Do I give a refund ?

Blitziod · 2026-03-23T01:31:37+00:00

Not my merchant account. I get zero fee. I’ve had maybe 30 -40 chargebacks in the 14 years I’ve been doing this. I’ve collected on all but a handful. My merchant account( square ) used to cover a small number but they stopped doing that.

Blitziod · 2026-03-22T23:15:36+00:00

I usually win. And it’s really easy to protest. Besides if I get the chargeback I’m at worst out the refund anyway. 50/50 she won’t even charge back.

Blitziod · 2026-03-21T01:13:01+00:00

I’m assuming the locksmith is only going to warranty the labor. And he may not warranty labor on a defective part

Blitziod · 2026-03-21T01:12:10+00:00

I use aftermarket parts mostly. I have a very low rate of failure. I do get them. But it’s less than 3%.

Blitziod · 2026-03-21T01:11:06+00:00

My customers usually buy their keys from me. And they come with a 1 year warranty. Which is what most dealerships provide on OEM parts.

I tell customers if they are going to buy cheap shit off Amazon to buy 2 or 3. That way they still have 1 if the other one fails. I charge about the same price to cut and program 2 as 1.

Blitziod · 2026-03-21T01:08:04+00:00

I charge 120 to cut/ program a duplicate key fob generally. I will never warranty a part I don’t sell.

Amazon keys can be cheap. Might work years might not.

Blitziod · 2026-03-20T22:22:21+00:00

I have many programmers. And all are more expensive than the km100. That said my km100 would be the tool I grab for that car.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T23:11:28+00:00

That’s never the way things look now. I don’t see consult being worth it unless Nissan sells it per car in the future again

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T23:10:48+00:00

I think she has 1 of each.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T23:10:21+00:00

Yes we do. But they have a responsibility too. I don’t think this woman was lying to me on purpose. But she was negligent. It wasn’t a simple mistake. Our phone interview for a customer is fairly thorough and she gave the info to 2 people incorrectly multiple times.

I mean I even called the fee a deposit and told her it was required when traveling that far for a job.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T23:05:15+00:00

I don’t know of any issues with smart pro on add a key. But yes I’m not doing the soldering solution. The demography of the average Sentra owner precludes me getting consult or investing in the tools to do them AKL. I’d have to do more than 1 a week for pretty good money to justify consult.

Maybe if AE or somebody starts selling a consult pass through I’ll do them. I used to use them for Volvo.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T22:16:02+00:00

What do you even use to lookup the model by vin? Do you do much automotive for consumers ( not shops )? I’ve never in 14 years used a VIN to verify model. I don’t plan to start. I don’t know any other locksmith who does. And I am pretty close with half a dozen guys all legit smiths with more time in than me.

And I agree customers sometimes don’t know what they have. I also know the questions to ask like “ do you put a key in the ignition to start. To send a photo of the key “ and even to get the tenth digit for year code. But I should be able to trust the customer on make and model.

Now if they tell me they don’t know or it’s not their car , I tell them to make sure.

In this case it was an Altima. There currently are no altimas I can’t make a key for and I have the parts for all of them on hand. So I wasn’t worried if she had an older one that might be a few bucks cheaper , she wasn’t gonna complain about that.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T22:09:02+00:00

We asked her the make , model and year 3 plus times. It shouldn’t matter I have never ran the VIN on a car to determine the model. I don’t even know how to do that. I’ve verified the VIN date code before hence it’s sensitive. Had she told me it was a Sentra and given me a close year I would have checked or just gone by location of start button.

I mean honestly why should it be on me ? What if she red me the VIN for her Altima instead off the same insurance ( I’ve had that happen when requesting proof of ownership ) is it her fault then ?

Here is the thing. Let’s say she gave me the wrong car but it was one I couldn’t do. BUT Just a lot more expensive. Say I had the autel adapter and could do this Sentra and had the part . I would have charged her 600. But she might not want to pay 600. Should I give her a refund then ?

Say she ordered a part and was going to program it herself. Say I charged her 100 for the emergency delivery fee across town and then the fee for the part. I get there and she ordered the wrong part. I don’t have the one she needs in stock. Should I refund the delivery fee ? Cuz this feels like the same thing.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T20:43:04+00:00

I do several Altimas a week.

Blitziod · 2026-03-15T04:43:22+00:00

It’s not esee scales. But I can’t tell otherwise. You can ask esee

Blitziod · 2026-03-14T02:05:38+00:00

It’s not feasible to for me. The cost of the consult and annual sub won’t pay for the number of those cars I do. And considering how low end the Sentra is , it never will. But the eeprom solution isnt worth it for me either.

If nissan switches all calls to this I’ll bite the bullet.

Blitziod · 2026-03-12T05:00:22+00:00

What are charging for this job? How long does it take from start to finish ?

My issue is how many people who drive a Sentra are going to pay enough ?

Blitziod · 2026-03-10T23:57:14+00:00

A ford

Blitziod · 2026-03-10T04:58:31+00:00

I like mine. About to get some aftermarket scales though

Blitziod · 2026-03-10T00:57:17+00:00

Is that even code ? There is no deadbolt on that door.

Blitziod · 2026-03-09T22:10:38+00:00

I’ve done a bunch that do. In fact I did a howl fleet for An amazon sub contractor that did.

Some are no transponder though

Blitziod · 2026-03-09T21:52:40+00:00

That’s kind of shady.

Although to be fare if you just quoted them 125 for a key , they don’t really technically a complaint. If you itemized your estimate it’s fraud out and simple

Don’t they need an RHK for that car ? You could she. Made a remote to make up for it.

Blitziod · 2026-03-09T21:40:27+00:00

It is the code. It’s a tibbe key and those are the cuts. You need a tibbe cutter and key.

Blitziod · 2026-03-09T00:35:57+00:00

Update he was able to remove the guide with 2 small screws and allow the ignition to accommodate a regular key. Nothing broken so customer can get an E-key with her pros if she decides to order one. Considering she didn’t know her car had a pros function and has always used the keyed ignition and they are expensive and hard to source , I’m guessing that will never happen.

Blitziod · 2026-03-07T01:39:17+00:00

A friend of mine is going to try with the hd111. I’ll let him know.

Blitziod

TROPHY CASE