Nov. 24--When it comes to locks, for John and Jennifer Caldwell the world's an open door.
The key to success for their family business, say the father-daughter team isn't just skill. It's putting themselves in the shoes of customers who can be frightened, frustrated and feeling just plain unnerved.
"I locked myself out of a new van we got once," admitted John, namesake of John Caldwell Mobile Lock & Key, looking down with a sheepish grin. "The system was different to the van we'd replaced and well, there I was."
"I locked my keys in my car the day I got my divers license," said Jennifer, smiling as she glanced at her dad. "Luckily I knew who to call but I was really embarrassed."
John Caldwell has always been the type of guy who liked working with his hands. He got a job doing mobile home construction after high school, was in maintenance "until I got bored," then hired on as a bike mechanic for A&B Lock & Safe, a business where many longtime Wichitans purchased their first bicycles.
"I kept watching the locksmith who worked there, asked him a lot of questions and got pretty good at it," John explained. "Then one day he left and they put me in the van."
After more on-the-job training, practical experience and making the grade on the state's stringent licensing and certification process, Caldwell went into business for himself in the late '70s. "My wife pushed me," he chuckled. "But from the beginning it was an all-mobile business."
Jennifer, an identical twin who also has an older sister, says she was fascinated by her father's work from childhood and would ride along with him whenever she had a chance. During the summers she was his assistant and it wasn't long before neighbors would call on her if they locked themselves out of their homes.
"I never told other people I could pick a lock," she said. "It's a lot of responsibility and when you're young that's something your friends don't need to know."
Today the Caldwells put in a full day changing locks on rental homes (something required by law when tenants change) and answering those familiar calls from people who have locked themselves out of their own cars or houses.
"We spend a lot of time trying to calm people down. Elderly folks and teenagers can get pretty upset. Most people blame themselves but some want to take it out on somebody and you're the first person who shows up," said John. "We remind them this happens to just about everybody."
Both have been called out to help people who, though a series of unique circumstances, accidentally flushed their keys down a toilet.
John came to the rescue a woman at a highway rest stop; Jennifer's customer fell victim to the electronic eye flusher at a Walmart.
"But we drop everything when we get a call from someone who has a child locked in the car with the keys. We don't advertise it but we don't charge on those," said Jennifer, herself the mother of an 11-month-old. "The parents have been through enough already."
Both Caldwells say the dad-daughter partnership has been a good one. John mans the business phone, lets Jennifer handle the quick-response calls and the two team up on more complex cases.
"I admire my dad so much," said Jennifer. "Just watching how patient and thorough he is, how good he is with customers has always inspired me."
Copyright 2013 - Times Record News, Wichita Falls, Texas
