Locksmithing and Security

Wow! Two months have gone by. A mixture of holiday and catching up after holiday. And running out of things I haven’t alread posted about.

Parking. Having only a modestly sized van, and using a motorbike occasionally, I sometimes forget to ask about parking and, as I think I may have mentioned already, I get slightly peeved to discover that there’s no parking at all at the customer’s.

This time it was an appointment I’d forgotten. In fact I think the customer must have been making it up as I’ve still not recalled or found the job sheet for the job they said I’d missed. Anyway I apologized and said that I’d be there as fast as I could. “What’s the address?” Well the address in question was a major road with absolutely no chance of parking so I asked about parking. “There isn’t any”, came the reply, “You’ll have to use the Residents Only bays in the side streets.”

“Ah”, said I, “you have a visitors permit I can use then?”

“No.”

I told them I’d call that evening.

Par of the reason it’s so bad there, is that it’s Lambeth. Third worst borough in London in my opinion. Neighboring Wandsworth makes nearly all bays Pay or Permit, apart from where all the councillors live, where it does tend to be Permit Only. Wandsworth also has free bike parking. Lambeth though makes the majority of its bay Permit Only; and it doesn’t allow bikes in bays; and Lambeth’s Reserved for Solo Motorcycle bays are very few and far between.

If you’re booking a locksmith, or any kind of tradesman, I suggest that you let them know in advance if there is no parking whatsoever where you live.

It’s no good hoping that they’re magicians or athletes with no heavy kit or that they’re going to abseil in from a hovering helicopter. If a tradesman arrives and finds, for example, that it’s residents-only parking for half-a-mile in all directions, and that the contact number is permanently engaged, then if said tradesman is less than a level-eight saint, they might just turn around and head straight for their stress therapist. And the customer will have waited in for naught.

If, on the other hand, a customer says, “We’ll need to find a day where you can come around after four-thirty because that’s when the parking restrictions end”, or “I’ve a visitors parking permit for you”, everyone is heading for a positive and enriching experience.