Yelp Reviews Found To Be Misleading and Prejudicial.

In the source below, you will find a copy of a letter from the United States of America, Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC, Assistant General Counsel Dione J. Stearns, to Angus Loten, a reprter with the Wall Street Journal, following Mr Loten's FOI (Freedom Of Information) Act inquiry into a number of reports about misleading and prejudicial reviews being found on the social networking site, Yelp.

In the letter (dated March 18, 2014), the FTC representative informs about over 2000 complaints received at the FTC since 2008.

While the record of the complaints is not tabled in the letter, the reporter outlines the nature of the complaints in his article, after which apparently Yelp's share price took a nosedive.

The particulars of the article include the following excerpt...

"A steady stream of business owners have gone on record, including in the Los Angeles Times, claiming that Yelp threatened to display negative reviews more prominently if they didn't pay for advertising. Yelp also deals with constant posting of fake reviews by business owners or companies, a practice called “astroturfing,” that have created additional controversy."


As a locksmith business, we take great pride in maintaining excellent reviews online that are all verifiable through third party sources. We were recently a victim of false reviews posted at Yelp

Already Deadly in Africa, Could Ebola Hit America Next?

In recent days there have been numerous news reports about the deadly Ebola virus spreading maliciously throughout Africa.

The article in the source below, gives an example of how this deadly disease can spread so easily and because the world is quickly becoming too small for deadly diseases like this to be contained easily within borders.

Apparently an outbreak of Ebola occurred in a Washington DC suburb in the last few weeks. Luckily it was contained quickly but the issues about deadly virus' continue to be front and center news that potentially can affect all of us.

The spread of disease is all too common today, as the last few years have shown us with H1N1 and Avian Flu and H4N1 being the most well known and talked about.

Minimizing potential disease infections and spread is a very serious challenge for medical centers, hospitals, aged care centers, hospices, hotel, schools, child care centers, gymnasiums, swimming pools and almost any public building. Many of the businesses and institutions mentioned employ quality janitorial staff who expertly maintain and clean railings, doors, bathrooms, handles and shared public facilities.

But many handles can still transfer deadly bacteria that can contain germs of the kind that spread diseases very easily and are used by very many patrons of establishments between times that the janitorial staff perform their cleaning routines. It is not possible to prevent the transfer of microbial and infection borne diseases all day every day, is it?

Well, thanks to the fine Italian manufacturer Serrature Meroni, it is. Meroni have been at the forefront of handle design for many years and continue to produce award winning designs. Their Combina and Pigio handles are especially designed with anti-bacterial properties that directly disperse infectious bacteria and other potentially harmful virus' .

Any facilities manager realizes just how important the safety and health of staff, patients, visitors, residents and children is to the efficient and continued running and management of institutions as mentioned above.

We at Master Key Systems America LLC appreciate that the health and well being of all peoples is vital and important to continued happy existence and are proud to offer the fabulous Meroni Anti-Bacterial handles to the the North American market.

(source...)

Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock - New Inventory Arrived Yesterday

I decided not to post another picture of our most popular selling product. Suffice to say, we just received our next supply of the Satin Pearl (satin nickel) product.

We have a few units to go out that were back ordered before we will be updating the purchase page.

Thank you for your patience.

Dormi - Dont Throw Away your Old Android When You Update, Use It As A Baby Monitor or Security Listening Device

Dormi is a product for the modern era. Y'know, most of us who use smartphones, update them every 2 years at the end of our contract.

There are recycle programs out there, but why not, instead of disposing of, selling or recycling your old phone keep using it but as a baby monitor (or any listening device actually).

Dormi is an app for Android that does exactly that. All that is required is to download the app to 2 Android devices and pair them.

There is no need to have a telephone network connection on your old phone because Dormi uses the WiFi feature built into most existing Android phones. so there is no extra phone line cost involved.

The added ability to communicate back with your child, if necessary means you may not even have to get up and tend them.

Unobtrusive and silent, it works in the background oblivious to the surroundings. It may even make a potentially secret listening device if you so desire.

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Carlock - iPhone And Android Vehicle Tracker Made Simple

 Trust the Europeans to come out with a sensational smartphone compatible product that enables real time GPS tracking of your most prized possession - your vehicle.

This absurdly intelligent idea to use the OBD (on board diagnostic) port, found on just about every modern day vehicle and connect a small (almost hidden) dongle that operates on the GSM network (AT&T or TMobile), install the appropriate app from either Apple iTunes or Google Play and you suddenly have a super intelligent vehicle monitor.

The system works using the GSM (Global System for Mobiles) telephone network, where the dongle houses a mini SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card that you can purchase from AT&T or T Mobile on a prepaid plan.

 Plug the dongle into your OBD port, usually located under your dash and it receives its power from there.

Install the appropriate app from your network provider to your iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S running on both iOS 6 or iOS 7 platforms. Android 4.0 smartphones and up.


Currently available across the European Union, the plan is to release the product to the USA and Latin American markets toward the end of 2014.

The product is designed to work straight out of the box, which means no learning curve is necessary for any person to install, use and operate the Carlock. Because the product is plugged into the vehicles OBD port, it constantly trickle charges the built in battery, yet doesnt affect any of the vehicles operating systems. 

The product will come with a 2 year warranty. See the source below.

(Source...)

Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock - Demand So Strong, We Sold Out Quickly

I apologize for yet another post and picture of the Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock but this product continues to defy all our sales records.

We are now sold out of all colors.

New inventory is not expected for another couple of days (of the Satin Nickel) and we expect that most of them will be gone next week, due to covering back orders and the speed in which this product sells.

It is not that we are unhappy selling them, but keeping up with demand is a challenge.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you will continue to visit our site often to keep abreast of the latest news.

Thanks for your understanding.

Is GM Guilty Of Misbehaviour?

There has been much talk across news media in recent weeks about General Motors and their knowledge, since 2001 of a fatal problem with the ignition switch in a number of vehicles they produce.

This issue relates to the recent recall of over 1.5 million vehicles with faulty ignition key switches.

An article in yesterday's St Louis Post Dispatch (see source below) highlighted GM's knowledge about the problem since 2001.

Summarized from the Post Dispatch, "In that environment, basic components could take low priority, such as the ignition switch that GM sourced for Ions, Cobalts and other models. The right to manufacture the switch had been won by Dublin, Ireland-based Eaton Corp., according to documents from a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against GM. Delphi bought Eaton’s switch division in 2001.

Inside that switch, which cost as little as $2 to $5 to produce, was a spring loose enough to allow the ignition to switch out of the “on” position when bumped, a risk that would grow if the key was weighted by a heavy ring, GM has said. The turned key would then shut off the engine and power steering and disable the air bags.

The fatal flaw in the ignition switch, which GM now says its engineers discovered in 2001 while developing the Ion, has spurred the automaker’s biggest crisis since its 2009 bankruptcy and bailout."

As a locksmith, I choose to not work on automobiles at this time for various reasons. This revelation from GM is further disturbing to the locksmith industry I suggest, because there are many automotive locksmiths who are called upon to make keys for GM vehicles. In making a key for a GM vehicle that has one of the faulty ignition switches, if the customer has an issue, post locksmith service, usually they will claim warranty from the locksmith and most reputable legitimate locksmiths will honor their labor to the customer...

Lockwood 7444 Keyed Pocket Door Lock - Price Increase

Due to unfavorable exchange rates and increased materials cost, the manufacturer in their infinite wisdom are forced to increase the cost of this especially popular product.

We have not determined the new price yet for the product, but we anticipate a 15% price increase will be necessary.

We are currently sold out of the satin pearl color option as it is the most popular requested option.

We have about 15 units left in polished chrome that we will maintain at our original price of $115.00 + shipping. Compared to other competing products in this class, the Lockwood 7444 keyed Pocket Door Lock is still the most competitively priced option for use on pocket/cavity sliding doors.

If you are not concerned about the color, hurry and order today while the current price remains!

We are expecting a new delivery of the satin pearl option in about 2 weeks time. We appreciate your patience and thank you for your understanding.

EDIT 3/21/14 We only have 10 units left in Polished Chrome.