Regular readers of my blog will know by now that AC Locksmiths Norfolk wants to spare as many people as possible from wasting money on National Companies, not just in the locksmithing trade, but others as well such as plumbing, electrical, etc.   I am not going to say that the National Companies have not been a help to me, because I would not have survived without sub-contract work and it continues to help pay the bills. This is the first reason I still do it. The second is that by sub-contracting out, my vehicle is also seen more – which generates my own private business. While I never give out my own cards whilst doing work for other companies, (this would breach my contract with them) hopefully the signage on my vehicle is seen by neighbours who might use me direct in the future.

All the above being said, it pains me to turn up at properties and have to charge the customers nearly double the amount I would be asking for if it were my own work.

So why do these large, nationwide companies need to charge so much?

Firstly, between forty and fifty per cent of the cost is to pay the sub-contractor and materials used. They then have the costs of large adverts in local directories, payments to ensure they are at the top of internet search engines as well as local telephone number diversions so that they can make you believe they are actual local companies. They also then need teams of  telephone operators to take the calls from all over the country as well as their managers, IT specialists and of course their company directors. That is a lot of money to pay out before they even think of profits.

This all means that there are certain things these companies have to do to maximise their profits. There may be encouragement of more destructive entry methods that destroy the locks, thus meaning more profit in the mark-up of a new product. Some will charge labour twice if the engineer does not have the required products on board (- quite common when there are so many locking devices, especially for UPVC doors that are not easily inter-changeable.) Some will take your debit card details up front making you uneasy about shopping around. Some will give you an expected arrival time, with no idea where they are going to find a sub-contractor to do the actual work and then keep you hanging for up to two hours, before giving an excuse as to why the engineer could not make it. Then there is VAT. Because they have high cash turn overs, they have to charge VAT. That is an extra £20 on top of every £100 you spend. In most cases, you are paying nearly £100 just for the locksmith to be there and although there may be “no call out fee” as soon as the engineer touches your locking product he or she is into the “£ per hour or uncompleted part thereof” clause.

This means that for something simple like a broken window handle on a double glazed unit, the engineer may have to spend a few minutes securing the window in the shut position requiring one payment of nearly £100 including VAT. Unless you have the most basic of handles, he or she will have to go away and order another one. When he or she comes back, there will be another labour charge of nearly £100 plus the small cost of the new handle. It should take less than ten minutes. These labour rates are just weekday office hours as well. If you need someone in the evening, or at weekends or on bank holidays, i.e. when you are not at work, then the charges go up. So unless you want to lose money by taking time off work, you have to pay more to have the locksmith come to you at a convenient time. You can’t win. The national companies have to charge more to encourage their sub-contractors to work the so called unsociable hours, though.

When you see the reasons for the high costs, it all makes sense. After all, no-one creates a business without wanting to make a good profit and the larger the company, the more overheads there are and the more you need to do to make a profit. But for the customer, it is a large pay out. You are essentially paying a large company to contact a locksmith local to you who would do the work for him or herself at a fraction of the cost and he or she will still be better off than taking on that same job through the national company. And this is not just true of locksmiths. Other trades have national companies that use sub-contractors as well;- Glazers, plumbers and electricians amongst others can all use sub-contract workers, especially in the emergency work areas.

So what can you do to save on these extra costs. Well, the best way takes a bit of planning and a little time, but is well worth it. I have mentioned this in a previous blog, but it really works. Sit down and think about all the services you may ever need. Plumbers, carpenters, decorators, chimney sweeps, mechanics and all the others you can think of.  Look through the internet or local directories and find those tradesmen who are local. Ring them up and ask if they are genuinely local and if so, what their labour rates are, including VAT (you don’t want surprises). Write the information down somewhere safe. Do this until you have two or three for each trade (you never know your first choice may be unavailable when you need them). If you can, put these numbers in  your mobile phone. They may come in handy if you are with a friend or, in the case of a locksmith, you may lose your keys but still have your mobile phone.
You will also get a feel for the type of person you may be required to use in the future and notes are always good. For example, someone who is cagey about their labour rates may be the sort of person who makes it up as they go along and therefore only to be used if your other options fail. You might prefer a cheery tradesman to a grumpy one, or someone who is more willing to discuss what they do and how they do it. This is time consuming but well worth the effort if you need a tradesman in an emergency. This will also help you better know the range of services offered by your local trades people.
For example, I recently did a window handle change through a National Company. The customer did not know locksmiths did this and had requested a double glazing engineer. Luckily, the particular company worked both fields and was able to allocate the work to me.

If you do not want to go through the above process, then when you do need the tradesperson, ask at the beginning of the phone call if they are truly local. Will they sub-contract the job? Where exactly are they based? Can you talk to the actual person who is coming out to you? At the end of the day, if they are going to sub-contract the work, then the person they will use is available through direct contact and you should try another number and pay less for the same service. Small adverts in local directories are not cheap so ask yourself would a genuine local trader take out a huge advert in the yellow book, or is that likely to be a national company using a local number?

So, now you have read this, please feel free to copy and paste it and send it to all your friends and family. In times of austerity, we could all do with spending less for work we have done. Plus supporting your local businesses means boosting the local economy. Win Win!

If you have any further questions, please contact me through any of the methods on our contacts page. www.ac-locksmiths-norfolk.co.uk