new auto lockout business is not a success

[c123]

Go to every used car lot you can find. Give them your business card and offer a discount to their customers also look into getting some clear stickers printed up that say something like: LOCKED OUT? CALL 123-3321
I've seen this work really well. You might want to learn how to pick locks and add residential lock outs to you services. Check with all the local bars about using you to unlock cars. You'd be surprised how many cars I used to open between midnight and 3am.

good luck, hang in there
Richie Martin

[peacefullockie]

Hi, try your local airport.

i drive to luton airport for the day and can make 300 pounds from people who have either lost keys or locked them in boot or inside.

Just park up near the carparks and wait around.

It suprising how many people need a lockie at that place.

1 job per hour guaranteed.

[Shrub]

Be careful as i think you are walking a fine line but im not 100% sure,

You are basically trading from another premises that do not know about it, if the aa set up a stall in the car park they have to pay a pitch fee,

You might want to learn how to pick locks and add residential lock outs to you services

I would like to hope that someone running an auto buisness does know how to pick a lock and if they dont i see little by way of justifacation for them being in buisness,

Let me guess, breaky breaky noises ensue if its a deadlocked european car, no wonder a so called pro auto site believe everything has to be ground off or drilled,

c123 i do not assume you can not pick locks nor am i insinuating anything to do with your work ethics, how you open vehicles or what you do other than i assume you are a trading lockie,

[Firearm]

Some cities, like the one I work in, have a call-out list of tow truck operators or lockies who do car unlocks. You are competing with tow operators too. You can call your city and see if they have a list and see how you can get on it. It's the only advice I can give on this.

[lockdr]

Joined: 31 Jan 2007
Posts: 12
Location: Evansville, IN

PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:10 am Post subject: Auto Lockout Business Reply with quote
Go to every used car lot you can find. Give them your business card and offer a discount to their customers also look into getting some clear stickers printed up that say something like: LOCKED OUT? CALL 123-3321
I've seen this work really well. You might want to learn how to pick locks and add residential lock outs to you services. Check with all the local bars about using you to unlock cars. You'd be surprised how many cars I used to open between midnight and 3am.

good luck, hang in there
Richie Martin

I used to drive a tow truck. The big problem with bars is that you are dealing with feisty drunks who are really foul because they locked themselves out of their car.AND they have been tossed out of the bar because it's time for them to close. I'm a rather large one so was not too much of a problem but some people could be at a real disadvantage.

[Eyes_Only]

I guess you could carry a taser if you feel that you might be targeted in certain locations you get called out to often. I'm sure those feisty drunks won't need your card to remember your business name.

[Shrub]

I refuse to open vehicles for drunks,

[jimb]

:?

I refuse to open vehicles for drunks,

Me too, there could be a liability issue if you allow someone drunk access to their keys and they get involved in a wreck on the way home. If they appear to be drunk then I tell them to call back in the morning.

[2octops]

If it's late enough for a bar to be closing, they are just going to get my voice mail anyways

Like the others, I will never unlock a car for a drunk.

[drew5553]

You would only make about half your current price per call, but if you contact AAA and/or the other roadside assistance companies you could find yourself quite busy....

I've been looking over the roadside service websites like AAA and I can see a section where they will hire someone as an employee to do this kind of stuff, but does anyone know how you go about working for them as an independent guy getting 20 bucks or so per call as suggested by previous posters? Any idea what would be a normal expected volume of calls from working for a company like AAA in a major metropolitan area?

Thanks for the replies.

[Eyes_Only]

I will tell you this. Do not for any reason sign up to be a independant contractor for AAA. The contract you sign with them is a one way contract with everything in their favor and robs you of every right as a human being.

My boss (the poor guy) had to run lockout calls for them 24/7 for three years and he ended up getting an ulcer, cluster headaches and went blind in one eye from the stress of never getting any sleep. He had to fly overseas to get medical care to fix all of this. AAA finally agreed to let our shop stop taking lockout calls after 11 pm untill 7 am (which still sucks) only after he gave them tons of signed paper work from a whole army of health care professionals stating how serious the situation was.

I was lucky enough to join the shop after all of this was resolved but on Saturdays I still have to work from 7 am to 11 pm and on weekdays anywhere from 10 to 14 hours depending on the situation at our shop.

If you work for AAA they will treat you like a robot and you will soon learn to hate this job if you can't handle the stress or if you work by yourself.

The only good thing is that you will get plenty of opportunities for practice and get real good at unlocking cars but making about $23.50 per lockout call for 24/7 just isn't worth it sometimes.

Locksmithing itself is really a 24/7 job technically but do work for AAA and you will have no life. And I mean that seriously. No weekends or holidays off either.

[raimundo]

See if any local locksmiths will use call forwarding to put you on call at nights and weekends and when they have too many calls at once. of course, you will have to be bonded for any problems that come up and you will have to be trusted not to anger customers and there will be some fincancial arraingment for the locksmith, or locksmiths, I would try to get them accept that you can work for more than one locksmith. That they are getting out of the automotive business makes it a place for a specialist who really keeps up on the new developements.

Since the orginal poster was so long ago, I wonder if he is still around at all. And hows he doing. I suppose someone might pm him

[drew5553]

I will tell you this. Do not for any reason sign up to be a independant contractor for AAA. The contract you sign with them is a one way contract with everything in their favor and robs you of every right as a human being.

My boss (the poor guy) had to run lockout calls for them 24/7 for three years and he ended up getting an ulcer, cluster headaches and went blind in one eye from the stress of never getting any sleep. He had to fly overseas to get medical care to fix all of this. AAA finally agreed to let our shop stop taking lockout calls after 11 pm untill 7 am (which still sucks) only after he gave them tons of signed paper work from a whole army of health care professionals stating how serious the situation was.

I was lucky enough to join the shop after all of this was resolved but on Saturdays I still have to work from 7 am to 11 pm and on weekdays anywhere from 10 to 14 hours depending on the situation at our shop.

If you work for AAA they will treat you like a robot and you will soon learn to hate this job if you can't handle the stress or if you work by yourself.

The only good thing is that you will get plenty of opportunities for practice and get real good at unlocking cars but making about $23.50 per lockout call for 24/7 just isn't worth it sometimes.

Locksmithing itself is really a 24/7 job technically but do work for AAA and you will have no life. And I mean that seriously. No weekends or holidays off either.

I'm sorry to hear about your Boss' bad experience.

Well...I'm no stranger to all kinds of dirty work and crappy hours. I used to work a job 7 days a week where the shift started at 2:30am until 10am and then switched to 1pm to 5pm on weekends. It really sucked. As for working alone, I'm no stranger to that either.

I wouldn't want to be on contract unless it gave me at least midnight to 6am off and I was able to take days off. I won't give anybody a contract on my entire life round the clock. I have seen other places that offer choices of hours so maybe I can work something out with AAA.

Anywho, I know making a little over 20 bucks a call sucks (what's the going rate in your area anyway?)
but how often did they get the phone to ring in a typical day?

Thanks for all your help everyone.

[drew5553]

Eyes_Only,

I also want to add that I have a van equipped and I'll also be able to do emergency tire changes, battery jumps, and gas delivery and not just lockouts.

Did you and your boss do anything besides the lockouts and if so how did the frequency of this other type of work compare to the lockouts?

Did AAA get you any home lockouts too or just auto?
Do you have to be certified locksmith if you're only doing lockouts?

Thanks again.

[Eyes_Only]

Don't do it man. Those tire, gas and battery services will be the death of you. Seriously. Those are the types of jobs tow truck drivers mostly do and its not just on surface streets. They get called out to change tires, batteries and deliver gas on the freeways all the time. More tow truck drivers die on the freeways cos of this kind of work than all the police officers that get slain every year in the entire country.

Before I joined my shop they did used to do all those other services too but after three years they had to stop cos they were getting too many calls and it was getting in the way of actual locksmith work.

If a Premier AAA member gets locked out of their home they will send a home lockout job your way too but compared to auto lockouts its kinda rare.

Sometimes a basic or plus member who does not qualify for AAA home lockout service will ask AAA to look for a locksmith in the area that they could pay to have them unlock their homes. I had two such calls today from the auto club.

As for certifications...I don't really know. AAA might hire someone who will work strictly under them only to run lockout jobs but I highly doubt they will let you do that if you're not licensed. Guess thats something you gotta call AAA to find out.