We all want to save our money, or at least use it wisely, but it’s important to remember that there are false economies waiting round every corner, and the locksmith trade is no different.
While picking the cheapest locksmith you can find may help your wallet or purse, it’s not always advisable to opt for the cheapest option, especially when the cheapest option seems too cheap. Here are a few problems you might encounter if you choose a cheap locksmith.
Cheap Locksmiths Are Not Always Certified
In many parts of the world, locksmiths need to be certified by an authorizing body before they can commence work. Okay, so here in Ottawa that’s not the case, but as any locksmith worth their grain will surely tell you, certification is a good idea, even if it’s not required by law. Certification offers customers immediate comfort, a safety in the knowledge that the locksmith knows what they’re doing. It’s not a bad way of attracting business either. A certified locksmith certainly looks more professional when it comes to newspaper and online adds.
Cheap Locksmiths Could Lack Training
The thing with certification is that it clearly demonstrates that as a locksmith you have undergone some kind of training. Training is another thing that cheap locksmiths do not necessarily have. Many people think the business is easy and quickly start up a ‘company’ with little or, worse, no knowledge of what’s expected of a locksmith, how locks work, or any of the hundreds of other tricks of the trade that a good locksmith knows. And as with every other aspect of life, there’s no substitute for a good education.
Cheap Locksmiths Might Use Cheap Materials
Even if a locksmith has all the training under the sun, the wrong tools or the wrong materials are going to lead to problems later down the line. Some locksmiths cut their own costs by purchasing cheaper, and ultimately inferior, materials (locks, screws, tools, finishing materials, etc.) and pass them on to the customer. As a rule of thumb, a good locksmith will have a number of different makes and models of locks and other materials that they can get their hands on, and then they pass the decision onto the customer, with the right amount of advice, of course.
A Locksmith That Is Cheap On Paper Isn’t Necessarily Cheap In Real Life
If you’re basing the assumption that a locksmith is cheap on the information supplied in an advertisement or an unseen quote, stop! This is how many less-savory fake-smiths get you. They’ll quote one price and then charge you something completely different when they arrive. A good locksmith will give you all the costs up front so you can make an informed decision.
Locksmith Scams Are Becoming More Prevalent
Finally, we’ve all seen it in the news. More and more people are coming across locksmith scams. A locksmith is hired, some guy turns up, trashes the lock and charges an arm and a leg for the privilege. Said guy has zero training, comes from parts unknown, and shouldn’t ever have been given a set of junior tools let alone a power-drill. Put simply: a good locksmith costs a little more because they have a reputation that proves they’re worth it.
Disclaimer: Of course, just because a locksmith is cheap doesn’t mean they’re useless, uneducated, unhelpful and a scam artist. Some locksmiths offer low introductory prices just to build up a reputation and clientele, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Others really do have lower overheads and can work for less than the norm. We use the examples above merely to give you some idea of some of the methods certain people use to part you from your money without providing the service you need.
Advice: The simplest piece of advice anybody can be given in regards to home security and lockout assistance is do your research. Find a locksmith with a good reputation, one that has proven time and again they can help rather than hinder, and keep their number safe. You never know when you might need to call a locksmith, so at least you’ll be confident you’ve called the right person when you do.
