In a recent conversation with the Director of Operations at our sister company, Access 1 Alarm & Audio, it was brought to my attention that they had another vehicle in the shop due to the aftermarket Viper security system alerting the client that their door was open when in fact it was closed. Now usually I just ignore this as I am more focused on running the locksmith side of the business, but what caught my attention was the reasoning why it was falsing a premium vehicle security system. The root cause? The customer accidentally locked their keys in the vehicle and a locksmith was dispatched to unlock the vehicle. The locksmith sought to Slim-Jim the door lock and instead came up with a bundle of wires, one of which was the door trigger.
One thing that amazed me as we were discussing this was that the vehicle would be a simple 10 minute job of cutting a new door key upon arriving on scene. The only real inconvenience to the already distressed client is the associated paperwork that needs to be filled out. So now the client is wasting their valuable time visiting Access 1 Alarm & Audio thinking that their premium security system has a problem, when in fact the problem was the so called professional locksmith that came out to open the vehicle.
The discussion progressed in which they pointed out that they see damaged vehicles on a weekly basis. From bent door frames, broken wires, scratched windows or scratched paint - all from locksmiths. Now I personally know that there are amateurs out there that call themselves professional, or they work for a large name company that employs people who purchase a company supplied basic tool kit, attend an hour online seminar, then walk away with that company’s blessing to go out and be a “professional locksmith”. I personally cringe when hearing this and it feels to me that the unsuspecting customer and their vehicle are both violated.
After the conversation, and on my way home, I was reflecting on how many times a day I receive a call or talk with a customer that began with, “I had another locksmith try…” or “I have been waiting 2 hours”. I figure that at least 25% of my calls are due to other locksmiths’ failures.
I know I should be grateful for the extra business; however it is at the expense of the hard workers or elderly in the community which doesn’t sit so well with me. I usually feel bad and end up discounting my services to offset some of the financial loss that they already incurred. But that is not a great business model, especially when I am trying to grow my business.
What separates us from other companies is that we believe in building relationships with our clients and not offering a substandard service for a quick buck. For the sake of writing a novel, I will just mention that this is not just limited to automobiles. I deal with the same issues for residential and commercial clients as well.
I have been a locksmith for over 30 years and still service clients from when I started out. Over the years I invested heavily in training my staff, ensure that I have substantial and diverse inventory, the latest technology and tools to service the client’s locksmith needs - both efficiently and professionally.
When I started out as a locksmith, I was operating out of my home, worked every day and all hours, drove a beat up van with no heat or AC, communicated via pager and had the determination to be the best. Today, I have a beautiful new store front in Cleveland, a modernized fleet of mobile locksmith vehicles, a dozen employees and the ability to provide solutions that no other locksmith in the country can provide.
We not only specialize in every aspect of the automobile locksmithing business such as; replacement keys, smart keys, lock re-keying, ignition switch replacement and more - We also specialize in Commercial, Residential and safes.
I hope you enjoyed this article and found it as an informative resource if you should need a locksmith for your home, business or vehicle. Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date with our latest specials, “How To” articles and cutting-edge technology that can secure your home and auto both effectively and efficiently.