Make the Customer feel you earned your Fee.

[fgarci03]

I get where Dr_Duke is coming from, there are certainly some customers like the ones who need you to put on a show and make it seem that giving you $100 dollars for coming out had better take more than 1 minute of your labor, while at the same time preserving their notion that their locks will keep them safe at night, because you had to struggle with their Kwikset deadbolt for 20 minutes, but I ran across a comic strip today on Imgur that made me think of this thread and I wanted to share it with you guys.



I'd love to use this reasoning with a customer. One does not learn all there is in locksmith and safe work overnight. There's a certain value to the years of experience.

just my 2 cents
Squelchtone

Very nice!
Here we have kind of a saying much like that.

Some has a problem with his washing machine. He calls the tech.
He gets there, screws a screw and charges 110$.
"A HUNDREDS BUCKS TO SCREW A SCREW? WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?"

"Well, it's 10$ for actually screwing it, and 100$ for knowing WHICH screw to mess with!"

[Varjeal]

All purchases are experiences. They are "customer buying experiences"........There is case study evidence to prove the value of making the customer wait to make them feel they got their money's worth.

Wrong (At least when it comes to locksmithing). There is case study evidence proving all sorts of ridiculous nonsense. The -fact- is this: The locksmith is providing a service first and foremost. Your service should be prompt, professional, and thorough. Anything less is a waste. A waste of your time, a waste of the customers, and a waste of resources. The locksmith is not there to provide entertainment or an "experience". In 12yrs I haven't had a -single- customer who wished I took longer so they'd have a cool experience with me. What they do respond to is prompt, professional, and thorough service. Quite often the customer will be surprised at the amount of time it takes (in regards to openings), to which I've come to reply that:
1. I'm a -trained- professional.
2. I'm very good at my job.
3. Perhaps we need to discuss the level of security of your (insert location) and what you expect and desire that level of security to be. Let me show you some options....

[GWiens2001]

All purchases are experiences. They are "customer buying experiences"........There is case study evidence to prove the value of making the customer wait to make them feel they got their money's worth.

Wrong (At least when it comes to locksmithing). There is case study evidence proving all sorts of ridiculous nonsense. The -fact- is this: The locksmith is providing a service first and foremost. Your service should be prompt, professional, and thorough. Anything less is a waste. A waste of your time, a waste of the customers, and a waste of resources. The locksmith is not there to provide entertainment or an "experience". In 12yrs I haven't had a -single- customer who wished I took longer so they'd have a cool experience with me. What they do respond to is prompt, professional, and thorough service. Quite often the customer will be surprised at the amount of time it takes (in regards to openings), to which I've come to reply that:
1. I'm a -trained- professional.
2. I'm very good at my job.
3. Perhaps we need to discuss the level of security of your (insert location) and what you expect and desire that level of security to be. Let me show you some options....

+1, Varjeal.

I am a mechanic by trade. We are paid 'flat rate', which means a certain job, on a certain vehicle, pays (x) time/money. (X) is the time an average mechanic should require to do the job. Every once in a while, have a customer who wants to know why I am getting paid for (x) time, when it takes me less than half that time to do the job.

"Years of experience, lots of training, and being very good at what I do. If I took more time than (x), would you expect to pay me more?"

Gordon

[fgarci03]

"Years of experience, lots of training, and being very good at what I do. If I took more time than (x), would you expect to pay me more?"

Now that just sounds like cockiness!

Joking, I agree with it. It wouldn't be fair for a costumer to pay accordingly to the time the professional took on that specific situation, as some are faster, and others are slower... And for other reasons of course!

[cledry]

Each of our service techs (locksmiths) runs at least 5 jobs a day unless they are very complex or involved.

I'll describe my jobs today.

1. Apple Store, simple quick fix, Herculite door with IC core out of time. In and out including IVR in @ 15 minutes.

2. TJ MAXX, quick job, replace batteries in Trilogy and reprogram. In and out including IVR in @ 15 minutes.

3. Bank Of America, remove drawers from Kimball credenza and adjust cable on one side. Another 15 minute job.

4. Old Navy, troubleshoot Alarm Lock PG21, about 30 minutes.

5. Drop off 4 Roton hinges to a hotel for installation this evening.

6. Rekey 10 locks, install A/R swingbolt in place of latchbolt, remove King Cobra and plate door and install Grade 1 lever, replace deadbolt, remove lever locks and replace with deadbolts. @ 2.5 hours

With driving and lunch that is @ 7 hours leaving an hour at the shop to do paperwork.

Where would I fit in fiddling with something to make the customer feel better. In fact on job #3 the girls at the bank commented on how quickly I had repaired the credenza compared with the last company that worked on one. It seemed as though they were more impressed with me being efficient. It interrupts their day to have a locksmith working in the bank, so the less we are seen the better. Same with the jobs in the stores mentioned, often the manager will have to stay with us while we work, especially if it is an exterior door. Time is important so speed and efficiency from us is rewarded with more jobs.

[zeke79]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm in and out. Like a polish sax diagram. In-out, repeat if necessary. Especially on auto lockouts, if they argue I throw the keys in the seat and relock the door. If they want it open after that it is extra. They want to argue that I was only there 3 minutes it is up to them.

[alockguru]

I'd love to use this reasoning with a customer. One does not learn all there is in locksmith and safe work overnight. There's a certain value to the years of experience.

just my 2 cents
Squelchtone

This is exactly how I handle quick jobs. Tho I do sometimes hold off on fully opening a lock for (at max) a minute or two if it insta-picks. In general around here if it takes more then 5 minutes the customer thinks something is wrong.
I NEVER card a door as a first option and avoid trying to use it at all if a customer is watching. That's not good for business unless you are sure you can up sell them on installing a bolt

[billdeserthills]

I have a friend who owns a Guide Service in Pinedale, Wyoming. During the Elk hunting season, rich people pay him between $3,500 and $7,500 to kill a trophy Bull Elk. He has to know where the Elk are at all times so he can make sure his customers make a kill. If they go back home without a head to mount and a few hundred pounds of Elk meat and sausage, they will not come back or recommend his guide service to their rich friends. To make sure he knows where the Elk are, he has 2 cowboys at a times follow the Elk herd and watch the herd 24 hours a day.

Now, when a group of rich hunters fly into Jackson Hole for a 7 day hunt, my friend is not going to take them out to where the herd is and let them shoot an Elk on the first day. If they get their Elk on the first day, what will they do for the rest of the week and they will probably feel like they did not get their money’s worth.

On the first 5 days of a 7 day hunt, my friend will not let his customers get within 20 miles of an Elk herd. During these 5 days, they travel lots of miles on horseback; they chop a lot of firewood; and make and break camp every day “looking for Elk.”

They hunt hard for 4 days and then on the 4th night, he Bar-B-Ques some Choice T-Bone steaks and breaks out the finest Kentucky Bourbon. After a hearty meal and a couple of stout drinks, he suggest they take off the next day and go into Jackson Hole and do a little shopping to buy Momma, who is back home, a really nice gift to make her feel she did not completely lose out on the hunting trip. After everyone has bought Momma an expensive gift and they have had a nice Buffalo Hamburger lunch, they drive the 38 miles into Yellowstone National Park to see the “Old Faithful” geyser. It is a nice day, but the hunters are starting to worry they may not see any Elk.

On the 6th day, they move the camp close to the Elk heard and on the afternoon hunt, they start killing their Elk. A few hunters pass on shooting an Elk that afternoon hoping to get a larger Bull the next day. By noon on the last day, everyone has killed their Elk and they are celebrating with a Bourbon and Coke and talking about what a wonderful time they have had.

When the rich hunter board the plane the next day to go back home, everyone is happy: the guide is happy because he has made a nice chunk of change; the cowboys are happy because the rich hunters have given them huge tips, and the hunters are happy because they have a nice head and rack to hang over the fireplace mantle. The hunters talk on the plane about getting their money’s worth and that the guide and cowboys sure earned their money. It was a mutually satisfactory transaction.

The locksmith could learn from the guide’s example. If a homeowner calls him out to help him get into his house after he locked the door with his keys inside, he wants the locksmith to earn his money. He does not want to pay the locksmith $300 taking the screen off a window and crawling in through an unlocked window which took less than 5 minutes.

The first thing I do when I am called out for a lockout, is talk to the homeowner. From the very beginning, I let them know that I cannot pick every lock made. I tell them that I will get them into their house, but it may take as long as a couple of hours or as short as 5 minutes and that I may have to use another means of getting into the house other than picking the lock. . I tell them that it is alright to watch me pick the lock, but if the lock is difficult to pick, I may ask they to go sit in their car while I am working so I do not get frustrated because of the difficulty of the lock.

The first approach I take is a straight single pin picking. If the lock is easy to pick and I get it picked in just a few minutes, I purposely do not open the door. I will change picks and spend the next half-hour to forty-five minutes playing with the lock and purposefully do not get the door open. I am going to take a minimum of 45 minutes to get into the house .

If I work hard, sweat a lot, and act exasperated, the homeowner feels they have gotten their money’s worth and are really appreciative when I finally get the door open.

Like the hunting guide, I want the homeowner to feel as though they have gotten their money’s worth. If I am successful at this, it is a mutually beneficial transaction and everyone is happy.

I sometimes hear about folks like you from my new client's. They'll tell me how the last guy here took all day to "pick a lock" or "rekey my house" or even "open my car" Thing is as said elsewhere
"Time is Money" and the customer that is gonna complain about the fee being too high is gonna be complaining anyhow. Some folks are just like that and because I feel for these folks I will gladly shut them up by asking if I can make them a free key so this doesn't happen again. Sometimes a little thing like a key can make the client realize that You do care, at least a little more than the competition does & a standard keyblank costs you almost nothing. Far as the price goes, it's" up to the boss" and these people don't need to know that I am the boss. Anyhow get your customer's attention off the huge bill and onto the great free thing you just gave them, a key.

[billdeserthills]

I agree with Cledry - the elk Hunter is buying an experience, the locked out individual is buying a service

All purchases are experiences. They are "customer buying experiences". A friend of mine posted on his Facebook that he payed $65 for a locksmith to come to his house and use a credit card to unlock the door. Some of the sites you go to take awhile to "process" but the processing is fake. There is case study evidence to prove the value of making the customer wait to make them feel they got their money's worth.

I would suggest telling a customer how the lockpicking process works. If they seem impatient just cut to the chase.

All purchases are customer buying experiences.

I actually charged a client $80 to do the same thing 2 months ago

[adambigballs]

I recently had a disagreement with a lady about a lock change. I'm based in the UK and work at a holiday camp with about 2500 caravans. Some are privately owned as was the case with the lock change. The lady had lost one set of keys with the address of her caravan on the keyring. Why she had the keyring there I couldn't understand. Any how she had two doors both 30/30 euro cylinders. The company I work for charges £35 per lock change so I knew the bill would be £70 which I told the customer when she asked me how much it would cost. Obviously a barrel change can take mere minutes so the customer was not happy at the cost for what amounted to ten minutes work. Her argument was that she could've done it herself for nothing apart from the cost of the barrels. My counter argument that I knew the sort of barrel and size required and that she only knew how to change a barrel because she had just seen me do it only made the problem worse. I was polite throughout but she still made a complaint so the new policy of lock outs or lost keys is to ask the customer or guest to wait else where until the job is done which I think is ridiculous. If I was in a similar situation I would ask first of the cost before I had the job done and then I would just bite the bullet and pay up knowing that regardless of time involved its the knowledge and experience I'm paying for. I'm a joiner by trade and admit begrudging the cost of things like car repair bills or getting my computer fixed but I know one the mechanic or IT whizz will be in the same boat when they need their kitchen fitted. Swings and roundabouts as the saying goes

[billdeserthills]

I'd tell her to get back in the kitchen & make me some pie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFrPHm7letA

[billdeserthills]

I'd tell her to get back in the kitchen & make me some pie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFrPHm7letA

[hag3l3]

The elk story is absolutely pristine.
Thank you for sharing.
How ever, might I point out that the morality of this story deals with providing an experience.
Locksmiths should provide a service based and grounded in experience. After all are we not the professional? I am absolutely pleased when a customer that I have gone to help looks to me with mystified eyes...
the speed and efficiency with which I get them out of their jamb is a unique opportunity to educate them on security versus a false sense of security. We do a grave diservice to our community that we work in by taking our time. We are professionals after all. Our experience should after all allow us to manipulate that lock open in 5 to 15 seconds.......
just a thought.

[FancyPants]

All purchases are experiences. They are "customer buying experiences"........There is case study evidence to prove the value of making the customer wait to make them feel they got their money's worth.

Wrong (At least when it comes to locksmithing). There is case study evidence proving all sorts of ridiculous nonsense. The -fact- is this: The locksmith is providing a service first and foremost. Your service should be prompt, professional, and thorough. Anything less is a waste. A waste of your time, a waste of the customers, and a waste of resources. The locksmith is not there to provide entertainment or an "experience". In 12yrs I haven't had a -single- customer who wished I took longer so they'd have a cool experience with me. What they do respond to is prompt, professional, and thorough service. Quite often the customer will be surprised at the amount of time it takes (in regards to openings), to which I've come to reply that:
1. I'm a -trained- professional.
2. I'm very good at my job.
3. Perhaps we need to discuss the level of security of your (insert location) and what you expect and desire that level of security to be. Let me show you some options....

+1, Varjeal.

I am a mechanic by trade. We are paid 'flat rate', which means a certain job, on a certain vehicle, pays (x) time/money. (X) is the time an average mechanic should require to do the job. Every once in a while, have a customer who wants to know why I am getting paid for (x) time, when it takes me less than half that time to do the job.

"Years of experience, lots of training, and being very good at what I do. If I took more time than (x), would you expect to pay me more?"

Gordon

Well put Gordon. I, too, am a mechanic, and that is the exact analogy I would use.
On that note, I'm glad I'm a fleet mechanic and I don't work on flat rate because I'd probably starve to death.

[deralian]

I always tell people, I opened it quickly because I know what I'm doing and Im good at my job. For locks that take two swipes of a pick to open.... well, those I just stand there pretending I'm still working for a minute. Being that good isn't nice.