Key in the hand

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on March 08, 2008 at 07:38:

In Reply to: Key in the hand posted by Grace on March 07, 2008 at 11:38:

: What does "key in the hand" mean? The sentence I saw reads "It is important that operators provide good services, key in the hand."

What was the context? Was it a process in which an actual key might be required? (VSD)