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Rant: A 20 year old door lock gave me a real headache on a service call
I was on a call at the old First National bank building downtown yesterday. The down car on a pair of Otis Gen2s wouldn't run, and the fault code pointed right at the car door lock. Sure enough, the old style mechanical lock was stuck. I tried the usual, cleaning the track and checking the roller, but the latch just wouldn't drop. The debate I'm having with myself is whether to just force the mechanism free and hope it holds, or to push for a full lock replacement, which the building manager really doesn't want to pay for. Forcing it got the car running in about ten minutes, but I'm not confident it won't stick again next week. A new lock assembly is around $400 plus my time to install it. What would you guys do in this spot? Go for the fast fix or insist on the proper repair?
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the_wyatt1mo ago
My buddy had a similar fight with an old gate lock at a warehouse. He forced it back to working just to get through the day, but the thing failed again before the week was out. The property owner ended up paying for the new part anyway, plus another service call. Sometimes the quick fix just costs everyone more time and money in the long run.
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jamiew531mo ago
Been there. Forcing it is just a band-aid, that old lock is telling you it's done. Push for the replacement now, saves you a callback and the client a bigger headache later.
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