Atlanta locksmith is called to the airport for a locked car. Then his customer was so insistent he hurry, she didn’t let him work: ‘Don’t have time for this’

A locksmith recently found himself in a frustrating, viral encounter at the Atlanta International Airport. Allen, who goes by the handle The Key GOAT, was called out to help a customer who had accidentally locked their keys inside a car. Instead of a standard service call, he ended up fielding a passenger who was so worried she’d miss her flight that she turned into the bigger hurdle.  The resulting video racked up over 45 million views on Instagram and 23 million on TikTok.

The ordeal began before Allen even arrived at the airport. In the video, as Allen drove to the airport, you hear a woman’s voice telling him, “If you’re not here in five minutes, I’m calling someone else. I’m not gonna wait for you here forever.” Allen promised to be there in 10 to 15 minutes. However, the woman immediately interjected, “You have to hurry up because I have a flight.” Allen replied, “Okay, I hear you. Everybody has a flight in the airport. You good!”

When Allen finally arrived at the airport, he began to introduce himself to the male customer, but the woman pushed her way into the conversation. She gestured aggressively and said, “I don’t have time for this. My flight is leaving. I need you to unlock the car.” After she asked him for his quote, she continued to hover in his personal space, even attempting to follow him when he tried to get his tools. Despite that, he told her, “Let me do my thing. Calm down. Don’t worry.”

Continuous chatter

Through the entire encounter, the woman kept talking. Considering Allen is wearing Meta glasses, it is almost uncomfortable how close she hovered too. He hit his breaking point when, as he began to work on the door, she said, “I don’t like this city. This is happening all the time.” At that point, he looked over at her and said, “Hey, I swear, if you say one more word, you’re not gonna make it to your flight. You’re not gonna make it to Christmas. Calm down. Let me do my work.”

It didn’t stop her from talking. So Allen issued a warning. “If you say one… every word you say from now on, it’s $20 more.” Almost immediately after, as he tried to inflate a pouch in the door, she said, “Okay. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Allen responded by raising the price. Eventually, he reached $250 as she continued to ramble. She even threatened him that he would have to pay for her flight. 

He finally got the door open, and she went to retrieve her luggage. Allen followed her and, despite his irritation, just asked for his initial quote. He said, “It’s 150. I’m not gonna charge you more because of your behavior.” He helped her with her suitcase as she sharply noted, “In New York, this would have never happened, do you know?” Allen simply said, “Have a safe flight, Miss.” That prompted her to glare at him before she stormed off, refusing a receipt.

Social media was pretty shocked at her attitude. On Instagram, one user asked, “Who else hopes she missed her flight.” Another commented, “Being rude to someone who is helping you is mad business.” 

One user couldn’t help but ask, “Why is she treating you like YOU locked HER keys in HER car?!?” In a different instance, a tourist locked out of his hotel room caused the receptionist to melt down when he asked for a new key. TikTok users were equally vocal, with one person writing, “ur better than me i would’ve walked away and let her miss the flight.”

In the comments, Allen later addressed the situation. He noted that he is used to stressful lockout scenarios. Regarding his decision not to charge the extra fees he mentioned, he explained, “Come on, taking advantage of an anxious female Customer? I did it only to make her stop bothering me so I can do it faster for both of us. I could charge her 500 and she could pay that, but that’s not the values I’m running my business on.”

Dealing with difficult customers is a common challenge in any service industry. According to Keap, it is helpful to categorize these interactions to better manage them. For instance, an “aggressive” customer often comes across as demanding or self-centered. The recommended approach is to stay calm, avoid arguing, and apologize for the problem, even if the customer is being unreasonable. 

As the article notes, it is important to remember that you don’t always know what is happening behind the scenes, and sometimes people lash out simply because they feel they can. By staying focused and maintaining a professional, calm demeanor, service providers can often de-escalate situations before they become unmanageable.