When the tech showed up I told him that the front door dead bolt still functioned, but a piece came out, and I found the dead bolt turned with no resistance. At this point he took the lock apart and took a look inside. It turned out that the spring steel piece had broken from it's position in the lock. He got the spare part out of his van and replaced it. Put the lock together, asked me if I was satisified with the repair, wrote a fair bill for the work, and with my thanks, continued to his next job. I really appreciated the thoughtfullness, taking the time to repair the lock instead of making me pay for a whole new deadbolt!
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