The Different Services of a Locksmith – Keytek Academy

Calling out a locksmith is not something a person does regularly, unless they are a landlord or a bailiff, so it might not be common knowledge what locksmiths do. There are many reasons why a customer would need the services of a locksmith, we will go through different situations when someone may need to engage the services of a locksmith.

Emergency Locksmith Services

A customer may require the service of an emergency locksmith if they find themselves locked out of their home due to the lock being broken, the key locked inside, or they have lost their keys and need to gain entry quickly or if it’s late at night. Most emergency locksmiths are on call 24 hours, so if is something you are willing to offer, you may get more work than other locksmiths. An emergency locksmith should be able to come out to a customer there and then. Going to a call out at unsociable hours might mean you will be able to charge more than if it were between 8am-6pm.

Its not only late at night that people may need an emergency locksmith, but they might also need to get somewhere urgently during the day, or have a pet locked inside. Most emergency locksmiths will aim to be with a customer in under an hour (some offer 30 minutes if local). The hope is that you can simply gain entry to a person’s home without causing damage by picking the lock or replacing the existing locks if they are broken.

 

Home Security Services

With a burglary happening every 40 seconds in the UK, it’s more than likely you will have to attend a home after a break in regularly. If a customer contacts you after a break in, you will need to check they have contacted the police and have been provided with a crime number before you attend.

When a customer experiences a break in, the safest thing to do is replace the locks, regardless of if they are broken or not. This is because the burglar could have taken any spare or made a copy when they were inside the home. A locksmith should be able to come and remove the current or broken lock and replace it with a new one.

 

Emergency Boarding Up Services

If a burglar has broken any windows or doors then a locksmith should be able to make the home secure by boarding up any damage, so other people cannot get in. You should never leave a customer’s home unsecure as this can leave them vulnerable to another break in. As a professional locksmith, you should be offering the highest plywood possible to board up a customer’s window and doors. You should also be advising a customer to get a replacement door or window fitter as soon as possible; you may want to offer some advice and guidance about what the best replacements for them would be.

 

Locks Changed Services

Could be that they’ve just moved house, or that they fancy a security upgrade, no matter the reason, a person should engage the services of a locksmith to do this kind of work. We recommend customers getting their locks changed if they notice any signs of damage or if they start becoming harder to use, the handle sticks for example. As this won’t be an emergency you and the customer can arrange a time that suits you both. You can also try to be the more prepared for a job like this, unlike in an emergency. You should ask the customer what type of lock they want installed, maybe talk through some lock options such as high security and anti-snap locks, this way you can have all the parts you need with you when you arrive.

 

Auto Locksmith Services

Some specially trained locksmiths can help those who have become locked out of their cars. An auto locksmith will be specifically trained and carry equipment with the, to reprogram and replace a person’s car keys. If this is a service that you wish to offer, then you will have to undertake a specific auto locksmith training course.

 

Safe Opening Services

Sometimes a customer will need a locksmith to gain entry to a safe. They may have moved into a house that has one and don’t know the code, they forgotten the code or lost the key. To become a safe specialist, you will need to take on additional training as safe can be very complicated to open. Safes come in all shapes and sizes, with a whole range of opening mechanisms. As safes get more and more advanced, the addition of fingerprint recognition for example, locksmiths need to have specific training to be able to gain entry to them without causing any damage.

 

Different Locksmith Services

As you can see there are many different services that a locksmith can offer, we have covered a few here, but there are more niche aspect to Locksmithing that you can learn, such as access control and security consulting.

There are lots of opportunities to progress your Locksmithing career and with additional training you will be able to advance the services you offer and grow a successful Locksmithing business.

To learn more about locksmith training then visit our courses page to see if they would be right for you.