The doorknob on our door to the backyard broke a few days ago. I told my dad to find a locksmith to come and replace the lock. He, of course, wanted to see if he can DIY it and spent almost an entire day removing the lock from the door. It turned out a part of the lock was still stuck in the jamb so he could not get the door open.
Finally, last night he called a locksmith and they showed up promptly at 9:00 am today. It took them <2 minutes to get the lock mechanism out, and about 10 minutes to rekey and install a new lock. It cost us ~$210 for the entire bill: travel, lock removal and replacement, lock rekey, and part cost for the new lock itself. Their ad said they’ve been in business for 43 years and they did a quick and professional job.
Of course in the era of COVID-19, they didn’t come in the house. Initially my dad shook hands with the locksmith, after which they both paused and realized that we don’t shake hands anymore. I also make my dad wear a mask. I think this will be the new normal in interactions with strangers going forward: face masks and fist/elbow bumps.
Life with chronic diseases 