Since he acted like a reasonable (rational) person he probably wasn't a scammer, but it's worth mentioning that there are locksmith scammers who take advantage of people in high-need situations to charge them exorbitant amounts for "unpickable" locks that always need to be drilled.
The Reply All podcast covered this a few years ago with "Very Quickly to the Drill" [1]
Since he acted like a reasonable (rational) person he probably wasn't a scammer, but it's worth mentioning that there are locksmith scammers who take advantage of people in high-need situations to charge them exorbitant amounts for "unpickable" locks that always need to be drilled.
The Reply All podcast covered this a few years ago with "Very Quickly to the Drill" [1]
[1] https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/o2ho87