Find The Right Professional Locksmith For You

Be prepared. Long before an emergency occurs, find a trusty local locksmith. Locate a good locksmith from your local area before you need one. Do you want to enhance your home’s security, or augment the security of your business? Maybe you’d like to upgrade your standard locks to deadbolts, install bump-proof locks, or put in a keypad. What if you need to change your locks? Perhaps it’s time to heighten your security with an anchored safe, an intercom system, a smart key system, or a video surveillance system. Whatever you’re looking for, if you want to avoid getting overcharged or scammed, then do your homework.

Ask for recommendations from your friends, family, and colleagues. For sure, word of mouth from a satisfied customer is always your best bet.

Find a locksmith that’s local. Call directory assistance, check the phone book, and search the Web. If you find a locksmith’s street address, be sure to verify that the address given actually belongs to that locksmith company. Sometimes, a disreputable company will claim it’s local when it’s actually not. Match phone numbers with street addresses using the Internet. Beware if someone answers the phone with a basic greeting, such as “locksmith services,” rather than the actual company name. Request to know the legal name of the business, and if the person refuses, call another locksmith.

Ask the right questions. Some entirely legitimate locksmith companies may not include a street address in their listing, because they operate a mobile business, which dispatches a professional locksmith who is local to you. Accordingly, when you contact a locksmith without an address listed, find out why there’s no address given.

For future reference, write down every potential good locksmith company name you find, each with its phone number and address, in case you don’t want to choose the first locksmith you call. Keep track of which ones specialize in the type of locksmith service you need.

Keep in mind that you can consult the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have ever been filed about a particular company. Also, you can check with your local consumer protection agency as well as your state’s attorney general’s office.

If you’re locked out of your vehicle, then call your roadside assistance service first. Commonly, roadside assistance companies maintain their own list of pre-approved subcontractors that will regularly perform standard services, such as unlocking your vehicle, giving your battery a jump, and so forth, so if you’ve used your service before, then you already know you can count on them to do exactly what you need. Otherwise, hire a locksmith company specializing in automotive lockouts and other automotive challenges such as replacing car keys, servicing your ignition cylinder, programming transponder keys, and more.

Get a formal estimate ahead of time. No matter what the job is ~ emergency or routine ~ before any work starts, get a formal quote that tells you the total cost including all the parts, labor, and fees, if any. If you’re locked out ~ of your car, your home, or your business ~ a professional locksmith will give you a ballpark estimate over the phone. Then, ask about any potential additional charges before you decide to hire the locksmith. There could be a minimum fee; a mileage charge; extra charges for responding after hours; and so on. If the price the locksmith gives you upon arrival doesn’t match up with what you were told on the phone, then it’s time to say thanks but no thanks.

Once you’ve found a reputable locksmith, and you have a positive experience, keep that company’s information on hand for future reference ~ in your wallet, on the refrigerator, and on the bulletin board at work. You want to always be able to get out of trouble if any problems come up having to do with keys and locks. Whether you need a locksmith for a one-time problem, or you want a dependable expert who’ll work for you on an ongoing basis, of course you’ll want that individual to be absolutely trustworthy. Whether it’s a locksmith service pertaining to your place of residence, your vehicle, or your place of business, you certainly don’t want to allow access to just anyone when it comes to solving issues with locks and keys.