Work drying up fast!

[Rickthepick]

Anyone else noticed the major lack of work lately in the UK.
Its unbelievable!
What do you reckon the cause is?

Too many locksmiths?
People not willing to spend?
New guys undercutting?

I think its probably a combination of all three, i don't believe the large companies are taking any more of the pie than they did before although i have noticed that more of the nationwide companies have sprung up in the last couple of months.

I haven't heard from a few of my regular work sources for a while now and can only imagine someone has offered to go cheaper on what was already a very fair price. (for NDE work i might add).

I like most, am hoping this will blow over...

Discuss.

[LockSafe]

:shock: Anyone else noticed the major lack of work lately in the UK.
Its unbelievable!
What do you reckon the cause is?

Too many locksmiths?
People not willing to spend?
New guys undercutting?

I think its probably a combination of all three, i don't believe the large companies are taking any more of the pie than they did before although i have noticed that more of the nationwide companies have sprung up in the last couple of months.

I haven't heard from a few of my regular work sources for a while now and can only imagine someone has offered to go cheaper on what was already a very fair price. (for NDE work i might add).

I like most, am hoping this will blow over...

Discuss.

Hi Rick,

It's lots of factors no doubt. As you mentioned most areas are pretty much saturated for NDE work these days with new guys coming along thinking to charge less is the way to go. Plus a lot of companies are being more careful with expenditure with the way things are. Also, for some reason I've noticed good weather seems to reduce emergency calls. Having said that, as you know I've only just started up again and I've already had a steady flow of jobs. I think these days in order to keep busy you have to offer something the other guys can't or won't do and pitch it differently to your clients. Installations are working for me and I push the high quality of care taken, mention a few techniques I use to make sure an above average job is done, business and corporate clients like that. To me, locksmithing should be seen as a profession, even a vocation, and clients love working with someone who is not only knowledgable but also passionate about their job. That's how I seem to be getting work anyway for the moment. Hope it continues.

[79commando]

It's almost certainly down to the amount of training schools mass producing more cannon fodder into the trade. That and the lock suppliers selling direct to the public and even running more training courses for councils etc. You only need to look at how many locksmiths run courses now. They're not doing it for the good of the trade but just to line their pockets as their own locksmith work has dried up.

Anyone getting into the trade now must diversify or they will just become another failed business within a year.

[lockey1963]

it is no doubt a combination of all these factors , specialist areas beyond the skillset of the new start up are still busy, specialising is the only way to stay ahead.

In my area we see between 40 and 60 new start ups every year and lose at least 50% of them in the 1st 6 months, most of the rest before 12 months is up , ready to start all over again the next year.

with everyone including locksmith suppliers and even the mla offering training to all and selling the dream, is it any wonder its in a mess in the uk, every council can now train their staff and buy at trade rates, so why use locksmiths anymore ? every chippie , electrician , window fitter , baker and candlestick maker also a lockie , then no wonder its a mess .

the best advice i could give anyone is either emigrate or diversify big time, as all the time associations including the mla and the so called trade suppliers sell you out , then sadly you have an uphill struggle.

specialise and diversify.

[aussielocky]

The hard part is for anyone to survive long enough in the trade to gain the required skills to diversify & / or specialise in a particular field ....

There was recently a discussion elsewhere where a guy wished to go an a course that would allow him to specialise in antique lock work (straight away), hardly a viable option IMO.

[Wessex Kev]

Its not just the locksmith industry. The security industry in general is massively over subscribed. Close Protection for instance used to be the preserve of Ex Special Forces and Military Police, along come the Security Industry Authority and out comes the 150 hours of guided learning courses and you have more and more people coming into that line of work. When Iraq kicked off in 2003, the need for private security overseas surged big time, next thing you know, the Quest magazine (forces resettlement) is packed full of courses for guys to get into Close Protection. I understand now from friends that they are now packed full of locksmith courses and also alot of jobs for ex forces portals have also been used by locksmith training companies offering courses.

Other sectors of the security industry too are massively over subscribed, security guards and door supervisors for instance, anyone who is unemployed for a certain amount of time seems to be offered a DS of SG course for free, then a job at minimal wage.

I think that nowadays, you can't just be a specialist in one field. You have to be a jack of all trades and have other things that you can be getting on with, when a certain type of work dries up.

I am hoping to enter into the locksmith and alarm/cctv installation side of the industry, but I also come from a consultancy background and am able to offer other services in conjunction with other companies. I just hope that there is a gap in the market for me to do this. More people in the world, more competition, its not just the locksmith industry, its every industry, so we just have to wipe our mouths and crack on as best we can.

Just my view

[corey2444]

I drove a cab for a while until about 9 months ago. I would pick up a lot of people from India and take them to Motorola, Intel, Honeywell, etc.. and I got to talk to quite a few of them. They are here to take over our engineering force. 10 years ago for every 9 US engineers there was 1 from India. Today for every 1 U.S. engineer, there 9 from India. The only reason any U.S. engineers are employed is to teach the ones from India and China, that's all, no other reason. Their days are numbered, that's a fact. If you run into an American engineer, he will tell you the same thing. This is happening in industry after industry from high, medium and low class fields.

My point is, every time someone gets laid off due to outsourcing, where do people go? Service industry? No need for me to explain anymore, the writing is on the wall. The elites the run the world want to knock the standard of living of all Americans down to what the rest of the globe earns. I don't know how many more factories you have to see go. I don't know how many more jobs you have to see outsourced. I don't know how many more illegals you have to see invade this country for this to sink in. I guess this can apply to the UK with your immigration problems as well.

[Rickthepick]

yes the uk is pretty much the same. Iv even heard of immigrant only job positions....nationals need not apply

[lockpick1968]

The economy is hurting alot of people now, and especially for the privately owned businesses as lockies, ect.
People are pinching pennies and spending for services is getting worse.

[globallockytoo]

I lost out on a rekey job yesterday because the customer was able to purchase all brand new Kwikset locks (3 deadbolts & 3 Entrance Sets) keyed alike at Lowes for $75 total.

He got 2 quotes before mine....of around $150. (I was about the same).

I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.

[corey2444]

I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.

It's probably cheaper to give 536 leaders a million dollars then to pay 100 million workers a fair wage.

[Eyes_Only]

I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.

It's probably cheaper to give 536 leaders a million dollars then to pay 100 million workers a fair wage.

That is a very sobering but probably a very true statement.

[urbanwriter]

Some of the points well taken, but. I bailed on the industry after a very tenure at Fletcher's Lock and Safe (that will place time and geographically for some) when I realized that the wages were low relative to experience, thirty-odd years ago. I'm back in the commercial game because my job is .6 km from where I live. I'm certainly not back for the money. On imposing punitive duties on off-shore production, think about how many locksmiths are using drill-presses, lathes, bench grinders and a vast array of other tools that would probably be out of financial reach if their manufacturers paid N. American (read Euro as well) wages... and all those battery-powered tools made in far-away places, and sold at Wal-Mart, Grainger (US), TESCO or its British equivalent in tool sales, we might find ourselves ruing the day we imposed those duties.

Take a look at the Locksmith Ledgers out of the Fifties and Sixties, filled with tips on making a trouble-light out of an old bed-spring, where now we just go buy one.

Anyway, I hope its things to think about, not a shot across the bows of anyone reading

[Evan]

I think it might be high time for the government to start imposing import duties on these asian manufacturers. That might enable manufacturing to return to the USA creating new jobs, more tax revenue for the government, greater contributions to social security etc, etc.

So we would have to try and buy back all the factory equipment that has been sent to China to produce all of the fine cheaply made goods found for sale at the big box discount stores...

Except those machines are being USED and aren't for sale...

Import duties and taxes make no difference, for years car manufacturers got around those by sending the vehicles "sub-assembled" and having the assembly plants in the US install the fluffiest things like windshield wipers, hub cabs, floor mats and spare tires... How do you think that various small product manufacturers would get around any sort of taxes you propose ?

~~ Evan

[Evan]

I drove a cab for a while until about 9 months ago. I would pick up a lot of people from India and take them to Motorola, Intel, Honeywell, etc.. and I got to talk to quite a few of them. They are here to take over our engineering force. 10 years ago for every 9 US engineers there was 1 from India. Today for every 1 U.S. engineer, there 9 from India. The only reason any U.S. engineers are employed is to teach the ones from India and China, that's all, no other reason. Their days are numbered, that's a fact. If you run into an American engineer, he will tell you the same thing. This is happening in industry after industry from high, medium and low class fields.

My point is, every time someone gets laid off due to outsourcing, where do people go? Service industry? No need for me to explain anymore, the writing is on the wall. The elites the run the world want to knock the standard of living of all Americans down to what the rest of the globe earns. I don't know how many more factories you have to see go. I don't know how many more jobs you have to see outsourced. I don't know how many more illegals you have to see invade this country for this to sink in. I guess this can apply to the UK with your immigration problems as well.

This only applies to certain types of engineering... You are within the computer/electronics field making this sweeping generalization...

There are no Indian engineers who are licensed and approved to work on building construction and civil engineering type things and there are not very likely to be any anytime soon... So one subset of engineers in one industry is being eclipsed by the educational system in another country... That should not be economically troublesome as the computer/electronics industries inside the US are known to specialize in military/government projects with the bulk of the consumer grade electronic products being designed by worldwide teams and produced in the Asian area where labor costs are low...

The larger picture here is that even with educational reform like NCLB it is becoming quite clear that the US is lagging behind many other countries with its educational system -- that in and of itself should be more alarming than the resulting symptom of seeing a subset of the engineering profession relocate off-shores to a country with ten times the number of engineering program college graduates than the comparative "handful" that companies here in the US compete over...

~~ Evan