Locksmith Safety Checklist
Everything on this list can be settled while you are standing at your own door, before anybody picks up a tool.
Call (408) 418-0044
A lockout is one of the few situations where people hire a stranger while stressed, in a hurry, and standing outside their own home in the dark. That combination is precisely what the worst end of this trade relies on. The defence is not research you do not have time to do; it is a short set of things that can be established in the first minute of the call and confirmed again on arrival.
The most useful principle is that nothing should come as a surprise. What is being done, what it will involve, and what it will come to should all be settled before a tool touches the lock. A visit that reorders those steps, so the work begins and the terms follow, is the pattern behind almost every bad story people tell afterwards.
Establish these before work begins
- A business name, said plainly. If the answer to who is speaking is a generic phrase rather than a name, that is worth noticing at the start rather than at the end.
- A figure, and what would move it. Agree what the work comes to and what would change it, before anybody begins.
- Whether anything will be drilled. Drilling a standard residential deadbolt as the opening move is the clearest single sign something is wrong, because most of them open without it.
- That you will be asked for proof. Being asked to show that the property or vehicle is yours is a good sign rather than an inconvenience.
- That the work is written down. What was done, what hardware went on, and how many keys you were handed should all be recorded rather than remembered.
Signals that should end the call
- A refusal to give a business name, or to say what the work will come to.
- A figure agreed on the phone that shifts sharply on arrival with no explanation of what was different.
- An immediate move to drill an ordinary residential lock without trying anything else first.
- No interest whatsoever in whether the property or the vehicle actually belongs to you.
- Pressure to decide on the spot, or to pay before you understand what has been done.
If you are standing outside right now and the priority is simply getting back in, the practical steps are set out elsewhere. see emergency locksmith help.
Common questions
Why is drilling such a warning sign?
Because the overwhelming majority of ordinary residential locks can be opened without it. Drilling converts a visit that costs an opening into a visit that costs an opening plus new hardware, and it is the fastest route from a small job to a large invoice. There are genuine cases where it is correct, and in those you should be told why beforehand.
Should I stay while the work is done?
Yes, wherever that is practical. You want to see what was tried, know what was replaced, and receive every key that was cut. Leaving somebody alone with your locks and returning to a finished job removes every check you have.
What should I do with the old hardware?
Keep it, or at least look at it before it leaves. A cylinder that was replaced should be there to inspect, and hardware that was supposedly failing should look like hardware that was failing.
Is it safer to call the first number on a search page?
Not automatically. This trade has a long history of listings that route to whoever bid for the call rather than to a nearby workshop. Whoever you end up calling, the points on this page are what tell you about the person who actually turns up.
Related locksmith services
Describe the lock or key problem
A short description of what happened gets the right tools out for the job.
Call (408) 418-0044