uk locksmiths work available

[cred]

hi,
just back tracking a bit to trashing locks on warrants,if you trash a mortice lock and replace ok you can still shut the door on leaving (as it probally has a cylinder fitted) then post new keys through letterbox, but what if its a euro you cant pick (some can be a nightmare) especially as you say time is short per door 15 mins,i dont do warrents yet but if i came faced with this situation would fitting a new lock and then leave a note on door saying new keys left with mr x next door be what some lockies do?
thanx
ray

[pinky]

ive heard of some doing it, but they end up sacked , the rep prefers to put a notice on inside of window with your number on it, you then take keys back when customer returns home, on your own.

the problem is now , with siemens and british gas you must see id before handing keys over, you must get a signature for keys to protect them, they wont pay for locks and key returns without this signature.

ive heard some locksmiths arrange to meet customer outside a police station, this way your a little safer and get your signatures.

the upshot is , dont trash and change locks, if you have too trash a back door refit a second hand like for like lock, lock up and post keys, but dont try charging for lock as no signatures.

as you are now allowed between 1 and 3 lock changes in every 100 doors you open , you need to be fully tooled up for all occasions and all possible situations, this way you dont trash more than your 3% of locks and keep work.

its harder now than ever before for a newbie to break into warrants, as there are now alot of highly skilled, very experienced and fully tooled up locksmiths going for this type of work, master lockeys who once wouldnt touch it, now want it badly, so not only must you deal with tighter contracts , less pay and more rules than before, but you must now compete with well established excellent locksmiths who can work to these tolerances.

you wont know till you go for it , but trash too many or be too slow and you will be binned quickly, and its a devil to get back in , or you could be luck and have a good 1st few weeks and meet easy doors, build a good relationship with the reps and then your in.

the upshot is if you think you are good enough, go for it , if any doubts wait.

good luck

[cred]

thanx martin,
gives me more of an insight into warrant work, is the rep with you all day,or is this the guy who changes the meters,(sorry if questions sound stupid but dont know much about how warrant jobs work)

[acl]

Cred,the rep is the guy who knocks on doors and interacts with the custommer,the guy who changes the meter is the gas/electric fitter,so theres normally 3 of you on the doorstep except on Siemmens warrants,its only the locksmith and a fitter who also acts as rep(confused yet?) They used to send 2 Siemmens guys out untill some bright spark decided to put profit over safety and it was down to one. I think alot of transco engineers are told to stay in the van untill entry is affected now too.I for one am becomming a little fed up with warrants,due to some of the reasons pinky mention ie screwing us down on the money,longer days for no more money and with more risk.But as ive said before pays the bills.
Anyone else feel the same?
Andy

[cred]

thanx acl i am getting the picture now

[cred]

just 1 more question when you do warrants is it like subbing, work i dont mean money wise but job wise or do you work for them certain days of the week every week
thanx
ray

[cred]

WHAT knifes guns baseball bats
do you knowwere they sell body armour!!!!!!!!!!

[acl]

ive had knives pulled on me, a gun once, crow bars baseball bats etc, all in a days work

Ive not relly had that much aggro (touch wood) in a few years doing warrants but i know plenty that have.Heard of one rep in the Birmingham area that was put on the critical list by some freak with an iron bar.
Whilst im not sure i agree with Pinky that this should be all in adays work i do accept we do take risk day in day out,i just wish some of these desk jockeys would accept that we do too.Surely if some nutcase comes at you with a knife its going to be easier for 3 of you to disarm him than 2.
Andy

[jason]

Cred - if you are serious about body armour, be warned it is bloody expensive (mine was about £500 new) - it often works out cheaper to buy second hand from the US as their Police change the vests quite often.

If you do that try and sort out the sizing, my sister has problems with her vest in that when she sits down it hits her under the chin.

There are different types as well, my employer issued me the "Ballistic" vest made in Ireland, it's bloody heavy but there are times when I wouldn't want to be without it - if only as reassurance. Some have steel "trauma" plates to spread the shock of the round over a wider area of your body and weigh even more.

[pinky]

i dont worry about body armour in most of my areas, but as i also cover birmingham on these days i take my police vest.

cred , one week you may have 2 days and the next 5 days, you get booked dependent on rep and company liking you , trusting you and believing in you.
the rep must trust you and you the rep, as on 2 man jobs you need to know that the reps not going to leg it and leave you in lurch, he needs to know the same of you, on some jobs the reps are paid per job, if your too slow they lose money. you get a set day and half day rate.

you have to understand what you are doing, the rep knocks the door, if no answer he tells you to open it, you break in then watch fitters back whilst he/she swaps meters over.
problems start when they are waiting other side of door, or when neighbor calls householder at work and says 2 blokes have just broke in your house, he comes home with his mates a little upset.

violence is rare, abuse is common, but you dont often get attacked, but there is the odd occassion. i get weeks where i dont have to open a door as all outside meters or customers are in, i get other weeks where i open 50+ doors, its swings and roundabouts.

but the customer is rarely happy to see you, if they are not in , you need to break in, get job done and lock up and leave before occupier returns home if called, so speed is of essence.

i enjoy it, others cannot hack it, some days its the hardest and worst job in world, other days its a great laugh, one thing it does for you is it makes you a fast non destructive door opener, as no one likes returning keys.

[cred]

thanx guys i think i have got the bigger picture now

[timoteij]

Hey guys

Jus read all four pages on the "warrants scenario" at present. Its all very interesting but do you realise that British Gas have just bought the Dyno Lock brand? Now dont get me wrong I dont see as many vans on the road as I used to but surely that will change? Why would anybody like BG continue to allow their debt collection agencies to use private locksmiths when they will need to make good their aquistition? As per the MLA journals article last month this could be quite a daunting prospect since its the fist time any body the shear size of BG has ever backed locksmithing? Are we in trouble?

Rgds
TJ

[pinky]

this has been covered in another thread, but in short , no need to worry for now, as i have it from a good authority that it will be a few years before BG could even consider dyno lockeys for warrants as far too destructive.

BG aim to set up an all round 24 hour emergency service to include, gas , plumbing locks and glass, i think its the highway glass reactfasts etc of the world that need to be more concerned.

they must 1st lose the dyno drill it and change it philosophy first, then who knows ? until then i shant lose much sleep as i know the quality of my local dyno man and key edge guy, and they cannot afford to match my price nor my guarantee, nor can they adhere to the 97% NDE rate demanded by warrants as yet.

[jason]

From what I understand about Dyno (I've have to stress think and understand - as I'm uncertain about libel law). My understanding is that Dyno take quite a large amount of money from their franchisees (including telephone referrals) to the point that about £50 is gone before they arrive on site so the lock change is the only way to make any money.

I have a bit of sympathy for them as individual lockies sound as though they have got themselves tied into a nasty little contract, although this is tempered by the fact that people call them first because of the size of the brand name and they end up shafting the customer to make ends meet.