Great Customer Service from Schlage
February 18th, 2005 by SamSchlage, maker of security and safety products, just made me a lifelong customer!
When we recently purchased our new home, we purchased new doorknobs and deadbolts for 3 doors. We had them all keyed the same, installed them and were very pleased with the look and the function. Pleased except for one thing, it was too easy for us to lock ourselves out of the house. These doorknobs allow you to exit while they are locked. We completely missed that fact when making our purchase decision. I emailed Schlage about this, asking if there were a way to set these to not do this. Today, I got their reply.
Thank you for considering the Schlage Lock Company for your door hardware needs.
The F Series lockset that you purchased comes standard with an emergency exit feature that allows one to exit the locked door without disengaging the lock. This is what is meant by “no unlocking required”. The feature cannot be disengaged on this particular series.
I apologize for any inconvenience that this may be causing. If the feature becomes a problem you may want to consider upgrading to our A series locksets. There is still an emergency exit, but it is only engaged when it is pushed in and turned clockwise.
We also have the new F54 function. This lock feature guarantees that you will no longer have ‘lock out’ problems. The function of this lock is simple. When the unit is locked both inside and outside is locked. When the unit is unlocked both knobs are unlocked. If you are interested in trading out your current locks for these, I can do that for you. The F54 locks are only available in a knob design.
Another option would be to use a hall and closet doorknob or lever, secure the door with the deadbolt above.
I hope my explanation is helpful and if there is anything else I can help you out with please let me know.
I can be reached either via E-mail at securitemail@ingersoll-rand.com or at (888) 805-9837 ext. 7177. We are here from 7 AM until 7 PM CST, Monday through Saturday. If I am unavailable, another representative will be able to handle your inquiry.
Once again, thank you for your interest in the Schlage Lock Company.
Securely Yours,
Jenny Smith
Homeowner Technical Services
First, this is an excellent email reply to a consumer! Not only was my specific problem addressed, a detailed explanation was given, options for resolution were given, and a phone number was given that took me directly to Jenny Smith. I called the number and spoke with Jenny, a courteous and cool, fun-sounding person. When she pulled up my record, she almost instantly offered to send replacement doorknobs that function like I want. FREE! I asked her about the same-keyed locks, wondering if I could remove the lock mechanism from the existing knobs and install them in the new ones. She said I’d have to have a locksmith do that. That’s understandable. Then she offered to have the new ones shipped already keyed the same as the existing ones. What?!?!? WOW! Yes, please! When I asked about returning the existing knobs, she said it wasn’t necessary. At this point I was flabbergasted. I told her this was some of the BEST customer service I’ve ever experienced and that I was going to write about it on my website. To that, she laughed and said that was exactly what they love to hear there. She playfully asked me if I knew what the best form of advertising is. Of course! WORD OF MOUTH! Well, here’s my testimony and I’m quite happy to share it. Two thank you’s are going out here: to Schlage, for empowering your customer service representatives to take care of your customers and to Jenny for using her personality, service skills and the tools Schlage gave her to make me a truly satisfied (and definitely lifelong) Schlage customer. Buy a Schlage!
