How to choose local locksmith service provider?

[leosachen]

Hi,

If you need locksmith services for your home, office, schools or shopping malls then how you will choose proper and quality locksmith service provider in your area?

#1 Find local service provider on internet

You can easily find local service provider on internet using Google, Bing, Yahoo, Local Directories, and Local Business Listings, Yelp & other sites.

#2 Check reviews of locksmith service provider on quality sites

If you need quality service provider then you must check reviews of local locksmith service providers on internet. One can check reviews on Yelp, Yahoo, Google reviews, Bing reviews & many other sites.

#3 Ask your friends

Take the advice from your friends or relatives for local locksmith service provider.

#4 Check website and licence holder locksmith service provider

You also need to check website of locksmith service provider and also check that locksmith service provider have licence or not?

According to you which is the best way to find local locksmith service provider?

[cledry]

Personally I go by how long the company has been in business and I prefer to deal with a shop rather than a mobile business.

[GWiens2001]

Personally I go by how long the company has been in business and I prefer to deal with a shop rather than a mobile business.

Or a mobile unit that is part of a sticks-and-bricks shop with a longstanding good reputation.

Gordon

[2octops]

I have to disagree.

I know many, many mobile only locksmith companies that are outstanding. Many have been in business and mobile only for 20-30 years or longer and have very good reputations. Locksmith store fronts are going by the way side because of the overhead involved and the lack of need. We have been in business for almost 20 years and very few of our jobs could ever be performed any place other than the customers location.

Do not discredit mobile only businesses that are less than 10 years old either. Many of these are individuals that have many more years experience working for someone else and went out on their own for one reason or another.

There are plenty of brick and mortar owners that I would not let duplicate a key for me for many different reasons. Don't think they are better than anybody else just because they have a storefront.

Don't discredit someone for not having a logo on their vehicle either. Some of the top safe techs in the USA drive unmarked vehicles and some rather unconventional. I know several that operate out of trucks, SUV's and some drive cars.

You need to find someone via referrals and their reputation.

[GWiens2001]

I have to disagree.

I know many, many mobile only locksmith companies that are outstanding. Many have been in business and mobile only for 20-30 years or longer and have very good reputations. Locksmith store fronts are going by the way side because of the overhead involved and the lack of need. We have been in business for almost 20 years and very few of our jobs could ever be performed any place other than the customers location.

Do not discredit mobile only businesses that are less than 10 years old either. Many of these are individuals that have many more years experience working for someone else and went out on their own for one reason or another.

There are plenty of brick and mortar owners that I would not let duplicate a key for me for many different reasons. Don't think they are better than anybody else just because they have a storefront.

Don't discredit someone for not having a logo on their vehicle either. Some of the top safe techs in the USA drive unmarked vehicles and some rather unconventional. I know several that operate out of trucks, SUV's and some drive cars.

You need to find someone via referrals and their reputation.

You have a good point. Many of us here know where to check to find a reputable locksmith (mobile or storefront), but most people without any familiarity with this field have no idea, and it becomes a c**pshoot as to who is good or not. Most have no idea of who has been in business for how long, who is skilled (not necessarily the same thing), and who is just the scammer. So you are correct... just because someone is primarily, or even strictly, mobile does not rule them out of being very skilled at what they do. And not everybody who has a storefront is honest or skilled.

My father, for example, would contact me. If I am not able to properly perform the task, will happily refer him to someone reliable. But if he could not contact me for some reason, he's just gonna go online and try to find who is in the area. We all know that a significant number of the locksmith listings that are 'local' are not.

As far as safe techs in unmarked cars... if I had a safe that required those kind of services, the last thing I'd want to do is advertise to the neighborhood that I have something with enough value to require a safe.

Most people do not prepare for a problem in advance. When moving into an area, one of my first tasks once a residence is secured, is to start researching and fill out a phone contact list of businesses that have a good reputation for the different categories of emergencies. In most cases, I can handle them myself, but if it is beyond my skill, there is a list of a plumber, electrician, roofer, pest control, and a locksmith. Usually have a couple different possibilities for each category, in case one is not available. A little preparation can do wonders for getting the service you need.

Gordon

[leosachen]

Hello,

I agreed on all your points but there are plenty types of locksmith problem customers have !

1. If they broke any keys or can't able to access locks then they can go to shop easily.
2. If someone have problem in door access or door lock then they can call Mobile locksmith at their home
3. If someone forgot keys inside the vehicle at that time mobile locksmith also good idea.

Customers need those service provider who have good reputation and provides quality locksmith services. They can also prefer those locksmith provider who give 24 hours emergency services to their local customers !

[cledry]

I wasn't implying that mobile locksmiths are not as reputable. In fact being reputable is only part of the equation when choosing a locksmith, albeit probably the most important part. Many of our customers agree, they like to bring in locks for repair or rekeying, they like a showroom with locks and hardware they can buy and they like to see safes before they make a purchase. A lot of customers would go to another shop rather than pay a trip charge to repair or rekey a lock, they might go to a hardware store or big box store for locks and hardware if we didn't have a shop.

Some shops don't turn a profit and we know the real money is on the road but the shop presents a convenience for many customers. If a shop can break even it still attracts customers for your mobile part of the business. If it turns a profit then it is an added bonus, it is also an office, a warehouse, a place to assemble parts for large jobs. We use it as a place to have safety classes for the community. We also hold classes at our shop for others in the industry, even our competition.

[cledry]

leosachen I think perhaps you don't realise that almost every shop is also mobile. They have the advantage of a shop and of being mobile, it isn't one or the other.

[cledry]

One more point. How many of these scammers have a bricks and mortar shop? None that I know of. I could be wrong, but there are at least 15 scammers in my area all working as mobile locksmiths, in unmarked vehicles or vehicles with a magnetic sign. Again not having a marked vehicle might mean nothing, neither does having a magnetic sign. However I feel it is very important that the public perceive the business as having some degree of success and some degree of permanency within the community. Just my thoughts on this.

How many scammers are mobile, pretty much 100% I would say. Note this isn't the same as saying that 100% of mobile businesses are scammers.

So if you choose a shop that has been in business for a good amount of time then you have zero chance of getting a scammer, you also have very little chance of getting a poor locksmith because the overhead to run a shop for any length of time means you need to be pretty competent at getting and keeping customers.

So if you don't have any reference in choosing a mobile or a shop, no word of mouth, no knowing how long they have been there, not knowing how competent they are .... Logically a person who isn't just shopping by lowest price will choose a shop. If the customer is shopping by price alone they will likely choose a scammer. So this is why word of mouth is even more important to mobile locksmiths.

[billdeserthills]

Lots of scammers in my area lie and say they have a store. They will even list an address & I have chased down over 35 and always find the address either doesn't exist, or it will be someone else's business. Usually turns out to be a vet, as my town has at least 10 vets. I started putting in my ads to "use a Locksmith You can trust--Always make sure they have an address" years ago and so made this trouble for myself, so to speak.

[cledry]

How many of these scammers have a shop again? Zero. A fake address is not a shop.

Lots of scammers in my area lie and say they have a store. They will even list an address & I have chased down over 35 and always find the address either doesn't exist, or it will be someone else's business. Usually turns out to be a vet, as my town has at least 10 vets. I started putting in my ads to "use a Locksmith You can trust--Always make sure they have an address" years ago and so made this trouble for myself, so to speak.

[FarmerFreak]

When calling a locksmith company unfortunately I would recommend asking them if they are a different locksmith company and see if they correct you.

For example, if you are calling a locksmith advertising as jacks locksmith. Ask if they are jills locksmith company? If they don't correct you, you should hang up and call someone else. Because scammers love to advertise under the names of businesess that have been around for a long time. And they will tell you over the phone that they are any locksmith you want them to be.

[Squelchtone]

Good thread guys, lots of good info flowing back and fourth.

Perhaps we could use a sticky here that just like the thread showing lock pick possessions laws in each state, shows trusted locksmith shops. I could list at least 6 brick and mortar and mobile operations in the Springfield MA area, and maybe down the road, people visiting our forum could benefit from such a list of trusted and established locksmiths near them. It would not be an endorsement, but it would help people at least find a real locksmith be it a shop or mobile operator, versus a scammer that charges $250 to drill out a Kwikset like you see on TV news reports.

I would manage the list though as we don't want fly by night operators and scammers adding themselves to it, but I would take info from all of you who are trusted members and contribute regularly to the forum.

I won't list the smiths in my area yet until we get a consensus that this is a good or bad idea. And yes, you could list your own locksmith business in this list, for the handful of you I know that have your own shops/vans.

Squelchtone

PS. I haven't forgotten about the expansion of the Locksmith sub forum with all the suggestions that were posted in another thread, just haven't had a free minute to make it happen.

[GWiens2001]

Good thread guys, lots of good info flowing back and fourth.

Perhaps we could use a sticky here that just like the thread showing lock pick possessions laws in each state, shows trusted locksmith shops. I could list at least 6 brick and mortar and mobile operations in the Springfield MA area, and maybe down the road, people visiting our forum could benefit from such a list of trusted and established locksmiths near them. It would not be an endorsement, but it would help people at least find a real locksmith be it a shop or mobile operator, versus a scammer that charges $250 to drill out a Kwikset like you see on TV news reports.

I would manage the list though as we don't want fly by night operators and scammers adding themselves to it, but I would take info from all of you who are trusted members and contribute regularly to the forum.

I won't list the smiths in my area yet until we get a consensus that this is a good or bad idea. And yes, you could list your own locksmith business in this list, for the handful of you I know that have your own shops/vans.

Squelchtone

PS. I haven't forgotten about the expansion of the Locksmith sub forum with all the suggestions that were posted in another thread, just haven't had a free minute to make it happen.

Think this is a very good idea. While I don't know all the strictly mobile locksmiths in the area, can easily list all the sticks and bricks locksmiths within 20 miles of here, and narrow that list to the ones that I would recommend. If you decide to run with this idea, let us know, and will send the list of the local locksmiths with a bona-fide address and/or only the ones I recommend, depending on how you want to manage the list. There are several in the yellow pages here that list addresses that are not for any kind of locksmith, or for a completely fictitious address. (AKA - likely scammers).

Don't think we should get into a spam-fest, which is why Squelchtone managing the list is a good idea. But a list of recommended genuine locksmiths who are reputable (with or without a sticks and bricks location) would help people find help when they need it.

Gordon

[Divinorum]

I concur. This is a great idea. I too can list the shops in my area that I would recommend.