With the best-known name in the lock industry, Yale started out as a locksmith because his father specialized in the production of high-security bank locks. Taking his father's legacy further, Linus Yale patented a cylindrical lock with a pin. While it may not be his most recognized quality, King Louis XVI was an avid fan of carpentry and metallurgy. He hired the services of a friend, Francois Gamain, and learned to make locks. Louis was known to spend hours creating locks with intricate details.
When you think of locksmiths, the French Revolution doesn't immediately spring to mind. Instead, most people think of the riches of Versailles and Marie Antoinette's famous misquote: “Let them eat cake”. However, the French Revolution and locksmithing have quite a bit in common. Turns out Marie Antoinette's husband, King Louis XVI, was an amateur locksmith. He loved mechanical things and even built his own safety cabinet.
Unfortunately, another amateur locksmith and a friend of the king revealed where the security cabinet was and, as a result, their documents were found. The documents allegedly contained incriminating information. As a result, Louis XVI didn't do very well. If hearing about the French Revolution made you think of the guillotine, then you know what happened to the king. A great statesman and founding father of the United States: Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin used a wrench to attract lightning to his kite in the mid-18th century. In this way, he discovered the power of electricity and revolutionized the way we power our lives today. Without his “key discovery”, Edison would not have invented the light bulb and to this day we would be living in darkness. Who would have thought that locksmiths, lock fanatics, and would-be locksmiths would play such an important role in history? You never know what secrets celebrities are hiding. However, if you have information that needs to be protected, remember to ask a locksmith to help protect it. This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together.
Welcome to episode number 220 of the Good Neighbor podcast, and today they are the key security services. Now, she and her husband Key own Key Security Services. Ruth Ann, how are you? Thank you for taking the time to this. I know our listeners are eager to hear. Why don't we start with key security services? Tell us a little about what you do.
Well, thank you for asking Charlie. What we do is provide homeowners and associations with peace of mind by addressing their most demanding security needs. We install and repair locks. We service access control systems, vehicle gates, bar code scanners, telephone entry systems, anti-theft alarms. We also offer surveillance cameras and service automatic sliding doors. I knew you did a lot.
I love the concept of providing peace of mind, especially I'm sure that there are people who move from here in the summer months and come back, and you're certainly always left wondering if the place is safe and all that, right? Automatic sliding doors are they for residential or commercial use? It's more of a commercial application. We really promote ourselves as locksmiths for associations and condominiums. That is a need that they have. We have really worked in that particular niche, excelling at being excellent service providers for that particular niche. I don't know; I thought it would be great if there was facial recognition when I approached my house and the sliding doors would open automatically.
I'll tell you that when we went to the ISC convention last year, the hottest topic was facial recognition. I think it will probably affect associations and condominiums first because it's going to be an expensive item. But imagine if you could walk to your condo and use your face to get in. That means there are no keys in the pool. That means there are no controllers to keep track of; no one can borrow your face. So now we don't have to worry about homeowners giving their keychain or key to their friends or family because they can't give their face away; I'm sure they'll be aware when that time comes.
We strive to be at the cutting edge of technology. Are there any myths in your world that you've heard of in terms of security or locksmith services? What do you hear? When they come there is some special circumstance that makes it much more. So it really pays to meet a local locksmith who is committed to this community and to their own reputation. There's another myth Charlie; that's on the other side of the question: that people don't realize that to install security cameras you have to have an electrical license. The other part of our business electronics all the low-voltage work we do such as access control and anti-theft alarms and home automation and surveillance cameras which require an electrical license to perform that type of work. As much as locksmiths are not currently regulated in this state; the electronic part is regulated and we work with our own electrical license for those who have that part of our business. With all the different licenses that are needed in Florida; I was surprised that a locksmith any one can start with that and be a locksmith. We like to do things outdoors; we like camping and we like experiences; where is your favorite place to go? What is your favorite destination? Charlie one of our favorite destinations is West Gate River Ranch; we love going there every year on Thanksgiving; that's one of our family traditions; that's on the other coast of Weston Florida. Charlie returning to myths another thing I wanted to highlight is that sometimes customers get wrong idea about cameras and think that cameras are like those in CSI where you can use any type of camera capture license plates capture someone's eyesight bounce off signal get some kind special...
