Don’s Key & Lock

My dumba** loses the key to my Givi helmut box on my scooter so the only course of action is to change the lock… but to change the lock, I need to unlock the box first. I go to Locksmith #1, she says I need to leave the scooter with her the next morning and it will be $ 50 to pick the lock. I declined. #2 locksmith spends about 15 minutes and can’t get it open. He is a nice guy and doesn’t charge me. So someone refers me to this place. I go there and they quote me $ 25. Fair enough. So locksmith #1 tries it and can’t get it. So they bring out the younger generation guy (20 something) to give it a stab and he spends about 15 minutes and can’t get it. So #3, all this time has been talking smack saying he can open it, but it will cost triple. Well he steps up to the plate and does indeed open it. He can back his smack talk and I respect that. He then installs the new lock for me which takes another 15 minutes of trial and error and the lock works. All is good. I get a little nervous because they have carte blanche. Total bill for almost an hours work. $ 25. But more importantly, they got the job done!!! Not all locksmiths are created equal. There are some neg reviews on them because of their attitude. Well they are a bunch of New Yorkers. To the point and real. Not this fake nice that floods SF and some people can’t handle this kick of non pretentious attitude.

Just got my key made great friendly guys asked me to check to make sure my key worked great job thanks

Courteous, quick and able to make a key that no one else in town seemed to able to copy.

Very professional, did a great job rekeying two places for me.

Chris came to my house to rekey three door locks when my house key went missing. Was over at 9:30am the next day and done by 10:30. Was courteous, professional and a great experience. Would recommend.

As a resident of Bernal Heights, I like to support neighborhood businesses. So despite reading a fair number of negative reviews here, I hired Don’t Key & Lock to install a couple new locks and repair a 100-​year-​old busted doorknob. Donnie (Don’s son) arrived on time within a few hours of when I stopped by the shop. He fixed everything lickedy-​split, and was friendly and personable to boot. The price seemed fair.

No wonder this place has such horrible reviews. Let me back up a bit. I went to Don’s about 4 years ago because it was close by and looked like a nice place. Was overcharged by $ 3 compared to other key places but I really need the keys right away. A couple of days ago, I sent my elderly mom and dad there to get a couple of house keys and car keys made. First, they ripped my mom off by charging her the price for double sided keys when the house keys and car keys were only single sided. My mom didn’t know until I saw the receipt. So they basically ripped off an elderly person because they figured it was easy to rip her off. When I got home, most of the keys worked but my car key wouldn’t unlock the door. You can hold up the original key and the new copy and see clearly that they didn’t match. Maybe ripping off my mom again? Today my mom went back to have them fix the new key and they gave her a hard time about it. They started questioning her and also asked her why didn’t she bring the car so they can show her that it should work. WTF!!! My mom asked if the house key didn’t work, was she supposed to bring the house? Come on. You’re a locksmith and your’ giving an elderly person a hard time. Then the older man starts yelling and said that he was going to give her back the money and leave. What kind of customer service is this? My mom lives 20 miles away to get the key corrected and this is how they treat their customers? The fat old man then starts to berate my mom because he had to fix the key so it would work. These people think that everyone’s trying rip them off and once they get your money, it doesn’t matter to them whether the customer is satisfied or not. He then accused my mom of lying about the key not working. So, my mom had paid for all the keys the first time so now she’s going to rip them off by driving 30 minutes to the shop and complaining that 1 of the keys don’t work. If you don’t know how to use the key machine, then stop making non working keys and ripping off the customers. From the outside the shop locks nice and clean but that all changes with the ugliness of the owner inside. Who knows how many elderly, non English speaking customers they have ripped off through the years but the Unilocal reviews sure seems like it’s a big number. Don’s Lock, YOU SUCK!!!

Called these guys when I was locked out of my apartment on Friday of a holiday weekend. Contacted them at 5:40 and I was in my house by 6:10! They were friendly and professional, both on the phone and when they came to unlock my door. Added them to my iPhone address book in case I ever do this again. Highly recommend for their ²⁴⁄₇ lockout service!

The shop is clean and bright. They seem friendly however once they talk business it’s just overpriced services.
I came in to copy my truck key and they quoted me $ 100+ saying that I could try and program the key myself, though it would take over 30 minutes per key. He was quite adamant about how much time it would take to self program, and how I would be waiting at my vehicle the whole time.
I needed 4 keys for my work vehicle, so I couldn’t justify the price when I have previously made transponder keys for much less. Amazon was selling the key blanks for $ 13 and most local locksmiths will charge around $ 5 a key to cut it. He told me his cost on the blank was $ 75!
In the end I went to Home Depot, bought the key there for $ 40. I programmed the key in 5 seconds.
FYI his 30 minute process done in under 5 seconds:
1. Insert original key
2. Turn key to on
3. Remove key, within 10 seconds insert new key, turn to on.
4. The dashboard security light will light up for 2 seconds indicating successful program.
5. Done
(GM vehicle)
If you want a solid shop, look for the one in SOMA. I normally go to them but was in the area so tried this spot.

Don’s makes me feel like I live in a small town. He’s a little grumpy but in a «do the job right» way, not for the sake of being a jerk. Don cares so much about the work that he’ll remember a place where they did the job and fix any issues quickly. If you’re looking for quality and straight talk, come to Don’s.

Fast work and nice employees. The guy that helped me Donny was very polite and helpful thank you.

Thanks to Don’s Key and Lock crew, I am posting this review from INSIDE our home! They came within 15 minutes and replaced our broken lock right then and there. Lifesavers, these gents. So gentle and kind. Our lock was installed upside down (not pointing fingers at the roommates boyfriend who installed it upside down GEORGE) and they re-​installed our lock right side up for us. ⁵⁄₅ locked out damsels in distress recommend Don’s Key & Lock! You’re the best, thanks again you two!

Comments on Unilocal seem to be always polarized with 5 star and 1 star. Before giving this 4 start review, I have actually read some of the 1 star comments and found it hard to believe personally. Here I just hope to share my personal experience with them.
Don seems to be a grumpy guy described in many negative comments. I am entirely not sure whether the one I came across was the owner Don or not, but he was really nice and helpful to me. I appreciate his help sincerely.
I was kinda frustrating for having no places to duplicate my motorcycle key since most of the places don’t have some sort of computerized machine. I was introduced to Don’s locksmith. I arrived at 9:10 am of a morning and found the door was closed. After 20 seconds I saw a man rushing over from a distance. He opened the shop and explained by the way of apology: «The bus was late.» Afterwards he made a copy of my key in 10 seconds. He insisted on charging me nothing because he kept me waiting. I was actually just waited for less than 1 min.

Very poor customer service. I just wanted a simple re-​key of a deadbolt lock. Guy was going to do until the older lady told him to tell me to come back in 2 hours. When I protested that I waited for 10 minutes while he helped another customer buy some padlocks he re-​keyed my lock. It took him 5 minutes. I felt the service was poor because I am a man of color! I will never patronize this place again.

I used them for years. But the past few years they are just a pain in the neck. It’s like dealing with the Soviets or a bad government office. Every time. It’s all about them and not about you. I stopped using them.
And they are way overpriced compared to others. Way.

Very rude with horrible customer service, especially the woman who dispatched locksmiths over the phone.
Called them in the morning to get a door lock checked out that doesn’t latch properly in our apartment building. They had to call me back. Two hours later, get a call from them, and explain the issue and all relevant information. Person says okay and they will come out today and check the door, since they serviced our building numerous times.
Later in the evening, very rude woman calls and asks me what the problem is. So I explain to her the same exact thing I told the other employee. I ask her why I have to tell them the same information multiple times. Woman gets an attitude and cuts me off mid sentence, saying that they are doing us a favor to come check out the issue, and we should be grateful they are doing some thing nice, never answering my question. Then she puts me on hold for a minute. I ask her again why I need to explain myself multiple times, she responds «you don’t even want to know my answer to that.» I tel her then I don’t want to use your services anymore.
Avoid them at all costs

Dons Key and Lock is Amazing! Don is my go to guy! He understands what the customer actually needs, gives honest feedback without any exaggeration or intention of making extra bucks and more importantly he is quick and very hard working. The owner himself has assisted me with emergency lock outs. They provide Fantastic customer service. If I could give hime more than 5 stars I would as it’s always a positive experience!
I would definitely recommend Don to anyone for his speedy service, fair pricing, and work ethic.

Don just called and gave me 72 hours to remove my Unilocal review or he would sue me. He also said he has «all of my information.»
I asked him what part of my review was untrue and he said «I came in with an attitude,» which I actually admitted to in my original review and only had because he had already lied to me and caused me grief in the phone call.
So… seriously, you guys, don’t go here.

rude on the phone and do not organize their emails/​files. But at the end of the day, they did do their job.

Up until now, I have come here multiple times to purchase locks and lock accessories for unique items that places like Home Depot and Lowes don’t carry. Customer service and helpfulness is not a strong suit for at least some of the staff. One time, I had a very old electric strike I needed to have replaced because someone broke it. I took the old one to them, and they said it was discontinued. She said she would find the up to date model to replace this one, and get back to me. She never did get back to me.
Now, I have found that Mario’s Locksmith which is also on Mission. They are more friendly, helpful, and the best part of all, is that they are cheaper. Hopefully, I don’t ever have to go back to this place.