Old School Isn't Always Bad

I’m old school.  When something breaks, I try and fix it. I believe it is cheaper to fix it than it is to completely replace something altogether.  And I hate throwing something away that’s still good. I'm outlying in today's way of life.

I have owned several DVD players over the years.  When they break after a few years, I've learned that I can’t fix them. On top of that, its less expensive to buy a new one. I can buy a new one for $50 when it costs $80 just to have someone look at my old one and tell me what’s wrong it.  So, I guess you can say I've adapted to this throw-away society.

But not everything is a throw-away when it stops working.   for example.  After living in your home for 15 years, things have gone well.  When you need to get into your home, your key works just fine.  But lately, it hasn't been as smooth.  It’s getting hard to put the key into the lock, you have to try it several times, jiggle the key, and twist it side to side just to get it to work.  Or maybe it just doesn't turn as easily when you finally do get the key in. It’s just an old lockset you say – it was there when you bought the house 15 years ago.   Might be time for a new one.

So you get some quotes and it just so happens to be incredibly expensive to replace that old lock because of it's model. We’ve been trained that when it breaks, it’s time to get a new one.  Here's something to note, a good quality lockset can last a lifetime but it’s not maintenance free.   A little bit of maintenance can go a long ways with a lockset.

This kind of situation happens all the time.  We get a call that the owner wants a new lockset on their front door.  We could provide them a quote, but generally, we start asking questions – why do they want a new lockset?  Is it appearance or functionality?  We often hear, the old one just isn't working very well.  That’s when the old school in me comes out and explains that maybe all that old lockset needs is some servicing.  When the homeowner finds out the cost of the service is a quarter of the cost of replacing the lockset, most are willing to give it a shot.  Saving several  hundred  dollars is enough to make the service worthwhile.  It’s surprising how often a service call with a cleaning, adjustment, lubrication, and maybe a new code cut key makes all those finicky problems go away.

So perhaps being old school isn’t so bad…..at least for those folks we help save hundreds of dollars and make their lives just a little bit easier when they get home at night and that old cantankerous lock isn’t cantankerous anymore.