You talkin’ ta me?

I put off writing this particular article for nearly a week, having been advised of some changes in the way the State of Texas has decided to further destroy individual freedoms as they relate to the locksmith industry. In case you missed it, my attitude adjustment knob has been yanked around, again. I’ll print this rant on T. F. Stern & Co. letterhead and place it in my service truck; that should accomplish some of the new requirements.

I wrote about my feelings regarding the licensing of my industry a while back, “Business licenses - Jump for joy” ( linked via title bar ) and then again when more Lilliputian hoops and hurdles were imposed via mandatory hours in classes intended to upgrade our professional skills, “Mandatory Continuing Education in Texas” (linked below in tiny print)

http://tfsternsrantings.blogspot.com/2006/05/mandatory-continuing-education-in.html

I received my monthly newsletter from the Greater Houston Locksmith Association last week and it had an official looking page explaining the newest information from the State of Texas, section 35.36, Consumer Information and Vehicle Signage.

(a) A licensee shall, either orally or in writing, notify all consumers or recipients of services of the license number and the name, address, and telephone numbers of the Private Security Bureau on each written contract for service for the purpose of directing complaints.
(b) If a licensee chooses to provide the notice required by subsection (a) in written form, the notification shall contain their license number, the name, mailing address and telephone number of the Bureau, in a type-face of the same size as that which appears in the document as a whole, but in no case less than 10 point type. ( that phone number is: 512-424-7710 )
(c) (b) A licensed company must display prominently conspicuously in the principle place of business and any branch office, a sign containing the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the Bureau, and a statement informing consumers or recipients of services that complaints against licensees can be directed to the Bureau.
(d) The company license number must be in letters and numbers at least one inch high and permanently affixed or magnetically attached to each side of the vehicle in a color contrasting with the background color.
(e) Vehicles operated by private investigators or personal protection officers are exempt and vehicles operated for administrative purposes are exempt.
These changes were intended to enhance the requirements related to the provision of consumer complaint information and to facilitate such complaint, as required by statute.

I’m sure they mean well, after all they want to protect the poor ignorant public from dangerous locksmiths, a public that the State of Texas must have assumed couldn’t find their anus with a funnel, pardon the crude comparison. Way back when common sense and humor were still permitted; I know, that’s too far fetched to believe possible; where was I, back when I was a police officer in a Department that had yet to start down the road to a mandated division called Internal Affairs.

I can remember an unhappy citizen walking into the office to complain about some officer saying something crude to him while handing him a traffic ticket. The Sergeant smiled and nodded while listening and reached into his desk where he retrieved a roll of toilet paper. He handed that roll of toilet paper to the hostile citizen, “Fill this form out and leave it on my desk when you leave”. Now you and I know that handling of complaints in such a way as to provoke additional anger was the wrong way to “satisfy” citizen complaints; a tally on the card for why Internal Affairs was established later on down the road. Somewhere between, “Who gives a hoot and don’t let the door hit you on the way out” and bending over backwards to accommodate the whiners, common sense and the right answer might lie.

In our organization of licensed locksmiths (GHLA) we talked in depth about following the established guidelines, to include displaying our license number on service vehicles. The law provided that any stationary which advanced or advertised the business, such as company letterhead, work orders, business cards and side panels on service trucks would fall into the category which mandated display of the company’s license number. I suppose I will have to generate a magnetic sign to place on each side of my truck to let my customers know that I’m a licensed locksmith parked in their driveway making a key to their car; not a plumber or electrician, house painter or some other vendor making a key without proper license information. Have you seen that attitude adjustment knob; I think it may have fallen on the floor and rolled under the sofa?

On rare occasion when my work isn’t done to perfection, I guess I could explain to an unhappy customer that they could call me back and request that I make it right; that would be novel. If that didn’t solve the problem I could tell them to call a different locksmith and send me the bill if that other locksmith could verify that my work had been done improperly. The customer could take me to small claims court and let a judge or jury determine the outcome; but those kinds of solutions only happen in a country where freedom exists, kind of like the way America used to be. No, now we have to notify our comrades in Austin, the watchdogs of our new social order. That phone number, in case you missed it, 512-424-7710.