Everybody needs to find a reliable locksmith service. That’s because your home, your business and your car all require keys. These keys secure and open the locks which keep your property and your possessions safe from prying eyes and hands. Anything which is lockable and requires a key to open it means that the contents are valuable to you.
Requirements for a Reliable Locksmith Service.
When searching for a reliable locksmith, you must make sure that the company can cover all of the following issues and deals with them professionally and promptly:
- Services: Keys, Locks, Safes, Security Cameras.
A good locksmith service should be able to provide you with spare keys, is able to make additional keys quickly, can re-key a single lock or every lock on your property, and can provide you with new locks. The better locksmith services can also handle the latest in key and entry technology – from transponder car keys to controlled access systems – which may use a number code, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition or eye recognition to restrict access. A good locksmith service should also be able to provide you with safes and/or fireproof document cabinets.
- Emergency Vs Contract Services
Make sure you know the difference between an emergency locksmith service and a contract locksmith service.
An emergency locksmith service should be able to provide lockout or re-keying service around the clock. An emergency locksmith service should also ideally be located fairly close to your business or residence so they can arrive quickly when needed, and you won’t be asked to pay extra for distance charges. An emergency locksmith service should be able to provide you with a firm price over the phone, and should be able to get to you within half an hour.
A contract locksmith service does not have to be available 24/7. Typically, you will call a contract locksmith and make an appointment for them to come round, examine and diagnose your security issues and needs, and give you a firm quote. If the quote fits within your budget, you then schedule an appointment for them to come back and do the job.
- Qualified Technicians, Latest Equipment
A good locksmith service should employ qualified, experienced technicians who have the right equipment to get the job done right and who know what they’re doing. Their service vehicle should carry parts and equipment to provide you with all you need in the field.
- Pricing
The company you are researching should always be able to give you upfront pricing. Whether you are getting a quote for a single key or you are changing every lock in your premises, you should be told upfront exactly how much the job will cost you. If the locksmith has generated a written quote for you, make sure you get it by email before he arrives, or ask the locksmith to bring the written quote with him to your premises.
- Good Customer Service
Regardless of the type of services provided, a good locksmith service can always distinguish itself by providing good customer service. When you call, is your call answered by a live operator, or are you sent to voicemail? Is the representative friendly? Do they ask you the right questions before scheduling an appointment? Did they give you a fair quote? Do they follow up with the promised quote or visit to your premises? Make sure the locksmith service you choose has good customer service.
- Prompt Dispatch:
Test the company’s dispatch time. If they boast that they can get to your location within a certain time, but when you call them you are put through to an answering service or voicemail, you cannot count on receiving prompt service from that company. A good locksmith service will take your call in person and should be able to dispatch a technician immediately if you have an emergency. .
- AAA Approved
The best locksmith services are approved by AAA. After becoming approved by AAA, these companies are allowed to use the AAA logo on their vehicles, their website, their invoices, and all their correspondence. The locksmith you ultimately choose should have its AAA approval.
Spare Keys – Make Some Now
A significant proportion of all calls to a locksmith involve the replacement of a lost, broken or stolen key or keys. To save you time, money and headaches down the road, it is a great idea to have a spare key for every lock you have on your premises. This includes your residence, your business premises, and your car. Arrange to have these spare keys made right now: the best time to have these keys made is when you don’t have an emergency situation where you might have to pay premium prices because you lost or broke a key in the middle of the night or on a weekend or public holiday. If you know that your key/s were stolen, you will need to re-key the lock/s as well.
Keep your spare keys in a safe place where you can find them easily, and where a family member can find them and bring them to you if you find yourself in an emergency situation. If you own a multi-unit commercial or residential property, it might be a good idea to make a master key which fits every lock on the property. Make all these spare keys now, before an emergency situation arises.
Now you know what constitutes a reliable locksmith service. How do you locate this elusive beast?
Get Recommendations:
The very best way to find a reliable locksmith service is through recommendations from someone who has used this company before and is satisfied with the service, pricing, customer service, and everything else that you consider important.
You can get recommendations from any of the following sources:
- Friends, Family, Associates.
Ask everyone you know if they can recommend a good locksmith service. Ask family members, business associates, co-workers, friends and anyone else you trust. A personal recommendation is the best referral.
- Peer Review Sites: Yelp, Google+.
In the age of peer review sites, it is becoming harder and harder for crooks and charlatans to stay in business. Check review sites like Yelp, Google+ for good reviews. Make sure these reviews are genuine and not fake. You can usually tell fake online reviews as follows: if a company gets an excellent, gushing review from a reviewer who hasn’t posted many other reviews, you can be pretty sure that this review was planted by the company or one its associates.
- Social Media.
Social media is another place where you can gauge the reliability and reputation of a locksmith service. Use Facebook, Twitter or even LinkedIn to see what your prospective locksmith is doing in social media. Do they have a lot of followers, or just a few? Do they post to social media often or only occasionally? Do they respond promptly and courteously to publicly posted questions from customers and prospects? Do they respond to Direct Messages promptly and professionally?
A company’s social media pages can tell you a lot about the company’s attitude towards their profession and to their customers. Try to engage with a prospective service provider and see if they respond. If they ignore you, move on to another prospect. If they take care of you through their social media accounts, they are probably a reliable locksmith service.
- Visit The Locksmith’s Website.
A company’s website can tell you about that company and the way it treats its customers and prospects. Did you learn anything by reading their website, or is their site little more than a sales pitch? Have they posted some good customer reviews directly to their website? Are they bonded and insured? Is the company insured and are is employees bonded? Are they AAA certified? How long have they been in business and how long has their website been on the Internet? (You can find this out by searching for a “Whois” listing for that company name. This will tell you how long the website has been online – the longer the better.) Send them an email and ask them a question: do they respond quickly and professionally, providing you with the answers to your questions? A website can tell you a lot about a company.
If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to find a reliable locksmith service when you need one. Our best advice to you is to do your research now, before you have an emergency: when you find a locksmith service you like, post their phone number on your fridge door and enter the company’s name in your mobile phone’s contacts. That way, you will be prepared when you have an emergency lockout or other urgent issue requiring a locksmith.