his expertise without additional charge. He accepted the Angie's List coupon freely. Price was as expected and in line with other reviewer's notes, despite somewhat more complicated devices to work with.

Phone call was very positive. He arrived on time. He very quickly unlocked the offending door. After that he quoted the re keying of 4 doors. He then went to his truck and reset the locks and made the keys. Total time was less than two hours. Very easy to communicate with and excellent service. I will use this vendor for any lock and key service I need anytime in the future.

He was super prompt. We called him, and he was there and done by an hour later. He was very fast in his work. It seemed that the price was expensive, but it might have been a normal price.

Called this guy six times in five days with one day being a Holiday. Never a return call. He had a great report on the list but I really don't need practice calling someone and leaving a message.

Excellent. I called him on a Sunday morning and he showed up later in the morning! He explained he had prior commitments with family and will have to take a break in the middle. We agreed on a price which was lower than other quotes. When he came to our place we found out I have given him wrong information about the work involved and that the work was more than what we had agreed upon, gene promptly offered to split the difference of the cost and I gave him the job! He did what we agreed upon and then gave me advice about security that advice meant more work for him which he did without charging extra for. Gene is an ideal Locksmith, a family guy (=you trust him instantly), easy to work with (no hassle with change of plans), on time (even on a short notice on Sunday), knows his job (did a good job and then some more) ! I would gladly re-hire him.

Gene couldn't have been more personable. He showed up on time and took his time to make sure everything was done right. I enjoyed watching him work and learned how the locks functioned. He pointed things out that he was doing that other folks might have missed. Gene gets a big thumbs up and I'll gladly use him again in the future if the need arises.

He was very responsive -- gave an estimate over the phone and was easy to schedule. He was very professional and did an excellent job.

Gene not only did a great job, he is very nice and personable. I really liked the fact I was able to pay with a credit card. Gene provided an A+ service overall.

Gene responded quickly to my call and arrived and completed the task the same day.

I have a security screen door on my front door. I guess the lock fell apart inside but I was unable to open the door at all. I called Gene at night and left a message. He called first thing in the morning. I asked if he would mind coming later as I had to work. He accomodated me by coming that evening. He told me what to buy and I have to go out and purchase a new lock. He was punctual, courteous and did excellent work. He got the broken lock out, keyed the new lock so I could the same key and installed the lock. I only gave him a "B on his charges because it seemed sort of high for me; but in all fairness I have not used a locksmith in many years and maybe this is excellent; I don't know. Anyhow, as a single,, older female I felt comfortable with him in my house and I would definitely use him again.