Covid reminder of times

This box is a reminder of one of the more interesting chapters in our 20+ years of business.

When COVID turned the supply chain upside down, one of the hardest parts for us to get was… key fobs.

For about six months, our normal supplier simply couldn’t get them.

We called companies all over the world looking for alternatives. Eventually, we found these remote on/off kits that included a relay and two remotes.

The funny part?

The entire kit cost about one-third of what we normally paid for a single replacement key fob.

Rather than just pocket the difference, we lowered the price of the affected alarm systems to reflect the lower-cost components.

These weren’t perfect. They were more labor-intensive to install, and honestly, they were kind of an ugly add-on. The good news was they worked alongside our regular key fobs, so customers could easily add the factory setup later if they wanted.

The day our regular key fobs became available again, these went into a box and have been sitting there ever since.

Would I use them again?

If I had to keep customers protected during another supply chain mess, absolutely.

That’s part of owning a small business. You adapt. You improvise. You keep moving forward instead of telling customers, “Sorry, we can’t help you.”

Key fobs weren’t even our biggest headache during that time. They were just one more reminder that sometimes running a business means solving problems nobody ever sees.

Thankfully, those days are behind us. At least until the next plot twist the universe decides to throw our way.