When I taught middle school students, Discovery Channel had a television series called Myth Busters. Using the Middle School science curriculum, I could easily fit in a few of these segments from Myth Busters and students absolutely loved them!

Learning from this series was relatively easy and definitely related to something that students could make connections to, using real life experiences and experiments shared in that series. That memory got me to thinking about doing some serious Myth Busting in our own business life. Why not share the same type of experience with you on social media about a subject that is in need of myth busters??? 

What ONE 🔑 “key” topic immediately came to my mind??? KEYS of Course !!! Wilkes County Hardware answers lots of questions daily concerning KEYS.

Why all the confusion and questions about Keys and where to go??? This is probably due in part because one of the former owners of the hardware store used to own BOTH (Lock Service and the hardware store) . Life in a small town, things never change… right??? But, we all know, that everything changes! The old assumptions remain, people still believe that things are the same… but time and ownership of both businesses changes things. What remains between the two existing businesses that is a constant ??? The sharing of information and consistent referrals across the board. If we can’t help a key customer at the hardware store, we refer them to the Locksmith next door.

Hopefully, we can together BUST down the mystery and myths that exist around making keys. We will examine when you should use the services of the local locksmith, with a business location next door to our hardware store.

MYTH 1: Wilkes County Hardware can unlock my car door for me, if I have locked my keys in my car. 

Fact: Sorry, you will have to call the Locksmith for this one! Bill’s Lock Service is next door to us. Wilkes County Hardware and the Locksmith shop have been separate businesses for 20 years now! 

MYTH 2: My existing house key is broken. It can’t be fixed! 😬Ugh! 

Fact: Bring in the pieces, sometimes Wilkes County Hardware can “piece” the key back together carefully and make a new one! 

MYTH 3: Wilkes County Hardware can only duplicate a few different type of keys. 

Fact: Wilkes County Hardware has hundreds of different key blanks! We cut house keys, vehicle keys, boat keys, RV keys, 4 Wheeler keys, etc. The “box stores” in our area are very limited in what they can do as far as key cutting and they regularly send customers to us each week! 

MYTH 4: The Locksmith is located inside Wilkes County Hardware…. I need to talk to the locksmith, is he in here??? Where is he??? When will he be back in office??

We get these questions (via phone and in person) at least once a day… for the last nine years, y’all it’s a lot, just saying…😬

Fact: Bill’s Lock Service is highly mobile. He goes out to help customers and meet their needs, unlocking vehicles, rekeying, etc. We have no idea where he is on a daily basis or when he will be back because he is a different existing business owner. Please contact him directly if you need his services. 

MYTH 5: All rekeying of door locks has to be done at the Lock Service Shop, not the hardware store.

 Fact: Wilkes County Hardware rekeys locks. Bring your existing lock to us, we can rekey it for you. If you need locks rekeyed on site, then please use the lock service. 

MYTH 6: I only have one key to my vehicle. If you make me another key, it will start the car. 

Fact: Not always will this be true! If your original key is a computer chip key, and you decide to only purchase a replacement key to unlock the door, it will NOT work in the ignition. The computer chip inside that key sends a signal to your vehicle to activate your ignition. We urge our customers to decide what’s best for your budget, and Wilkes County Hardware can help you with your key needs. It’s never a good scenario to have only one key.

MYTH 7:  My Key fob died and I have to make an appointment at the car dealership to get it fixed. 

Fact: Wilkes County Hardware has many types of key fob battery replacements that are readily available for purchase. We can easily replace your battery for you and you can get back to driving in most cases and save you the time and money.

MYTH 8: I’ve lost my Tool box, house key, file cabinet, or safe key. I’m sure you can make me a new one right? 

Fact: You will need to check with the Bill’s Lock Service. He has the capacity to possibly help you. Wilkes County Hardware duplicates existing keys. Think of it this way, when I say duplicate, and I’ll use this analogy… it’s like putting a copy into the printer and a new copy comes out, exactly like the original. You have to have a copy to begin with in order to get a new copy. That’s what we do with keys at Wilkes County Hardware. Whereas, the Locksmith is more specialized, and he can create new keys without a copy, using existing locksmith technology to make a key.

MYTH 9: I thought you guys had stopped making keys!

Fact: Absolutely untrue!!! Wilkes County Hardware has been a destination for KEYS for many years. We duplicate keys all day long and have expanded our key selection in the last ten years! We make each key individually. Wilkes County Hardware also has the ability to offer the following key services: rekey a new door lock to match your current key, Keyed padlocks, and chip keys for several vehicle types. We will be exploring adding additional machines/key blanks in the upcoming future, so stay posted for more details.

MYTH 10: I can call the hardware store to ask about a specific vehicle key to see if it can be made there.

Fact: It’s definitely better to see the key you need in person/in the store rather than discussing it over the phone, due to vast number of key blanks that we have. Every key is slightly different. Often, we have customers who believe they have a vehicle key that isn’t a chip key and then after a quick analysis by our key staff, the key, they soon realize, it is a chip key 😬.

Those are our top 10 Myths that Wilkes County Hardware encounters on a daily basis. I hope that this information has been helpful and useful to our customers concerning common key questions. Always, if in doubt, please stop by and we will be glad to answer any questions or concerns you might have about keys.

Sharing a few more thoughts about keys and why our customers keep coming back to us at Wilkes County Hardware with each key…

1. When we duplicate KEYS at Wilkes County Hardware, we have always urged customers to check keys before leaving store (if making a vehicle key) and always bring any key back in if the keys need to be tweaked, no charge!

2. Normally, the key desk has minimal returns. But, all KEYS are not created equal! The quality of the original key is definitely a factor in the making of the new duplicate key, and some keys are harder to cut accurately, especially if it is worn out.

3. If you have a KEY, we will do our best to help you get a duplicate made. 99 percent of time we can probably do it in house, but sometimes we refer people to the Locksmith for a more specialized key.

4. NO KEY… well that is a locksmith job and we will definitely refer y’all to Bill’s Lock Service. Hope that we have busted the MYTHs around 🔑 keys!

Getting back to where I began my opening story I always had my students do a brief summary of the myth that was busted in that Myth Buster video series and tell me what was actually the truth/facts after the fun of the video viewing was concluded. We could expand on these findings and bring it into our science discussions later on, connecting back to what we learned.

So in my final report to you today concerning the actual Facts, not the myths about making keys at Wilkes County Hardware: Key Duplication has been a integral part of our work inside the hardware store for many years. If you have an existing key, we can probably make it for you. No key, please call the locksmith. No more MYSTERY and MYTHS around 🔑 keys! Expert status! Bravo!!!! 👏🏻

How did you score on that MYTH v. Fact checklist today initially before reading the answers??? Just curious 🧐???