He considers helping people out a natural thing to do. He’s also bailed out a few adults from embarrassing situations. He’s Terry Marcotte, the Lock Doctor.

Marcotte has received urgent calls from panic stricken parents who have inadvertently locked small children in vehicles. He is happy to help and responds whenever possible.

“If there’s a baby in the car I will open that car up for no charge, no matter where they are at,” said Marcotte.

The Minot Daily News has received phone calls from parents and grandparents who were extremely grateful that Marcotte was available to assist them in just such cases.

“You get hugs and handshakes and cards in the mail,” said Marcotte. “It’s rewarding to do something for free. Some of these cars are a bit tougher to get into now. I had one the other day that took at least 15 minutes.”

Marcotte worked for a Fargo lock company for five years and Minot’s Schock’s Safe and Lock for 13 more before venturing out on his own. He started the Lock Doctor in 2002 as a 24-hour, on-call business. Marcotte says being available 24 hours a day proved a little too stressful at times, so he tries to make Thursdays a day off.

“When I can,” remarked Marcotte.

Having Thursday off is is not always possible, but when he does have free time Marcotte says he likes to spend time with his hobby metal detecting. However, he’s found a way to turn that into a bit more than a hobby.

“I do it for business too,” said Marcotte. “If anybody loses something, like a ring, I’ll do that for no charge.”

While Marcotte is known for helping out when he can, his business benefits from people talking about the good will shown by the Lock Doctor. In addition to lending a helping hand when necessary, Marcotte says he has had a few “out of the ordinary” calls too.

“I’ve seen college kids handcuffed together, stuck and they can’t get out of them,” laughed Marcotte. “I’ve had people locked out of the house with no clothes on, different things like that. It’s kind of unique. I’ve been doing it for several years and nothing is the same. It’s always different.”

With the influx of people in the Bakken oil fields there has also been increased demand for a qualified locksmith. As a result, the Lock Doctor makes frequent trips to various points in western North Dakota, often making multiple calls in a single day.

“I didn’t expect this much business or this fast,” said Marcotte. “It does keep me busy. There’s not a day when I’m sitting around.”

Marcotte says he is making fewer and fewer calls regarding locked vehicles. Some of that is by choice. Today’s automobiles have a much different locking system than those manufactured a few years ago, primarily electronic key fobs that Marcotte says calls are “more complicated and require expensive equipment”.

Many of the calls responded to by the Lock Doctor today are for doorknobs. Marcotte can switch out “pins” inside the knobs so that they agree with a specific key. Sometimes he makes a new key. However, as is the case with some newer models of vehicles, electronic keys are changing the approach for locksmiths.

“Those electronic locks are a bit tougher. If you get locked out of the house with those you are going to end up buying a new lock because most of them are going to be destroyed in order to get back in,” said Marcotte.

Marcotte recognizes the importance of treating customers fairly. He says he tries to keep the price of his work “to the very minimum and not overprice anybody.” His customers appreciate the quality of his work and fair pricing, and virtually everyone is a potential future customer.

“Everything has a key. There’s always a way to get locked out, forget the combination or buy something without a key,” said Marcotte.

The Lock Doctor works out of his van, fully equipped with all the necessary tools and parts needed for his trade. During a call this past week Marcotte was putting new parts in a doorknob and, as always, ready to answer a call from another worried parent of a child locked in a vehicle.

(Prairie Profile is a weekly feature profiling interesting people in our region. We welcome suggestions from our readers. Call Regional Editor Eloise Ogden at 857-1944 or Managing Editor Kent Olson at 857-1939. Either can be reached at 1-800-735-3229. You also can send e-mail suggestions to kolson@minotdailynews.com.)